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Tucson Audubon Society
Dastardly Duos
Farewell to Dastardly Duos
Text by Larry Liese
(First appeared in the September 2004 Vermilion Flycatcher newsletter.
To receive the Vermilion Flycatcher in the mail, become a member of the Friends
of Tucson Audubon)
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Well loyal readers, all good things must come to an end, and this issue marks the last of the articles in this series. It’s been quite a bit of fun researching and writing them, and I heartily thank all those whose kind comments gave me the resolve to keep it running as long as it did—forty duos!
Before getting on to this issue’s birds, it’s about time I gave thanks to the authors whose publications have given me information I’ve used for the Dastardly Duos series. Though many of the quips, tips, and little stories are from my personal experience, a great deal of the detail has relied on published works.
First and foremost of these is the The Birds of North America series, a subscription publication that gathers available information about each bird species breeding in North America. The field guides of Sibley, Kaufman, Howell & Webb, National Geographic, and occasionally my original Golden first field guide have provided key field mark information. Tucson Audubons’s Finding Birds in Southeast Arizona and Rick Taylor’s A Birder’s Guide to Southeast Arizona (ABA) have been invaluable for information on seasonality and best location of individual species. The Western Bird Watcher by Zimmer, and Peterson’s Advanced Birding (Kaufman) have also provided some key pointers on the trickier pairs. Other works that I have found useful at times were Wheeler & Clark’s North American Raptors, Beadle and Rising’s Sparrows of the United States and Canada, and Peterson’s Warblers (Dunn & Garrett). Also handy has been The Birder’s Handbook by Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye. For nomenclature tidbits, Choate’s The Dictionary of American Bird Names and Cox’s Birder’s Dictionary have been helpful.
When I didn’t let the deadline get too close before I started, I found it a real pleasure to examine specimens at the U of A Bird Lab. I thank Tom Huels for his time and hospitality.
I would also like to thank Kendall Kroesen, Flycatcher Layout Editor and Tucson Audubon webmaster, for working with the column in each issue and putting the articles on the website (check them out, they’re all there!); and present Vermilion Flycatcher proofreaders Jane and Warren Tisdale, and previous editor Alan Adler.
Dr. George C. West popped up out of the blue volunteering images for the column after it had run once or twice. I was looking for something to dress up the column, and his images have certainly done so. The column’s success owes a lot to him. Thanks much, George.
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This page was updated on 02/21/06