"Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlnet> wrote in message 
news:42f07572@news.povray.org...
>
> http://www.nature.com/news/2005/050725/pf/050725-13_pf.html
>
> About another planetoid with compagnon, dubbed Santa and little helper.
>
> Another exciting story can be found here:
> http://news.nature.com//news/2005/050711/050711-6.html
>
> A solar system with three suns.
> I am not sure if you can read these documents as they come with a (free)
> subscription...

Yep, I could read the stories there. Thanks for sharing the link to there, 
Thomas. I needed to search for the three suns story since I didn't see that 
on that web page. I used to be interested in multiple stars back when I went 
to the U of W.

I came across that Santa one while looking for info on the new planet. I 
only knew of at least one other kind like it found in the asteroid belt from 
some time ago, something that seemed a fluke when I first heard of it. 
Apparently there are many such small planetoids/asteroids though.

Going waaaayyy OT now:

They have a story about the supposedly extinct ivory-billed woodpecker 
there. I reported, what I thought to be one, back in May (on the 8th), to 
Cornell's ornithology people; was seen flying over the road I live on, after 
I left here, late one morning.

I had only seen the similar pileated woodpeckers a few times before so I was 
both surprised and suspicious of it being either kind at the instant it 
appeared. The head and "ivory-bill" was what caught my attention more than 
anything else. Was merely a week since I saw the story told on CNN and I 
kept thinking I must be influenced by that, especially since that was the 
first and only time I've ever even seen a (pileated?) woodpecker fly across 
a road in front of my car. Although I've been looking out for anything and 
the pileated's are around my home more than I ever imagined. The proverbial 
phrase "you should get out more", right? LOL

If you know the story about these ivory-billed woodpeckers, as I later 
learned, they are said to be extremely shy and reclusive. That made me think 
I was mistaken. Thing of it is, that beak (or bill) was a bright solid 
yellow-white color, like new pine lumber as I described it to Cornell and 
others. I asked around if pileateds can ever look that way (Cornell just 
gave me a link to their description/comparison web page) but it seems they 
always have grayish bills. I searched with google images and not only do all 
the pictures seem to show them to be shades of gray (or black to light gray) 
but also smaller looking to me. This bird I saw, if pileated woodpecker, 
would have had to have dipped its bill into vanilla ice cream-colored paint 
to look the way it did. Very yellow vanilla. Either that or tree pollen, but 
that didn't seem to relate because I got a good look at it as the car drew 
closer before it disappeared into the woods again and it was like seeing a 
pointy goose bill.

Well, I just did a quick search again of google images, trying to find a 
similar beak or bill on any bird and a real good one came up:

http://www.wildlife-pictures-online.com/yellowbilled-stork_knp-5058.html

So... that's how it looked, similar in shape and color, just not size. As 
far as it being a woodpecker, well, it was a twin to the pileated 
woodpeckers if nothing else.

I still find it hard to believe, but I can't figure any other explanation. 
The sun was just about right to cause a glint off it but I saw it so well 
that I had to rule that out. There is a large wildlife refuge within a mile 
of here, which has some areas similar to the ivory-billed's habititat when 
last known to exist. Interestingly, the refuge areas are also a product of 
the TVA river dams (on Tennessee River) built in the 1930's, 1940's... about 
the time the "extinction" status was being determined.

I understand if no one else could believe it was such a rare bird here, so 
far from the accepted region they are likely to be at. Only thing for me to 
believe it myself is the sight of that beak! Not much to go on really. I'd 
have needed one of those police car video recorders going to have any 
evidence.

Bob

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