Inspired by this thread, particularly Tamerlane’s post #90.
How many states have a bird species that lives in that state (US, but I don’t mind other country answers) and has no wild population in other states? There are probably many examples of mammals that live in one place, or a stream that is the only habitat for one fish species, but birds are a bit more mobile.
For decades, the summer range of Kirtland’s warbler was limited to a part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. In recent years a few have been breeding in parts of Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula, and Ontario. They winter in the Bahamas so naturally the pass through other states during migration.
Yeah, they definitely exist elsewhere, but given the high number of species in California, I expect many to be unique to there. With some limited poking around the web, this indeed seems to be the case.
I immediately thought of the chachalaca, and though it is found in Mexico and Central America, the only U.S state it calls home is Texas.
Here is a list of birds that also supposedly fit that description, but after checking a few some also range into other border states or Florida.
Surely there are some on the northern border that are found in only Washington or Maine, or some other single state in between, and range more widely into Canada.
I imagine that the ivory-billed woodpecker is only found in one state, unless it flies extremely fast. The California condor isn’t quite as safe a bet, but still pretty safe.
We have many flocks of wild (or feral) parrots here. They’re noisy & gregarious. But it always brings a smile to hear or see them. There’s something madcap about their antics; like a Three Stooges skit.
Those wouldn’t be the supermonkeys with IQs in the high 90s who’re self-selecting now for increased intelligence as they bide their time in the forests and await the chance to eat all our faces? Or are those the ones carrying Ebola VII that is safe for monkeys but utterly fatal to humans?
They were being tested in high energy magnetic fields to see if any organ damage occurred. Then dissected. This was back in the sixties in support of the space program. The Navy was running the program out of the Pensacola Naval Air Station. We had the largest magnetic fields on the planet at the time for a Tokomat project. Cooled by liquid Krypton (we had the world’s largest single source of it also).
They were disposing of the bodies and a racoon opened up one of the bags in the dumpster and a cleaning lady found it and thought it was a human baby. She went ballistic. The brass calmed her down (probably paid her off) and decided the program should be terminated. In their haste to vacate the premises a few monkeys got loose, and we were right next to the Metro Parks. You didn’t hear this from me.
I spent time with the military down in Central & South America. The Army ran a jungle ops & survival course for their soldiers based in Panama. Part of the “fun” was shooting, cooking, & eating a local monkey. Once mounted on a makeshift spit they looked just about like a newborn baby. Ahh, yes; a stroll down memory lane.
The ivory-billed woodpecker is now probably extinct. I don’t know what Chronos means that it is found only in one state. As recently as the 1950s, it was seen in SC. Recently, some think they have discovered this species in La. That has not been established by convincing evidence. Most ornithologists have concluded that the very poor quality picture is of a leucine pileated woodpecker, which can make sounds similar to the ivory-billed.
The green parakeet is found only in Mexico and Texas. There are several species of parakeets found only in Texas and California.
