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<p class=3D"MsoNormal"><span lang=3D"EN-CA"><font size=3D"4">=A0</font>&l This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_004E_01CD4506.5AFBBCA0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Hi Randy, I have a Rose Breasted Grosbeak in my freezer, been there a = couple of years now. Was supposed to go to UNB, but they haven't been = here for it yet. Interested?? It was a window strike here at our place. Thanks, Bob Blake Second North River NB E4J 3B8. ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Randy Lauff=20 To: NatureNS=20 Sent: Thursday, June 07, 2012 3:03 PM Subject: [NatureNS] The bird collection at St. Francis Xavier = University - ironies and deficiencies. All, Firstly, thank you to many people both on and off this list for the = donations of bird specimens to the St. Francis Xavier collection over = the years. The collection continues to grow and my goal is to have an = amalgam of birds which truly represents the province=92s bird diversity. = I want to point out that no bird was killed *for* the collection. = Hunters have killed ducks for their tables, and I have acquired the = skulls from some of these birds. Most birds though are acquired after = being killed by cats, cars or windows. If you suspect you can help fill out the collection, please contact me = at rlauff@stfx.ca. I am NOT requesting that anyone kill a bird simply to = help out.=20 I was looking over the inventory of specimens recently and two things = jumped out at me. The first is that I=92ve got almost 130 species of bird represented = (about 180 breed in the province), of which all but a few are native = species acquired here. The peacock and parrot were both pets and are = examples of some of the few which are not wild birds. Of those 130, most = are breeders, but some, like the Iceland Gull and Common Redpoll are = wintering birds only. There is a bias towards feeder birds (Purple Finch = is the #1 window kill) and charismatic birds (members of the general = public are more likely to pick up a road-injured hawk than a similarly = injured gull). The bottom line is that there are many species still not = represented here. A list appears at the bottom of this email. The second thing that jumped out at me relates to the charismatic = birds=85there=92s an irony in the StFX collection that is reflected in = uncommon species being represented, but common ones still, after 20 = years collecting, are still not. Some donations were too damaged to = incorporate into the collection. Here are some of those ironies: I have a Black Vulture (no, not the one from my place), but no Turkey = Vulture. I have no Canada Goose, Mallard, wigeon or Gadwall. I have no scoter, = scaup, goldeneye or Bufflehead. But I do have a King Eider! Hunters = =96 help! The heads are worth sending me (unless that=92s where the = pellets went). I have Sora, coot, moorhen, gallinule...but no Virginia Rail. I have plenty of Yellow-billed Cuckoos, but am missing our breeding = Black-billed. Thrushes...I have Swainson's and Hermit. I do not have a Robin !!! = (though I am sure there's one in the freezer). I have Blue Grosbeak, but no Bluebird. I have no black blackbirds. That's right...no grackles, Red-wings or = Brown-headeds...but I do have two orioles. In addition to those ironic misses, here are some other vacancies in = the collection: I have no PB or Horned Grebe; the only Red-neck I have is headless. I = have no decent fulmar or shearwater, Wilson's Storm-Petrel. I have almost all the routinely occurring raptors. I could use a = Cooper's Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk and Gyrfalcon. I have almost no shorebirds at all (including phalaropes) (exceptions: = one Killdeer, several snipe, spotties and woodcock, and one Greater = Yellowlegs). No terns at all. Moderate on the alcids, but missing Common Murre, Razorbill, Great Auk = (just seeing if you're paying attention). Owls - I'm good. People tend to turn these (and other raptors) in to = DNR or one of the rehab facilities. I don't have Yellow-bellied Sapsucker or Black-backed Woodpeckers. I have no tanagers. Only Yellow-rumped, Ovenbird and Common Yellowthroat are represented = by more then one specimen for warblers. Most of the rest are not = represented. No wrens or GC Kinglet. I have one swallow. Cliff.=20 Flycatchers are almost non-existent in the collection (I have one each = of Yellow-bellied and Alder). I have sparrows which routinely show up at feeders, but no Swamp, = Sharp-tailed, etc. No Snow Bunting. Birds still in the freezer do not appear in my inventory, so if = you=92ve donated something I=92ve listed as missing, rest assured it is = likely still there. Please do let me know if you find something that may = be of interest. I can be reached at rlauff@stfx.ca. Thank you! Randy _________________________________ RF Lauff Way in the boonies of Antigonish County, NS. ------=_NextPart_000_004E_01CD4506.5AFBBCA0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dwindows-1252" = http-equiv=3DContent-Type> <META name=3DGENERATOR content=3D"MSHTML 8.00.6001.19222"> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff> <DIV><FONT size=3D2 face=3DArial>Hi Randy, I have a Rose Breasted = Grosbeak in=20 my freezer, been there a couple of years now. Was supposed to go to UNB, = but=20 they haven't been here for it yet. Interested?? It was a window strike = here at=20 our place.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2 face=3DArial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=3D2 face=3DArial>Thanks,</FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Bob Blake<BR>Second North River<BR>NB E4J 3B8.</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE=20 style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; = PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV=20 style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B>=20 <A title=3Drandy.lauff@gmail.com = href=3D"mailto:randy.lauff@gmail.com">Randy=20 Lauff</A> </DIV> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=3Dnaturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20 href=3D"mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca">NatureNS</A> </DIV> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, June 07, 2012 = 3:03=20 PM</DIV> <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [NatureNS] The bird