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**Sybil Wentzel
has a flock of evening grosbeaks now as regulars to her Harvey-Albert birdfeeder
yard, but one very unusually plumaged bird stands out among the group. Sybil
was able to capture some excellent photographs of the bird to be able to call
it a rare bilateral gynandromorphism individual. I am quoting from the literature
below to describe this rare anomaly:
“Bilateral
gynandromorphism in an evening grosbeak means it's literally half male and
half female, with distinct male features (like bright yellow/black) on one side
and female features (duller, browner) on the other, split down the middle. This
rare genetic anomaly happens early in embryonic development, often from an egg
with two nuclei, resulting in one ovary and one testis.”
Sybil also
has a female eastern towhee visiting the past few days. It’s very
secretive and usually stays under cover. Several years ago, they had a male eastern
towhee, and it stayed a long time. Sybil shares a photo taken on Monday.
**Georges
Brun was able to get some documentary photos of red foxes on the
Riverview marsh doing their typical hunting tactic of leaping in the air to
pounce on unsuspecting voles as prey.
George also
watched an injured Canada goose, which nearly got picked up by an immature bald
eagle. The goose just dove underwater and resurfaced a few seconds
later. The bald eagle appears to be a female and may well be 6 or 7
generations from the line of lineage. George has seen a big female who
started the process back around 2012 with similar features and behaviour.
**John Inman
had a Cooper's hawk arrive quickly, grab a pigeon, and leave with no chance
for a photo. Shortly after the sharp-shinned
hawk got another pigeon and then mantled over it when a raven went over.
(Editor’s note: This large, assumedly female sharp-shinned
hawk must be the same large one that John photographed recently. Fresh pigeon
is obviously a top menu item of these two raptors.)
**Brian Stone recently captured a flight photo of an
interesting Iceland gull that shows dark grey bands in the primary
projection of the wing. The most expected subspecies of Iceland gull in New
Brunswick at the moment (glaucoides) does not show this feature but one
subspecies (Kumliens) does show this feature, which can cause identification
challenges if only this feature is used.
**Nelson Poirier posted photos yesterday of a group of turkeys
with an unusual plumage that he had never seen before and asked for comments.
John Inman was able to identify them as a heritage breed of
turkeys called Bourbon Red, with a very interesting history quoted below from
reliable literature:
“The Bourbon Red is an American breed of domestic
turkey. It is named for its reddish-brown plumage and for its area of
origin, Bourbon County, Kentucky, where it was
developed in the last years of the nineteenth century. It was accepted into
the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in
1909, and in the early twentieth century was an important commercial meat breed. The
Bourbon Red is considered a heritage
turkey; it is an endangered
breed.”
The photos are repeated today.
Nelson Poirier
Nature Moncton
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