Hi Stile,
Thanks for the reply.
This all seems well and good.
I feel that the Fish and Wildlife have reason to believe the bird is still in existance.
Meanwhile some groups of bird watchers feel they have reason to believe the bird is extinct.
When I make my own personal choice of whom I will have confidence. I will choose the group that I believe the more credible. In this instance it is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife.
So it does come down to who or whom we find believable.
We can not fact check every source on a story by story bases.
I typically don't. I am guilty of appeals to authority in these matters. I put my "faith" in those who I believe wont get the story twisted, or skew the evidence.
In the end it does come down to personal choice on what we will believe.
"You were not there for the beginning. You will not be there for the end. Your knowledge of what is going on can only be superficial and relative" William S. Burroughs