Posted by Rock Jetty on November 24, 2003 at 17:05:13:
In Reply to: Caribbean Coot? posted by Larry Manfredi on November 24, 2003 at 11:08:12:
The following link provides an identification essay on the American and Caribbean coots:
http://www.geocities.com/secaribbirds/idamericancaribbeancoot.html
I participated in that TAS trip to Marco Island and also observed, at close range, the "Caribbean" coots Brian described. These individuals possessed bulbous white shields with a washed yellow at the top and no red callus. It is what Roberson and Baptista (1988) consider a type E shield.
Larry's bird is considered a type B "intermediate" with a reduced red callus on the top of an extended white shield.
I wonder if any genetic comparison has been conducted to determine whether or not these two species of bird are actually conspecific. If not, maybe it's time someone wrote a grant and got some funding to do so (easier said than done...I know).
It seems at this point, one cannot conclude that Caribbean coots (if such a species exists) HAVE or HAVE NOT occurred in North America, simply because they are indistinguishable from the American "variants". I'd also like to point out that I'm not saying this because it would mean an additional species to be added to "the list". As a biologist I am just curious.
Cheers,
Rock Jetty