HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: ssouther@ent1.ent.ncsu.edu (P. Sterling Southern)
Subject: Re: yard raptors
Originator: ssouther@ent1.ent.ncsu.edu
Organization: Dept. of Entomology - NCSU, Raleigh, NC
Distribution: na
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 17:31:53 GMT

No, no peregrines in my central North Carolina, wooded, yard.  A couple
of years back, however, I did have a red shouldered hawk who hung around
the back yard.  He/she was often sitting only a few feet above the
ground and quite close to the house.  The reason for all this was
apparently that he/she took a rather different view of the value of a
platform feeder.  A bird feeder, but at a different trophic level.
Never saw the hawk make a successful strike, but evidence indicated a
mourning dove or two were a bit slow when I was not around to protect
them.
-- 
| Sterling Southern, NCSU-Entomology, Box 7613, Raleigh NC 27695-7613   |
|=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=|
| Voice: (919) 515-2703      |  CAROLINE: ssouther@ent1                 |
| FAX:   (919) 515-7746      |  INTERNET: ssouthern@ent.ncsu.edu        | 
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: aforsten@aton.abo.fi (Annika Forsten INF)
Subject: Re: Bird watching at night
Organization: Abo Akademi University, Finland
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 14:18:09 GMT

In article <Jan.20.23.32.22.1993.11500@andromeda.rutgers.edu> giordano@andromeda.rutgers.edu (E. Giordano) writes:

>       This may sound like an utterly stupid question -- BUT here
>   goes anyway--can any real productive bird wathcing happen at night
>   or past dusk aside from the logistical problem os not]
>   being able to see--don't most bird hide or "sleep" at night,

During their breeding and wintering season most birds do 'sleep' during the
night. However there are groups that are night active, owls, nightjars and
nightsingers (crakes, some warblers, etc) for instance.

Lots of birds migrate at night and keep in contact with each other by calls.
It is quite easy to follow the sounds from the ground, they do not fly so
high up.

>   you never see them at the feeder after dusk and before
>   dawn, and further ducks are never in the same place at night as they are in 
>   the day--where do they go?

Birds sleep in safe places, like dense trees or reeds for instance. Some
species gather into big flocks for the night, this will make it even safer
for them. Gulls tend to fly out to the sea.

annika forsten, finland
aforsten@aton.abo.fi
From: shag@glia.biostr.washington.edu (Shag {Official Random})
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Owl spotting + noises (in NJ)
Date: 25 Jan 93 17:36:23 GMT
Organization: University of Washington
NNTP-Posting-Host: glia.biostr.washington.edu
Keywords: Great horned owl, then whistles?


I spent an hour this morning running full-out around a forest in pursuit of
several crows which in turn were in pursuit of a large horned owl.  Based on
the very light underside plumage of the owl (and its size) I'm pretty sure
it was a great horned.  After the crows gave up, I heard some slurred
whistles from the area in which I'd last seen the owl.

Golden and Peterson both say that the long-eared owl whistles, when near
its nest.  Neither of them credits the great horned with anything but hoots.
Has the great horned been known to whistle?  Was the owl I saw actually
a long-eared?  (Do crows like chasing them too?  The books don't mention
it)  Would both types of owls occur near each other in a forest?

-Shag


-- 
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: andrewt@watson.ibm.com (Andrew Taylor)
Subject: Re: Toxic Bird?
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 03:54:51 GMT
Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not necessarily those of IBM
Organization: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

In article <1jvkhaINN6ja@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> br105@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jeffrey A. Del Col) writes:
>This is a New Guinea sp. found to have toxic feathers and skin.
>Can anyone provide more information about this?  The article mentions
>a John Dumbacher as the scientist who discovered the bird's toxicity
>Does anyone know of any other species of bird with such properties?

Below is an article I posted at the time.  Its been suggested some African
birds contain chemicals which make them very unpalatable but the Pitohuis
are the first species known which are acutely toxic.

A recent issue of Science (30 October) has a paper describing the discovery
that New Guinea birds in the genus Pitohui contain a potent
alkloid, homobatachotoxin. This toxin was previously only
known from the poison-dart frogs (Phyllobates) of Latin America.

The toxin is mainly found in the skin and ito a lesser extent the feathers.
Levels are highest in the Hooded Pitohui which contains roughly 20 micrograms
of the toxin.  0.01 micrograms will kill a mouse if injected.

The unpalatability of the Hooded Pitohuis was well known to New Guinea natives
but apparently had not been investigated by biologists until a grad student
handled one in a mist net with a cut hand. His hand stung and when he
placed it is his mouth, his mouth when numb. Sometime later when they caught
another Pitohui he took a feather and placed it in his mouth producing
the same effect.

Species with chemical defenses are often conspicuous.  The Science paper
suggests Hooded Pitohuis are brightly coloured and have a strong odour.
The Hooded Pitohui is pictured on the cover of Science and although
not nondescript, it appears less strikingly coloured than many (presumably)
non-toxic Australian passerines in the same family. I think much more
evidence is needed to claim that the Pitohuis colouration is an adaptation
to advertise their chemical defense.  Maybe a stronger case can be made for
their odour.

The paper also suggests the similarity of appearance of immature greater
melampittas (Melampitta gigantea) might be mimicry. Again this seems dubious
as the melampitta doesn't too look much different to lots of other small brown
birds. Obviously there is some interesting field-work to be done.

Andrew Taylor
From: nextug@ac.dal.ca
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Observing Shorebirds at Night
Date: 27 Jan 93 11:48:20 -0400
Organization: Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

Apparently in relation to my post viz-a-viz bird watching at night in which
I wrote:

> On another research project I assisted a woman who was
> studying the nocturnal feeding patterns of shorebirds during
> migration on the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy.
 (etc.)

In <1993Jan26.164405.13273@cs.utwente.nl> Rolf de By (deby@cs.utwente.nl) writes:

> On the topic of birdwatching at night, I have seen a few people making
> mention of shorebirds actively feeding during that time.
>
> This should not appear strange to you as they obviously will feed at
> the best possible time of day. In fact, this need not be during the day,
> as---it seems to me---to be completely dependent on the tides. When
> the tide is out the biggest feeding area is available, and since many
> shorebirds find their food by touch (I am told) the absence of proper
> light is of no concern.
> 
> In fact, on mudflats the absence of light will probably mean absence of
> predators also . . .

Yes these are all reasonable suppositions. I never suggested that this was
in the least strange, however, the object or research, ornithological or other,
is to confirm or refute such reasonable suppositions. In point of fact until
this study (in which I assisted in a minor way) there had been few
observations of the behaviour of migrating shorebirds in this area at night.
In fact we looked at their behaviour in much finer detail counting the number 
of probes/minute (an index of the intensity of feeding effort) etc. In fact,
if I recall correctly, her research showed that the feeding effort was not
as  great at night as by day.
	Although feeding at night might reduce predation by Peregrines
and Herring Gulls (the only birds which seem to haress them there in the day,
although Ravens, Marsh Harriers and other raptors occasionally make passes)
other predators (such as the mink which we observed or Owls) might take more.
Also the behaviour of certain prey species changes depending in circadian
rythems. In this region the shore birds feed principally on the amphipod
Corophium volutator whose behviour varies according to the tidal cycle. But
another abundant amphipod on the upper parts of the beach, is Talorchestia
longicornis, a species which is active only at night. Moreover because of 
the lack of solar heating the temperature of the mud at night is considerably
cooler, and this, in turn, can affect the behaviour of the amphipods, as well
as other creatures like the bivalve Macoma balthica, the gastropod Hydrobia,
and the various polychaete worms which are also fed upon by the shorebirds.
	All in all, this is quite an interesting area of inquiry.
	Cheers!
	Christopher Majka

Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: ka1gt@cbnewsm.cb.att.com (robert.m.atkins)
Subject: Re: field notes
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 19:16:37 GMT

In article <1993Jan22.220212.17205@pixel.kodak.com>, tgl@ssd.kodak.com (Tom Lathrop 588-0677) writes:
> Several people have responded to my query about making field notes with
> the suggestion that I use a micro-cassette tape recorder and record
> spoken notes. It sounds like an interesting idea, and I may give it a
> try. But I have another question: can this recorder be used for other
> things as well? For instance, I have seen people use taped bird calls
> to try to coax birds out of hiding. Is a small recorder like this
> suitable for that use as well? And what about recording bird songs in
> the field, for later identification at home? I wouldn't expect to make
> professional quality recordings, but if I could hear the song at all it
> would be useful. Would I need an external microphone? Will small recorders
> like this accept external microphones?
> 

The very small microcasette recorders do not have very high fidelity and
are not really loud enough to play back bird calls in the hope of
attracting them. Mine does have external microphone capabilities, so you
might be able to make bird call recordings (perferably with a directional
microphone). If you want better audio (both in and out) you can get
"walkman" sized player/recorders which use regular casettes, but they are
quite a bit larger than the microcasette units. They are also not quite
so easy to use one handed for note taking. The ultimate would be a small
portable DAT (digital audio tape) player/recorder. Not much bigger than
a "walkman", very high fidelity, high price ($500+).

===============================================================
Bob Atkins  AT&T Bell Labs  email (direct)  att!clockwise!rma
===============================================================
From: by854@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jared B. Klein)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: HELP: Best travel destination(s) for bird-watching???
Date: 26 Jan 1993 21:29:04 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
NNTP-Posting-Host: slc4.ins.cwru.edu


I like Norway and Denmark for birding. Depending on where you go
there are many varieties to see. I've always gone in late May and 
early June. If you want specific locations, the small isle of Runde
off the west coast of Norway is wonderful for water birds. Denmark 
has a rugged private reserve, Tennebre, run by the government and 
open on weekends. It's on the Sealand island not too far from 
Copenhagen. Back to Norway, Near Dombas is a preserve called 
Folkstua, a high mountain plateau. It can be a rough hike. Thru
snow, water, muck and tundra. I saw my first Bluethroat there.
Snipe and Ruffs on their dancing ground. Besides all that, there
is the sheer beauty of the country. Nothing I've seen compares.
From: dmark@acsu.buffalo.edu (David Mark)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Baikal Teal in Colorado; Dusky Thrush near Vancouver
Date: 26 Jan 93 04:07:04 GMT
Organization: UB

Two friends have called me to tell me that they heard on National
Public Radio that a Baikal Teal has been seen somewhere in Colorado,
and that some 400 birders have already seen it.  

And my father told me that a Dusky Thrush (Turdus naumanni) was
being seen somewhere near Vancouver (he knew; I've forgotten).
As of 1983, there had been no sightings of T. naumanni in
North America south of Alaska.

David Mark
dmark@sun.acsu.buffalo.edu
Organization: Junior, Design, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1993 18:22:44 -0500 
From: "Pam J. McAllister" <pm3b+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: Falconry
	<1993Jan19.091321.6125@doug.cae.wisc.edu>

I am posting a little late on this subject, but I just wanted to voice
my opinion in favor of this subject. I find it very interesting and
would appreciate its inclusion in this group.

Pam McAllister
Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: jeff@cray.com (Jeffrey P. Anderson)
Subject: My feathered friend
Organization: Cray Research Superservers Inc., San Diego CA USA
Distribution: usa
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 16:58:06 GMT

Any bird psychologists out there?

There is a bird which comes to my house every morning to pick a fight
with its reflection in a window.  I figured it would eventually tire
of beating itself up, but it has been about six months now.  I am
tired of waking up at dawn on weekends from the noise made by the
little monster smashing against the window.

I am an ecologically sensitive person, and really would like to find a
solution short of destroying it.  On the other hand, I'm losing
patience.  I have tried everything from stuffed animals to remote
control vehicles, including remote-control vehicles carrying stuffed
animals; if the bird sees something unusual at a window, he just
progresses to a different window.  I cannot hang blankets on the
outside of all the windows since the homeowner's association would
execute me, even if I had that many blankets.

I believe it is a male and thinks it is guarding its harem; when he is
doing his thing, several similar-looking birds are cruising the yard
for food.  The bird looks like a robin in size and shape but it is
simply grey in color.

Help!
-- 
Jeffrey P. Anderson	KD6GMJ		jeff@cray.com     
Cray Research Superservers, Inc		San Diego, CA
From: dwright@u.washington.edu (David B. Wright)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Toxic Bird?
Date: 25 Jan 1993 23:44:26 GMT
Organization: University of Washington
Reply-To: dwright@u.washington.edu
NNTP-Posting-Host: pigsty.dental.washington.edu

In article <C1F5Kp.H5I@zoo.toronto.edu> tony@zoo.toronto.edu (Anthony L.  
Lang) writes:
......
> This is the original paper.  It also says that native New Guineans
> already knew of the genus' toxic properties and call it "trash
> bird".  The scientists found the toxin (an alkaloid) in the
> following species (in decreasing order of toxicity:  HOODED PITOHUI
> (Pitohui dichrous), VARIABLE PITOHUI (P. kirhocephalus), RUSTY
> PITOHUI (P. ferrrugineus).  Concentrations of the toxin were
> highest in skin and feathers.  They speculated that this property
> evolved for chemical defense.  Like other toxic species of animals,
                                 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> these species have bright, contrasting colours. 
  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

True, but it does not necessarily follow that the pithoui is brightly  
colored *because it is toxic*, i.e., that it coloration is a warning  
adaptation.  Bright colors are very common among birds. If the clade that  
includes the pithoui evolved bright colors before toxicity evolved, then  
bright color is not a warning adaptation.  At best it would be an  
exaptation. It's a simple question of carts and horses (or perhaps more  
apropos, of chickens and eggs).

A similar argument applies to the notion of "mimicry" in relatives of the  
pithoi: plesiomorphy -- inheritance from a common ancestor -- is the null  
hypothesis for that resemblance.  Unless that null hypothesis is rejected  
(on the basis of phylogenetic evidence), it is unecessary to invoke  
mimicry as an alternative explanation.  

-- David Wright
dwright@u.washington.edu


Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: Edward Darnel <darnel@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca>
Subject: Bird-banding in North America
Originator: darnel@sciborg.uwaterloo.ca
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 20:38:41 GMT
X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL11]

Newsgroups: rec.birds
From: hir@blitzen.cc.bellcore.com (rothrock,hamilton i)
Subject: Birding in Bhutan
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 93 02:50:46 GMT


I may be going to Bhutan in May.  Anyone in this group birded there?
Any advice would be appreciated (areas to visit, field guides, general
experiences).  Email responses preferred.

Thanks

Rocky Rothrock        Internet address:  hir@cc.bellcore.com
6 Ironhill Drive      Work telephone:  (908) 758-2136
Holmdel, NJ 07733     Home telephone:  (908) 264-9119
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: bill@bilver.uucp (Bill Vermillion)
Subject: Re: What happen to dbx?
Organization: W. J. Vermillion - Winter Park, FL
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 03:50:53 GMT

In article <palane.727767661@pv7426.vincent.iastate.edu> palane@iastate.edu (Paul A. Lane) writes:
>In <1993Jan22.194204.12111@galileo.cc.rochester.edu> sr001b@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (s. satya vardhan reddy) writes:

>>What ever happen to the dbx noice cancellation. I believe that it is still
>>better than Dolby S or Dolby HX Pro. I bought two tape decks with it in the
>>middle 80's but I don't even hear of it anymore.

>It's dead, Jim. I think the proponents of Beta might have similar objections.
>I wonder if dbx is still around. I know they came out with a line of speakers
>and electronics, but haven't heard a peep from them in quite some time.

dbx was originally just a pro company, making pro noise reduction gear,
compressors, and a really wide range portable vu meter.

Then they started into the consumer marketplace, and were eventually
bought by BSR.

Then they went out of business, and DAK wound up with the dbx name on
their speakers, while the pro line was acquired by AKG.

I liked the top end pro stuff, but it was NOT cheap.   We had 32 tracks
on our Stevens 821B, and 8 tracks in the B room.  Since we didn't do a
lot of 32, most of the time 8 tracks from A migrated to B for the 16
track machine there.  When we upgraded B to 24 track we wound up with
48 tracks in use.  I think we had about $25k in all - got some at a
deal.  (We only used the 32 tracks for about 4 years - as in the end
there were only about 15 studios in the world with 32 track 2" analog).
There were a few with the Stevens, and the rest were the Telefunken
machines.    I know that Dieter Dierks in Cologne was the first 32
track.  Cine-Citta in Rome was number two.   And then we were somewhere
between the 3rd and 7th in the world.    Never was able to figure out
the exact chronology.

The home units never were as pleasing to my ear as the pro units.  
But there was also a big difference in price too.  The absolute
requirement for decoding on playback made Dolby a better choice for the
consumer in.  If a Dolby encoded tape were played on a non-Dolby
machine, the tape was just a bit brighter, not unlistenable as in dbx,
Burwen, or Telefunken's C4.

For all it's features, we finally dropped noise reduction all together
and masterered everything at 30 ips on 2" tape for the 24-track stuff
and wound up at 30 ips on two track HALF INCH tape for the masters.  I
got out of the business about the time HR started coming in so I have
no experience with that.

-- 
Bill Vermillion - bill@bilver.oau.org  bill@bilver.uucp
                - ..!{peora|tous|tarpit}!bilver!bill
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: ramirez@IASTATE.EDU (Richard G Ramirez)
Subject: Advent vs Boston Acostics, what else?
Reply-To: ramirez@IASTATE.EDU (Richard G Ramirez)
Organization: Iowa State University
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 18:48:26 GMT

I am thinking of getting very soon either
the Advent Heritage or the Boston Acoustic 830 or 930.
Any comments?

Mail order houses have the Advents for a lot lower
than list price (less than $500 plus S&H).

Does anyone know of a good mail order house that
handles Boston Acoustics?


From: myers@hpfcso.FC.HP.COM (Bob Myers)
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 16:57:11 GMT
Subject: Re: MUSIC of THE DIVINE MASTERS
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Newsgroups: rec.audio

> This guy is a complete fruitcake. We have enough noise cluttering the
> network without his kind of nonsense. There are plenty of newsgroups that
> are suitable for what he has to say. rec.audio is NOT the place for this
> sort of lengthy self-delusional posting.

Actually, Dick, I found this to be a rather refreshing change from this
group's USUAL lengthy self-delusional postings.   :-) :-) :-)



Bob Myers            | "One man's theology is another man's belly laugh." 
myers@fc.hp.com      |                     - Lazarus Long/Robert A. Heinlein
                     |
From: lstowell@pyrnova.mis.pyramid.com (Lon Stowell)
Newsgroups: rec.audio
Subject: Re: Amp and Preamp
Date: 28 Jan 93 03:34:41 GMT
Reply-To: lstowell@pyrnova.pyramid.com.pyramid.com (Lon Stowell)
Organization: Pyramid Technology Corporation

>In article <1993Jan27.151205.11280@bnr.ca>, Dave Dal Farra <gpz750@bnr.ca> writes:
>|> 
>|> My arguments have been consistently mis-interpreted, my views consistently
>|> mis-represented and many riduculous conclusions eloquently drawn by many
>|> posters in bashing LP.  But I no longer care.
>
In article <1993Jan27.192325.10989@VFL.Paramax.COM> garyp@rmtc.paramax.com (Gary Palangian [RMTC/ISP]) writes:
>
>Gee... I gave up the 'no one understands me' approach in college.
>
>It was easier to get girls using the 'I'm pretty sure you're the most
>beautiful thing in the universe' approach.
>

   Yeah, but judging from all the attacks on everyone whose ear's
   didn't agree with his, the old pickup line would be more likely:

    "If you don't like sex, its because you've never slept with ME
     before...."

   Be interesting to see if heeeeeee's baaaaaaaaaack fairly shortly.
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: ramirez@IASTATE.EDU (Richard G Ramirez)
Subject: Re: Radioshack Subwoofer (don't laugh...)
Reply-To: ramirez@IASTATE.EDU (Richard G Ramirez)
Organization: Iowa State University
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 18:22:42 GMT

I saw an ad in the Crutchfield catalog for
a Bose subwoofer at a reasonable price, meaning
about the same as the Radio Schack.

The thing that seemed attractive is that it
is designed to sit between the receiver and your
speakers.  The subwoofer's crossover send all
signals over 100 Hz to the speakers.

At the local Radio Shack their subwoofer is
connected as the second pair of speakers.
I don't know if this is required or if it is
just for the demo unit.
Newsgroups: rec.audio
From: dominic@borland.com (Dominic Yip)
Subject: Audio ...
Originator: dominic@genghis.borland.com
Organization: Borland International
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 23:55:38 GMT

Greeting,

All right, I don't mean to offend anybody, if I did, it just
the way you interpret it, too bad.  In fact, anyone really interested
in an excellent "train recording", I know one really good, in fact the
whole disc is just train going around & around.  Let me know if anyone
want to know what that is .... ;-)

Perhaps I should remain in the rec.audio.high-end only.   I shouldn't
contribute any comment in this CD vs. LP no different battle 
or the CD superior discussion.  Maybe I am just old fashion.
If you guys really think CD is better, why are the price of CD player
comming down while good turntable system keep going up.  Try to find
a Goldmund Reference or Versa Dynamic or Basis or Linn.  Tell me 
honest the Mark Levinson #30 or Wadia 64X does a better job in 
recreating music then these wheels.  

Let's start a different argument say, tube vs. solid state .... ;-)

Sorry folks !

___________________________________________________________________________
		/ \  / \     ~~        
	_    ___| |_ | | / \_/ \__      Dominic Yip
   /|  | |  ||  | | || ||| | | |  |     dominic@interbase.borland.com
  | o  o o _||__|_|_||_|||_|_|_|__|___  Forever Tubes/Analogs ... ;-)
  o       |---------------------------|
	  |_________J_a_d_i_s_________|
_____________||___________________||_________________________________________
Newsgroups: rec.audio