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the Red Crossbill problem



As some of you know, there are seven different races of Red Crossbill in 
North America (and about 13 more elsewhere), which some people think should 
be split into different species.  Two of the European races have already been 
split off (Scottish and Parrot Crossbills)  Two of the seven "species" breed 
in NC and two more might get down here in the winter.

There's a website at 
http://research.amnh.org/ornithology/crossbills/diagnosis.html
that has all the different types of Red Crossbill call notes for your 
listening pleasure.  Types 1 and 2 are the NC breeders, types 3 and 4 might 
visit in the winter, and 5, 6, and 7 are western "species".

After listening to all the different types of call notes, I have NO CLUE 
which one is at Jordan Lake, or which one I've seen in the NC mountains.  I 
also don't know whether I've heard flight, "toop", or alarm calls!  If they 
split the races into species, we'll all have to carry portable sonogram 
machines in the field with us to be sure which ones we're seeing!


-- 
Charles W. "Will" Cook                w 919-660-7423
cwcook@duke.edu                 h 919-967-5446
Duke University Botany Dept., Durham, North Carolina
http://www.duke.edu/~cwcook