Ornithology 3A&B Summary (Spring 2009)

If you miss a class, please check this page and study the listed topics in your field guide. For last year's calendar, click here.

Note: We have moved to room 139!
Class notes by Elisabeth Koster are
here.


May 14
We completed and reviewed the ducks on page 32. Click here for my account of the Falcated Duck at Honey Lake and here for a Falcated Duck photo from Washington State. Click here for my Green-winged Teal photo. Click here for my photos and notes on a Baikal Teal at Lompoc, California.

This was the last class for the semester. We resume September 17, 2009. Registration is available starting July 1st. Thank you for your interest and support.


May 7
We completed the ducks on page 30. Click here for the article by Peter Pyle on molt in ducks. Click here for my photo of a pair of Mottled Ducks in Texas.

Note: Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha) is split into Eastern Spot-billed Duck (Anas zonorhyncha) and Indian Spot-billed Duck (Anas poecilorhyncha); the former has occurred as a vagrant to Alaska, but the latter is unknown from the Western Hemisphere.


April 30
We completed and reviewed the ducks on page 28. Click here for my photo of Black-bellied Whistling-Duck in Texas. My photo of a male Wood Duck at Colma 2 Feb. 2003 is here. My description of the female Mandarin at the Palace of Fine Arts is here. Click here for the paper entitled: "Using anecdotal occurrence data for rare or elusive species: The illusion of reality and a call for evidentiary standards" which we discussed in class.

April 23
We completed and reviewed the swans on page 26. Click here for my photos of an immature Tundra Swan that was originally misidentified as a Trumpeter. I misstated the number of "missing" Trumpeter Swans by an order of magnitude. My Trumpeter Swan page is here which has the correct information The swan ID page is here. Trumpeter Swan head photos are here. Additional Trumpeter Swan photos are here, My notes on a Whooper Swan at White Lake are here. Click here for additional Whooper Swan photos.


April 16
We completed and reviewed the geese on pages 22 & 24. My notes on an Emperor Goose at Bodega Bay with photos are here. Emperor Goose photos are here, here, here and here. Click here for details with photos and video of a Barnacle Goose. Click here for discussion and photo of an apparent hybrid Barnacle X Canada Goose Click here for my photo of a Cackling Goose (possibly taverneri). Click here for my photo of a "Dusky" Canada Goose and Snow Goose at Half Moon Bay. Click here for an ID article on Cackling Goose by David Sibley. Another helpful article by Harry Krueger is here. Click here for a Cackling/Canada goose article by Don Roberson. Click here for a Canada/Cackling Goose ID summary.

April 2
We completed and reviewed the birds on pages 478-479 and began the geese on pages 20 & 22. A full acount of the Orange County Gray-silky Flycatcher with photos is here. A photo of another Gray-silky Flycatcher in San Diego County is here. Click here for my photos of immature Greater White-fronted Geese and here for an adult and immature White-front. My photo of immature Snow Goose is here. A controversial immature blue morph Snow Goose is discussed here. Click here for a Taiga Bean Goose photo from Alaska and here for photos of a Tundra Bean Goose from Washington State. Click here, here, here, here, and here for photos of Ross's Geese from the Bay Area. Click here, here and here for photos of dark morph Ross's Geese.


March 26
We completed the birds on pages 464-477. My account of the Light-mantled Albatross sighting is here. My photos of Wandering (Gibson's) Albatross from Australia are here, here and here. Photos and my account of the Greater Sandplover in Bolinas are here.

March 19
We completed and reviewed the redpolls, Evening Grosbeak, etc. on page 462. Click here and here for Common Redpoll photos and here for a Hoary Redpoll.

March 12
We completed and reviewed the siskins and goldfinches on page 460. Click here for a scan of the paper I coauthored on green morph Pine Siskins. Click here for discussion and comparison photos of female American and Lawrence's Goldfinch. My photos of juvenile Lawrence's Golfdinches in the Presideo are here.

March 5
We completed and reviewed the crossbills and Pine Grosbeak on page 458. Click here for a readable description of the new South Hills Crossbill. Click here for the actual publication proposing the new species and here for more information. . Click here for a photo I took of a type 2 male Red Crossbill in California along with a link to the site with crossbill types and vocalizations. My Red Crossbill photos from Skyline College are here, here and here. Be sure to check them out in full size. Click here for a juvenile White-winged Crossbill and here for a Pine Grosbeak from Alaska. Click here for an excellent photo of a Pine Grosbeak from Kern County.

February 26
We completed and reviewed the finches on page 456. Photos of the Common Rosefinch from the Farallons are here.
February 19
We completed and reviewed the finches on page 454 and started the finches on page 456. A photo of an escaped Chaffinch is here. Click here for a photo of a Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch from Alaska. Click here for photos of a Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch originally thought to be a possible Brown-capped Rosy-Finch from Aspendell, CA. Click here for the reasons why it was not a Brown-capped. Note that these reasons contradict what Sibly says about differences in bill size between the two. A Black Rosy-Finch photo is here.

February 12
We completed and reviewed the orioles on page 452. Click here for a Streak-backed Oriole photo. My Altamira Oriole photos are here, here and here. The latter includes text describing the molt. Click here and here for my photos of Audubon's Oriole. An immature male Audubon's Oriole with analysis is here.

February 5 (new links added Feb 12th.)
We completed and reviewed the orioles on page 450. My photos of Orchard Orioles at Middle Lake are here. Additional Orchard Oriole photos from Califronia are here, here, here, here and here. Click here for a discussion and photo of a mystery oriole from Kansas which is probably an Orchard Oriole. A Hooded Oriole photo and discussion is here. A Hooded Oriole originally misidentified as an Orchard Oriole is here. My photos of a winter male Hooded Oriole in Texas are here and here. My photos of Baltimore Oriole are here and here. A Baltimore Oriole photo is here. An immature male Bullock's Oriole with analysis is here. My photos of a Bullock's Oriole are here and here. A video and photo of a Black-backed Oriole (Icterus abeillei) in San Diego is here, but this bird is now believed to have been an escaped captive rather than a naturally occurring bird.