A EurasianWryneck specimen from southern Indiana

JohnB. Dunning,Jr. Amanda Beheler head of the natural resources division at Crane. Andrews also did not rec- Michael Crowder ognizethe , and neither he norMr. Crowdercould find a goodmatch Departmentof Forestryand Natural Resources in the North Americanfield guides present at the naturalresource office PurdueUniversity Knowingthat wildlife faculty and students from Purdue University would WestLafayette, Indiana 47907-1159 be workingat Cranein the spring,Andrews placed the specimenin h•s office freezer. Several months later Beheler,then a Ph.D. candidate in the Steve Andrews Departmentof Forestryand Natural Resourcesat Purdue,arrived at NaturalResources Building NSWC Crane to begin her annualfield researchon EasternPhoebes Code 09228 (Sayornisphoebe).Andrews showed her the specimen, but shealso did not Naval Surface Warfare Center recognizeit. The detailsof itsdiscovery were vague, because the nameand Crane,Indiana 47522 contactinformation of thefinder had disappeared during the intervemng months.Beheler transported the bird to Purdue,while Andrews tried to Ron Weiss relocate the individual who found the bird. Ch•pperWoods Bird Observatory Bythe time Behder arrived home, she had checked a numberof North 10329North New Jersey Street andCentral American field guides to no avail..Shecalled Dunning, a fac- Indianapolis,Indiana 46280 tfitymember in her departmentat Purdue,and told him aboutthe find WhenDunning arrived at the Behelerhouse 30 minuteslater to seethe ABSTRACT specimen,Amanda and her husbandBrian had identifiedthe bird as a In February2000, a deadbird found by a workerat theCrane Naval Surface EurasianWryneck (Jynx torquilla) using a Europeanfield guide. Dunning WarfareCenter in southernIndiana proved to be a EurasianWryneck concurredwith theidentification, although neither he norBeheler had any (Jynxtorquilla), a species recorded only once before in NorthAmerica. The fieldexperience with wrynecks.Its identificationas a woodpeckerrelative circumstancesof the specimen's discovery and its arrival in Indianahad the wassupported by closeexamination of the toes,which were zygodactyl makangsof an ornithologicaldetective story. Although it is likelythat the Thistrait aloneeliminated all passetinesand members of mostother avlan full storywill neverbe known,we believe that the wryneck was probably families.With an ideaof whatthe bird mightbe, the nextsteps were to transportedto Indianain a shippingcontainer, and that the specimen does confirmthe identificationand determine if it werepossible to traceexact- notrepresent a second North American record of a vagrantwryneck. The ly howthe bird arrivedin Indiana. •nvest•gationof the wryneckspecimen demonstrates. the valueof the Internet•n researchingrecords of unusualoccurrence. IDENTIFICATION Descriptionof the bird INTRODUCTION Ournotes on the bird include the following observatisns, which are keyed Duringthe winter of1999-2060, anornithological mysteryunfolded ata to Figuresherein. A medium-sizedbird (Fig. 1), with plumagemostly mdltarybase in southernIndiana. On 16February 2000, an unusualbird dominatedby browns and grays in crypticpattern. Crown and nape most- was found at the Crane Naval SurfaceWarfare Center (hereafter,NSWC ly gray.Dark streakon sideof facethrough eye; throat and upper breast Crane),which is a federalfacility for the storage and processing of ammu- buffybrown with narrowdark barring (Fig. 2). Barringon breastfaded to nmonand supplies for the U.S.Army and Navy located near Loogootee, dark specklingon lower breastand light gray belly. Bill chisel-hke Mamn County,Indiana. On thatwinter day, Mr. EarlCrowder, an employ- Upperpartsmostly gray with flecks of blackor darkbrown. Very distinctive eeat Crane,paused during his daily work routine and noticed a deadbird darkpatch on back,triangular in shapebut extendingas a widedark hne lyingfrozen on the groundat theedge of a smallwoodland rearing. Mr. up napeto backof crown(Fig. 3). Rumpgray. Wing browner than back Crowder,a self-taughtnaturalist and hunterand a long-timeresident of with lightbuff feathertips to somecoverts. Scattered upperwing coverts theregion, was familiar with most of thebird life of thearea and therefore with dark central shaft streak with buff on either side of streak. Primaries wassurprised that he did not recognizethe bird. with alternatingdark brown and buff bands,so foldedwing showsa The deadbird wasthe sizeof a thrushand was cryptically patterned in checkerboardpattern (Fig. 1). Tailmostly gray with buff tones,crossed by graysand browns. Its appearancereminded Mr. Crowderof a grouseor a fourthin black lines (Fig. 4). Centralrectrices about 55 mm long,not stiff- mghtjar,but thebird was unlike any species he had seen. NSWC Crane is a ened.Bill and legs dark. Toescurled, but zygodactyl.Toes and claws were largelyforested landscape with extensiveupland and bottomland wood- undamaged,as were feathers in the wingsand tail. No damageto bill lands,so it waslogical that the deadbird mightbe a forestresident or win- Measurements[taken at Purduein April 2000 with the specimenstdl terwsitor. Mr. Crowderkept the specimen to seeif he cotfidget it identi- frozen]:ctfimen from base to tip: 12.5min. Bill lengthfrom naresto t•p fied 8.5mm. Billwidth at nares:4 mm. Tarsus:21 mm. Totalbody length 168 Mr Crowderbrought the specimento the attentionof Andrews,the min. Wing chord:86 min. Comparedto biometricssupplied by Andy

VOLUME 56 (ZOOZ), NUMBER 3 265 M•tchellof Orkney,Scotland, the specimen's wing and tarsus are within the the bird mighthave gotten to NSWCCrane. At thispoint, the detective rangeexpected for Europeanbirds, but the bill is somewhatshort (bill storygot truly serendipitous. At thebase, Andrews had no successrelocat- lengthsof Europeanbirds range 14.8 to 17.4mm for bothsexes; Mitchell, ing the originalcollector of the specimen.Word spread about the unusu- m htt.). al specimenthroughout Purdue's Department of Forestryand Natural Resources,and many people came by Beheler'soffice to seethe b•rd One Confirmingthe identification personwith a particularinterest was Michael Crowder, a Master'sstudent To confirmthat the bird wasa wryneck,Dunning and Behelerposted a in the departmentwho wasfamiliar with NSWC Cranebecause h•s father noUceon IN-BIRD, a computerlistserv dedicated to Indianabirding. The workedthere. Shortly after seeing the specimen,Crowder called h•s father noticestated that a deadbird tentativelyidentified as a wryneckhad been on an unrelatedmatter and happened to askif hisfather had heard about foundat Craneand requested that anyonewith fieldexperience with the theweird bird fromNSWC Crane. His father,Earl Crowder, rephed, "You speciescontact Dunning and Beheler. immediately Weiss, executive direc- meanmy bird?"Mr. Crowderquickly got in contactwith Andrews,and tor of the ChipperWoods Bird Observatoryin Indianapolis,emailed additionaldetails about the discovery came to light. Dunningand offered to postphotographs of thespecimen on hiswebsite The bird hadbeen found at the edgeof a forestdeafing in whichwas and solicitopinions worldwide. Weiss drove to Purduethe nextday and locatedone of thebunkers that serveas the primarystorage facil•ues at v•deotapedthe specimen. He thenposted still photos from the video on the NSWC Crane. Mr. Crowdercould not find anyonewho had worked Ch•pperWoods website and solicitedcomments. Over the nextfew days, recentlyin thebunker area who remembered finding the bird. The b•rd was confirmationof the bird asa wryneckwas received from researchersin not locatednear the entrance to a bunker(where it mightfall if sweptout Scotland,Belgium, England, and Malta. In additionto viewingthe photo- of a containerduring deaning) or nearany road or parkingarea. graphsand offering an opinion,European researchers emailed Weiss pho- Thereare at leasttwo reasonableexplanations as to how the wryneck tosfrom identificationguides, measurements from published handbooks, arrivedat the location where it wasfound. it couldeither be a wild vagrant, and opinionson the subspecificidentification. They alsooffered other or it couldhave been transported with humanassistance (deliberately or •nformationgleaned from personal experience with thespecies, including inadvertently).A remotepossibility exists that someonedehberately plumagevariation, molt, age and sex characteristics, and details on typical broughtthe bird to NSWCCrane and released it, or thatit wasan escaped behavior and movements. bird from a collection.NSWC Crane is a securemilitary base, and access Furtherinformation was obtained when Beheler sent the specimento to the facilityis strictlylimited. Personnel working on the site are subject the FieldMuseum of NaturalHistory in Chicago,illinois. JohnBates, a to inspectionand strictregulations regarding contraband. researcherin theField Museum's Bird Division, compared the specimen to arenot commonlykept in captivity,and wrynecks are virtually unknown thosein the museum'scollection. Bates (pers. comm.) stated that the in the pet trade. Furthermore,the specimendid not showany s•gns of Cranespecimen had relativelylong primaries,indicative of a northern, beinga captivebird (worndaws, damaged rectrices or primaries,damage m•gratorypopulation. The plumagewas very fresh, with no wear,and was to the bill, etc.). One of the web responders,John Montalto of Malta, asdark or darkerthan any Field Museum specimen. The Cranespecimen pointedout the lackof anysigns of captivityvisible in thephotographs alsohad more extensive rufous tips to the scapularsthan seen on theField Montaltohas handled Eurasian Wrynecks in migrationand has also netted Museumskins. The Cranebird did not matchskins from Japan,which captivebirds of variousspecies. He believedthat thephotographs did not havemore rusty underparts, but wassimilar in overallcoloration to some supportthe idea that the Indiana bird hadbeen a livecaptive. Europeanskins. The is quite variable in plumage,how- If the bird wastransported to the base,it wasmost likely accidentally ever,and Bates did not believe that sufficient information was published on sealedin a storagecontainer. Most materials handled at NSWCCrane are plumagevariation in theEurasian Wryneck to identifya sourceof origin packagedin largeshipping containers. These containers are stored•n basedon plumagealone. bunkersat thebase and the specimen was found near one of thesestorage bunkers.Initially, however, evidence suggested that transport in a sh•pp•ng Speciesnatural history containerwas unlikely. As stated above, there was no visiblesign that the The EurasianWryneck is foundover most of Europe(Jonsson 1993) and bird hadbeen in captivity.Base security precautions did not allowus to m Russia,where it breeds in forestedlands from the Kola Peninsulato the investigatethe recent history of thematerial stored in thebunker where the Seaof Okhotskas far northas 66 ø N (Flintet al. 1984). Itspreferred habi- bird was found. However, Mr. Crowder was able to confirm that no over- tat tsopen deciduous woods, parks, and gardens, where they breed in nat- seasshipments had been handled in the generalarea for many months uralcavities or nestboxes (Cramp et al. 1985).When disturbed at thenest, Anotherfactor suggesting that the bird was not froma containerwas the adultswill hissand twist their necksin a -likefashion, a behaviorthat relativelyintact appearance of thebird. Shipping containers are not flown g•vesthe bird its name (Flint et al. 1984).The Eurasian Wryneck is a long- by air to NSWCCrane, as there is no airstripon thefacility. Instead, con- distancemigrant that wintersin northwesternAfrica, India, Pakistan, tainersare usually loaded and sealed at theirsite of origin,then placed on China,Japan, and parts of southeasternAsia (Flint et al. 1984,Cramp et al. a boatand shipped to an Americanport. From there, containers usually 1985,Hollom et al. 1988,Grimmett et al. 1999). It doesnot drill into wood travelby trainuntil they reach NSWC Crane. The entiretransport process for foodas do otherwoodpeckers but insteadforages for insectsfrom the may take months,and containersmay sit in a bunkerfor addmonal barkof treesor on theground. Its long tongue is adaptedto feedon itspre- monthsor evenyears before being opened. Any bird caughtin an open ferredfood of antsand pupae (Ehrlich et al. 1994). containerand trapped when the box wassealed should have been mum- The EurasianWryneck has been recorded only once in NorthAmerica. mified or decomposedlong before the containerwas opened at NSWC On 8 September1945, a birdwas found in Wales,Alaska (Bailey 1947). It Crane. •sconsidered accidental in theWestern Hemisphere (A.O.U. 1998). The specimendid not appear to be noticeablymummified, and althoughthere was a distinctsmell of decompositionwhile the b•rdwas EVIDENCE ON ORIGIN still frozen, its condition did not seemconsistent with months of travel •n W•th the specimenidentified, the nextquestion we investigatedwas how a sealed box. Thus we entertained other lines of evidence that were con-

266 NORTH AMERICAN EurasianWryneck

sistentwith thebird being a wildvagrant. UniversityPress, New York. Thesespeculations became moot when Tom Gnoskeof the Field Flint,V.E., R. L. Boehme,Y. V. Kostin,and A. A. Kuznetsov.1984. A field Museumthawed the specimen in an attemptto prepareit asa studyskin. guideto birdsof the USSR,including eastern Europe and centralAs•a He foundthat it cotfidnot be prepared due to anadvanced state of mum- PrincetonUniversity Press, Princeton, New Jersey. m2ficanon.Furthermore, Gnoske discovered that both legswere broken. Grimmett,R., C. Inskipp,and T. Inskipp.1999. Birds of India, Pakistan, The mummified condition and broken bones are consistent with the sce- Bangladesh,Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maidives. Princeton University nariothat the bird hadbeen trapped and transported. In addition,Bates Press,Princeton, New Jersey. pointedout in hisanalysis that the bird's plumage was fresh. A vagrantthat Hollom,E A.D., R. E Porter,S. Christensen, and I. Willis.1988. Birds of flew from somewhere in Eurasia to central North America should show the MiddleEast and NorthAfrica. Buteo Books, Vermilion, South somewear in itsflight feathers. Thus, we believe that accidental transport, Dakota. presumablyfrom somewhere in Europe,is the most likely scenario for how Jonsson,L. 1993.Birds of Europewith North Africa and theMiddle East the bird arrivedat NSWCCrane. We will probablynever know how it cameto theedge of theforest clearing where Earl Crowder found it. Upon conclusionof our studies,Mr. Crowderdonated the specimen to theField PrincetonUniversityPress,Princeton, New Jersey. z• Museum(accession number 429139). If weare correct, the wryneck specimen does not rep- resentas significant a record as it wouldhave been if the bird werea wild vagrant.The recordis, however, still interesting.The discoveryprocess demonstrated the AviSyg Version 5 useftfiness of the Internet for identification of unusual As SimpleAs YouWish ~ As PowerfulAs YouNeed birds If postedwidely, requests for informationcan yield expertopinions almost instantaneously. Such Seeour web site for greatnew features! responsescan greatly expand the resourcesavailable to PalmSupport! Clements' 2001Taxonomy! Subspecies Support! individualsseeking to solvethese ornithological puz- zles New!Over 2,000 FormalPlaces, Unlimited Locations! Therehave been a numberof previousreports of TheLeader ~ Alwaysa GiantStep Ahead of AllThe Rest! birdsand other carried by aircraftand boats to AviSysis a full-featuredworldwide database and reporting system for seriousbird- North America.A recentexample is the reportof an ers.It canbe enhancedby addingthe OfficialShawneen Finnegan Worldwide Na- EgyptianNightjar (Caprimulgus aegyptius) transported tionChecklist Add-On (as providedin BirdAreaby SantaBarbara Software Prod- to North Americain the landinggear of an airliner ucts),providing the most authoritative, highest quality, and most up-to-date check- (Doveand Heacker 2002). These records remind us that listsof the254 nations of theworld. The checklists are tightly and seamlessly inte- researchersshotfid consider a varietyof waysin which gratedwith AviSys, providing beautiful screen and printed output with seen, seen- birdsmay be inadvertentlytransported when unusual in-nation,and endemic markers, and instant worldwide nation-by-nation range query specimensare discovered. forany species. AviSys produces seen reports, checklists and hit lists of anynation or state,any group of nationsor states,and all ABARegions and Areas. Acknowledgments Youcan instantly reduce the on-screen list from a worldor NAlist to thechecklist of We thank John Batesand Tom Gnoskeof the Field anynation, state, county, wildlife refuge, etc., whether provided by AviSysor cre- Museumof NaturalHistory for theirhelp in analyzing atedby you. Dealwith only the birdsyou need. Rotate through modes instantly. thespecimen, and James Cracknell, Kevin Woodbridge, OneAviSys user wrote: "OUTSTANDING! I have been a computerprofessional forover 30 Miguel Demetfiemeester,Ignaas Robbe, John Attard yearsand must congratulate you on generatingstate-of-the-art, convenient to use,effi- Montalto,and Andy Mitchell for theiremailed respons- cientand reliable software." Another says: "AVISYS IS A BLAST!"Precisely our objective es to the initial web posting. We alsothank Earl -• UnlimitedNumber of Lists:all major geographic lists automatically updated. Crowderfor his initial discovery of thebird and his will- Example:assigning a sighting to youryard also updates your City, County, State, ingnessto donatethe specimen. Nation,Continent, worldwide ABA Area, worldwide ABA Region, and Life lists. -• FullABA N.A. Checklist, Clements World Checklist, and Official Tony White Literature cited State/ProvinceChecklists, all fullyintegrated with screen and report facilities. AmericanOrnithologists' Union [A.O.U.]. 1998. Check- -• TheFastest, Easiest and Most Flexible sighting entry--just click on the birds. hst of North Americanbirds, Seventhedition. AviSyshas absolutely unmatched search facilities, including World Band Codes! AmericanOrnithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. -• UnlimitedReporting and Listing by date range, season, geography, species, Bailey,A.M. 1947.Wryneck from Cape Prince of Wales, habitat,behavior, sex, nesting status, heard-only, photographed, key-words, etc. Alaska. Auk 64'. 456. -• CensusSpreadsheets for population, sighting, CBC, and ornithology studies. Cramp,S. et al. 1985.Handbook of thebirds of Europe, -• Free!NABA Butterfly, Dragonfly, Reptile/Amphibian, and Mammal data sets! the Middle East,and North Africa. Volume 4. Oxford -• BirdBaseusers -- askfor our free comprehensive data conversion facility. UniversityPress, Oxford. Dove,C. J. and M. Heacker.2002. Egyptian Nightjar Visitour web site at: www.avisys.net ( Caprimulgusaegyptius) in NorthAmerica? 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VOLUME 56 (2002), NUMBEll 3 267