Re: large fossil birds

[don ohmes <d_ohmes@yahoo.com>]

Very cool! What would be expected at the extreme end
of the scale.

One caveat which I just thought of; is tip-slot a
well-defined term, or is it like art and pornography?
I just realized I  don;t know...

Don

--- Michael Habib <mhabib5@jhmi.edu> wrote:

> 
> On Thursday, December 1, 2005, at 11:11 AM, don
> ohmes wrote:
> 
> >>> Does anyone happen to know what the smallest
> bird
> >> w/
> >>> tip-slots is?
> >>
> >> Good question.  I don't know.
> >
> > Drat. Hoped you might know.
> 
> I don't know for sure either, but one good bet might
> be species in the 
> bushtit group.  I know long-tailed tits have wing
> slots (albeit small 
> ones; wing photograph at:  
>
http://www2.ups.edu/biology/museum/BUSHwing23359.jpg).
>  Long-tailed 
> tits have extremely short, highly rounded wings and
> a very long tail 
> (somewhat like accipiters but more extreme).   They
> weigh in somewhere 
> around 8 grams, but some related species (which may
> also use slots) are 
> as small as 6 grams.
> 
> Cheers,
> --Mike
>