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13. 16 December 2010 - 25 April 2012

This user is one of the 300 most active English Wikipedians of all time.

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Busy

This user is busy in real life until early June 2012 and may not respond swiftly to queries.

Let's compare notes on AWB

I noticed you use AWB a lot.

In an effort to "sharpen the axe", I'm currently learning how to use the external processing feature, and after days tinkering with it, finally got it to cooperate with a perl script. I plan to write that section of the AWB manual once I get up to speed on it, to reduce the learning curve for others.

I'm curious what you've used that feature for. To run articles through an editor? To activate a perl script? To do what?

I noticed your messages in the archives about passing the %%title%% variable as an argument to a script. I find it works if you include it in quotes after the name of the script in the "Arguments/Parameters:" input field. The quotes are necessary to treat compound titles (i.e., titles with more than one word) as a single argument.

I'm interested in learning everything I can about AWB and its behavior and applications, including what scripts people are using the external processing feature for, what problems they've run into, how they solved them, etc. Especially what AWB does in what order and under various circumstances. Anything that will help me write some useful instructions for the manual, including tips and techniques.

By the way, have you figured out how to use plugins, modules, and the database scanner?

I look forward to corresponding with you, if you can find the time. The Transhumanist 20:51, 25 April 2012 (UTC)

Please note that I am busy at this time, so I have not got much time for an detailed discussion here now. How much perl do you know? Of course, anyone who knows how to write perl will be able to write their own scripts and also know how to test them. Snowman (talk) 08:19, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

• I plan to try passing the argument to the perl script in quotes when I have some spare time. I did quite a lot of testing on this, and came to the conclusion that this AWB function did not work, as least for passing the file name to the perl script. However, if it works, then hope to find this feature useful. Snowman (talk) 08:19, 26 April 2012 (UTC)
• I have not used AWB modules or plugins, because the main knowledge of programming is only with perl. Can a plugin be in perl? Snowman (talk) 08:19, 26 April 2012 (UTC)
• I have done a variety of tasks with perl scripts to assist AWB to edit Wiki articles. Snowman (talk) 08:19, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

Making use of the argument is easy. Just place it in quotes after the script name in the arguments field in the external processing box in AWB, and then in the script itself assign it to a variable like this:

my $subject = $ARGV;

I've tested it by replacing the entire article with it, and again by replacing the first occurrence of "the" with $subject$subject$subject$subject$subject. The changes show up in AWB's diffs display. Works fine.

I've started a library of Perl scripts, but so far there's only one script in it, provided by Rich Farmbrough. The more we share, the richer (in scripts and shared skill) we will all be.

I've also started the WikiProject Perl for a central location to discuss Perl coverage in this encyclopedia and more significantly to discuss and collaborate in the use of Perl to enhance Misplaced Pages. So far, I've copied Perl-related discussion threads to its talk page.

I'm fairly new to Perl, but have been using regular expressions for quite some time. I got tired of working manually, and decided it's time to take things to the next level. I'll be happy to share my know-how as I acquire it.

I have not used plugins or modules. That's why I asked you about them.  :)

I'm also interested in the variety of tasks you have performed. Please consider sharing your scripts with the rest of the Perl community on Misplaced Pages.

It has been nice meeting you. Be sure to keep in touch.

Sincerely, The Transhumanist 09:31, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

• Yes, the regular expressions in AWB are useful. Snowman (talk) 12:27, 26 April 2012 (UTC)

• You are correct about passing the title to the script. Snowman (talk) 20:41, 6 June 2012 (UTC)

Western Jackdaw

I forgot to ask - I've nominated this at FAC, and forgot that you'd edited this quite a bit. Do you want to be a co-nominator (I guess do you feel yourself involved or invested enough to want to?) Am happy to add you if you do. Cheers, Casliber (talk · contribs) 09:44, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

Thank you for asking, but I am too busy at the monent. Snowman (talk) 18:18, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

Okay. Casliber (talk · contribs) 05:27, 30 April 2012 (UTC)

PS: Do you want to do one of those species tables with images for pelican like you did with the lory articles? Casliber (talk · contribs) 09:44, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

I would think about that, if I had more spare time. Snowman (talk) 18:18, 29 April 2012 (UTC)*

Okay, it might be the collaboration for a while so feel free to check when you have more time. Casliber (talk · contribs) 05:27, 30 April 2012 (UTC)

Main page appearance: cockatoo

This is a note to let the main editors of cockatoo know that the article will be appearing as today's featured article on May 16, 2012. You can view the TFA blurb at Misplaced Pages:Today's featured article/May 16, 2012. If you prefer that the article appear as TFA on a different date, or not at all, please ask featured article director Raul654 (talk · contribs) or his delegate Dabomb87 (talk · contribs), or start a discussion at Misplaced Pages talk:Today's featured article/requests. If the previous blurb needs tweaking, you might change it—following the instructions at Misplaced Pages:Today's featured article/requests/instructions. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. The blurb as it stands now is below:

A cockatoo is any of the 21 species belonging to the bird family Cacatuidae. Along with the Psittacoidea (true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up the parrot order Psittaciformes. Cockatoos are instantly recognisable by their showy crests and curved bills. Their plumage is generally less colourful than that of other parrots, being mainly white, grey, or black, and often with coloured features in the crest, cheeks, or tail. On average they are larger than other parrots. Cockatoos prefer to eat seeds, tubers, corms, fruit, flowers and insects. They often feed in large flocks, particularly when ground-feeding. Cockatoos are monogamous and nest in tree hollows. Some cockatoo species have been adversely affected by habitat loss, particularly from a shortage of suitable nesting hollows after large mature trees are cleared; conversely, some species have adapted well to human changes and are considered agricultural pests. Cockatoos are popular birds in aviculture, but their needs are difficult to cater for. The Cockatiel is the cockatoo species that is easiest to care for and is by far the most frequently kept in captivity. (more...)

UcuchaBot (talk) 23:01, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Energy use

In the WP:BIRD discussion you compared potential energy with energy output. That's why I said "no engine is 100% efficient"; most fuel-based engines have an efficiency below 25%. To make a valid comparison, you need to know the efficiency of your local energy supply. Even if an energy plant only is able to get e.g. 20% of the potential energy in the fuel (gas, coal, nuclear, etc) into the power grid, they still use 100% of the fuel. Only then is it possible to make the simple comparison of kWh. And this is only part of the picture: Getting the amount of e.g. coal that equals 1 kWh vs. getting the amount of jet fuel that equals 1 kWh doesn't make the same impact on the environment. Regardless, there can be no doubts typical computer use is well below a long-distance flight. But equally there are no doubts that anyone with heavy computer use, long periods on most days, is far from being green. The saying Don't throw rocks if you live in a glass house comes to mind. I only used the clothes dryer as an example because it is one of the absolute highest kWh consumers in a normal home. Absence of a clothes dryer only places heavy computer use even higher on the overall kWh use in a modern home. Regarding google and green: Overall they may belong in the better half of big companies, but they're fooling themselves (or more likely, some readers of the article) if they claim they're really green. Taking the previous quote (underlining mine): "using sustainable resources for a proportion of their energy supply". It is certainly great that they invested almost 1 billion US$ on renewable energy projects, but they're a big company and that only equals 10% of their profit in 2011 alone. Even if a company was close to 100% in so-called sustainable resources, windmills and solar panels don't just magically appear. If placed correctly, they're certainly far better than e.g. a coal plant, but their production isn't impact free. 212.10.92.198 (talk) 16:26, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

Automation

Hi Snowman: Great to hear you're working on (at least the theoretical aspects of) some automation ideas. And none of us are worried about it maybe taking a while — I think all of us have real-life commitments which keep us from doing as much as quickly as we'd like to! Let me know if there's anything I can do to help. MeegsC | Talk 05:32, 13 June 2012 (UTC)

To make thinks easier for an automated script, I think the Wiki needs a datebase clean up. It can be difficult for an automated script to compare non-standard common English bird names on the Wiki and non-standard binomial Wiki names and with other websites and databases. Taxonomy differences between websites also make it difficult for an automated script. I think preparation with some manual editing is inevitable. Do you think that Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Birds/Comparison of IOC and Wiki binomial names (June 2012) could be useful to update any Wiki pages? Snowman (talk) 09:44, 13 June 2012 (UTC)

Definitely useful. It'll probably take us a while to research these, and figure out how to treat the differences... MeegsC | Talk 07:09, 14 June 2012 (UTC)

Discrepancy report

Thanks for the bird name discrepancy report. Will be good to double check as I work through. Also, I thought of another abbreviation that you may want to run a report. Mt. versus Mount (I believe we are standardized on Mount)...Pvmoutside (talk) 13:15, 20 June 2012 (UTC)

There are a few with "Mount". I did not find any with "Mt" or "Mt.": Snowman (talk) 12:53, 21 June 2012 (UTC)

• Wiki=IOC=Zosterops mouroniensis IOC=Karthala White-eye ## Wiki=Mount Karthala White-eye
• Wiki=Telophorus kupeensis IOC=Chlorophoneus kupeensis ## Wiki=IOC=Mount Kupe Bushshrike
• (Pternistis camerunensis) IOC=Mount Cameroon Francolin ## Wiki=Mount Cameroon Francolin
• (Zosterops mouroniensis) IOC=Karthala White-eye ## Wiki=Mount Karthala White-eye

Snowman (talk) 12:53, 21 June 2012 (UTC)

The Fauna of British India

The short title is probably more suitable as some volumes in the series include Pakistan and the long title varies considerable. Also including a title link breaks the url tag of the citation template. So if you are having an AWB rule to replace Fauna of British India -> the long title, it would be much better without the link. Shyamal (talk) 06:06, 22 June 2012 (UTC)

The url works if you click near the arrow. Looking at the Wiki page about the book is a quick way of finding out about the book. Snowman (talk) 08:20, 22 June 2012 (UTC)

Speedy deletion declined: Chestnut-capped Brush Finch

Hello Snowmanradio. I am just letting you know that I declined the speedy deletion of Chestnut-capped Brush Finch, a page you tagged for speedy deletion, because of the following concern: Check move request. Thank you. — Malik Shabazz /_Stalk 18:47, 22 June 2012 (UTC)

Speedy deletion declined: Cochabamba Mountain Finch

Hello Snowmanradio. I am just letting you know that I declined the speedy deletion of Cochabamba Mountain Finch, a page you tagged for speedy deletion, because of the following concern: Check move request. Thank you. — Malik Shabazz /_Stalk 18:47, 22 June 2012 (UTC)

Scrubbirds

Snowmanradio: I saw you moved both Noisy and Rufous Scrubbirds. I attempted the same a while ago, but received pushback from the Aussies and they moved it back. I've been tagging the ones I've had pushback with with the IOC exception template. Not sure if that helps you......Pvmoutside (talk) 19:51, 22 June 2012 (UTC)

I did not know that about the scrubbirds. I know about the shrike tit and I have started a move discussion at Talk:Crested Shrike-tit. Snowman (talk) 20:28, 22 June 2012 (UTC)

Yep, I just noticed and came here to mention that to you. I believe that the other articles in question were Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike, Rufous Scrub-bird and Noisy Scrub-bird. --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 21:37, 22 June 2012 (UTC)

List of ... bird pages

So it looks like someone has developed a useful template named onlyinclude which automatically sets the table of contents if a family gets removed or added due to taxonomic changes. Beats typing it in every time, or being frustrated if someone misses one!....Pvmoutside (talk) 12:26, 25 June 2012 (UTC)

I see that, looks a little tighter, but to me the template is the more efficient way and a space saver on the edit page. Maybe soneone can monkey around with the template to make it appear more compact on the page. Which gets me tofurther thinking, too bad someone can't come up with a way to change genus and species pages, common names, etc. (and higher level taxononmy for that matter)(once there is consensus) so that it doesn't need to be done manually across all pages. Typing Setophaga over and over again for each page borders on the monotonous. Is there no way to automate that on an admin level so it doesn't get out of hand?....Pvmoutside (talk) 12:39, 25 June 2012 (UTC)

California Thrasher‎

Nice photo! Thanks for uploading it. Jim1138 (talk) 16:38, 19 July 2012 (UTC)

A kind Flickr photographer had licensed it with a Commons-friendly copyright. Flickr is a useful resource that anyone can use. Snowman (talk) 11:05, 20 July 2012 (UTC)

IUCN links

The "/0" is not part of an Red List ID, and should not be in citations. Can you stop adding it and remove it from pages that have it? (You added it after I corrected the link at Chestnut Sparrow.) If the Red List changes its link structure, only the {{IUCN}} template should need to be edited to fix links. Thanks, —innotata 15:29, 20 July 2012 (UTC)

Also, concerning the Red List: if the Red List is cited in the text body, it may be for information not in the current version. Can you check that the current version verifies all content cited to an old version before entirely removing citations to an old version? —innotata 15:35, 20 July 2012 (UTC)

"Vunerable"

There is no such word. please use "vulnerable" instead. Thanks. Ground Zero | t 06:21, 22 July 2012 (UTC)

AWB commons bug report

Please provide more information on your bug report at Wikipedia_talk:AutoWikiBrowser/Bugs#AWB_not_save_edited_files_on_Commons. Thanks Rjwilmsi 12:51, 22 July 2012 (UTC)

Bot task

Hi Snowman. May I draw your attention to this? I gather you have some bot prowess, and thus might be able to sort out this problem rapidly. JJ Harrison (talk) 07:41, 30 July 2012 (UTC)

Replied over there. Snowman (talk) 16:53, 5 August 2012 (UTC)

Pelican image comments

Hi Snowman. The image you added to the Pelican article is a good illustration, but I suspect that the pelicans in it are Great Whites, not Dalmatians which do not occur in Africa. Cheers. Maias (talk) 01:03, 5 August 2012 (UTC)

With regard to the caption of the other photo you uploaded recently, of Brown Pelican chicks in a ground nest; this species prefers trees to nest in, though will nest on the ground if suitable trees are not available. Maias (talk) 01:40, 5 August 2012 (UTC)

Whoops, I should have looked at my "A Field Guide to the Birds of East Africa". Snowman (talk) 12:35, 5 August 2012 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages is coming to Coventry!

Misplaced Pages Takes Coventry - You are invited!

On 1 September, Coventry will play host to the first city-wide "Misplaced Pages Takes..." event in the UK. Attendees will take photos of monuments, structures (and almost anything else!) in the city. Anyone can attend regardless of photography ability or experience with Wikimedia projects. To find out more, register or ask any questions, please visit the event page. We hope you'll join us! Rock drum Ba-dum 17:19, 9 August 2012 (UTC)

Preview

Thank you for your contributions to Misplaced Pages. In the future, it is recommended that you use the preview button before you save; this helps you find any errors you have made, reduces edit conflicts, and prevents clogging up recent changes and the page history. Thank you. --Leyo 15:35, 24 August 2012 (UTC)

AWB rev8323

We now provide AWB v. 5.3.1.2 (rev 8323) at http://toolserver.org/~awb/snapshots/ which corrects some critical bugs. -- Magioladitis (talk) 18:08, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

• Thank you. I have started to use it. Snowman (talk) 18:29, 31 August 2012 (UTC)

Non-free rationale for File:With the beatles side 1.JPG

Thanks for uploading or contributing to File:With the beatles side 1.JPG. I notice the file page specifies that the file is being used under non-free content criteria, but there is not a suitable explanation or rationale as to why each specific use in Misplaced Pages is acceptable. Please go to the file description page, and edit it to include a non-free rationale.

If you have uploaded other non-free media, consider checking that you have specified the non-free rationale on those pages too. You can find a list of 'file' pages you have edited by clicking on the "my contributions" link (it is located at the very top of any Misplaced Pages page when you are logged in), and then selecting "File" from the dropdown box. Note that any non-free media lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If the file is already gone, you can still make a request for undeletion and ask for a chance to fix the problem. If you have any questions, please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you. Sfan00 IMG (talk) 20:10, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

I have attended to details and edited the file. Snowman (talk) 22:08, 9 September 2012 (UTC)

Nightjar names

I was hoping you'd say that :-) Well done for answering my question before I'd even asked it. You are welcome to go ahead and do the unique name redirects (the largest section). Are you also able to add a comment to each target article to mention the alternative name and include the Cleere reference, or will that need to be done by hand? SP-KP (talk) 17:43, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

I can use a script to add the alternative common name and the reference to some of the target articles, if the first line of the article is in a standard format, but I am not going to do this today. There are some species pages with several common names redirecting to it. Snowman (talk) 19:42, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

I need help

File:Innocence of muslims protest map2.png Protest map against the movie around the World Hello.

• I need help. I have drawn the following map for the article Innocence of Muslims movie. I have made an edit request on section 23, but no-one seems to care. Can you put the image into the article please. Thank you.----Camoka5 (talk) 19:56, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

• I have reformatted the map, and please do not change it back again. I do not know anything about this topic, so I decline. You can put the image on the page in a similar what to how you have shown the image on my talk page. I do not know anything about this topic, so I decline.

RSBA

Hi,

You may be interested in http://uk.wikimedia.org/RBSA_Backstage_Pass

Hope to see you there. Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 19:45, 26 September 2012 (UTC)Q

Chimney Swift

Thanks for that, I'm not going mad after all (: Jimfbleak - talk to me? 05:45, 27 September 2012 (UTC)

"Vunerable" again

I am asking you again not to use "vunerable" in Misplaced Pages articles. There is no such word. Adding typographical errors to articles is not a constructive way of editing. Please use "vulnerable" instead. Thank you. Ground Zero | t 10:19, 2 October 2012 (UTC)

I note that you have just corrected this typo on Myristica psilocarpa. I have never even edited this page. If your are referring to the typo on this page, may I suggest that you look at the edit history on pages before blaming editors for a "not a constructive way of editing". Snowman (talk) 10:26, 2 October 2012 (UTC)

I was referring to this edit to the Royal Penguin article that was attributed to you and includes "vunerable". If you did not make this edit, I apologize, and wonder what is going wrong with the Misplaced Pages tracking system. Ground Zero | t 22:26, 2 October 2012 (UTC)

I note that your correction on Royal Penguin was about 10 hours after your first comment on my talk page and about four minutes before your second comment. However, your your correction to Myristica psilocarpa was made directly after your first comment on my page. Snowman (talk) 22:37, 2 October 2012 (UTC)

Yes, I noticed after you responded that I had not corrected your typo in the Royal Penguin article, so I did so after responding to your comment. Ground Zero | t 02:34, 3 October 2012 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for October 3

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Bare-throated Bellbird (check to confirm | fix with Dab solver)

added a link pointing to Paraná

Yellow-chinned Spinetail (check to confirm | fix with Dab solver)

added a link pointing to Paraná

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• I have fixed the two links. Snowman (talk) 16:21, 3 October 2012 (UTC)

Wikify tag

Hi there! {{Wikify}} has recently been deprecated in favor of more specific tags, which are listed at Template:Wikify#See_also. When tagging an article that needs more links, for instance, please use {{underlinked}}. Thanks! Guoguo12 (Talk)  21:34, 6 October 2012 (UTC)

The new tags are news to me. Snowman (talk) 16:23, 7 October 2012 (UTC)

Debolding species names

In this edit of Southern Lapwing, you de-bolded the species name. I support the change but just this is not a change based on consensus (see this discussion for example). I would cease changes of that, especially systematic ones using AWB. This is an issue that I think should be debated to consensus at some point and I think clear and sensible guidelines can be written describing when and when not to bold but it hasn't yet occurred. Jason Quinn (talk) 23:39, 6 October 2012 (UTC)

There has been a more up-to-date discussion than the 2009 discussion that you have linked. The consensus is now for an un-emboldened binomial name in brackets. The current guidelines outline how to write the introduction of species pages and my modifications are consistent with this; see Misplaced Pages:Lead_section#Organisms. I would check up-to-date MoS before commenting on MoS on users talk pages. Snowman (talk) 16:16, 7 October 2012 (UTC)

That's excellent. I was unaware of the change. Thanks for pointing it out. This lets me fix one of my longest standing pet peeves on Misplaced Pages, the bold on the scientific name in the blue whale article. Cheers, Jason Quinn (talk) 18:35, 7 October 2012 (UTC)

Watch for broken tags

In this edit of Cedar Waxwing, you introduced a broken ref tag. Please double check your edits when using AWB in the future. Jason Quinn (talk) 01:32, 7 October 2012 (UTC)

Whoops, an accidental typo. Snowman (talk) 16:03, 7 October 2012 (UTC)

DYK for Golden-winged Sunbird

On 9 October 2012, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Golden-winged Sunbird, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that the range of the Golden-winged Sunbird coincides with its major food item, the nectar of the plant Leonotis nepetifolia (both pictured)? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Golden-winged Sunbird. You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and it will be added to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.

Yngvadottir (talk) 00:02, 9 October 2012 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for October 10

Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Misplaced Pages appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited Grey-fronted Quail-Dove, you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page Grey-headed Quail-Dove (check to confirm | fix with Dab solver). Such links are almost always unintended, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of "Did you mean..." article titles. Read the FAQ • Join us at the DPL WikiProject.

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I have corrected it. Snowman (talk) 15:18, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

AWB and dashes

This edit broke an image link when AWB removed a dash. Cheers. -- Alan Liefting (talk - contribs) 01:19, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

And this one. -- Alan Liefting (talk - contribs) 01:50, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

Whoops. Thank you for correcting them. AWB could probably highlight changes better. Snowman (talk) 15:18, 14 October 2012 (UTC)

Images

Thanks for those, the unidentified bird is a Black-headed Gull. The duck shots are excellent, if you want to use either of them to illustrate the bird section instead of the existing BHG, that's fine. The Blakeney harbour picture isn't actually part of the reserve, but could be used for Recreation, although I think the seal pic is more appropriate. On my screen, the Peddars way image has quite a bit of white space below, would it be better at the left? Jimfbleak - talk to me? 05:59, 20 October 2012 (UTC)

There is the normal amount of white space below the image on my screen. I wonder what others say. Snowman (talk) 12:40, 20 October 2012 (UTC)

Caludon Castle

Hi. I notice you added a hatnote to that article, referring readers to the school, but are the two really ambiguous? Is anyone who searches for "caludon Castle" likely to be looking for the school? HJ Mitchell | Penny for your thoughts? 16:22, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

Yes definitely. The school is sometimes called just Caludon Castle. I am surprised that you did not know that. Snowman (talk) 16:24, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for November 12

Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Misplaced Pages appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited Spix's Macaw, you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page Culmen (check to confirm | fix with Dab solver). Such links are almost always unintended, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of "Did you mean..." article titles. Read the FAQ • Join us at the DPL WikiProject.

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• I have fixed the link. Snowman (talk) 12:06, 12 November 2012 (UTC)

Talkback

Odie5533 (talk) 05:23, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

Picture help

Hi Snowman: Any chance you can help me out with a photo upload? It's in Flickr, and has the appropriate license for Misplaced Pages use. It's a flying bird at http://www.flickr.com/photos/29237715@N05/7700754002/. It would be a great addition to the Red-throated Loon article, as it clearly shows how far back the feet are, among other things. Thanks for any help you can give me. MeegsC (talk) 05:13, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

Now at File:Gavia stellata -Iceland -flying-8.jpg on Commons. I did not know where to put it on the species article, which seems rather crowded with images. Snowman (talk) 18:12, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

Thanks! I'm hoping to add a bit more about territoriality and breeding, so perhaps I can fit it in at that point. And if not, at least it's at the commons link now. MeegsC (talk) 21:17, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

Hi Snowman. Another request, if you have time: there are two photos of Caribbean Martin (this one and the next photo in the set, of a flying bird) which have the correct licensing for Misplaced Pages. Currently, we don't have any photos at all of this species. Help appreciated! Thanks, MeegsC (talk) 23:14, 5 December 2012 (UTC)

I have put them both in the short species article. Put any more in a list below: Snowman (talk) 00:18, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

You're a star! Thanks, Snowman... MeegsC (talk) 00:53, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

Spix's Macaw GA

Hi! About the Spix's Macaw GA. Sbalfour has not replied since a week. Anyway the article has various issues still. Perhaps this was not suitable for GAN. As you are a major contributor here since its GA review, I wished to have your second opinion about should the article be failed - for you see, I'm not pessimistic, but the article does have too many issues and the nominator long absent. What do you think? Sainsf <^>_{Talk all words} 13:22, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

I would say on the GA review page that editing was initially at a good pace until about 27 November when you noticed that the progress slowed. Just in case anyone has become busy in real live, I would say you would close the review and not pass the article for GA status in 7 days time, if progress continues to be slow. This would give all the participants notice of your intention and chance to reply. Snowman (talk) 13:33, 6 December 2012 (UTC)

Thank you, then please put the notice soon and let us wait till 15th of this month. Sainsf <^>_{Talk all words} 09:06, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

I have made this suggestion on the GA discussion page. Snowman (talk) 09:56, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Please take care

Hi Snowmanradio. I've restored the original ordering of sentences in Broad-billed Parrot#Description, because your version:

"The Broad-billed Parrot possessed a crest of feathers on its head. The 1601 Gelderland sketch depicts the crest as a tuft of feathers attached to the front of the head near to the base of the beak. Ridges on the skull indicate that its crest was firmly attached, and that the bird, unlike members of the Cacatuinae subfamily of cockatoos, could not raise or lower it."

involves a lot of repetition. In sentence 1, the crest of feathers is on its head. In sentence 2, the crest is once again of feathers, and once again on its head, though now attached. In sentence 3, the crest is once again attached. Repeating information to add just a little more in this way can be very off-putting to readers, who can be made to feel that they are assumed to be stupid. In restoring the previous word order, I have tried to incorporate some useful changes you made, incluing cranium -> skull, show -> indicate, use of "tuft".

Also, please could you use the talk page rather than edit summaries for things that may deserve threaded discussion? Your edit summaries at 22:27, 22:29 and 22:32 all deserve discussion, and it is very difficult to pick them up in that form. In reply to those:

• 22:27: it's not so much a question of what the sketch shows, as what the source states. I cannot access it, but FunkMonk would be able to.
• 22:29: I don't know about modern Dutch ships, but I don't think the Gelderland had a prefix. Prefixes are more recent than that, aren't they? (Also in England, the Mayflower and Golden Hind don't have prefixes.)
• 22:32: "If you want to use "cranium" then please name the bones of the cranium?" actually comes across as rather sarcastic, though I'm sure that wasn't your intention. Cranium is really quite a well-known word. Its use doesn't need to be justified by going into details that aren't needed in the article. However, I have retained "skull".

Please note that the article is presently at FAC. Regards, --Stfg (talk) 10:24, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

I am sure that your comments are well indented? However ...: Snowman (talk) 10:45, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

I make every effort to indent well :) --Stfg (talk) 12:26, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Whoops typo; "intended" not "indented". Snowman (talk) 12:59, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

• A reviewer had not started working on the FAC when I made the edits and I did not want to be the first to add a comment to the FA discussion after the nomination. Sometimes, I find it quicker to use edit summaries to improve an article, when I am working as a team with other editors. It this case, I was hoping that User FunkMonk would follow my suggestions in the edit summaries and edits and together the article would be improved by a combination of his edits and my edits and without prolonged series of time consuming comments on a talk page. The edits to which you are revering to were made late yesterday evening (UK time) and User FunkMonk went off-line. I am hoping that he consider my suggestions soon, but I was expecting him to follow more quickly. In the interim you picked up on some copy-editing. My first edit has an edit summary starting with "Suggestion"; see this edit in anticipation of User FunkMonk considering my edits and edit summaries. Snowman (talk) 10:45, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

OK. I was confused by the "Suggestion" in that edit summary, as to whether it referred to the edit itself or to the discussion about the bifid tail in the edit summary. Copy editing is the only thing I do on an article like this. You may have noticed that I've left all your changes related to scientific questions untouched. --Stfg (talk) 12:26, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

• Excuse me, I am a stickler with bones. Off course, cranium does have a precise meaning. I think that the anatomy of a bird's cranium in not well known to most readers. Do you know the extent of a birds cranium? I would have thought that the top of the bill would be the birds face and therefore not the cranium, but I am not certain. Snowman (talk) 10:45, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

I don't know its extent, hence I deferred to you on "skull". My only comment was on the edit summary. --Stfg (talk) 12:26, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

I did hesitate with clicking and sending the edit summary off, but in the back of my mind was a wish for precision with bones. Cranium (the flat bones of the skull) might be correct, but I suspect that a bill that big would be fixed to something stronger than a flat bone and I think that the bone near to the beak and under the tuft of feathers is likely to be something more substantial than a flat bone, but I am not certain. Using "cranium" seemed odd to me. Snowman (talk) 13:17, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

• I think that my edit summary with regard "The 1601 Gelderland sketch depicts ..." is appropriate since the article only refers to a sketch and not any text, so the paragraph seems very confusing to me and I have no idea how you can see a bifid tail in the sketch. Snowman (talk) 10:45, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

I agree, but I don't know what the words in the source say. That's all I was raising. --Stfg (talk) 12:26, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

I do not know what the text in the source says, but the text in the article implies that all those details about the feathers are seen in the drawing, but I looked at the drawing and I did not see a bifid tail or a hint of a bifid tail. I think that User FunkMunk may be able to clarify what is in the source and amend the Wiki article to say that some of the description is found in the text of the source and not in the drawing. Snowman (talk) 13:07, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

• I see nothing wrong with making edits to an article when it is at FA. I have often made edits directly to the article to break out of fruitless cycles of discussions. Editors have different things to contribute to articles and one of my contributions is to consider inconsistencies and errors in an article rather than writing perfect English, which I tend to leave to others. I think that you have misunderstood my contributions to this article. In this can you have accepted some of my improvements. Snowman (talk) 10:50, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

There's no problem editing FAs and FACs, whether the the review has started or not. I only wanted to draw your attention to it, just in case. I don't think I have misunderstood anything. I believe I have accepted all your changes except for the issue of repetition in that paragraph. --Stfg (talk) 12:26, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

• You removed a piped wikilink for "crest", which I think is relevant and I have returned it to the article. Snowman (talk) 10:56, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Apologies, it was an accident that happened while sorting out the repetition problem, not a challenge to the link, which is fine, obviously. --Stfg (talk) 12:26, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

• In the section that you copy-edited, I note that you did not notice the mistake about cockatoos being a subfamiliy, which is old classification. I think that you did a good job on copy-editing the English language, and it is very likely that your copy-editing will be needed again as the article progresses. The Wiki needs editors good with grammar and pros, like yourself. I guess that you could probably go about your copy-editing tasks and explain what you have done with an edit summary and, off course, in most cases the edit itself would be self explanatory. I can see the improvement that you have made without you having to explain how bad my proses was here. Please bear in mind that it can be difficult to grapple with the facts and write it down holistically with perfect prose first time. Snowman (talk) 11:46, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Thank you. The phrase "the Cacatuinae subfamily of cockatoos" can imply that cockatoos are that subfamily or that they have such a subfamily, as if it were written as "the Cacatuinae subfamily of the Cacatuidae". This is really a matter of the science, not the copy editing. Unfortunately, there are very few specialist biologists doing copy editing on Misplaced Pages; biological FAs would seldom happen without lay copy editors. --Stfg (talk) 12:26, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Cacatuinae is a subfamily only in modern usage and Cacatuidae is the up-to-date family name. Hence Cacatuinae is now a subset of Cacatuidae, so the modern usage of "the Cacatuinae subfamily of cockatoos" could only imply; "the Cacatuinae subset", which in incorrect according to the text on crests in the Wiki Cockatoo article, a FA. Snowman (talk) 12:58, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

• I have informed User FunkMonk of this discussion in the hope that him will gain something from it to improve the article. In case there was any doubt, I have also briefly explained the intention of my edits and edit summaries on the article to him and also that one of my aims was to minimise a protracted discussion about article content on a talk page. Snowman (talk) 11:19, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Great. --Stfg (talk) 12:26, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

• Hi, thanks for notifying me of the discussion. I think the current version looks fine when it comes to wording and such, but as for the description of the Gelderland sketch, it seems I have forgot to add an important detail, which is what's creating confusion. The paper which mentions the "bifurcated tail" etc. does so based on a study of the pencil lines under the ink. I should of course had added this info from the beginning, so I will do this now. As for prefix for Gelderland, I haven't seen such in the sources. In any case, it would be in Dutch. FunkMonk (talk) 18:38, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

For Dutch war ships the modern prefix is HNLMS; see Java class cruiser for examples. I have no idea what sort of ship the Gelderland was or if it would have a prefix in 1601. If it did have a Dutch prefix, then I presume that the English Wiki could use the Dutch prefix. Snowman (talk) 20:34, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Image placement

Re FunkMonk's request not to alter image placements, please note WP:IMAGELOCATION. --Stfg (talk) 21:42, 9 December 2012 (UTC)

Please reply in the FA discussion and not here. Snowman (talk) 21:44, 9 December 2012 (UTC)

Sorry, the FAC review is already getting too much like a talk page. I merely wished to make you aware of this point. It's a MOS detail, so all the FAC regulars already know it. --Stfg (talk) 22:06, 9 December 2012 (UTC)

Excuse me for being rather bold on the image rearrangement. I quite enjoy doing the artwork on articles usually with images I have uploaded to Commons or found on Commons. I have read User FunMunk edit summary about his rearrangement of the images. I think his version is probably as good as any and I am glad he considered my version. Snowman (talk) 22:16, 9 December 2012 (UTC)

No problem. I always think hard about image placement to get the images to fit what's said in adjacent text, and to not get one side cluttered, or white space. I like the right left alternation layout, instead of for example all images on the right. FunkMonk (talk) 22:22, 9 December 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for flagging

Thanks for flagging those edits you thought might need copy editing. Actually, i check all edits on articles I've copy edited for FAC. Anyway, just to let you know I saw the latest one, and it doesn't need any changes. --Stfg (talk) 20:05, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

Thank you for looking at my edits and making improvements. Snowman (talk) 20:34, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

Night vision

Yes, it's a reasonable size to crop to a usable image, thanks Jimfbleak - talk to me? 06:40, 11 December 2012 (UTC)

Season's tidings!

To you and yours, Have a Merry ______ (fill in the blank) and Happy New Year! FWiW Bzuk (talk) 01:17, 23 December 2012 (UTC)

Another pic

Hi Snowman: Do you have time to upload a Flickr picture for me? I've been working on the Chimney Swift article and have found a picture of roosting swifts here which would be useful. Thanks for any help you can provide... MeegsC (talk) 03:57, 23 December 2012 (UTC)

I have uploaded the two in the set. Snowman (talk) 22:26, 23 December 2012 (UTC)

Thanks! MeegsC (talk) 00:34, 24 December 2012 (UTC)

If you have any more suggestions for upload from Flickr, please let me know. Snowman (talk) 16:22, 24 December 2012 (UTC)

Future extinct birds FACs

Hi, I have a couple of GAs I want to nominate for FAC in the future, and I have a feeling that you'll end up reviewing them, so to spare the trouble, which of the following do you like the most? King Island Emu or Red Rail? The one you choose will be the next FAC. FunkMonk (talk) 14:26, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

That is up to you. I am planning a FAR to start on about 28 February 2012 on the Rodrigues Solitaire, mostly because of problems with verification, which I have already raised on the talk page. Snowman (talk) 15:28, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

Well alright. If ever you get a sudden strike of love for either, give me a note. FunkMonk (talk) 15:37, 16 February 2013 (UTC)

Issues fixed. FunkMonk (talk) 20:04, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

I am also planning a FAR on Dodo owing to problems with verification, which I have mentioned on the article's talk page. Snowman (talk) 20:48, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

Will be fixed too, in the not so far future. No need to waste the time of the already overstretched FAR people. FunkMonk (talk) 20:50, 20 February 2013 (UTC)

Death of Hendrix

Thanks much for your excellent edits. I appreciate your help. GabeMc 21:59, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

Thank you. I mostly copy-edited based on facts in the article and read between the lines a little. Snowman (talk) 23:16, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

Great work. This is my first "from scratch" article, so I havn't had much polishing help from others. Thanks again for your edits. GabeMc 23:20, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

Are you using USA or UK spelling and dates? Snowman (talk) 23:29, 18 February 2013 (UTC)

US. GabeMc 00:28, 19 February 2013 (UTC)

• Thanks again for all your wonderful edits. The article reads much smoother now and is much improved due to your effort. GabeMc 06:42, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

• Please look at the sources for answers to reviewers queried and suggestions. A depressed mood is not the same as depression. I would have thought that, when a person is brought in dead to an A&E dept, a resuscitation attempt is not attempted unless there is some doubt if the person is dead or not. Snowman (talk) 17:44, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

• The issue of depression is now resolved. As far as resuscitation as a typical formality, all I can go by is what the reliable sources say, and Dr Bannister (the attending physician) said: "On admission was obviously dead. He had no pulse, no heartbeat, and the attempt to resuscitate him was merely a formality." Thanks again for your comments and edits. GabeMc 23:44, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

• The two paragraphs on the post-mortem examination could probably be made into one paragraph, and the findings organised in a slightly more logical sequence. The general nourishment would go earlier, and so on. Shall I have a go? The next paragraph is about the inquest. Snowman (talk) 22:23, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

• Absolutely! I would appreciate any copy-edits you make, thanks! GabeMc 22:26, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

• Ok. Please be ready to fix anything that I break. Snowman (talk) 22:29, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

• No worries! GabeMc 22:38, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

• It is late here now. I will have a look to see what you have made of it tomorrow. Snowman (talk) 23:04, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

• Thanks again for the great review and all your excellent edits. The article is much improved due to your effort. Cheers! GabeMc 00:21, 3 March 2013 (UTC)

Composite image

Hi! Would you care to share your opinion about the composite/single infobox image issue here? I would really appreciate it. Thanks! --Life is like a box of chocolates (talk) 07:05, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

Please note that the Wikilink was not copied to this page, but I found it anyway. Snowman (talk) 10:22, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

WP:LEADCITE

I noticed this edit, however; according to WP:LEADCITE: "Some material, including direct quotations and contentious material about living persons must be provided with an inline citation every time it is mentioned, regardless of the level of generality or the location of the statement", which is why I always include an in-line cite to direct quotes in the lead. Thanks again for all your helpful edits and comments. GabeMc 21:14, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

I see, it is to support the quotation. I did not know that. Snowman (talk) 21:35, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Mallard pic

Hi Snowman. Can you take a look at ? Someone has replaced the original featured picture with a new one, which (while nice) is certainly not the featured picture. I don't know how to restore the original version. And presumably the uploader (whom I can't identify, as I can't see anything about the upload in the history) should be notified that this is not acceptable. Thanks! MeegsC (talk) 13:09, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

Hi. I have reverted the change on Commons as a temporary fix, but the new image of unknown copyright status is still in the file history. The image in the file history would probably need to be removed, so I have asked a Commons administrator about it and I think that he is likely to communicate to the uploader about it. Snowman (talk) 13:55, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

Thanks! MeegsC (talk) 14:20, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Copyeditor's Barnstar
	For all your work helping out at the Death of Jimi Hendrix article. Without your edits, the article would not be featured today! Thanks much! GabeMc 21:29, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

• I think that is a really nice barn star. If you need any copy-editing on post-mortem findings for a Wiki article, please let me know. Snowman (talk) 12:27, 24 March 2013 (UTC)

Barnstar

	The Fossilized Barnstar
	Though we've had quite some disagreements about subfossil bird articles in the past, I'd like to express that I appreciate the great work you do on the bird project, and I don't mind further, healthy criticism. Keep it up! FunkMonk (talk) 12:06, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

• Thank you. After a prolonged cold spell here, we have some warmer weather and spring has arrived, so I have been spending more time out-of-doors. I plan to return to extinct animal FAC discussions when I have more computer-time. I have been using a Linux system, but AWB works best on Windows systems, so I have not been able to do any semi-automated edits recently. I also plan to get a Windows system running again to do more script assisted semi-automated tasks. Snowman (talk) 12:08, 23 April 2013 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for April 27

Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Misplaced Pages appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited Conor Travers, you added links pointing to the disambiguation pages St John’s College and The Telegraph (check to confirm | fix with Dab solver). Such links are almost always unintended, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of "Did you mean..." article titles. Read the FAQ • Join us at the DPL WikiProject.

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• I have fixed those issues. Snowman (talk) 17:17, 28 April 2013 (UTC)

File:Sgt peppers pict.jpg

I've stumbled across File:Sgt peppers pict.jpg, which you uploaded in 2006. Since this is a photograph of a 2-D copyrighted artwork, I don't think this can be tagged as a "free" image (see commons:Commons:2D copying). Do you agree? -- John of Reading (talk) 13:27, 25 May 2013 (UTC)

• Well spotted. I do not know why a bot tagged it for moving to Commons. I think that it is fair use on the Wiki and not a Creative Commons image. Snowman (talk) 21:37, 25 May 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for uploading File:Sgt peppers pict.jpg. The image description page currently specifies that the image is non-free and may only be used on Misplaced Pages under a claim of fair use. However, the image is currently not used in any articles on Misplaced Pages. If the image was previously in an article, please go to the article and see why it was removed. You may add it back if you think that that will be useful. However, please note that images for which a replacement could be created are not acceptable for use on Misplaced Pages (see our policy for non-free media).

Note that any non-free images not used in any articles will be deleted after seven days, as described in the criteria for speedy deletion. Thank you. John of Reading (talk) 07:11, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

That's the standard notification message, of course, but it does contain some useful links. -- John of Reading (talk) 07:15, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

Category:Jurong Bird Park Panorail

Category:Jurong Bird Park Panorail, which you created, has been nominated for possible deletion, merging, or renaming. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you are invited to add your comments at the category's entry on the Categories for discussion page. Thank you. Tim! (talk) 07:21, 26 May 2013 (UTC)

• I do not mind if it is deleted. There is a cat on Commons with that name. Snowman (talk) 23:07, 31 May 2013 (UTC)

hey

Hey Snowman, was just curious what your rationale was for one of your recent edits on Galapagos Mockingbird. Why do you prefer to as a main image? I actually thought the latter was pretty good so I was surprised to see it not only replaced but removed from the page. Benjamint 05:34, 7 June 2013 (UTC)

• The old infobox image looks overexposed to me and I think that the brown objects in the sand are distracting. Further, the old image is licensed with the GNU Free Documentation License (version 1.2 only) is not as user friendly as the multi-licenced new image. Snowman (talk) 21:11, 7 June 2013 (UTC)

• But on the other hand the image you replaced it with is less than half the resolution, and the bird subject itself is less than a quarter, once given a decent crop it would be 500px wide. Additionally the angle is suboptimal showing much less of the bird... the licencing might be more restrictive on the old image but at least the image is itself was usable. Actually I'd like to switch them back, I made an edit to the image addressing your IQ concerns. Keep up the good work though, barely a day has gone by recently when I haven't seen your name in the edit history of a page, you must be very prolific! Benjamint 05:01, 8 June 2013 (UTC)

Picture help 2

Hi Snowman! Hope all is well at your end. I'm wondering if you can help me with a picture issue. The file Gavia Stellata Ölfusá 20090606.jpg seems to have vanished from Commons. (See Red-throated Loon, and the error message in the taxobox.) When I go to Commons and look for it, I can't see why it was deleted. Can you? I'm wondering if someone has just moved it. MeegsC (talk) 12:55, 1 July 2013 (UTC)

Is was deleted by User:JuTa on Commons. The edit summary says "08:57, 16 June 2013 JuTa (talk | contribs) deleted page File:Gavia Stellata Ölfusá 20090606.jpg (No license since 2010-04-30)". see Commons. I am puzzled that the infobox image did not have a licence on Commons. I wonder if the page was vandalized and key information removed. I expect that User:JuTa would be able to explain. Alternatively, I think that any Commons administrator can visualise deleted pages, so I wonder if User:Jimfbleak will be able to help read the deleted pages and examine the page history. Snowman (talk) 21:41, 1 July 2013 (UTC)

I saw this because this page is watchlisted from previous comments, and it seems the deletion could had been handled better. The user clearly just forgot to add a license, and his other images have this one: http://commons.wikimedia.org/File:Eyjafjallaj%C3%B6kull_ash_cloud_20100417.jpg FunkMonk (talk) 21:45, 1 July 2013 (UTC)

If the image is the work of the author, then the author may be willing to add a licence making it feasible for the image to be undeleted ready for the author to add a license. It looks like the deleting administrator is running a bot that deletes images without licences. Snowman (talk) 22:00, 1 July 2013 (UTC)

It is summer here and I am spending quite a lot of time out of doors. It is likely that I will do more editing in the Winter. Snowman (talk) 22:00, 1 July 2013 (UTC)

I have restored the image and added the license the user has added to all his other images. It seems he is unresponsive. FunkMonk (talk) 22:28, 1 July 2013 (UTC)

I think that un-deleting the image is logical and based on a fair interpretation of the author's likely intentions. I presume that the author forgot to fill in all the fields of the template that he used. I have added the same template that the author used on his other image and added the missing fields of the template, so that the template renders properly and very likely to be to what the author intended. Snowman (talk) 09:55, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

Has the author had any other images deleted owing of the same reason? I note that the author has not edited on Commons for about three years. Snowman (talk) 10:08, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

His talk page is empty apart form this deletion notice, so I think it's the only case. FunkMonk (talk) 14:46, 2 July 2013 (UTC)

Garden Warbler eggs

They look like Garden Warbler eggs, so I think the description is correct. I don't speak German, but I used Google translate which rendered

Weitergabe unter gleichen Bedingungen
Weitergabe unter gleichen Bedingungen: Wenn Sie das lizenzierte Werk bearbeiten, abwandeln oder als Vorlage für ein neues Werk verwenden, dürfen Sie die neu entstandenen Werke nur unter dieser oder einer zu dieser kompatiblen Lizenz nutzen und weiterverbreiten.

as

"Noncommercial-Share Alike"
"Noncommercial-Share Alike: If you alter, transform, or use as a template for a new plant the licensed work, you may use the resulting work only under the same or a compatible license and distribute this."

This suggests that there may be a potential problem, since there is no reason why German Misplaced Pages should have the same licensing requirements as en-wiki. I wouldn't take a machine translation as gospel though. Do you know anyone who speaks German?

I have a pdf of Coloured figures of the eggs of British birds by Henry Seebohm which has a Garden Warbler egg on plate 52. The book is 1896, so obviously no problem with copyright. Trouble is that they are life-size, which for this species means very small. If we can't use the German image, do you think it's worth using that? I'll post a link to the book shortly, it will take a little while to upload Jimfbleak - talk to me? 16:18, 11 July 2013 (UTC)

link to book Jimfbleak - talk to me? 16:48, 11 July 2013 (UTC)

If the German photograph is non-commercial, then it should not be used on Commons and I think that it would be best to avoid fair use criteria on en Wiki. Snowman (talk) 18:55, 11 July 2013 (UTC)

I can not get the image in the pdf that you linked. Snowman (talk) 20:31, 11 July 2013 (UTC)

There are four colour plates between pp 208 and 209, plate 52 is the last of those. Or do you mean it isn't rendering correctly? Jimfbleak - talk to me? 05:44, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

No need to use Dropbox as the book is available from the Internet Archive. The Figure is here. The resolution is poor - even the label "Garden Warbler" is somewhat blurred. Aa77zz (talk) 06:21, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

I've downloaded the page from the Internet Archive (as a tarred jpeg2 image - I struggled). I've cropped the page and uploaded a picture of the egg to Commons:

File:Seebohm Garden Warbler egg.jpg | Painting of an egg of the Garden Warbler. The resolution is poor but is it useful? Aa77zz (talk) 07:14, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for that< I'll add it, but no big deal for me if Snowman decides it isn't good enough Jimfbleak - talk to me? 09:24, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

I think that image looks fine to me. I will endeavour to remove the text from the image soon, but I am busy for almost the whole of rest of the day. Snowman (talk) 17:21, 12 July 2013 (UTC)

FAC

Hi Snowman, thanks for your help with the warbler FAC. Next up will be Pacific Swift. It's quite short because there isn't much out there. It will be a few days before I nominate, so if you get the chance to have a look and see if there are any obvious flaws I'd be grateful. No problem if you can't Jimfbleak - talk to me? 06:07, 28 July 2013 (UTC)

This swift does seem less complicated than some species with a great mass of literature about them. The two swift images I added were lucky finds using the search term "bird" on flickr. I am aware that you edit swallow, martin and swift articles and so the images caught my attention. I have not got a lot of time indoors on my computer at the moment, because I am prioritising out-of-doors tasks while the sunny weather here lasts, so my reviewing might be slow with gaps of a few days between comments. I assume slow reviewing is better than no reviewing. If I become really busy, then I would hope to make a brief comment in the FA nomination discussion saying that I have not got time to participate in the discussion any further with a neutral stance to avoid an undue delays in the FA nomination process. Snowman (talk) 08:31, 29 July 2013 (UTC)

On Commons there are two different swift range maps. Why is this? Snowman (talk) 08:36, 29 July 2013 (UTC)

The original map was made some time ago before Pacific Swift was split, the southern Indian records appear to be wanderers from the Himalayas, now a different species so no longer appropriate. I've kept the breeding ranges of the former subspecies since it seems useful info and shows the overlap with Pacific. Those photos were a good find, I thought I was lucky in finding one that I could use! It will probably be couple of days before I nom the swift anyway Jimfbleak - talk to me? 11:21, 29 July 2013 (UTC)

Proposed deletion of Challenge (cycle and car)

The article Challenge (cycle and car) has been proposed for deletion because of the following concern:

Little content, not really notable WP:N, one source.

While all constructive contributions to Misplaced Pages are appreciated, content or articles may be deleted for any of several reasons.

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Please consider improving the article to address the issues raised. Removing {{proposed deletion/dated}} will stop the proposed deletion process, but other deletion processes exist. In particular, the speedy deletion process can result in deletion without discussion, and articles for deletion allows discussion to reach consensus for deletion. ~~ Sintaku 14:39, 30 July 2013 (UTC)

Woodlark

I am currently working on this article (as you can tell from the under construction tags at the top) so I would appreciate if you could not remove content or add CN templates until I am finished. I welcome you're contribution to the article, but some of your edits are counter productive at this point as I'm either going to have to add the content in again later or remove the templates once what I've sorted the sources. I should be finished in a couple of hours, I'm just reading through a couple of new sources I was sent. --teb00007 20:10, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

Please note that the template (or tag), Template:under construction, welcomes other editors to make edits by saying "You are welcome to assist in its construction by editing it as well". With this invitation in the template in mind, I am puzzled by your comment above. Personally speaking, I have had some good results collaborating with editors when they are editing an article at the same time. I have mainly been doing corrections and tidy up work, as you can see. I have been writing some descriptive edit summaries, which I hope will help you to help you improve the article. I added a cn tag with an edit summary to indicate where some information can not be found in the relevant in-line reference. You are welcome to remove the cn tag when you have a suitable source. Snowman (talk) 20:37, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

The "under construction" template invites edits to the page from other editors, so I think that you have added the wrong template for this situation. What about using template:In use for short periods of intense editing? This template indicates that you are very busy editing and you want to avoid edit conflicts. Snowman (talk) 21:07, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

Sorry, I wasn't very clear (and may have come across as rude, that wasn't my intention). I am glad you're contributing to the article - I would actually like to get it to GA status eventually so the more help the better. It was the sentence in the In culture section that was removed I was referring to as I was writing that section at the time (what was there had been in the article before I arrived, but I had tweaked it a little). I hadn't seen the edits since then, but I have now and you've certainly improved the article. Also, I thought the cn template was in a different place (I thought it was at the distribution and habitat section which I'm also currently writing) but it's justified where it is. Sorry for bothering you, please continue editing the article. Could I ask, though, that you not edit the distribution, food or in culture sections at the moment. I am currently writing those sections. I work in notepad (it's easier to read pdfs or websites at the same time that way) then copy what I've done over to wikipedia, so I might inadvertently undo your work in those sections. --teb00007 21:09, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

Do not worry about rewriting and copy-editing the amendments that I made to the article. Go ahead and add the line missing from the culture section and amend it to make sense. I like to see logical improvements to articles. It is an interesting point that you raised about the illustration - is it a drawing or a painting? I generally see drawings as a bit sketchy or in black and white, but I am sure that this is an over generalisation. I noticed that the Wiki article on the author says that he is a painter. It is late here, so I will not do much more editing tonight. What is this notepad that you use? Incidentally, one Woodlark territory has been found in Wales in 2006; see RSPB. Snowman (talk) 21:20, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

I use TextPad - it highlights code, making it easier to focus on the text. It's not brilliant (I've not worked out how to customise it to highlight links and templates yet) but it's still useful. I've just reworded that sentence, actually. I found a second source that claims there may have been woodlarks in Scotland in the 18th century so I've added that in. "Illustration" may be a better word to use. Painting and drawing both don't seem to fit to me. Illustration sounds more scientific. We live in the same country, so it's getting pretty late here too. I'm a student, though, with nothing to do until September so the time means little to me. I'll try to finish the sections I'm writing tonight. If you could take a look at them when you've got a chance I'd be grateful. Thanks for the link. My sources are a little dated. --teb00007 22:06, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

Hey, I've not been able to do much on Misplaced Pages recently because I had an assignment due for summer school. I'm going to try to finish this article off tonight, though, and would like your input if you have a chance. I'll re-add a bit about Burns, highlighting the conflicting sources. --teb00007 22:17, 4 August 2013 (UTC)

Puffins and things

Thank you for your detailed work on the Atlantic Puffin FAC and your support after the various improvements had been made.

As I am currently competing in the final round of the WikiCup, the articles I work on tend to be ones that will score a good number of points. Atlantic Puffin was chosen for this reason and more recently, Birth. You have made quite a number of amendments to the latter article. I have put it forward for DYK, for which it should qualify. Would you like me to add your name to the nomination as a joint contributor? Cwmhiraeth (talk) 20:16, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

Thank you, but I am a bit uneasy about a joint nomination on the "Birth" article. I think that most of my edits on the "Birth" article were quite small amendments of common knowledge in one section and the introduction. Further, I did not contribute to choosing the hook and I am a bit puzzled by some of the article's contents, which I am not familiar with. I would like opt-in one day for another DKY. Snowman (talk) 21:11, 31 August 2013 (UTC)

• Re Long-tailed Duck. This duck is colourful and quite rare, but I am not sure what is in the literature to get it to GA. Snowman (talk) 19:21, 4 September 2013 (UTC)

The article is clearly not suitable for DYK as it is too long already. You could try expanding it and see what you could find. I usually go about things the other way round, - I come across an interesting book or article that deals with a subject and start from there. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 05:21, 5 September 2013 (UTC)

• I think that it is usual for nominators to thank reviewers on the FAC page, and I would be grateful if you would also add something over there for completion. Snowman (talk) 16:34, 6 September 2013 (UTC)

I do normally, and apologise that in this instance I failed to do so. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 18:10, 6 September 2013 (UTC)

Disambiguation link notification for September 3

Hi. Thank you for your recent edits. Misplaced Pages appreciates your help. We noticed though that when you edited David Frost, you added a link pointing to the disambiguation page The Telegraph (check to confirm | fix with Dab solver). Such links are almost always unintended, since a disambiguation page is merely a list of "Did you mean..." article titles. Read the FAQ • Join us at the DPL WikiProject.

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I have fixed it. Snowman (talk) 11:26, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

Sea

Please remove your "Split-apart|Humans and the sea" tag from the top of the article Sea. As you well know, the article is currently a Featured Article Candidate and it is a distraction to that process to introduce the split discussion now. You have mentioned the idea of dividing the article in two on several occasions during the FA review and I do not believe anybody else has supported you or agreed with your view that the article is too long. On the contrary, several people have expressed their support for the article as it is, and Hamiltonstone was displeased that the Culture section had been separated off, a thing we specifically did at your request. If the tag remains in place, I will ask a delegate to intervene. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 13:12, 19 September 2013 (UTC)

To balance what you say about splitting off the culture section, User ColonelHenry specifically said that he did not want to see the culture section re-expanded after it was split off. Also, asking about article length on the talk page and using a template on the article page is what the guideline WP:PROSPLIT recommends. I think that this is much better than canvassing an users known tolerant opinion, as you appear to have done in your edit here. Snowman (talk) 13:36, 19 September 2013 (UTC)

Thank you for removing the tag. If the article were to be split during the FAC review, the whole review process would be void. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 18:28, 19 September 2013 (UTC)

If split in half, then I am not sure what would become of the current FAC, so I have just asked one of the FA delegates (my previous edit). At this juncture, I would guess that both parts of the article are 90% to 95% up to FA level. I have been meaning to have a look at the content of the "Sea" page in other language Wikis, but I have not put them in a translator yet. I have no idea how the "votes" will finally stack up. If there is a consensus soon, then everyone will have to go with that, and decision making will be out of your hands. It looks like the initial momentum is with one big combined article. If the FAC has to be run again, then I think that FA delegates seem to like most FACs to take at least one month, but I might be wrong. Time marches. Snowman (talk) 18:57, 19 September 2013 (UTC)

Rachel Carson quote

I have opened a discussion here regarding copyright issue and have flagged it at WT:FAC. Regards, hamiltonstone (talk) 00:26, 26 September 2013 (UTC)

Sea FAC

Thank you for all the work you have put into reviewing Sea at FAC. It is now nearly seven weeks since the article became a candidate and three weeks since you first commented on it. It is the longest standing FAC bar two, out of about fifty. Neither this article, nor any other FA, is ever going to be perfect and it is in any event subject to future alterations. I think you have already picked up most of the serious omissions and some of the things you have recently mentioned are minor alterations that you could make yourself if you chose. I think it is about time that you wound up your review and left it to the delegates to make a decision as to whether the article should become a FA or not. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 17:32, 30 September 2013 (UTC)

I am still picking up significant errors. Today, I noticed that meteorite impact into the sea was called a geological event. Note that I am making edits directly to the article that I can easily fix. Some of the new sections have only been reviewed by one or two people. I think that it is highly likely that further work is needed to iron out significant problems. Note that there is on-going discussion on the Sea talk page about Carson's quote. Note that I think that restarting the FAC should be considered by the delegates, because it has been unstable during the FAC with many new sections being added and some of the culture sections being split off. I think that some of the new sections have only been reviewed by one or two people. Snowman (talk) 18:11, 30 September 2013 (UTC)

I addressed your latest batch of errors, such as the meteorite, yesterday. If you are concerned that not enough editors have reviewed the newer sections of the article, we can ask them to take another look. I am absolutely against starting a new review. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 09:44, 1 October 2013 (UTC)

I have been doing some edits to the article today, but it can be difficult to incorporate amendments into the existing system of in-line references (some of the books are years old), because I do not have access to all of them. You seem to be somewhat amateurish about writing anything technical, but you may like to re-phrase my amendments, because you can apply the English language better than me and probably a lot quicker. Some of the work may more easily be done with edits and re-edits directly to the article and clear edit summaries, rather than long discussions on talk pages. I am not sure what to do about the little-seen new sections. Perhaps, User Chikswick Chap could help. When is he going to be back? This article is probably twice as long as most, so it is not surprising that the FAC is taking longer. Snowman (talk) 10:48, 1 October 2013 (UTC)

So the process is now over. You put a lot of effort into the review and probably got to know the article better than any of the other reviewers. Thank you for the time you spent on it. Although I did not agree with all of your suggestions, you did pick up some important omissions and as a result the article is more comprehensive than it otherwise would have been. Thank you. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 12:59, 6 October 2013 (UTC)

I just wanted to second Cwmhiraeth's comment - i didn't agree with all your suggestions but thought the article benefitted from the exceptional breadth of your reviewing. Cheers, hamiltonstone (talk) 11:17, 8 October 2013 (UTC)

Main Page appearance: sea

This is a note to let the main editors of sea know that the article will be appearing as today's featured article on November 2, 2013. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. If you prefer that the article appear as TFA on a different date, or not at all, please ask Bencherlite (talk · contribs). You can view the TFA blurb at Misplaced Pages:Today's featured article/November 2, 2013. If it needs tweaking, or if it needs rewording to match improvements to the article between now and its main page appearance, please edit it, following the instructions at Misplaced Pages:Today's featured article/requests/instructions. The blurb as it stands now is below:

The sea is the connected body of salty water that covers over 70 percent of the Earth's surface. It moderates the Earth's climate and has important roles in the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles. It has been travelled since ancient times, while scientific oceanography dates broadly from Captain James Cook's 18th-century voyages. Winds produce waves and surface currents, and deep-sea currents carry cold water to every ocean. Large events such as submarine earthquakes can cause destructive tsunamis. Tides are caused by the rotation of the Earth and the gravitational effects of the Moon and the Sun. A variety of organisms live in the sea's many habitats, from the sunlit surface to the cold, dark abyssal zone, and from the Arctic to colourful tropical coral reefs. Life itself may have started in the sea. The sea provides humans with food including fish and shellfish, and enables trade, travel, mineral extraction, power generation, naval warfare, and leisure, though often at the cost of marine pollution. The sea has been important in human culture since Homer's Odyssey, appearing in literature, mythology, marine art, cinema, theatre, classical music and dream interpretation. (Full article...)

UcuchaBot (talk) 23:03, 17 October 2013 (UTC)

Thank you

	Thrown salt
	Thanks for all your input and edits at the salt GAN. The article is much better for it. I hope you'll continue to keep an eye on it. All the best, – Quadell 21:49, 18 October 2013 (UTC)

Mother Carey

That looks good, shows her, her "chickens" and a sinking ship. If you are pushed for space, the Gorky image could go. Thanks for that, Jimfbleak - talk to me? 13:48, 19 October 2013 (UTC)

I will wait until the Commons bots have rotated it before cropping it. The image also shows a cloudy sky and a rough sea, possibly a storm. Snowman (talk) 14:12, 19 October 2013 (UTC)

I rotated it when I cropped it. I have shown it in the article, with a basic caption. I wondered about highlighting in the caption about the ship, the which, chickens and storm. Snowman (talk) 15:20, 19 October 2013 (UTC)

Books and Bytes: The Misplaced Pages Library Newsletter

• The '''Indigo Bunting''' (''Passerina cyanea'') ), is a small ]-eating ] in the family ]. It is

  • Typo fixed. Snowman (talk) 22:05, 30 November 2013 (UTC)

  Reference Errors on 17 November

  Hello, I'm ReferenceBot. I have automatically detected that an edit performed by you may have introduced errors in referencing. It is as follows:

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  Typo fixed. Snowman (talk) 09:27, 18 November 2013 (UTC)

  DYK for Hooded Parrot

  On 26 November 2013, Did you know? was updated with a fact from the article Hooded Parrot, which you created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that the Hooded Parrot shares its nesting holes with a moth that eats the nestlings' feces? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Hooded Parrot. You are welcome to check how many hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check) and it will be added to DYKSTATS if it got over 5,000. If you know of another interesting fact from a recently created article, then please suggest it on the Did you know? talk page.

  The DYK project (nominate) 00:03, 26 November 2013 (UTC)

  Misplaced Pages:Stub Contest/Entries

  I noticed that you have Nemegt Formation listed 3 times under re-rating. Chris857 (talk) 16:50, 2 December 2013 (UTC)

  • Well spotted. I have removed the accidental duplication. Snowman (talk) 16:56, 2 December 2013 (UTC)

  Wow, you are romping ahead. Just thought I'd point out that quite a few of your pages still have stub tags. Schwede66 05:31, 3 December 2013 (UTC)

  I assume that you mean the WP banners on the talk pages. I will look for the WP banners that I have missed and upgrade then. Snowman (talk) 09:56, 3 December 2013 (UTC)

  I have made a second edit to a few talk pages, to complete the re-rating. I was doing some tidy up work as well, so the submitted list is only those articles, which I re-rated up from a Stub. Snowman (talk) 11:20, 3 December 2013 (UTC)

  December 2013

  Hello, I'm BracketBot. I have automatically detected that your edit to Andrew Dickson Murray may have broken the syntax by modifying 1 "()"s. If you have, don't worry: just edit the page again to fix it. If I misunderstood what happened, or if you have any questions, you can leave a message on my operator's talk page.

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  • I have removed the odd bracket. It was there before edited the page. Snowman (talk) 19:27, 2 December 2013 (UTC)

  WP:TAXONORPHAN

  Hi. In case you didn't know yet, please don't add {{orphan}} tags to articles on taxa and organisms per WP:TAXONORPHAN, as you did at Saiphos equalis. By their very nature, they usually can only be linked to one other article.-- OBSIDIAN†SOUL 22:55, 2 December 2013 (UTC)

  Electron Scattering C-Class Upgrade

  Hi Snowmanradio,

  Thank you very much for your edits on the Electron scattering article, and for the revised classification. I happen to be a 4th year university student, and upgrading the electron scattering article is part of my project. The goal is simply to improve the article as much as possible, and the quality scale is a good way to measure this. I am not sure if you have any background in the topic, but what advice could you give me to continue to improve the article towards a B or even GA?

  The article is still under construction, so I would like to know what you would like to see completed to have it graded to a B-class. Currently I am summarizing the different types of scattering, and have further plans to put into place towards GA later.

  Thanks, IndianFace (talk) 00:05, 6 December 2013 (UTC)

  Hi. The article seems to be in good shape, but it a bit advanced for me, so I do not plan to expand it. Snowman (talk) 16:02, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

  The Misplaced Pages Library Survey

  As a subscriber to one of The Misplaced Pages Library's programs, we'd like to hear your thoughts about future donations and project activities in this brief survey. Thanks and cheers, Ocaasi 15:57, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

  Main Page appearance: redback spider

  This is a note to let the main editors of redback spider know that the article will be appearing as today's featured article on December 19, 2013. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page. If you prefer that the article appear as TFA on a different date, or not at all, please ask Bencherlite (talk · contribs). You can view the TFA blurb at Misplaced Pages:Today's featured article/December 19, 2013. If it needs tweaking, or if it needs rewording to match improvements to the article between now and its main page appearance, please edit it, following the instructions at Misplaced Pages:Today's featured article/requests/instructions. The blurb as it stands now is below:

  

  The redback spider is a species of venomous spider indigenous to Australia. It is a member of the cosmopolitan genus Latrodectus, the widow spiders. The adult female has a black body with a prominent abdominal red stripe (pictured). Females have a body length of about 1 centimetre (0.4 in), while the male is much smaller, being only 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long. Mainly nocturnal, the female redback lives in an untidy web in a warm sheltered location near or inside human residences. It preys on insects, spiders and small vertebrates that become ensnared in its web. Male spiders and spiderlings often live on the periphery of the female spiders' web and steal leftovers. The redback is one of few arachnids which usually display sexual cannibalism while mating. It has a widespread distribution in Australia, and inadvertent introductions have led to established colonies in New Zealand, Japan and in greenhouses in Belgium. The redback is one of the few spider species that can be seriously harmful to humans. An antivenom has been available since 1956, although there are disputes about its effectiveness, and there have been no deaths directly due to redback bites since its introduction. (Full article...)

  UcuchaBot (talk) 23:01, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

  Congratulations

  		100000 Edits
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  If you like you can add this userbox to your collection.

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  re rate to Redirect using AWB

  Hi, all these talk pages that you are performing the edit "re rate to Redirect using AWB", such as this one - have you checked to see why they are the talk pages of redirects? In the very first case that I saw, it was because the article had been cut-and-paste moved with this edit and this, leaving the talk page alone. These need cleaning up: hopefully, when this is actioned, the talk page will be moved to the correct location, in which case it should no longer be rated as a redirect. --Redrose64 (talk) 20:39, 20 December 2013 (UTC)

  Re Talk:Stewarts Lane TMD. This talk page can be moved and reverted back to the original class and importance. I have just done this on that talk page. Snowman (talk) 21:14, 20 December 2013 (UTC)

  Well spotted. I found one other talk page like that in my last 500 edits and I have moved both talk pages to the correct site. I will look for others and fix them. Snowman (talk) 22:20, 20 December 2013 (UTC)

  Thank you --Redrose64 (talk) 01:10, 21 December 2013 (UTC)

  Happy holiday season....

  	Cheers, pina coladas all round!
  	Damn need a few of these after a frenetic year and Xmas. Hope yours is a good one....Cheers, Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 09:58, 25 December 2013 (UTC)

  Glad Tidings and all that ...

  FWiW Bzuk (talk) 20:51, 26 December 2013 (UTC)

  About an image you uploaded to Commons a few years ago...

  

  Hi Snowman, I was just wondering - is this Cookie, do you know? It certainly looks like him - and this would be a better lead image for his article, I think. Thought that it was easier to ask you about it here than on Commons, considering that you're more active on this wiki... Cheers - and season's greetings... --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 23:06, 29 December 2013 (UTC)

  I recall wondering about that when I uploaded the image, but I have no evidence either way. However, he or she does look like Cookie. You could phone the zoo to find out more. I have occasionally phoned UK zoos to find out more about animals seen in flickr photographs. Snowman (talk) 10:25, 30 December 2013 (UTC)

  Thanks. I'll try emailing Brookfield Zoo later on. I think that Cookie was/is their only MM2 - and extremely old birds do tend to get that 'whiskery' look, because their pin feathers start growing to full length without unfurling, but I can't be 100% sure. --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 14:54, 30 December 2013 (UTC)

  I heard back from the zoo - this is definitely Cookie. I've updated the image description on Commons and replaced with old headshot with the new picture in a couple of places. --Kurt Shaped Box (talk) 13:01, 1 January 2014 (UTC)

  It is a nice picture and it has more interest value now that you have found out that it is Cookie. Snowman (talk) 13:04, 1 January 2014 (UTC)

  User talk:Casliber#Deleted user

  • See User talk:Casliber#Deleted user. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 06:34, 2 January 2014 (UTC)
  • See User talk:Casliber#Deleted user. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 13:59, 2 January 2014 (UTC)
  • See User talk:Casliber#Deleted user. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 16:06, 2 January 2014 (UTC)
  • See User talk:Casliber#Deleted user. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 05:57, 3 January 2014 (UTC)

  January 2014

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  • • Someone had put the infobox on one line making it difficult to edit. I fixed it and I have put each field on a separate line now. Snowman (talk) 14:44, 4 January 2014 (UTC)

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  • • Whoops. Typo now fixed. Snowman (talk) 14:53, 4 January 2014 (UTC)

  Hello, I'm BracketBot. I have automatically detected that your edit to Mauritius Blue Pigeon may have broken the syntax by modifying 2 "{}"s. If you have, don't worry: just edit the page again to fix it. If I misunderstood what happened, or if you have any questions, you can leave a message on my operator's talk page.

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  • Whoops, there are many varieties of the sfn references, which have lots of curly brackets. Snowman (talk) 20:32, 6 January 2014 (UTC)

  IUCN2013.2

  I have always been a bit mystified about the IUCN part of the taxobox of articles. In Pristidactylus torquatus I included "| status_system = IUCN2.3 " in the taxobox and the result looks OK. In Darwin's iguana I used "| status_system = IUCN2013.2 " and the result is unsatisfactory. How should I deal with this? Cwmhiraeth (talk) 20:07, 5 January 2014 (UTC)

  Put "| status_system = IUCN3.1" and you should get the graphic. This works on the bird pages that I have edited. I am not sure if this will work for plants. There are other status systems that might be relevant for some living things. At the present time my semi-automatic script only works for birds. Snowman (talk) 20:27, 5 January 2014 (UTC)

  Thanks. I didn't realise that the status_system was different from the version. I will stick to IUCN3.1 as the status system, especially as I now see that it is mentioned on the IUCN page. Cwmhiraeth (talk) 20:38, 5 January 2014 (UTC)

  The IUCN website is at version 2013.2 and this can go in the IUCN template to render it in the citation. Criteria 3.1 (published in 2001) provides the explanations for the conservation statuses and is written in the taxobox. If you see criteria ver IUCN2.3 in a taxobox, then it is out-of-date. I am only referring to the the bird pages; however, I think that the IUCN species pages should tell you everything that you need to know to complete the IUCN citation and also IUCN fields of the taxobox. Look also for the publication year of the conservation status; for birds this is currently 2012 or 2012 and I have been writing 2012 or 2012 in bird taxoboxes. The publication year might be earlier for some animals. Snowman (talk) 20:49, 5 January 2014 (UTC)

  Spix's Macaw article revived

  Hello Snowman,

  In Dec. 2012, if you remember, you participated in a GA review with me for Spix's Macaw article. It had numerous problems with referencing and encyclopedic style. I've since put in a ton of work on the required items. I'd be eternally grateful if you could read over the article and give me your input as it now stands. I'm not going to renominate it for GA until there's consensus that it's ready for that. I've notified Sainsf, the reviewer, to get his input also. Thanks,Sbalfour (talk) 01:07, 6 January 2014 (UTC)

  I have had a quick look, but I think that I will have a longer look and reply on the article's talk page probably sometime this week. Snowman (talk) 10:51, 6 January 2014 (UTC)

  Hello Snowman. I have pointed out some issues on my talkpage. Would you like to have a look at it? Sainsf <^><sub>Talk all words</sub> 06:14, 8 January 2014 (UTC)

  Thanks, Snowman! Let's move work onto the Talk page of the article itself now, so we preserve the history of the dialog in one place. Maybe Sainsf can move a copy his/her comments to the page as well. What would you like me to do re: Conservation and Threats/Threats, History and Captive Population seections?Sbalfour (talk) 20:57, 8 January 2014 (UTC)

  I think that the article would be better after checking and copy-editing. Some of the conservation organisations in the table do not have there own Wiki articles, so some new Stubs might help to wikilink in the main text of the article and the table. Similarly, it might be helpful to make Stub articles for some of the people mentioned in the article, if they do not already have there own articles. Presley could also have his own article. The linked articles could reduce the need for some of the details to be kept in the macaw article. I am going to stand back for a while and see what happens to the article. Snowman (talk) 23:48, 8 January 2014 (UTC)

  Winner

  

  Congratulations. With a final score of 6,492 points, you won the Stub Contest by over double of second place. You were declared the winner at at the contest talk page. There you can find the info to receiver your €100 voucher for Amazon.com. You did an excellent job and earned it. Mitch32 05:04, 10 January 2014 (UTC)

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  Whoops, I guessed that Chelsea was the primary topic. I have fixed it now. Snowman (talk) 10:57, 5 February 2014 (UTC)

  Blackcap

  Nice pics. On my screen, it doesn't impinge. If there is a problem, my preference would be to make the table narrower and deeper, so that the boring but necessary detail is all together. It would also be possible to put the authority under the subspecies name, which would save a column, but it's not a big deal either way. Jimfbleak - talk to me? 18:09, 16 February 2014 (UTC)

  It looks fine on my screen, after I made the table narrower. Snowman (talk) 19:41, 16 February 2014 (UTC)

  February 2014

  Hello, I'm BracketBot. I have automatically detected that your edit to Frank Leverett may have broken the syntax by modifying 2 ""s. If you have, don't worry: just edit the page again to fix it. If I misunderstood what happened, or if you have any questions, you can leave a message on my operator's talk page.

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  • | SHORT DESCRIPTION = American geologist who specialised in

    • Whoops, I accidentally did not copy in the trailing "]]", now fixed. Snowman (talk) 10:29, 18 February 2014 (UTC)

    DYK for Banded Whiteface

    On 23 February 2014, Did you know was updated with a fact from the article Banded Whiteface, which you recently created or substantially expanded. The fact was ... that the Banded Whiteface enters a state of torpor on winter nights? The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Banded Whiteface. You are welcome to check how many page hits the article got while on the front page (here's how, quick check), and it may be added to the statistics page if the total is over 5,000. Finally, if you know of an interesting fact from another recently created article, then please feel free to suggest it on the Did you know talk page.

    The DYK project (nominate) 00:03, 23 February 2014 (UTC)

    File:Caprimulgus_europeus_distr.png

    Hi Snowman. You're more knowledgeable about images than me, and I have a couple of queries about this file. It was uploaded by another user, and has a proper reference, although I can't access that page of Holyoak

    • I'd like to change it to the project's standard colours if there is any easy way to do so. It's too tedious to do it manually. Any ideas, or do I just leave it?
    • The blue stars seem pointless. There is no reason why a silent nocturnal bird couldn't occur anywhere in the general area. Any views?
    • The file name is misspelt. Is it too trivial to justify renaming?
    • I may adapt the map anyway, I don't like to rely on a single map source at any time, especially when I can't see the original book page

    Thanks Jimfbleak - talk to me? 19:21, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

    New version at File:Caprimulgus europaeus -range map.png. Any comments? Is it the correct shade of blue for the African ranges? Snowman (talk) 21:29, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

    • I made a new image (with a new name), because the image is shown on dozens of language Wikis, which may have different colour schemes. Snowman (talk) 21:29, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
    • I hope that the new file name is spelt correctly. Snowman (talk) 21:29, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
    • I have removed the blue stars and the blue arrow. Snowman (talk) 21:29, 24 February 2014 (UTC)

    That's brilliant! I'll have a look at other sources to see if the map needs adjusting at all, otherwise it's all done Jimfbleak - talk to me? 08:04, 25 February 2014 (UTC)

    • File:Caprimulgus_europeus_distr.png moved to File:Caprimulgus europaeus distr.png on Commons. Snowman (talk) 11:40, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

    Unbaptised

    Hi Snow, I'm surprised you objected to this; it's in the source, Chambers and the online OED (the latter under the Oxford spelling with -ize). Since the meaning is obvious, I can't see the point of replacing it with a phrase. Would you me happy with unbaptized (although that has the risk of looking like AE)? Jimfbleak - talk to me? 18:01, 28 February 2014 (UTC)

    It is more of a question than an objection. It is not in the OED as "unbaptised" (as it was spelt in the bird article). It is in the OED as "unbaptized". I am puzzled by this spelling, so I have returned your spelling to the article. Snowman (talk) 21:38, 28 February 2014 (UTC)

    Re-think. I think I understand it a bit better now and I think that you are correct using "unbaptised" because it is consistent with the use of "ise" and not "ize" seen in the rest of the article. It is probably worth tagging the article with {{EngvarB}} ( not {{EngvarOx}}) to help people doing semi-automatic edits. Snowman (talk) 21:55, 28 February 2014 (UTC)

    Good idea Jimfbleak - talk to me? 06:51, 1 March 2014 (UTC)

    oil droplets

    While I accept what you say as far as it goes, it could well still be the case that the cones in nocturnal birds' eyes has fewer oil droplets. The reference I used said that birds that hunt underwater like auks, or in the air, like swifts and swallows, also lack oil droplets because they would hinder their specialised vision requirements, so it's not just a matter of rods v cones. Leave it with me, I'll look tomorrow Jimfbleak - talk to me? 17:59, 2 March 2014 (UTC)

    I am not certain of the exact comparative anatomy, so I will be interested to see your amendments. The A & P may be quite complicated. Nocturnal birds may have more rods and also less oil droplets in cones than daylight birds. Snowman (talk) 18:44, 2 March 2014 (UTC)

    Surprising difficult to find reliable sources

    • Burton (reffed in text) says owls and nightjars have few droplets, doesn't mention numbers of cones
    • Holyoak p.67 although nightjars have coloured drops in some of their cones....— this is all I can read, but at least confirms that they have some cones.
    • Roots, Nocturnal animals p.4, "Nightjars and frogmouths have cones, but not enough for colour vision."Jimfbleak - talk to me? 17:59, 2 March 2014 (UTC)

    The Roots ref sounds a bit dogmatic to me, but it might have to be used as such as a RS. Snowman (talk) 10:41, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

    I suggest In many diurnal birds, light passes through coloured oil droplets within cone cells to improve their colour vision. however, Nocturnal birds have a much higher density of rod cells, which lack not not have oil drops, and are more sensitive to light.(Burton ref pp. 44/48) The relatively low numbers of cone cells also have few oil droplets(+Burton and Roots refs). What do you think? Jimfbleak - talk to me? 07:25, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

    Suggestion: The retinas of nocturnal species of birds including nightjars are adapted for sight in low-light levels with a much higher density of rod cells and a fewer cone cells, when compared to that of most diurnal species of birds. In diurnal birds light passes through coloured oil droplets within cone cells to improve colour vision; on the other hand, sparsity of cone cells (some without oil droplets and some with only a few oil droplets) in nightjars suggests that the adaptation towards good night vision has compromised colour vision. Snowman (talk) 10:37, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

    My first sentence seems uncontroversial to me and I presume the general references in the "Bird vision" article will help. The second sentence is harder to write, because of the paucity of information on the topic and I am not sure how much detail to write in. The second sentence may need re-phrasing depending on the requirements of the article and other copy-editing; however, I think I the second sentence does not go beyond what the three references say. I see the Darwinian style for this as just a different and more logical way of writing it and I think that it is not RS. Snowman (talk)

    That looks OK, although, as you say, the second sentence needs tweaking. I'll sort out the referencing and have another go later. Any other problems? If not, I'll go through the text a couple more times and then throw it to FAC Jimfbleak - talk to me? 10:47, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

    If you are going straight to FAC, then I might write a few comments on the article's talk page. Snowman (talk) 10:51, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

    I've written lots of FAs, and I normally only go to GA (or Milhist "A" review) if it's a different type of article, like Melbourne Castle, where I need to be sure that I know what I'm doing. GA is a bit hit-and-miss, reviews are sometimes insufficiently rigorous to be good preparation for FA, and not all reviewers are aware of the FAC standards. I'll probably go to FAC in the next few days, and obviously I'll mention the help you have given in the preparation of the article. Thanks, Jimfbleak - talk to me? 10:44, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

    For balance a little more about the birds in Africa, when it is cold in the north, would help. What they eat there, what African habitats they prefer, their behaviour, African predators, how they get there and back. Snowman (talk) 19:59, 5 March 2014 (UTC)