Date: 7/1/25 9:09 am From: John Shenot <johnshenot...> Subject: Re: [cobirds] Yellow Grosbeak (Larimer) - just wondering...
To be clear, speaking as the original poster on this thread, I never
expressed a belief (nor do I hold the belief) that the bird in Estes Park
*is* an escaped cage bird. I consider it far more likely that the bird in
Estes Park, and all the other Yellow Grosbeaks seen in Colorado, are/were
in fact wild birds. I wouldn't have been excited to observe the Estes Park
bird, otherwise, and I certainly wouldn't have chased it.
I really only intended to express a possibility that had not been raised
previously and was hoping to learn from the knowledgeable folks on COBIRDS
how one might determine if an out-of-range species that is occasionally
captured and traded (illegally) as a cage bird is in fact a wild bird.
For Scott R's benefit, I want to clarify that I never asked this question
about Yellow Grosbeaks seen elsewhere in Colorado because I didn't bother
to chase any of those other ones. It's that simple. Seeing the bird in
Estes Park provoked my curiosity. If I had seen any of the others I would
have had the same curiosity and posed the same question. Maybe, in
addition, I was influenced by a birder's report last week of a Rose-ringed
Parakeet in Fort Collins, which had me thinking about escaped cage birds.
John Shenot
Fort Collins
On Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at 8:29:20 AM UTC-6 Ira Sanders wrote:
> Scott, I agree.
> This brings to mind birds like Tropical Parula, Streak-backed Oriole in
> the middle of winter, Hooded Orioles, Black-chinned Sparrow, Red-flanked
> Bluetail (Wyoming) and Lawrence's Goldfinch which are the ones I can think
> of off the top of my head. Some of these I didn't hear about because they
> weren't reported on Cobirds (old gripe), but that's besides the point. Of
> this short list, the Streak-backed is the most obvious to me. You have a
> good point.
> Ira Sanders
>
> On Tue, Jul 1, 2025 at 7:58 AM Scott Rashid <pygmy......> wrote:
>
>> It’s interesting that only when the bird appears in estes that it becomes
>> thought of as an escaped bird.
>>
>> How come it wasn’t thought of as an escapee when it was found farther
>> south in Colorado?
>>
>> Scott Rashid
>> Estes park
>>
>> On Mon, Jun 30, 2025 at 4:49 PM Susan Rosine <u5b2......> wrote:
>>
>>> I wonder where they are (were) kept as caged birds? Native song birds
>>> are illegal to keep as pets, and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act covers the
>>> Yellow Grosbeak.
>>> I would assume (and hope) the Colorado sightings are not previously
>>> caged birds.
>>>
>>> Susan Rosine
>>> Brighton
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, Jun 30, 2025, 11:55 AM Steingraeber,David <
>>> <David.Ste......> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Apparently, Yellow Grosbeaks are known to be kept as cage birds. In *Rare
>>>> Birds of North America *by Howell, Lewington & Russell, the authors
>>>> state, "Because yellow grosbeaks are kept in captivity (Hamilton 2001),
>>>> extralimital records in both time and space are open to question." They
>>>> then give several examples where various state records committees have not
>>>> accepted extralimital occurrences, as well as cases where such occurrences
>>>> have been accepted. They end their discussion of the topic with this:
>>>> "Observers should not assume that extralimital records of this species are
>>>> escaped cage birds, and all such occurrences should be carefully
>>>> documented."
>>>>
>>>> David Steingraeber
>>>> Fort Collins
>>>>
>>>> ------------------------------
>>>> *From:* <cob......> <cob......> on behalf of
>>>> Susan Rosine <u5b2......>
>>>> *Sent:* Sunday, June 29, 2025 9:02 PM
>>>> *To:* Colorado Birds <cob......>
>>>> *Subject:* Re: [cobirds] Yellow Grosbeak (Larimer) - just wondering...
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *** Caution: EXTERNAL Sender ***
>>>> To my knowledge, they are not at all suitable to be a pet/caged bird.
>>>> Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
>>>>
>>>> Susan Rosine
>>>> Brighton
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, Jun 29, 2025, 8:31 PM John Shenot <johns......> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> I was pleased to have the chance to see the Yellow Grosbeak in Estes
>>>> Park today. Even so, I find myself wondering if anyone on this group has
>>>> considered (perhaps privately?) that it might be an escaped cage bird? How
>>>> would one know? Given that this bird is a solid 1,000 miles out of range,
>>>> without any obvious weather phenomenon to explain its presence, is it
>>>> unreasonable for me to wonder?
>>>>
>>>> Not trying to rain on anyone's parade, sorry if it comes across that
>>>> way. I'm just a curious guy...
>>>>
>>>> John Shenot
>>>> Fort Collins
>>>>
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> To view this discussion visit
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>>
>
>
> --
> Ira Sanders
> Golden, CO
> "My mind is a raging torrent flooded with rivulets of thought cascading
> into a waterfall of creative alternatives."
>
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