The whooping crane Grus americana has *not* been recognized as a
species verified for the Ohio list. Peterjohn, writing about this
species as a candidate for the Ohio list accepted by the first Bird
Records Committee, rejected it for lack of a curated specimen with data
verifying Ohio as the location for its collection.
        It seems that whooper specimens have been collected in numbers over
time in Ohio in days gone by, mostly in the late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries. Eventually some gunners whose names are known,
recognizing them as rarities, donated them to museums long ago, but the
specimens were not accompanied by these data.  Most reports of this
species in the state come from long ago in southwestern Ohio passing on
their migratory pathways to and from the northern breeding grounds.
        It seems more than a century ago whooper specimens did not seem so rare
as to require complete information on their tags: along with specimen
name, the dates and places of collection, name of collector etc. were
not always recorded on tags, even if these data were recorded elsewhere.
  It seems that Peterjohn and others did not always check complete
museum data to assess specimens. The Cincinnati Museum, for example, did
not find it necessary always to make known the place in which specimens
were collected--even though southwestern Ohio was where most specimens
were to be found.  In that region this species was likeliest to be added
to the Ohio list.
        I don't know how many museums---with huge scientific collections or
just a few specimens for educational purposes--exist in Ohio. I have
kinda worn out my welcome with some of them, but I'd welcome it if
someone could undertake the job of hunting up all the
academic/scientific museums with addresses so requests could be made. It
would be paradise if all the museums in Ohio could make their bird
specimens' basic data made public online. There is now even a
website---Vertnet--that makes available such data in searchable public
form. Right now the only Ohio museum I know of that Vertnet carries is
the Ohio State University Museum, where I have been allowed to examine
all the specimens. I don't know even all the names of Ohio's
academic/scientific museums, but I'd think that nearly all have records
of their holdings. The Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Toledo museums have
told me they plan to make their holdings available to researchers, and I
have been told this over the past decade, with nothing available yet.
        These records need only report names and known data for each specimen;
photos are not necessary; no one doubts the identification of specimens
and there are prettier pictures elsewhere. What is of greatest interest
is the tag data: name of species, location, and date of collection.
        Yes, much more can be learned from such specimens, but this
information is not shared by all specimens.  These data will not appear
on the specimen's tag, but date and location, along with its identity
(at least species, sex, age) are the minimum.  Ordinary citizens like
you and I are perfectly happy to know where the specimen was taken,
when, and where. If you're looking for isotopes or parasites for
example, you need to work out a formal agreement with the relevant
museum for scientific study. I know that even
species/age/location/date/name of collector are just not always
available, but knowing that would be helpful if available. I suspect
that the whooping crane, for example, could be added to the Ohio list if
all these data were available.
Bill Whan
Columbus




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