No subject

the
quality of the song(s) was important in the selection.

5. 2 domesticated fowl
6. At least one introduced species

I'd be interested in knowing other's reactions, but I would never vote 
for an
"artifically derived" domesticated bird as a state bird and most 
definitely
never ever a non-native bird (this one is not even native to North 
America!).
What were people thinking in South Dakota :-)

7. A gull made it on the list! California Gull ("seagull")

Judging from the postcards while visiting Utah, the people there are 
very proud
of their state bird....having "saved" farming homesteaders from total 
crop
annihilation by crickets in the 1800's.

8. There IS a Northern Flicker on the list (Alabama - yellow-shafted 
variety I
think)

Prediction: the first state to get undisputed documentation of the 
Ivory-billed
Woodpecker (I personally think it is just a matter of time) will 
QUICKLY
re-designate their state bird....unless it's Louisiana because they are 
pretty
darn proud to be the "pelican state"....notice the other 3 serious 
contenders:
Arkansas, Florida, and Texas (not as talked about as much but there 
have been
numerous sightings in the "Big Thicket" region of eastern Texas) all 
have the
mockingbird as their state bird (Ho Hum)...and actually the other 2 
mockingbird
states, Tennessee and Mississippi, are contenders for the Ivory-billed
Woodpecker as well.

Off subject: I picked up an Audubon brochure over the weekend listing 
the top
10 most endangered bird species in the US and was delighted to see the
Ivory-billed Woodpecker listed as the #1 ENDANGERED (but NOT EXTINCT!) 
bird.
Way cool! I hope this bird becomes the poster species for the 
importance of
conserving NON-FRAGMENTED large blocks of habitat.

Cindy Ashy




 
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