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Vagrant watch, MP3's, and Spanish names



Hi c-birders,

Scanning today's hotlines, I see that a report of Snowy Owl in Maryland 
has been confirmed by videotape. A Gray Kingbird is apparently being seen 
just north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, not too far from 
northeastern NC... And a Mountain Bluebird has been seen in Washington 
D.C., joining an earlier individual found in Massachusetts. So check out 
those little blue jobs on the wires, make sure they all have red 
breasts...

On Tue, 14 Nov 2000, Tom Joyce wrote:
>
> Now, please tell us why birders need gimmicks like this to pursue their
> avocation.
>
> All technocrats may reply.

Actually, I could see this coming in very handy. No more skimming past 
eastern birds on a tape or cd when you're out west, or flipping through 
Short- and Long-eared Owl calls to get from Eastern Screech to Saw-whet. 
With an MP3 player, you could download just the songs and calls you want 
to use on a given day in a given place. When you travel to a new spot, or 
go birding later in the year, and expect different birds, you can erase 
the old calls and download a new set. Might be pretty handy.

On Wed, 15 Nov 2000, Sandy Cash wrote:
>
> If you're talking for playing calls to elicit a response, I'd stick with
> a single easy-to-carry unit, which basically means (AFAIK) a standard
> CD/tape player of the small "boombox" variety - most of the MP3 players
> I've seen are essentially meant to fill the "Walkman" niche of the
> market, that is to say small handheld units with minimal amplification,
> really suitable only for use with headphones.

I actually own a pair of battery-powered speakers (3 AAs) which plug into 
the same hole as headphones do. They produce pretty decent sound, more 
than adequate for most use in playing for birds, although not as good as 
a boom box. I think I bought them at Best Buy.

On Wed, 15 Nov 2000, Reece Mitchell wrote:
>
> Common names of birds in Spain are fairly consistent over the country. But,
> if you intend to use the translations in The Americas, including the
> Caribbean, you will find that they vary from country to country.
> For example, I've been frustrated in trying to discuss Puerto Rican birds
> with Mexican friends.

The James Bond guide to Birds of the West Indies, while inferior by far 
to the new Raffaele et al guide, did provide a comprehensive list of bird 
species names from 3-4 languages and multiple islands. I think the new 
guide had some foreign language names as well, although not as many. 
Either or both of these might bridge communications gaps.

Good birding,

Josh



Joshua S. Rose
Duke University
Department of Biology (Zoology, R.I.P.)

jsr6@acpub.duke.edu
http://www.duke.edu/~jsr6/