Rare 'dinky' bird migrates to US for first time
January 10, 2009 By MICHELLE ROBERTS , Associated Press Writer
This photo released by Bruce Sherman of Rockport, Texas, shows a Pine Flycatcher photographed at the Choke Canyon State Park, Texas, Jan. 4, 2009. (AP Photo/Bruce Sherman)
(AP) -- Birders with binoculars and cameras are flocking to a remote state park in search of a small yellow-chested bird that apparently crossed the U.S. border for the first time from its high-mountain habitat to the south.
Content from The Associated Press expires 15 days after original publication date. For more information about The Associated Press, please visit www.ap.org .
Similar stories from PHYSorg:
Mammoth Achievement: Researchers at the forefront of molecular biology
Jan 26, 2010 |
4.5 / 5 (12) |
0
Coconut palms bring ecological change to tropics, researchers say
Jan 21, 2010 |
3.7 / 5 (3) |
2
Ecuador's Yasuni National Park identified as one of the most biodiverse places on earth
Jan 19, 2010 |
4.7 / 5 (6) |
1
Rare bird's breeding ground found in Afghanistan
Jan 18, 2010 |
not rated yet |
0
Apple may wipe slate clean for new tablet computer
Jan 17, 2010 |
3.5 / 5 (4) |
6
-
Keter - Jan 10, 2009
- Rank: not rated yet
When I was a child in the early 60s, my family had a house down in Port Aransas. We had a a colony of "winter" birds - about 50 - that looked quite like the picture of the pine flycatcher on Wikipedia. We called them "goldfinches," but they didn't really look like the picture of goldfinches in our bird books. We fed them, so they made a regular "stop" at our house. Around 1967 or 68, we started finding many of them dead, and by 1970 there weren't any more. We blamed DDT, which was a big problem at the time. I suspect that the pine flycatcher once included parts of Texas in its winter range, something pushed it out, and now it's back. The one in this picture looks like a young bird. Might the drought in this area have something to do with a change of range?- report abuse
