Talk:Manx shearwater

Not the oldest
A Northern Royal Albatross named Grandma was ringed in New Zealand 1937, at least 10 years old at the time, and was last seen 51½ years later in 1989, having lived at least 61 years. This is mentioned in the Albatross article. But the Manx Shearwater must hold the record for the Western Palearctic. --Anshelm &#39;77 16:14, 22 October 2006 (UTC)

The claim that the manx shearwater ringed in 1957 was still alive in 2008 appears to be false. It seems that the bird was last caught in 2002. (References to a bird caught in 2003/2004 appear to relate to the Copeland individual). In 1957, it was thought to have fledged at least five seasons previously, so when recaught it was estimated to be 50 years and 11 months old. This BTO ringing site: http://www.bto.org/news/news2009/mayjun/bird_ringing_100_today.htm gives the 1957 ringing date and the age of 50 years 11 months. It may be that this has led someone to believe that the bird was recaught in 2008, and this has further led to the bird being given the age of 56 years. For this reason I have removed this uncited line from the text. Clearly if reliable references can be provided (beware duplications from this article!) then the fact should be in the article - I haven't found any such references; apologies if I've missed something. Bobathon (talk) 22:18, 12 January 2010 (UTC)

Trivia
Richard Dawkins "The God Delusion" mentions the bird on page 112 (paperback edition, copyright 2006, New York, NY) citing experienced ornithologists who point out that the bird is popularly know in various parts of the world as the Devil Bird. -The preceding unsigned comment was added by 217.174.67.69 (talk) 14:49, 18 December 2006 (UTC).

I came here to ask about this. Dawkins says people mistake it for the devil talking, because it makes such a diabolical sound. Here is a link with an audio recording, but it doesn't sound particularly frightening to me. http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/m/manxshearwater/gallery.asp Gary 15:26, 24 December 2006 (UTC)


 * bear in mind that this will only be heard on a moonless night, and that there could be dozens of them flying around your head and calling. Particularly in more superstitious times, surely just a bit scary?    Scary Jimfbleak.talk. 15:37, 24 December 2006 (UTC)


 * Not particularly frightening? If I wasn't told beforehand that it's a bird I'm listening to, I could imagine all sorts of horrific creatures to go with that sound. (The link above is dead, the new link is http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/m/manxshearwater/index.asp .) 82.95.254.249 13:50, 23 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Quite amusing anecdote. I never heard of the manx shearwater until I read about it in "God Delusion".--192.94.73.4 (talk) 03:53, 4 February 2008 (UTC)

Just came here after reading about it for the first time myself, again in Dawkins. Found this link to audio which some may find gives a better indication of why the bird's call is experienced as diabolical. http://sounds.bl.uk/View.aspx?item=022M-W1CDR0001409-0800V0.xml# SunsetWaves (talk) 20:52, 26 May 2010 (UTC)


 * I have removed the long quote, which is copy vio. See also Do not include the full text of lengthy primary sources. Snowman (talk) 21:31, 13 September 2011 (UTC)

Request Audio
-Craig Pemberton (talk) 18:48, 31 August 2009 (UTC)
 * I have put the template nearer to the top of the page. Snowman (talk) 21:32, 13 September 2011 (UTC)