[mou] Cardinal doubters
James Mattsson
mattjim@earthlink.net
Tue, 5 Apr 2005 22:29:18 -0500
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Several people have responed to me suggesting the deformed bill of the Massachusetts Northern Cardinal was possibly the result of a doctored photo and thus a trick. Here is the message from the listserver. Or you can check www.birdingonthe.net and click on Massachusetts and see for yourselves. As bizarre as this bird's bill is, there are examples of far more grotesque bill deformities. I have a photo at home (I didn't take it) of a Cuban Ivory-billed Woodpecker specimen from the 19 century in which the bill is longer than the bird's body and actually decurves downward in a huge arc and almost touches the tail. So you see, Mother Nature can really be strict.
And no, Bob Russell, this is NOT the rare red phase of the Eskimo Curlew, know for its specialized bill used for feeding exclusively on peanuts. But nice try.
Jim
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Subject: Curve-billed Cardinal in Merrimac
From: Stephen Mirick <smirick AT comcast.net>
Date: Tue, 05 Apr 2005 09:31:21 -0400
Bonnie Buxton sent me these photos of a Northern Cardinal with a bill
deformity which has been coming to her feeder all winter. There are
actually two birds with this deformity which have been showing up, but
this individual is more extreme.
It's partly sad, and partly comical to see this strange bill. Happily,
it seems to be getting seeds from her feeder.
http://home.comcast.net/~smirick/photos/curvedbill1.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~smirick/photos/curvedbill8.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~smirick/photos/curvedbill4.jpg
Steve Mirick
Bradford, MA
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<DIV>Several people have responed to me suggesting the deformed bill of the Massachusetts Northern Cardinal was possibly the result of a doctored photo and thus a trick. Here is the message from the listserver. Or you can check <A href="http://www.birdingonthe.net">www.birdingonthe.net</A> and click on Massachusetts and see for yourselves. As bizarre as this bird's bill is, there are examples of far more grotesque bill deformities. I have a photo at home (I didn't take it) of a Cuban Ivory-billed Woodpecker specimen from the 19 century in which the bill is longer than the bird's body and actually decurves downward in a huge arc and almost touches the tail. So you see, Mother Nature can really be strict. </DIV>
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<DIV>And no, Bob Russell, this is NOT the rare red phase of the Eskimo Curlew, know for its specialized bill used for feeding exclusively on peanuts. But nice try.</DIV>
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<DIV>Jim</DIV>
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<DIV><A name=1112709464><B>Subject: Curve-billed Cardinal in Merrimac</B></A><BR>From: Stephen Mirick <smirick AT comcast.net><BR>Date: Tue, 05 Apr 2005 09:31:21 -0400<BR><PRE><FONT size=3>Bonnie Buxton sent me these photos of a Northern Cardinal with a bill
deformity which has been coming to her feeder all winter. There are
actually two birds with this deformity which have been showing up, but
this individual is more extreme.
It's partly sad, and partly comical to see this strange bill. Happily,
it seems to be getting seeds from her feeder.
http://home.comcast.net/~smirick/photos/curvedbill1.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~smirick/photos/curvedbill8.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~smirick/photos/curvedbill4.jpg
Steve Mirick
Bradford, MA</FONT>
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