Date: 1/12/26 3:33 pm From: Paul Conover via groups.io <zoiseaux...> Subject: Re: [labird] grosbeak or blackbird
Michael, labird, Correct on the redwing call. Redwings are amazingly variable, underrated in their beauty, and sometimes show beautiful coloration. Aside from the bill, the extent of streaking below is a good mark. I envy people who get them at their feeders, although many people curse them. I've never had one show up in my yard. Paul Conover Lafayette -------- Original message --------From: "Michael Cavanaugh via groups.io" <michaelcav...> Date: 1/12/26 5:20 PM (GMT-06:00) To: <labird...> Subject: [labird] grosbeak or blackbird Friends, We assume this has to be a Red-winged blackbird. It looks a lot like a rose-breasted grosbeak, but there are wing-bars, some random color, and what seemed to us "in the flesh" a very ambiguous beak! It is eating sunflower seeds. I do have a second shot which looks more like a blackbird beak, which I'll paste in below. And if a blackbird as we suspect, is the beak the giveaway, or are there other things that clearly distinguish the two. (I hope it isn't like the young man that learned to distinguish his white horse from his black horse by measuring the length of the manes.) Thanks,Michael
Date: 1/12/26 3:20 pm From: Michael Cavanaugh via groups.io <michaelcav...> Subject: [labird] grosbeak or blackbird
Friends, We assume this has to be a Red-winged blackbird. It looks a lot like a rose-breasted grosbeak, but there are wing-bars, some random color, and what seemed to us "in the flesh" a very ambiguous beak! It is eating sunflower seeds. I do have a second shot which looks more like a blackbird beak, which I'll paste in below. And if a blackbird as we suspect, is the beak the giveaway, or are there other things that clearly distinguish the two. (I hope it isn't like the young man that learned to distinguish his white horse from his black horse by measuring the length of the manes.)
Thanks,Michael
Date: 1/8/26 2:17 pm From: Steven W. Cardiff via groups.io <scardif...> Subject: [labird] Baton Rouge Say's Phoebe location
Hello Labird-eBirders- Regarding the recent Say's Phoebe at Baton Rouge, if you chased or are planning to chase that bird and submitted/submit an eBird list for the bird's location, then please consider using this more specific location instead of a more general hotspot location for that area:
LA: EBR Par.; Doyle Chambers Central Research Station
Here's a link to the species map for that area so that you can see the spread of location markers that have been used so far:
Date: 12/29/25 11:49 am From: Jim Holmes via groups.io <jfholmes...> Subject: Re: [labird] a forwarded email from Van: eBird photography rating
Yes, the ratings for voice recordings are in worse shape than the photo ratings.
The solution, however, is simple (not sure about the logistics though) and that is to have AI rate everything.
Thanks,
Jim
James F. Holmes, MD, MPH
Professor and Bo Tomas Brofeldt Endowed Chair
Department of Emergency Medicine
UC Davis School of Medicine
Office (916) 734-1533
________________________________
From: <labird...> <labird...> on behalf of Paul Conover via groups.io <zoiseaux...>
Sent: Saturday, December 27, 2025 5:25 PM
To: LABIRD <labird...>
Subject: [labird] a forwarded email from Van: eBird photography rating
*From: *James V Remsen <James.Remsen...>
*Subject: **Rating eBird photos*
*Date: *December 26, 2025 at 6:03:26 PM CST
*To: *LABIRD <labird...>
LABIRD: This is worth a read by all you eBird photographers out there:
Dr. J. V. Remsen
Emeritus Prof. of Natural Science and Curator of Birds
Museum of Natural Science/Dept. Biological Sciences
LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
najames<at>LSU.edu
**CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE** This e-mail communication and any attachments are for the sole use of the intended recipient and may contain information that is confidential and privileged under state and federal privacy laws. If you received this e-mail in error, be aware that any unauthorized use, disclosure, copying, or distribution is strictly prohibited. If you received this e-mail in error, please contact the sender immediately and destroy/delete all copies of this message.
Date: 12/28/25 3:49 am From: Jennifer Outlaw Coulson via groups.io <jenniferocoulson...> Subject: Re: [labird] a forwarded email from Van: eBird photography rating
" Of those, that single eBird account I mentioned has submitted 1,946 of
those photos... since June 2022. That produces an average of just over 1.5
photos of Eurasian Collared-Dove per day, *every* day." LOL!
On Sat, Dec 27, 2025 at 7:25 PM Paul Conover via groups.io <zoiseaux=
<lusfiber.net...> wrote:
>
>
> *From: *James V Remsen <James.Remsen...>
> *Subject: **Rating eBird photos*
> *Date: *December 26, 2025 at 6:03:26 PM CST
> *To: *LABIRD <labird...>
>
>
> LABIRD: This is worth a read by all you eBird photographers out there:
>
>
> https://ebirdcommentary.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-morass-that-is-photo-rating-of.html >
>
> ===================
>
> Dr. J. V. Remsen
> Emeritus Prof. of Natural Science and Curator of Birds
> Museum of Natural Science/Dept. Biological Sciences
> LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
> najames<at>LSU.edu
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Dr. J. V. Remsen
Emeritus Prof. of Natural Science and Curator of Birds
Museum of Natural Science/Dept. Biological Sciences
LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
najames<at>LSU.edu
