Date: 10/4/25 8:13 am From: Paul Conover via groups.io <zoiseaux...> Subject: Re: [labird] Listing Groups
Mac, Labird,
True on the Saw-whet and the Eider, although the Grand Terre Eider was
seen by quite a few. I'm so far away from a BINGO on the owls that many
seem impossible for me.
If I'm not mistaken, you're a Cassin's Kingbird away from seeing all the
flycatchers. That would be an amazing feat.
PEC
Lafayette
On 10/4/2025 9:41 AM, Mac Myers wrote:
> For owls, I'd add Northern Saw-whet in the tough category, but maybe
> someday somebody will figure out a location where nocturnal taping and
> netting can be at least occasionally successful. Also, in ducks, King
> Eider is had by several, but that's a tough one to expect or hope to
> get. As for grebes, I doubt that Lowery had Red-necked and Western.
>
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> On Fri, Oct 3, 2025 at 9:36 PM Paul Conover via groups.io
> <http://groups.io> <zoiseaux...> wrote:
>
> Labird,
>
> In the days when field guides took eternities between
> editions and
> birders tended to carry their battered copies of Peterson or the
> Golden
> Guide to the edge of doom, it used to be a thrill when I could
> check off
> every species portrayed on a page, all the buntings or woodpeckers or
> whatever. I found over the years that I wasn't unique in celebrating
> these small accomplishments, and when I'd compare notes with other
> birders, it was interesting to see whether the blanks on our pages
> were
> misses in common or just personal nemeses.
>
> Nowadays I tend to apply that exercise to groups of birds I've
> seen
> in Louisiana. Typically there's a species or two in each group that I
> realize have kept most/all Louisiana birders from running the table on
> certain groups. In some cases, it's pretty likely that no one will
> ever
> be able to complete a group list.
>
> Here's a list of groups (fairly arbitrarily grouped in some
> cases) and my best guess of whether anyone has seen them all. Some
> smaller groupings (swans, jaegers, etc.) I omitted, and I also removed
> extinct or probably extinct species. I'll leave names of birders out.
>
> Geese: Several birders have seen them all, with the limiting species
> being Brant.
>
> Ducks: No one (Origin Hypothetical Baikal Teal is the catch).
>
> Grebes: No current birders. Least Grebe! Maybe Lowery had them all, if
> he had Red-necked.
>
> Doves and Pigeons: Only those who have seen Band-tailed, the only
> hard one.
>
> Anis and Cuckoos: No one (Smooth-billed Ani). Mangrove Cuckoo next
> hardest.
>
> Nightjars: Several birders who saw/heard the sole Antillean Nighthawk
> record.
>
> Hummingbirds: Maybe one; the speed bump is Lucifer Hummingbird.
>
> Rails: Many
>
> Shorebirds: Probably; toughest is Siberian Sand-plover, and
> Black-tailed
> Godwit also narrows the field.
>
> Gulls: No one. Black-headed, Heermann's, and Western make it
> tough, and
> Kelp might be hard to get again.
>
> Terns: Several birders
>
> Loons: Some; not sure how many.
>
> Shearwaters: No one; Manx and Sooty are the limiters, and Cory's and
> Scopoli's are probably still only unofficially on lists.
>
> Sulids: A few; Red-footed is the hard one.
>
> Herons: Many (even if Great White Heron is included).
>
> Hawks: No one if Goshawk is included; very few otherwise because of
> Zone-tailed Hawk.
>
> Owls: No one, I think. Snowy (did anyone chase it?) and Flammulated
> would be a tough pair.
>
> Woodpeckers: No one. No one has all three of Williamson's and
> Red-naped
> sapsuckers, and Ladder-backed.
>
> Falcons: A few--Those who have seen Prairie Falcon.
>
> Flycatchers: None. Many tough ones.
>
> Vireos: No one; Plumbeous, Cassin's.
>
> Corvids: One birder. Clark's Nutcracker and Chihuahuan Raven the
> limiting species.
>
> Swallows: One birder.
>
> Wrens: Many
>
> Mimids: Many thanks to stakeout Curve-billed.
>
> Thrushes: Probably several. Varied and Townsend's Solitaire the
> hard pair.
>
> Longspurs: Several, I think.
>
> Sparrows: No one; Tree Sparrow, Baird's, Brewer's...
>
> Orioles: Many
>
> Blackbirds: Many
>
> Warblers: Probably none. Virginia's and Hermit, followed by several
> other tough ones that were however more widely viewed.
>
> Tanagers: Many
>
> Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Buntings: None. Varied Bunting, Blue Bunting,
> Pyrrhuloxia...
>
>
> Does anyone see any errors or omissions here?
>
> Paul Conover
>
> Lafayette
>
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