Thanks, everybody, for the recent discussions about documenting crossbills
and warbling-vireos in Colorado. Inspired by a recent report from Eric
DeFonso of crossbills at the Green Mountain West trailhead, near the high
point along Flagstaff Rd., Boulder Co., I went up there myself earlier this
sunny Sun., Feb. 15. But it was windy—too windy, really—at Green Mountain,
so I retreated downslope a bit to the comparatively leeward Long Canyon
trailhead <https://ebird.org/checklist/S301111567>, where the wind wasn't
nearly as strong. And, oh yes, there were crossbills there.
As far as I can tell, all were type 2 ("ponderosa pine") red crossbills.
And how do we know they were type 2s, as opposed to type 3s, or type πs,
or, for that matter, Cassia crossbills? Because of the diagnostic sound
spectrograms of birds like this one
<https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/650991415>, and these two
<https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/650991406>, and also these two or three
<https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/650991425>. Which brings us to Mark
Obmascik's recent musings on the identification of Cassia crossbills in
Colorado. I concur with Mark: It is essentially impossible to credibly
identify birds in the "Red Crossbill complex" in Colorado without an
assist from technology. But there's a big "but" here: I didn't fire up
Merlin, not even once, the whole time I was up Flagstaff this morning.
Rather, I made recordings, studied the spectrographic output, and confirmed
that all the crossbills up there were type 2s. Maybe that's a mere quibble,
differing exegeses of "crossbill theology." But I dunno, it feels
different, to me, to say: "Because Merlin said so" *vs*. "Because I figured
it out on my own." In any event, it remains the case that we require
technology, in the form of sound spectrograms, whether Merlin-vetted or
human-vetted, to get the ID correct here in Colorado. Which, as Mark
implies, is a paradigm shift. Culture shock, even.
I actually heard more "toop notes" up there than flight calls. Type 2 "toop
notes" sound like this <https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/650991432>, and
also like this <https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/650991448>. They are
clear and ringing like flight calls, and I can totally see that one might
imagine they're the flight calls of a "good" crossbill—a Cassia perhaps, or
one of the rarer (for us) red crossbill types other than type 2. But they
are spectrographically unlike the flight calls of any crossbill expected in
Colorado. This is fun: If you jack up the type 2 red crossbills flight call
a kilohertz or two, you get pygmy nuthatch; and if you raise it another
kilohertz or two, you get hairy woodpecker; and if you're on a boat at sea,
your hairy woodpecker is become a red phalarope. Who'da thunk?
Along with the type 2 flight calls and "toop notes," there was full-on
<https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/650991469> crossbill song
<https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/650991469> up there. Sorry about the
wind noise; someone musta left the gate open up at Green Mountain. Anyhow,
it's a cool song. I put in my notes that the run-on, "random" song of the
type 2 red crossbill sounds a bit like the song of a dipper or even a
woodcock.
And some photos. While probably of limited utility for field
identification, photos of crossbills can contribute importantly to a recent
finding, both surprising and counterintuitive, by Blanca Fernández-Eslava
and collaborators that male crossbills acquire a female-like plumage aspect
as they age. That is quite the opposite of the "standard model," wherein
female birds acquire male-like plumage aspects as they age; examples in
Colorado are the wood duck, western tanager, and Wilson warbler.
Anyhow, here are a few crossbill pics from this morning:
[image: ReCr 01.jpg]
[image: ReCr 02.jpg]
[image: ReCr 03.jpg]
And for fans of weird & unexpected catchlights:
[image: ReCr 04.jpg]
The Douglas-fir cone crop up there was insane, which insanity I duly iNatted
<https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/338788435>. (And which Owen
Robertson already has research-graded. Thanks, brother.) You heard it here
first: If type 4 ("Douglas-fir") red crossbills make their way to Colorado
anytime soon, it's going to be up Flagstaff. Okay, it was Eric who put that
idea in my mind, not gonna lie. Anyhow, there must be untold millions of
juicy douglas-fir cones up there. The nuthatches seemed happy about it. So
did the siskins.
Back to crossbills. A possible take on the preceding: Okay, that's all well
and good, but can't we just say "Red Crossbill," at least in the Front
Range metro region, and be done with it? Yes, that is true. I, personally,
think it is a worthwhile challenge to try to figure out the different
types, but, for now, we treat them all as the same species. Although...what
about Cassia crossbill?? It's not far at all, the way the crossbill flies,
from Grand Co. In fact, Grand & Boulder cos. share a long border. So why
not?
In any event, that same take isn't gonna cut it come warbling-vireo time,
not even three months out. Because the two warbling-vireos are indeed full
species, according to current science, and both of them are here in the
Front Range metro region. David Suddjian reminds us that the songs of
Eastern and Western warbling-vireos are distinct, and I don't disagree. But
I am wary of our ability to tell them apart, especially where they overlap,
as here. Do they differ, to our human ears, between Nevada and New Jersey?
Sure. Between San Miguel Co., Colo., and New Jersey? Yes, I would say so.
But all up and down the I-25 corridor, from Ft. Collins to Pueblo and
beyond, where most of us live and bird? I'm not convinced of that. I've
been studying these birds' songs intensively for close to 20 years now, and
I simply don't trust my ears, or, let's be honest, my *brain* all that
much. I think it's probably true that there are some, well, no-brainers in
the mix. But birds on migration? Birds exposed to the "wrong" vireo's song?
Hybrids or intergrades, perish the thought? I imagine there's an awful lot
of that going on here. And then mix in all the undeniable subjectivity and
suggestibility at play in the human engagement of the natural world,
and...yeah. Speaking for myself, I'm not good enough! I'm either going to
upload spectrogram-supported sound recordings to my eBird checklists, or
I'm going to happily and proudly call my warbling-vireos unidentified.
But can we, please, pretty please, agree on one thing? "Merlin" isn't
adequate for the ID. It really isn't. And please keep in mind: I am one of
the loudest champions of Merlin. It's a magnificent guide, pedagogically
brilliant, informing and inspiring millions of peeps who might not
otherwise notice birds. Merlin is all those things. It really is. But,
again, Merlin is, in the first and final analysis, a *guide*. A suggestion,
a recommendation. And so, as the old saying goes, we "trust but verify."
The great thing is, Merlin makes it easy! Merlin wonderfully outputs
spectrograms, and saves the audio, for every single bird it provisionally
identifies for you. When Merlin says "Eastern Warbling-Vireo" (it will
actually say "Eastern Warbling Vireo," without the hyphen, but that's a
matter for another day) or "Cassia Crossbill" or even "White-winged
Crossbill" or, what the heck, "White-winged Tern," think of it the way you
might inform the clerk at Buc-ee's in Berthoud that you're holding a
winning Colorado Lottery ticket. Great—but you'd better be prepared to
produce the goods: a valid permutation of lottery numbers for the cashier,
or the spectrogram for your friendly neighborhood eBird reviewer. And don't
even get me started on "photos," or, in the case of crossbills and
warbling-vireos, "recording." As in, "lotto ticket," am I right?
Alrighty, I've just now been reminded—re-reminded, actually—that I promised
to go pick up the Chinese food, getting cold now, at Mr. Sake Sushi &
Grill. I'm Audi...
Ted Floyd
Lafayette, Boulder Co.
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