Cassin's Kingbird, and Plagiarism

I've never seen anything published about the Cassin's kingbird's mating ritual. Not to say such data doesn't exist, just that I've never seen it. One day a couple of years ago, I added few lines about the wedding dances I have observed, to the Cassin's Kingbird entry on Wikipedia. 

I forgot I made the entry, until I was looking for some information on this bird recently. I found some text that looked familiar, on someone's site. Then another site, the exact text. Another place, the same text with minor changes. Then on Wikipedia, I saw the original entry. I hit the History tag and saw that my login had made the entry.

I realized that two things had happened:

1. People saw my entry and assumed it was gospel. The entry is true; Cassin's are one of my favorite birds and I was only reporting what I had observed. Even so, you know what they say happens when you assume something.
2. People stole my entry and put it on their own site, as their own. Without even putting it in their own words!  I guess this is ok. I want people to know about this bird. But it would have been nice to have been given credit. That's one good thing about Wikipedia -- your work is perpetually credited, as long as you post it there first. (The downside is that Wikipedia requires references. My posting may disappear from there, so I put it at the bottom of this entry so that it can be referenced by Wikipedia.)

One thing I have learned, in my sojourn as "not an ornithologist, naturalist or biologist,"  is that information about specific bird species is very rare, unless they're a well-studies species, like Robins or Penguins. Most people don't spend enough time watching a specific species to pick up the details that really should be studied.

Mating rituals are a good (and fun) example.  Since I saw the Cassin's Kingbird pair dancing, I've noticed other mating rituals. Hummingbirds. Chickens. Even crows do it.  I think people, you especially, should devote a summer to taking pictures and making observations of a specific species. Take notes, and put your notes online. That helps the rest of us learn, and might benefit that species.

And if I borrow what you publish, I promise to attribute it properly.

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Cassin's Kingbird Mating Ritual: In early spring, presumably after having chosen (or shown up with) their mate, they launch into a peculiar dance. With excited high-pitched calls, they hover in unison, wings outstretched, over a favorite perch. This dance takes place several times a day over several days, over several separate sites in an area covering two or three acres (12,000 m²). The sites chosen for the dance appear to be the same sites used as hunting perches during the spring and summer.