Matt Barrow wrote:
"Jim Macklin" wrote in message
news:yE3yg.84329$ZW3.6174@dukeread04...
Look up quail, pheasants, and ask your local state office
about how many birds die each year and what a breeding
population is. Some birds may have the possibility of a
long life, but nature has a tendency for them to die in hot
weather, cold weather, or be eaten by cats, dogs, other
birds, snakes, and even a few humans.

BTW, Woddy Woodpecker has been around more than 60 years,
but so has Superman.


No, I don't check things beyond my recollection of common
facts.


Given there are thousands of species of wild birds, he cherrypicked a few
from the high end. In addition to what you listed, the young lad evidently
doesn't know the meaning of "most" or the word "average".

Casey, you can take your foot out of your mouth any time now.


Why would Casey need to take his foot out of his mouth for being right?
Most birds (or if you prefer... the "average" bird) certainly do not
live one year, breed, and then die. Averages for birds can be a bit
misleading, as a high percentage will die in their first months of
life. But most do quite well if they can make it through the 1st year
(and thus, breeding age). It appeared that Casey did not cherry pick
his species at all. I think he just took a group of "random" birds (in
this case, a group of woodpeckers) as an example data set. The data
wouldn't look much different if he looked at waterfowl, doves,
warblers, birds of prey, etc... If anyone needs to take their feet out
of their mouths, it is those who have been arguing with Casey - as he
is clearly the only one in the discussion so far with ANY knowledge of
birds. And btw, the woodpeckers on Casey's list would be no less
appetizing to a hungry Sharp-Shinned Hawk, Coopers Hawk, Peregrine
Falcon, Merlin, etc. than any other species of bird. I routinely see
the Peregrines here (I have 6 nesting pairs within 15 miles) enjoying a
tasty meal of red-headed woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Flicker, etc...