Vol. 17, No. 1, 1986 WESTERN BIRDS Quarterly Journal of Western Field Ornithologists Acting President: Tim Manolis, 3532 Winston Way, Carmichael, CA 95608 Treasurer /Membership Secretary: Art Cupples, 3924 Munietta Ave., Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 Recording Secretary: Jean-Marie Spoelman, 4629 Diaz Drive, Fremont, CA 94536 Circulation Manager: Jerry R. Oldenettel, 4368 37th Street, San Diego, CA 92105 Directors: Laurence C. Binford, Peter Gent, Virginia P. Johnson, John S. Luther, Guy McCaskie, Timothy Manolis, Narca Moore-Craig, Joseph Morlan, Janet Witzeman Editor: Alan M. Craig, P.O. Box 254, Lake view, CA 92353 Associate Editors: Cameron Barrows, Tim Manolis, Narca A. Moore-Craig, Dale A. Zimmerman Layout Artist : Virginia P. Johnson Photo Editor: Bruce Webb, 5657 Cazadero, Sacramento, CA 95822 Review Editor: Richard E. Webster, P.O. Box 6318, San Diego, CA 92106 Editorial Board: Robert Andrews, Alan Baldridge, Andrew J. Berger, Laurence C. Binford (Chairman), Jeanne A. Corny, David F. DeSante, Jon L. Dunn, Richard Erickson, Kimball L. Garrett, Joseph R. Jehl, Jr., Ned K. Johnson, Virginia P. Johnson, Kenn Kaufman, Brina Kessel, Stephen A. Laymon, Paul Lehman, John S. Luther, Guy McCaskie, M. Timothy Myres, Harry B. Nehls, Dennis R. Paulson, Stephen M. Russell, Oliver K. Scott, Ella Sorensen, Richard W. Stallcup, David Stirling, Charles Trost, Terence R. Wahl, Roland H. Wauer, Bruce Webb, Wayne C. Weber, Richard E. Webster Membership dues, for individuals and institutions, including subscription to Western Birds: Patron, $1000; Life, $250; Supporting, $50 annually; Contributing, $25 annually; Regular, $14 U.S. ($17 outside U.S.) annually. Dues and contributions are tax-deductible to the ex- tent allowed by law. Send membership dues, changes of address, correspondence regarding missing issues, and orders for back issues and special publications to the Treasurer. Make checks payable to Western Field Ornithologists. Back issues of California Birds /Western Birds: $15 per volume, $4.00 for single issues. Xerox copies of out of print issues (Vol. 1 , No. 1; Vol. 2, Nos. 1 and 4; Vol. 6, No. 2) : $4.50 each. Checklist of the Birds of California: $2.00 each, lOor more $1.50 each. PelagicBirds of Monterey Bay, California: $2.50 each, 10 or more $2.00 each, 40 or more $1.50 each. All postpaid. Published December 16, 1986 WESTERN BIRDS ADVERTISING RATES AND SPECIFICATIONS Full page 4 x 6 3 /4 inches $60 per issue $200 per year Half Page 4x3% inches $40 per issue $130 per year Quarter Page 4 x l u / l6 inches $30 per issue $110 per year Offset printing, one column per page, 4 inches wide. Glossy, black and white photos are ac- ceptable; half-tone screen size: 133 line. Photo-ready copy is requested. If this is not possible, extra charges for typesetting will be made as follows: $15 hill page, $10 half page, $5 quarter page. Send copy with remittance to the Treasurer. Make checks payable to Western Field Ornithologists. A 15% commission is allowed for agencies. WESTERN BIRDS Volume 17. Number 1. 1986 CHECKLIST OF CALIFORNIA BIRDS - 1986 LAURENCE C. BINFORD. 330 Grove Street. Glencoe. Illinois 60022 California Bird Records Committee This is the official California state checklist of birds as compiled by the Western Field Ornithologists’ California Bird Records Committee (hereafter CBRC; see names of members in Acknowledgments). Several developments have rendered the last state checklist (Jones et al. 1981) obsolete. The American Ornithologists’ Union (hereafter AOU) has published its Sixth Edi- tion of the Check-list of North American Birds (AOU 1983) and its Thirty- fifth Supplement (AOU 1985). which contain numerous taxonomic innova- tions that were not. and could not have been, anticipated by Jones et al. (1981). In addition, the CBRC has eliminated the “unresolved category” of the state list, reevaluated most records of the species therein, and compiled a new list for all submitted species judged unacceptable for the state list (see Unaccepted Species) . Finally, since 1981 a number of species have been ad- ded to or deleted from the state list. Methods. Details on individual records of species mentioned in this in- troduction and in the unaccepted species list are either unpublished or may be found in the CBRC reports (3rd-9th) indicated in parentheses. Scientific names not in this introduction may be found on the state or unaccepted species lists. The taxonomy of the AOU (1983. 1985) is followed without exception. For a comparison of the Sixth Edition (AOU 1983) with the Fifth (AOU 1957) and its supplements, see DeBenedictis (1983). On the state list those seven species marked “I” have been introduced and subsequently become established as viable populations. The two species marked “E” formerly occurred naturally in the state but have since become extirpated. The 137 species indicated by an asterisk (*) are on the committee review list; in most cases, they have averaged four or fewer records per year over the last 10-year period. The CBRC requests documentation for all past unreviewed and future records of these species and of the subspecies Red- eyed (Yellow-green) Vireo ( Vireo oliuaceus flauouiridis) , the species pair White Wagtail/ Black-backed Wagtail, and the hybrid combination Blue- winged Warbler X Golden-winged Warbler. Western Birds 17: 1-16. 1986 1 CALIFORNIA CHECKLIST State list, Jones et al. (1981) listed 541 species for California. Since then 20 species have been added on the basis of records judged acceptable by the CBRC: Anhinga (CBRC 9th report), Whooper Swan (9), American Black Duck (unpublished), Steller’s Eider (8), Smew (7), Common Black-Hawk (9), Spotted Redshank (8), Gray-tailed Tattler (6), Little Curlew (9), Little Stint (9), Sooty Tern (8), Kittlitz’s Murrelet (7), Least Auklet (6), Barred Owl (7), White-collared Swift (8), Ruby-throated Hummingbird (9), Brown Shrike (unpublished), Black-backed Wagtail (7), Rustic Bunting (9), and Brambling (9). Elevation to species rank by the AOU (1985) has resulted in the addition of two other species: Clark’s Grebe and Red-naped Sapsucker. The same publication separated Pacific Loon ( Gavia pacifica) from Arctic Loon (G. arc- tica ) . In California the former is a common species; the latter, a largely Eura- sian species, is unrecorded but perhaps expected, as G. a. uiridigularis has been reported as far south as British Columbia in winter (AOU 1983). Three species accepted by Jones et al. (1981) subsequently have been deleted and then readded: Cook’s Petrel (deleted 7, readded 9), Yellow Wagtail (deleted 6, readded 8), and White Wagtail (deleted 6, readded 9). Finally, one species has been deleted: Acadian Flycatcher (7). The above changes bring the California state list up to 562, a net increase of 21 species. Unresolved category. The CBRC has reevaluated most records of the eight species formerly placed in the “unresolved category” (Jones et al. 1981) of the state list, with the following results: Cape Petrel, Black Vulture, Black-tailed Gull, and Green Violet-ear have been relegated to the unac- cepted species list. Records for the Ringed Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia risoria) are pending. Records for Kittlitz’s Murrelet and American Black Duck were rejected (3) previous to Jones et al. (1981) but have subsequently been ac- cepted (7 and unpublished, respectively), and the species readded to the state list. Anhinga has been added (9) to the state list on the basis of a recent record. Pending species. Records of 13 species not on the state list are currently pending before the CBRC (5 of these, based on other records, are on the unaccepted species list): Solander’s Petrel ( Pterodroma solandri), Townsend’s Shearwater ( Puffinus auricularis) , Barnacle Goose ( Branta leucopsis), White-tailed Ptarmigan ( Lagopus leucurus ; introduced), Com- mon Ringed Plover ( Charadrius hiaticula), Iceland Gull, Swallow-tailed Gull (Creagrus furcatus) , Ringed Turtle-Dove { Streptopelia risoria; introduced), Ruddy Ground-Dove, Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus). Magnificent Hum- mingbird, Three-toed Woodpecker, and Alder Flycatcher. 2 CALIFORNIA CHECKLIST CALIFORNIA STATE LIST GAVIIDAE Red-thoated Loon Gauia stellata Pacific Loon Gauia pacifica Common Loon Gauia immer ‘Yellow-billed Loon Gauia adamsii PODICIPEDIDAE ‘Least Grebe Tachybaptus dominicus Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps Horned Grebe Podiceps auritus Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena Eared Grebe Podiceps nigricollis Western Grebe Aechmophorus occidentalis Clark’s Grebe Aechmophorus clarkii DIOMEDEIDAE ‘Wandering Albatross Diomedea exulans ‘Short-tailed Albatross Diomedea albatrus Black-footed Albatross Diomedea nigripes Laysan Albatross Diomedea immutabilis PROCELLARIIDAE Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glaciatis ‘Mottled Petrel Pterodroma inexpectata ‘Cook’s Petrel Pterodroma cookii ‘Stejneger’s Petrel Pterodroma longirostris ‘Streaked Shearwater Calonectris leucomelas Pink-footed Shearwater Puffinus creatopus Flesh-footed Shearwater Puffinus carneipes ‘Greater Shearwater Puffinus gravis Buller’s Shearwater Puffin us bulled Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus Short-tailed Shearwater Puffinus tenuirostris Black-vented Shearwater Puffinus opisthomelas HYDROBAT1DAE ‘Wilson’s Storm-Petrel Oceanites oceanicus Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma furcata Leach's Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa Ashy Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma homochroa ‘Band-rumped Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma castro ‘Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma tethys Black Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma melania Least Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma microsoma PHAETHONTIDAE ‘White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus Red-billed Tropicbird Phaethon aethereus ‘Red-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda SULIDAE ‘Masked Booby Suia dactylatra Blue-footed Booby Sula nebouxii ‘Brown Booby Sula leucogaster ‘Red-footed Booby Sula sula PELECANIDAE American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos 3 CALIFORNIA CHECKLIST Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis PHALACROCORACIDAE Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus "Olivaceous Cormorant Phalacrocorax olivaceus Brandt’s Cormorant Phalacrocorax penicillatus Pelagic Cormorant Phalacrocorax pelagicus ANHINGIDAE ’Anhinga Anhinga anhinga FREGATIDAE Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata magnificens ARDEIDAE American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias Great Egret Casmerodius atbus Snowy Egret Egretta thula Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor "Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis Green-backed Heron Butorides striatus Black-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax nycticorax "Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Nycticorax uiolaceus THRESKIORNITHIDAE "White Ibis Eudocimus albus White-faced Ibis Plegadis chihi Roseate Spoonbill Ajaia ajaja CICONIIDAE Wood Stork Mycteria americana ANATIDAE Fulvous Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna bicolor "Black-bellied Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus "Whooper Swan Cygnus cygnus "Trumpeter Swan Cygnus buccinator Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons Snow Goose Chen caerulescens Ross’ Goose Chen rossii "Emperor Goose Chen canagica Brant Branta bernicla Canada Goose Branta canadensis Wood Duck Afx sponsa Green-winged Teal Anas crecca "Baikal Teal Anas formosa "American Black Duck Anas rubripes Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Northern Pintail Anas acuta "Garganey Anas querquedula Blue-winged Teal Anas discors Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata Gadwall Anas strepera Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope 4 CALIFORNIA CHECKLIST American Wigeon Anas americana Canvasback Aythya valisineria Redhead Aythya americana Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris ’Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula Greater Scaup Aythya marila Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis ’King Eider Somateria spectabilis ’Steller's Eider Polysticta stelleri Harlequin Duck Histrionicus histrionicus Oldsquaw Clangula hyemalis Black Scoter Melanitta nigra Surf Scoter Melanitta perspicillata White-winged Scoter Melanitta fusca Common Goldeneye Bucephala clangula Barrow’s Goldeneye Bucephala islandica Bufflehead Bucephala albeola ’Smew Mergellus albellus Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus Common Merganser Mergus merganser Red-breasted Merganser Mergus senator Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis CATHARTIDAE Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura California Condor Gymnogyps californianus ACCIPITRIDAE Osprey Pandion haliaetus Black-shouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus ’Mississippi Kite Ictinia mississippiensis Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus Northern Harrier Circus cyaneus Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus Cooper’s Hawk Accipiter cooperii Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis ’Common Black-Hawk Buteogallus anthracinus ’Harris’ Hawk Parabuteo unicinctus E Red-shouldered Hawk Buteo lineatus Broad-winged Hawk Buteo platypterus Swainson’s Hawk Buteo swainsoni ’Zone-tailed Hawk Buteo albonotatus Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis Ferruginous Hawk Buteo regalis Rough-legged Hawk Buteo lagopus Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos FALCONIDAE American Kestrel Falco sparuerius Merlin Falco columbarius Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus ’Gyrfalcon Falco rusticolus Prairie Falcon Falco mexicanus PHASIANIDAE Chukar Alectoris chukar I 5 CALIFORNIA CHECKLIST Ring-necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus I Blue Grouse Dendragapus obscurus Ruffed Grouse Bonasa umbellus Sage Grouse Centrocercus urophasianus ‘Sharp-tailed Grouse Tympanuchus phasianellus E Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo I Gambel's Quail Callipepla gambelii California Quail Callipepla californica Mountain Quail Oreortyx pictus RALL1DAE ‘Yellow Rail Coturnicops noueboracensis Black Rail Laterallus jamaicensis Clapper Rail Rallus longirostris Virginia Rail Rallus limicola Sora Porzana Carolina ‘Purple Gallinule Porphyrula martinica Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus American Coot Fulica americana GRUIDAE Sandhill Crane Grus canadensis CHARADRIIDAE Black-bellied Plover Pluuialis squatarola Lesser Golden-Plover Pluuialis dominica ‘Mongolian Plover Charadrius mongolus Snowy Plover Charadrius alexandrinus ‘Wilson’s Plover Charadrius wilsonia Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus ‘Piping Plover Charadrius melodus Killdeer Charadrius uociferus Mountain Plover Charadrius montanus ‘Eurasian Dotterel Charadrius morinellus HAEMATOPODIDAE ‘American Oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus Black Oystercatcher Haematopus bachmani RECURVIROSTRIDAE Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus American Avocet Recuruirostra americana SCOLOPACIDAE Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes ‘Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus Solitary Sandpiper Tringa soiitaria Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatus Wandering Tattler Heteroscelus incanus ‘Gray-tailed Tattler Heteroscelus brevipes Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularia ‘Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda ‘Little Curlew Numenius minutus Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus ‘Hudsonian Godwit Limosa haemastica ‘Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica 6 CALIFORNIA CHECKLIST Marbled Godwit Limosa fedoa Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres Black Turnstone Arenaria melanocephaia Surfbird Aphriza uirgata Red Knot Calidris canutus Sanderling Calidris alba Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri ‘Rufous-necked Stint Calidris ruficollis ‘Little Stint Calidris minuta Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilia ‘White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis Baird’s Sandpiper Calidris bairdii Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos Sharp-tailed Sandpiper Calidris acuminata Rock Sandpiper Calidris ptilocnemis Dunlin Calidris alpina ‘Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus ‘Buff-breasted Sandpiper Tryngites subruficollis Ruff Philomachus pugnax Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus ‘Jack Snipe Lymnocryptes minimus Common Snipe Galtinago gallinago Wilson’s Phalarope Phalaropus tricolor Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus Red Phalarope Phalaropus fulicaria LARIDAE Pomarine Jaeger Stercorarius pomarinus Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus Long-tailed Jaeger Stercorarius longicaudus South Polar Skua Catharacta maccormicki Laughing Gull Larus atricilla Franklin’s Gull Larus pipixcan ‘Little Gull Larus minutus ‘Common Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus Bonaparte’s Gull Larus Philadelphia Heermann’s Gull Larus heermanni Mew Gull Larus canus Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis California Gull Larus californicus Herring Gull Larus argentatus Thayer’s Gull Larus thayeri ‘Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus Yellow-footed Gull Larus liuens Western Gull Larus occidentalis Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens Glaucous Gull Larus hyperboreus Black- legged Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla Sabine’s Gull Xema sabini Gull-billed Tern Sterna nilotica Caspian Tern Sterna caspia Royal Tern Sterna maxima 1 CALIFORNIA CHECKLIST Elegant Tern Sterna elegans ‘Sandwich Tern Sterna sanduicensis Common Tern Sterna hirundo Arctic Tern Sterna paradisaea Forster’s Tern Sterna forsteri Least Tern Sterna antillarum ‘Sooty Tern Sterna fuscata Black Tern Chlidonias niger Black Skimmer Rynchops niger ALCIDAE Common Murre Uria aalge ‘Thick-billed Murre Uria lomuia Pigeon Guillemot Cepphus columba Marbled Murrelet Brachyramphus marmoratus ‘Kittlitz’s Murrelet Brachyramphus brevirostris Xantus’ Murrelet Synthliboramphus hypoleucus Craveri’s Murrelet Synthliboramphus craven Ancient Murrelet Synthliboramphus antiquus Cassin’s Auklet Ptychoramphus aleuticus ‘Parakeet Auklet Cyclorrhynchus psittacula ‘Least Auklet Aethia pusilla ‘Crested Auklet Aethia cristatella Rhinoceros Auklet Cerorhinca monocerata Tufted Puffin Fratercula cirrhata Horned Puffin Fratercula corniculata COLUMBIDAE Rock Dove Columba livia I Band-tailed Pigeon Columba fasciata Spotted Dove Streptopelia chinensis I White-winged Dove Zenaida asiatica Mourning Dove Zenaida macroura Inca Dove Columbina inca Common Ground-Dove Columbina passerina CUCULIDAE ‘Black-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus erythropthalmus Yellow-billed Cuckoo Coccyzus americanus Greater Roadrunner Geococcyx californianus ‘Groove-billed Ani Crotophaga sulcirostris TYTONIDAE Common Barn-Owl Tyto alba STRIGIDAE Flammulated Owl Ofus flammeolus Western Screech-Owl Otus kennicottii Great Horned Owl Bubo oirginianus ‘Snowy Owl Nyctea scandiaca Northern Pygmy-Owl Glaucidium gnoma Elf Owl Micrathene whitneyi Burrowing Owl Athene cunicularia Spotted Owl Strix occidentals ‘Barred Owl Strix uaria Great Gray Owl Strix nebulosa Long-eared Owl As to otus Short-eared Owl Ast'o flammeus Northern Saw-whet Owl Aegolius acadicus 8 CALIFORNIA CHECKLIST CAMPRIMULGIDAE Lesser Nighthawk Chordeiles acutipennis Common Nighthawk Chordeiles minor Common Poorwill Phalaenoptilus nuttallii Whip-poor-will Caprimulgus vociferus APODIDAE Black Swift Cypseloides niger ‘White-collared Swift Streptoprocne zonaris Chimney Swift Chaetura pe/agica Vaux’s Swift Chaetura uauxi White-throated Swift Aeronautes saxatalis TROCHILIDAE ‘Broad-billed Hummingbird Cynanthus latirostris ‘Violet-crowned Hummingbird Amazilia violiceps ‘Blue-throated Hummingbird Lampornis clemenciae ‘Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris Black-chinned Hummingbird Archilochus alexandri Anna s Hummingbird Calypte anna Costa’s Hummingbird Calypte costae Calliope Hummingbird Stellula calliope Broad-tailed Hummingbird Selasphorus platycercus Rufous Hummingbird Selasphorus rufus Allen’s Hummingbird Selasphorus sasin ALCEDINIDAE Belted Kingfisher Cery/e alcyon PICIDAE Lewis’ Woodpecker Melanerpes lewis ‘Red-headed Woodpecker Melanerpes erythrocephalus Acorn Woodpecker Melanerpes formiciuorus Gila Woodpecker Melanerpes uropygialis Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius Red-naped Sapsucker Sphyrapicus nuchalis Red-breasted Sapsucker Sphyrapicus ruber Williamson’s Sapsucker Sphyrapicus thyroideus Ladder-backed Woodpecker Picoides scalaris Nuttall’s Woodpecker Picoides nuttallii Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus White-headed Woodpecker Picoides albolaruatus Black-backed Woodpecker Picoides arcticus Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus Pileated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus TYRANNIDAE Olive-sided Flycatcher Con top us borealis ‘Greater Pewee Contopus pertinax Western Wood-Pewee Contopus sordidulus ‘Eastern Wood-Pewee Contopus uirens ‘Yellow-bellied Flycatcher Empidonax flauiuentris Willow Flycatcher Empidonax trailii Least Flycatcher Empidonax minimus Hammond’s Flycatcher Empidonax hammondii Dusky Flycatcher Empidonax oberholseri Gray Flycatcher Empidonax wrightii 9 CALIFORNIA CHECKLIST Western Flycatcher Empidonax difficilis Black Phoebe Sayornis nigricans Eastern Phoebe Sayornis phoebe Say’s Phoebe Sayornis saya Vermilion Flycatcher Pyrocephalus rubinus ’Dusky-capped Flycatcher Myiarchus tuberculifer Ash-throated Flycatcher Myiarchus cinerascens ’Great Crested Flycatcher Myiarchus crinitus Brown-crested Flycatcher Myiarchus tyrannulus ’Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher Miodynastes luteiventris Tropical Kingbird Tyrannus melancholicus Cassin’s Kingbird Tyrannus uociferans ’Thick-billed Kingbird Tyrannus crassirostris Western Kingbird Tyrannus verticalis Eastern Kingbird Tyrannus tyrannus ’Scissor-tailed Flycatcher Tyrannus forficatus ALAUDIDAE ’Eurasian Skylark Alauda aruensis Horned Lark Eremophila alpestris HIRUNDINIDAE Purple Martin Progne subis Tree Swallow Tachycineta bicolor Violet-green Swallow Tachycineta thalassina Northern Rough-winged Swallow Stelgidopteryx serripennis Bank Swallow Riparia riparia Cliff Swallow Hirundo pyrrhonota Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica CORVIDAE Gray Jay Perisoreus canadensis Steller’s Jay Cyanocitta stelleri ’Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata Scrub Jay Aphelocoma coerulescens Pinyon Jay Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus Clark’s Nutcracker Nucifraga columbiana Black-billed Magpie Pica pica Yellow-billed Magpie Pica nuttalli American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos Common Raven Cora us corax PARIDAE Black-capped Chickadee Parus atricapillus Mountain Chickadee Parus gambeli Chestnut-backed Chickadee Parus rufescens Plain Titmouse Parus inornatus REMIZIDAE Verdin Auriparus flauipes AEGITHALIDAE Bushtit Psaltriparus minimus SITTIDAE Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis White-breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis Pygmy Nuthatch Sitta pygmaea CERTHIIDAE Brown Creeper Certhia americana 10 CALIFORNIA CHECKLIST TROGLODYTIDAE Cactus Wren Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus Rock Wren Salpinctes obsoletus Canyon Wren Catherpes mexicanus Bewick’s Wren Thryomanes bewickii House Wren Troglodytes aedon Winter Wren Troglodytes troglodytes ‘Sedge Wren Cistothorus platensis Marsh Wren Cistothorus palustris CINCLIDAE American Dipper Cinclus mexicanus MUSCICAPIDAE ‘Dusky Warbler Phylloscopus fuscatus Golden-crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa Ruby-crowned Kinglet Regulus calendula Blue-gray Gnatcatcher Polioptila caerulea Black-tailed Gnatcatcher Polioptila melanura ‘Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe Western Bluebird Sialia mexicana Mountain Bluebird Sialia currucoides Townsend’s Solitaire Myadestes toumsendi ‘Veery Catharus fuscescens ‘Gray-cheeked Thrush Catharus minimus Swainson’s Thrush Catharus ustulatus Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus ‘Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina ‘Rufous-backed Robin Turdus rufopalliatus American Robin Turdus migratorius Varied Thrush Ixoreus naeuius Wrentit Chamaea fasciata MIMIDAE ‘Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis Northern Mockingbird Mimus polyglottos Sage Thrasher Oreoscoptes montanus Brown Thrasher Toxostoma rufum Bendire's Thrasher Toxostoma bendirei ‘Curve-billed Thrasher Toxostoma curuirostre California Thrasher Toxostoma redivivum Crissal Thrasher Toxostoma crissale Le Conte’s Thrasher Toxostoma lecontei MOTACILLIDAE ‘Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flat/a ‘White Wagtail Motacilla alba ‘Black-backed Wagtail Motacilla I u gens ‘Red-throated Pipit Anthus cervinus Water Pipit Anthus spinoletta ‘Sprague’s Pipit Anthus spragueii BOMBYC1LLIDAE Bohemian Waxwing Bombycilla garrulus Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum PTILOGONATIDAE Phainopepla Phainopepla nitens 11 CALIFORNIA CHECKLIST LANIIDAE ‘Brown Shrike Lanlus cristatus Northern Shrike Lanius excubitor Loggerhead Shrike Lanius ludovicianus STURNIDAE European Starling Sturnus vulgaris I VIREONIDAE ’White-eyed Vireo Vireo griseus Bell’s Vireo Vireo belli i Gray Vireo Vireo uicinior Solitary Vireo Vireo solitarius ’Yellow-throated Vireo Vireo flavifrons Hutton’s Vireo Vireo huttoni Warbling Vireo Vireo gilvus ’Philadelphia Vireo Vireo philadelphicus Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus EMBERIZIDAE ’Blue-winged Warbler Vermivora pinus ‘Golden-winged Warbler Vermivora chrysoptera Tennessee Warbler Vermivora peregrina Orange-crowned Warbler Vermivora celata Nashville Warbler Vermivora ruficapilla Virginia’s Warbler Vermivora virginiae Lucy’s Warbler Vermivora luciae Northern Parula Parula americana Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia Chestnut-sided Warbler Dendroica pensylvanica Magnolia Warbler Dendroica magnolia Cape May Warbler Dendroica tigrina Black-throated Blue Warbler Dendroica caerulescens Yellow-rumped Warbler Dendroica coronata Black-throated Gray Warbler Dendroica nigrescens Townsend’s Warbler Dendroica townsendi Hermit Warbler Dendroica occidentals Black-throated Green Warbler Dendroica virens ’Golden-cheeked Warbler Dendroica chrysoparia Blackburnian Warbler Dendroica fusca ’Yellow-throated Warbler Dendroica dominica ’Grace’s Warbler Dendroica graciae ’Pine Warbler Dendroica pinus Prairie Warbler Dendroica discolor Palm Warbler Dendroica palmarum Bay-breasted Warbler Dendroica castanea Blackpoll Warbler Dendroica striata ’Cerulean Warbler Dendroica cerulea Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla ’Prothonotary Warbler Protonotaria citrea ’Worm-eating Warbler Helmitheros vermivorus Ovenbird Seiurus aurocapillus Northern Waterthrush Seiurus noveboracensis ’Louisiana Waterthrush Seiurus motacil/a ’Kentucky Warbler Oporornis formosus ’Connecticut Warbler Oporornis agilis 12 CALIFORNIA CHECKLIST “Mourning Warbler Oporornis Philadelphia MacGillivray’s Warbler Oporornis tolmiei Common Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas Hooded Warbler Wilsonia citrina Wilson’s Warbler Wilsonia pusilla Canada Warbler Wilsonia canadensis *Red-faced Warbler Cardellina rubrifrons Painted Redstart Myioborus pictus Yellow-breasted Chat Icteria virens Hepatic Tanager Piranga flava Summer Tanager Piranga rubra “Scarlet Tanager Piranga olivacea Western Tanager Piranga ludouiciana “Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis “Pyrrhuloxia Cardinalis sinuatus Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pheucticus ludouicianus Black-headed Grosbeak Pheucticus melanocephalus Blue Grosbeak Guiraca caerulea Lazuli Bunting Passerina amoena Indigo Bunting Passerina cyanea “Varied Bunting Passerina versicolor “Painted Bunting Passerina ciris Dickcissel Spiza americana Green-tailed Towhee Pipilo chlorurus Rufous-sided Towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus Brown Towhee Pipilo fuscus Abert’s Towhee Pipilo aberti “Cassin’s Sparrow Aimophila cassinii Rufous-crowned Sparrow Aimophila ruficeps American Tree Sparrow Spizella arborea Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina Clay-colored Sparrow Spizella pallida Brewer’s Sparrow Spizella breweri “Field Sparrow Spizella pusilla Black-chinned Sparrow Spizella atrogularis Vesper Sparrow Pooecetes gramineus Lark Sparrow Chondestes grammacus Black-throated Sparrow Amphispiza bilineata Sage Sparrow Amphispiza belli Lark Bunting Calamospiza melanocorys Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis “Baird’s Sparrow Ammodramus bairdii Grasshopper Sparrow Ammodramus savannarum “Le Conte’s Sparrow Ammodramus leconteii “Sharp-tailed Sparrow Ammodramus caudacutus Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia Lincoln’s Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii Swamp Sparrow Melospiza georgiana White-throated Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis Golden -crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia atricapilla White-crowned Sparrow Zonotrichia leucophrys Harris’ Sparrow Zonotrichia querula Dark-eyed Junco Junco hyemalis 13 CALIFORNIA CHECKLIST McCown's Longspur Calcarius mccownii Lapland Longspur Calcarius lapponicus Chestnut-collared Longspur Calcarius ornatus ’Rustic Bunting Emberiza rustica ‘Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis Bobolink Dolichonyx oryziuorus Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus Tricolored Blackbird Agelaius tricolor Western Meadowlark Sturnella neglecta Yellow-headed Blackbird Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus Rusty Blackbird Euphagus carolinus Brewer’s Blackbird Euphagus cyanocephalus Great-tailed Grackle Quiscalus mexicanus ‘Common Grackle Quiscalus quiscula Bronzed Cowbird Molothrus aeneus Brown-headed Cowbird Molothrus ater Orchard Oriole Icterus spurius Hooded Oriole Icterus cucullatus ’Streak-backed Oriole Icterus pustulatus Northern Oriole Icterus gatbula Scott’s Oriole Icterus parisorum FRINGILLIDAE ’Brambling Fringilla montifringilla Rosy Finch Leucosticte arctoa Pine Grosbeak Pinicola enucleator Purple Finch Carpodacus purpureus Cassin’s Finch Carpodacus cassinii House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus Red Crossbill Loxia curvirostra ’White-winged Crossbill Loxia leucoptera ’Common Redpoll Carduelis flammea Pine Siskin Carduelis pinus Lesser Goldfinch Carduelis psaltria Lawrence’s Goldfinch Carduelis lawrencei American Goldfinch Carduelis tristis Evening Grosbeak Coccothraustes uespertinus PASSER1DAE House Sparrow Passer domesticus I 14 CALIFORNIA CHECKLIST Unaccepted Species. This list is comprised of those 34 species for which all records submitted to and judged by the CBRC have been found unaccept- able by reason of questionable identification (marked “i”), origin (i.e. possible escapees; marked “o”) , or population viability (used only for unestablished introductions; marked “v”). For 5 of these species, additional records are pending (marked f; see also introduction). Numbers refer to CBRC reports. Black-browed Albatross (Diomedea melanophris) 6i; Cape Petrel (Daption capense ) 5i, 7i; Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus ) 9i, unpublished i; White-bellied Storm-Petrel (Fregetta grallaria) 5i; Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo ) 4i; Chestnut-bellied Heron ( Agarnia agami ) 4i; Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri) 3o; Masked Duck (Oxyura dominica) 3i; Black Vulture {Cora gyps atratus) 3o, 6i, 9o; American Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus) 7i; Gray Hawk (Buteo nitidus) 9i; White-tailed Hawk ( Buteo albicaudatus ) 8i; Plain Chachalaca ( Ortalis vetula ) 5i; Gray Partridge ( Perdix perdix ) 8v; Greater Golden-Plover (Pluvialis apricaria) 5i; Wood Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) unpublished i; Bristle-thighed Curlew {Numenius tahitien- sis) 4i; Temminck’s Stint ( Calidris temminckii) 9i; Black-tailed Gull (Laws crassirostris) 3o, 9o; flceland Gull ( Larus glaucoides) 8i; Great Black-backed Gull ( Laws marinas) 7i; Red-legged Kittiwake (Rissa breuirostris) 6i; tRuddy Ground-Dove ( Columbina talpacoti) 7o; Green Violet-ear (Colibri thalassinus ) 9i; White-eared Hummingbird ( Hylocharis leucotis ) 3i; Magnificent Hummingbird ( Eugenes fulgens) 3i, 5i; tThree- toed Woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus) 7i, 8i; Acadian Flycatcher ( Empidonax uirescens ) 7i; tAIder Flycatcher ( Empidonax alnorum) 3i; Gray Wagtail ( Motacilla cinerea) 6i; Gray Silky-flycatcher ( Ptilogonys cinereus ) 7o; Swainson’s Warbler ( Ltm - nothlypis swainsonii) 3i; Olive Warbler (Peucedramus taeniatus) 7i, 8i; White-collared Seedeater (Sporophila torqueola ) 7o. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank the following members of the California Bird Records Committee, each of whom reviewed drafts of this paper: Louis R. Bevier, Jon L. Dunn, Richard A. Erickson, Kimball L. Garrett, Jeri M. Langham, Guy McCaskie, Joseph Morlan, Benjamin D. Parmeter, Don Roberson, and Richard W. Stallcup. On behalf of the CBRC, I extend our sincerest appreciation to the many birders who have submitted documentation of rarities, the talented consultants who have tendered opinions vital to our deliberations, and the museum curators who have allowed access to their collections. LITERATURE CITED American Ornithologists' Union. 1957. Check-list of North American birds. 5th ed. Am. Ornithol. Union, Baltimore, MD. American Ornithologists’ Union. 1983. Check-list of North American birds. 6th ed. Am. Ornithol. Union, [Washington, DC]. American Ornithologists’ Union. 1985. Thirty-fifth supplement to the American Ornithologists’ Union check-list of North American birds. Auk 102:680-686. Binford, L.C. 1983. Sixth report of the California Bird Records Committee. West. Birds 14:127-145. Binford, L.C. 1985. Seventh report of the California Bird Records Committee. West. Birds 16:29-48. DeBenedictis, P. A. 1983. Coming! A new official checklist of North American birds— a revolution in avian nomenclature. Am. Birds 37:3-8. Jones, L., K. Garrett & A. Small. 1981. Checklist of the birds of California. West. Birds 12:57-72. 15 CALIFORNIA CHECKLIST Luther, J.S. 1980 Fourth report of the California Bird Records Committee. West. Birds 11:161-173. Luther, J.S , G. McCaskie & J. Dunn. 1979. Third report of the California Bird Records Commit- tee. West. Birds 10:169-187. Luther. J.S.. G. McCaskie & J. Dunn. 1983. Fifth report of the California Bird Records Commit- tee. West Birds 14:1-16. Morlan, J. 1985. Eighth report of the California Bird Records Committee. West. Birds 16:105-122. Roberson. D. 1986. Ninth report of the California Bird Records Committee. West, Birds 17: in press. Accepted 14 May 1986 Common Black-headed Gulls, adults in winter plumage Sketch by Frederick J. Watson Reprints with covers are available from the Circulation Manager for $2.00 each (10 or more, $1.50 each) postpaid. Make checks payable to Western Field Ornithologists. Reprints are not available from the author or the Califor- nia Bird Records Committee. 16 HABITAT RELATIONSHIPS OF WINTER WRENS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CAMERON W. BARROWS, F.O. Box 478. LaQuinta. California 92253 The Winter Wren ( Troglodytes troglodytes ) has the most widespread distribution of any wren and is the only member of the Troglodytidae found in Asia, Europe and northern Africa, as well as North America. In Europe, where it is known simply as the Wren, this bird has been well studied (Arm- strong 1955). In North America, however, there has been little investigation of Winter Wren ecology. Despite their cosmopolitan distribution, Winter Wrens in California appear restricted in their habitat selection, Dawson (1925, Vol. 1:680-681) des- cribed the Winter Wren as an “ . . . inhabitant of rugged stream beds . . . throughout the somber depths of the fir and Redwood forests . , . pine coun- try being altogether too dry.” Grinnell (1915: 160) referred to this wren as “ . . . a common resident of the humid coast belt . . . sparingly in the north- ern high Sierra . . . occurs more widely in mid-winter.” Beyond such general descriptions, information on the habitat of Winter Wrens in California comes from broad spectrum inventories. Breeding bird censuses published in American Birds and elsewhere are currently the only source of Winter Wren habitat data for this region. In this paper I present data on the habitat relationships of Winter Wrens in northern California. I document the wrens’ seasonal habitat selection in the context of forest age and temperature- moisture gradients. STUDY AREA AND METHODS I gathered most of the data presented here at the Nature Conservancy’s Northern California Coast Range Preserve in Mendocino County. Interior sites where additional, opportunistic observations were made include the King Range Conservation Area and Butte Creek Old Growth Forest Reserve in Humboldt County, The Nature Conservancy’s McCloud River Preserve in Shasta County and Yosemite National Park in Mariposa County. Most of the data from coastal areas were collected at the Jughandle State Reserve in Mendocino County. Additional, opportunistic observations were made of coastal Winter Wrens in the city of Areata and at the Nature Conservancy’s Lanphere-Christiansen Dunes Preserve in Humboldt County. I made censuses of Winter Wrens from 1982 to 1984 at the Coast Range Preserve and Jughandle Creek sites. At these sites wrens were counted along predetermined transects which traversed representative habitats occurring in the region. The transect at the Coast Range Preserve was 4.8 km long; at Jughandle Creek it was 2.8 km long. Censuses were stratified between the fall-winter (late September to early April) and spring-summer (late April to early September) seasons. The Coast Range Preserve transect was censused 24 times during the fall-winter period, and 14 times during spring-summer. The Jughandle Creek transect was censused 14 times during the fall-winter season, and 5 times during the spring-summer. Western Birds 17: 17-20. 1986 17 WINTER WREN HABITAT Habitat types found at the coastal census site are characterized by the following descriptions: Disturbed Pine Forest: A heavily disturbed habitat dominated by native Bishop Pine ( Pinus muricata) and introduced Monterey Pine {P. radiata ). Overall canopy closure of these conifers was less than 30%. Gaps in the canopy were filled with blackberry (Rubus sp.) and various introduced grasses. Sitka Spruce Forest: A dense multi-layered conifer forest consisting of Sitka Spruce ( Picea sitchensis), Bishop Pine, Grand Fir (Abies grandis), Western Hemlock ( Tsuga heterophylla) and Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga men- ziesii). Canopy closure for these species approached 100%, An extensive understory was comprised of Cascara (Rhamnus purshiana), Labrador Tea (Ledum glandulosum) , rhododendron (Azalea macrophyllum), Oregon Grape (Mahonia nervosa), and Red and Blue huckleberry (Vaccinium par- uifolium and V. ovatum). Riparian: This habitat was restricted to a thin strip along Jughandle Creek and was dominated by Red Alder ( Ain us rubra ) and willows (Salix spp.) . The understory here consisted of Sword Fern ( Polystichum munitum ) and Yellow Skunk Cabbage ( Lysichitum americanum) . The inland census site at the Coast Range Preserve was within the mixed evergreen forest zone (Sawyer et al, 1977). The subdivisions of this forest where the census was conducted are characterized by the following descriptions: Old Growth Forest: Generally north-facing slopes dominated by Douglas- fir and occasionally some Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) trees aged 200 years and older. A well developed middle canopy existed, consisting of Tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflora), Canyon Live Oak (Quercus chrysolepis) and Madrone ( Arbutus menziesii ), The forest floor was littered with large downed logs; Blue Huckleberry, Oregon Grape and Sword Fern often oc- curred as a ground cover. Young Growth Forest: A single layered canopy of hardwoods and conifers usually averaging much less than 200 years in age. Few if any large downed logs. Meadow: Grassland areas with scattered shrubs, often with human dwellings present. Riparian Forest: A thin strip of forest along the South Fork of the Eel River dominated by Red Alder and Big Leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) . Sedges (Carex spp.) occurred along the waters edge. Frequency of habitat types along the transects was determined by pacing the distance the transect passed through each habitat type. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION To quantify the Winter Wrens’ habitat relationships, I initiated a series of censuses in both coastal and inland portions of the northern California Coast Range. A summary of Winter Wren censuses in the coastal habitat matrix is shown in Table 1. No significant shifts in the wrens’ habitat preferences from the fall-winter to spring-summer seasons were noted. The spring-summer distribution of Winter Wrens was not significantly different from random. The 18 WINTER WREN HABITAT fall- winter distribution was not random; there appeared to be a slightly signifi- cant tendency for Winter Wrens to occur in the deciduous riparian forest and avoid the dense Sitka Spruce forest. Overall, Winter Wrens in coastal habitats showed broad habitat preferences. These birds were observed regularly in young managed Red- wood forests, urban settings and thickets within the salt spray zone along coastal bluffs. A summary of the censuses conducted at the inland site are shown in Table 2. The distribution of Winter Wrens during the fall-winter months ap- peared to be random. In the spring-summer season Winter Wren habitat selection shifted significantly to an almost exclusive occurrence in the old growth forest type. Table 1. Results of Winter Wren censuses conducted at Jughandle Creek State Reserve. Habitat descriptions are in the text. PERCENT WINTER WREN OCCURRENCE PERCENT HABITAT HABITAT TYPE AVAILABILITY FALL-WINTER SPRING-SUMMER Disturbed Pine Forest Sitka Spruce 53 51 43 Forest 33 24 36 Riparian Forest 14 25 21 Chi-square value 8.8 1.5 Significance level p<0.05 p<0.75 Total number of observations 99 14 Table 2. Results of Winter Wren censuses conducted at the Northern California Coast Range Preserve. Habitat descriptions are in PERCENT HABITAT the text. PERCENT WINTER WREN OCCURRENCE HABITAT TYPE AVAILABILITY FALL-WINTER SPRING-SUMMER Old Growth Forest Young Growth 55 60 92 Forest 32 25 08 Meadow 10 13 0 Riparian Forest 3 2 0 Chi-square value 4.1 15.6 Significance level p = 0.25 p<0.005 Total number of observations 124 40 19 WINTER WREN HABITAT Corroborating data can be gathered from two sources. An examination of breeding bird censuses appearing in American Birds over the past 15 years revealed 17 censuses conducted in habitats similar to those covered in this study. Eleven of these 17 censuses were done in logged or young-growth mixed evergreen forests and none of these reported Winter Wrens. The re- maining six censuses were conducted in old growth or mature Douglas-fir dominated forests; all of these reported breeding Winter Wrens. Also, a 3-year investigation of old growth wildlife habitat relationships in northern California determined a positive correlation between Winter Wren abun- dance and forest age (Martin Raphael pers. comm.) . Winter Wrens appear to select the old growth conifer forests of California’s interior Coast Range during the spring-summer months. Following the wrens along their daily wanderings in summer, I found them more commonly away from creeks during early morning hours or on unseasonably cool days. During mid-day warm temperatures the wrens were almost always within the confines of creek beds with water. These creek bed habitats were more than 5-10° C cooler than surrounding non-old growth areas. Sixty-eight percent of my spring-summer observations of Winter Wrens were along creeks or creek beds; just 30% of my fall- winter observa- tions were in these wetter areas. The Winter Wrens’ northern distribution in North America (Robbins et al. 1966) adds further credence to the wrens’ selection of cooler-wetter climes. Selection for cool and moist habitats is just one of several hypotheses which could explain the Winter Wrens’ distribution in California. Selection for habitats with higher food resources, less interspecific competition, or a higher density of nest sites are other possible explanations for the Winter Wrens’ limited distribution. None of the above hypotheses were tested. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Leonard Brennan, Michael McCrary, Katherine Barrows and an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments on this paper. LITERATURE CITED Armstrong, E.A. 1955. The Wren. Collins, London. Dawson, W.L. 1925. The birds of California. South Moulton Co., San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco. Grinnell, J. 1915. A distributional list of the birds of California. Pac. Coast Avifauna No. 11. Robbins, C.S., B. Bruun & H.S. Zimm. 1966. Birds of North America. Golden Press, New York. Sawyer, J.O., D.A. Thornburg & J.R. Griffin, 1977. Mixed evergreen forest. Pp. 359-415 in M. Barbour & J. Major, eds. Terrestrial vegetation of California. Wiley & Sons, New York. Accepted 27 June 1986 20 MIGRATORY STATUS OF FLAMMULATED OWLS IN CALIFORNIA, WITH RECENT RECORDS FROM THE CALIFORNIA CHANNEL ISLANDS PAUL W. COLLINS, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta Del Sol, Santa Barbara, California 93105 CHARLES DROST, Department of Environmental Studies, Wickson Hall, University of California, Davis, California 95616 GARY M, FELLERS, National Park Service, Point Reyes National Seashore, Point Reyes, California 94956 The Flammulated Owl (Ofus flammeolus) is a widespread migratory species which breeds in mountains west of the Great Plains from southern British Columbia (Godfrey 1966, Cannings 1982) south to Vera Cruz, Mex- ico (AOU 1983). A number of recent papers provide a review of the distribu- tion, habitat affinities and seasonal occurrences of Flammulated Owls in California (Johnson and Russell 1962; Winter 1974, 1979; Marcot and Hill 1980; Bloom 1983); however, there is still much to be learned about the migratory habits of this species. In this paper we discuss the migratory habits of the Flammulated Owl and provide data on the first records of the species on the California Channel Islands. Flammulated Owls have not been recorded previously on any of the islands off the coast of southern California or Baja California, Mexico, despite recent surveys of island avifaunas (Johnson 1972, Hunt and Hunt 1974, Lynch and Johnson 1974, Jones and Diamond 1976, Jehl 1977, Boswall 1978, Diamond and Jones 1980, Jorgensen and Ferguson 1984, Jehl and Everett 1985, Jones et al. 1985) and incidental observations we made while conducting research on the Channel Islands during the last decade. Intensive long-term surveys of the avifauna on the Farallon Islands off the coast of cen- tral California have not recorded Flammulated Owls there either (DeSante and Ainley 1980) . RESULTS Santa Barbara Island is one of the eight Channel Islands located off the coast of southern California (32°28’30”N, 119°02’00”W). Santa Barbara Island is 2.64 km 2 in size and 61 km from the nearest mainland. The topography of the island consists of gently sloping marine terraces which are dissected by several canyons. There are no trees and the dominant vegeta- tion is annual grassland. In several scattered areas, notably the canyons, Giant Coreopsis (Coreopsis gigantea) and other coastal sage scrub species form a dense shrub cover. On 16 October 1981 at 1415, Charles Drost flushed a Flammulated Owl in Graveyard Canyon on Santa Barbara Island. The bird flew low across the canyon and landed on a low vertical dirt bank where it sat motionless. Drost approached to within 10 m of the bird and photographed it (Figure 1). Western Birds 17: 21-31, 1986 21 FLAMMULATED OWL MIGRATORY STATUS The owl was gray-brown and finely barred on its upperparts, similar to the intermediate phase of the Western Screech-Owl ( Otus kermicottii) . It was about two-thirds the length of a Burrowing Owl ( Athene cunicularia ) and had gray-brown primaries and tail feathers which were barred with buff. There was a buff-colored row of round spots on the scapulars with a parallel row of narrower run-together black spots. The facial disk was buff with narrow black lines framing it on the side. Gray feathers formed a “V” outlining the disk from just above the eyes to the bill. The eyes were black. No ear tufts were seen, although there did appear to be a pair of small bumps on the top of the head where the ear tuft feathers should be. The owl was observed continuously from 1415 until 1450 and was last seen at 1515. During this time it responded only by opening its eyes or turn- ing its head to sudden low-pitched noises such as hissing or falling rocks. Following its initial flight, the owl made no further attempt to fly. The ap- parent tameness of this bird may have been a result of its being exhausted from its flight across the water barrier which separates Santa Barbara Island from the mainland. Although the minimum distance between Santa Barbara Island and the mainland is 61 km, it is likely that this particular bird could have crossed 80 to 100 km of open water if it left the mainland in the vicinity of Santa Barbara during its southward fall migration. In spite of repeated surveys of Graveyard Canyon and surrounding areas in the following days the owl was not seen again. Drost spent an average of 20 days per month on Santa Barbara Island from 1981 through 1984, in- cluding an average of five days per month in Graveyard Canyon. Part of his fieldwork during this time involved searching for and making population counts of the owls, as well as systematically searching for the remains of birds which had died or been killed by avian predators. On 26 May 1984 Gary Fellers found an intact, partially feathered, dried- out carcass (Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History 3141) of a diminutive owl in Graveyard Canyon on Santa Barbara Island. Comparison of the skeletal elements and wing feathers of this specimen with other members of the genus Otus revealed that it was definitely a Flammulated Owl. The smooth surface texture of the bones and the complete fusion of epiphyses suggested that this specimen was an adult. Measurements were as follows: wing chord 139 mm; exposed culmen 11.4 mm; and tarsometatarsus lengths 23.7 mm (right) and 23.5 mm (left). The tarsometatarsus lengths are within the 21,9 to 24.3 mm range recorded for Flammulated Owls (Woolfenden 1970). The condition of the carcass suggests that it probably died 1 or 2 months prior to its discovery. This estimate is based on our studies of owl predation on Santa Barbara Island, in which we have tagged approximately 150 car- casses of owl-killed Xantus’ Murrelets (Synthliboramphus hypoleucus), and observed how long it takes for such specimens to fade and weather. The lack of weathering and insect damage on the feathers of the owl, coupled with its intact condition, suggests that it had not died the previous fall and thus been exposed to weathering from winter storms. The specimen was on top of the previous winter’s vegetation, and was not found during a search of the can- yon in December 1983, nor in six additional trips into the canyon during the winter, even though it was in a relatively conspicuous location. The flight 22 FLAMMULATED OWL MIGRATORY STATUS feathers were slightly worn, but showed no sign of having been recently molted. Although the rectrices and body contour feathers had been badly damaged by the leakage of body fluids during the decomposition process, none of these feathers were ensheathed, or growing in, thus suggesting that the owl was not in an active molt at the time of its death. Adult Flammulated Owls are known to go through a complete body and wing molt in the late summer and early fall (Winter 1974, Bloom 1983). The condition of the wing feathers on this specimen suggests that this bird was probably a spring migrant. Though it is a coincidence that both of these owls were in the same canyon on Santa Barbara Island, the evidence indicates it is highly unlikely that these observations were of the same bird. Our observations of decomposition rates for bird carcasses on Santa Barbara Island, and failure to find the carcass before May, both indicate that the second owl had not been dead for more than 2 months. If it was the same bird, one would have to assume that this owl survived on a small, treeless island for 2 x fi years without being detected in spite of ongoing research on owls and other terrestrial vertebrates. The research involved more than 750 days in the field by four biologists and in- cluded field work on all parts of the island, both during the day and at night. Figure 1. Flammulated Owl (Otus flammeolus) photographed in Graveyard Canyon, Santa Barbara Island, Santa Barbara Co., California, on 16 October 1981. Photo by Charles Drost 23 FLAMMULATED OWL MIGRATORY STATUS DISCUSSION The Flammulated Owl is considered a common to locally very common breeding summer resident in California (Grinnell and Miller 1944; Winter 1974, 1979). It nests in areas of broken or open Transition and Canadian Zone montane forests where yellow pine ( Pinus ponderosa or P. jeffreyi) or California Black Oak ( Quercus kelloggii ) are present along with some understory brush (Marshall 1939, 1967; Grinnell and Miller 1944; Winter 1974, 1979; Marcot and Hill 1980). In southern California, Flammulated Owls are known to nest in the San Gabriel, San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains (Grinnell and Miller 1944, Winter 1974, Garrett and Dunn 1981) as well as on Mt. Pinos in Ventura County (Miller 1936) and Mt, Palomar in the Laguna Mountains of San Diego County (McCaskie 1971, Unitt 1984). Records of transient Flammulated Owls away from their breeding habitat are uncommon for most of California, and coastal records of migrants are ex- tremely rare (Winter 1974) . At present there are only 13 known occurrences in California of Flammulated Owls recorded away from their preferred breeding habitats (Table 1). Seven of these records are fall migrants whereas five are spring migrants. Until now, the three specimen records from San Diego County represented the only known lowland coastal occurrences of this species in California. The major fall migration of Flammulated Owls in western North America occurs from early September through late October (Phillips 1942, Winter 1974, Baida et al. 1975). The fall migration may continue until late November as evidenced by the occurrence of at least 12 November records from throughout the geographic range of this owl (Table 2) . The fact that 8 of the 12 November records of this owl in North America are represented by specimens suggests that this species is not adapted to withstand the more severe weather of the late fall. Of the seven previous fall records of migrant Flammulated Owls in California all but one are from October (Table 1). The earliest fall record is 23 September 1974 and the latest is 31 October 1935. The 16 October sighting of a Flammulated Owl on Santa Barbara Island is only the third fall record of a migrant Flammulated Owl in coastal southern California (Banks 1964, Winter 1974). Flammulated Owls occasionally become disoriented on long fall migratory flights and wander well outside their normal range. Most of the records of vagrants come from the late fall or winter (see Table 2). Glasgow et al. (1950) reported the capture of a Flammulated Owl on 2 January 1949 in Louisiana and Woolfenden (1970) reported a November specimen recorded from Shelby County, Alabama. The sighting of a Flammulated Owl at Red- dington ( = Redington) Beach, Florida, on 3 November 1976 (Edscorn 1979) represents the farthest that a Flammulated Owl has wandered from its normal range. There are numerous fall records of migrant Flammulated Owls from lowland habitats throughout the Southwest. For example, there are seven fall records of migrant Flammulated Owls from lowland habitats in Texas (Sutton 1960; Hubbard 1972; Oberholser 1974; Williams 1981, 1982, 1983; Webster 1981). The major spring migratory movement of Flammulated Owls in the Southwest occurs from mid-April through mid-May (Baida et al. 1975). 24 Table 1. Records of migrant Flammulated Owls in California away from their breeding habitat. Each record represents one bird. C = caught, S = sighting only. Sp = specimen, P = photographed, H = heard only. co lO CM 66 p- H 1-H i-H 00 l-H 00 03 l-H 00 00 00 00 l-H 00 03 00 o> 03 03 o O' o 03 a XJ l-H 1 t 1-H l-H 1-H 1-H 1-H c /n 1-H CM Uh n CM CM c c c r-1 c pi U- c do w H— CM UJ U DC D o 03 1—1 1/5 c D Q oS) c 3 a ojj c Q cfj p- 03 i—i CD c 3 Q ojj p- O' 1-H CD "O CO 00 03 i-H O 2 06 c 3 Q Q?j p- O' 1-H CD ’3" 30 03 i-H JZ co 00 P- 03 3i *o 00 03 1-H Si O C /5 c CD JZ a3 *3 *s lx l/I fO "5 lx <0 3 i CO E c o V) 1 *5 .12 tn CO to V* c o c 1-H o 3 -fc- to 12 to rtj a u- U* Uh Ui Uh Uh O U- Uh U C/5 o u U- u- U _x. c C 3 >5 00 to o CD -4—1 co O fO o fa o CD 2 fa o cj 2 Tc f- o CQ u- UJ h™ < c f) to I to (O a a a C/5 a a a C/5 C/5 C/5 C/5 C/5 U U to C/5 a a > a -4—* "5 Uh Uh -4—1 (75 Uh a o PO ‘5 "S3 C/5 a o D uu a O O ul !>■ a a cu 08 T9 CD E 'cu > CO to c 2 o o cu CD C tO E E «3 .2 H— * c/5 '3 k- O a cu o "5 a e- o 1— Z X CQ Q CQ DC Q J ol CQ Q d d cn. U a o c (0 > h" w- 10 w- ro Z c CU a 5 T9 a o a '£75 Uh 2 u c Id a Inyo Rive Inyo Inyo c tO a to U- r a o o -O Uh CO cn fa CD .9 CD CQ b U- 5 fa o X _o c C 1 - c c to a o p > £ to a O > ia CO z o H < O o c (0 c/5 UJ Z JZ o o LU o c t5 i— c CQ c to tO to si §.£ 2 o 'o. .2 u a « ^ ~ re h Q. -3 cn c o a c/5 a 0) CD Q •a o o 3 c o -*— < o U 2 c (0 to to “ c P 2 O' y ^ T3 ^ u- _c 03 U >> 03 a) a> c to DQ tO c (0 E to CD y - 4—1 c o 2 a 2 £ "C to (0 co -- IS E CQ U C/5 O O 2 CM "O c JO v- o E -*-< !/) 0) (0 a> Z to to c o >, <0 CQ — o cn ,• is u CQ 2 c (0 00 03 r H r- 03 CM 30 O' 03 P- 03 i-H a 03 < Q i-H c ra (0 1 -H S a >1 fa 2 2 p- CM > to 2 1 -H "5 1-1 03 a ^H CD — a x ^H u O 1 -H u o l-H o o X to 00 00 c£) vO co ^ o 30 30 ^H a cm i-H CM CM l-H cm ^H l-H l-H 00 03 u O CM O' 25 21 Oct 1971 San Diego area San Diego Ca. Fish & Game C, Sp Unitt (1984), Winter (1974) 31 Oct 1935 Univ. Farm at Davis Yolo J.T. Emlen Sp Emlen (1936) _ ' Table 2. Late fall and winter records for Flammulated Owls in North America. See Table 1 for status codes. oo X ON 00 ON 00 ON lO 00 ON UJ u 0 c X o c/) o C-. on 'f! rl cm I"- C ON i-H T3 c C o S c o o £ 2 0 ) c cn a 0 ) JO s 00 _ -s; 0 on X a UJ- E A3 U CM O O [n cO ON C ON c£) -o rH A3 »— 1 ON ^ ' c— 1 c CO c A3 cn |« oi c o cn cn c e CD X & C T3 C “ a E o ■£ o CD CD c?d 2 co 2 CO j— < CO '^0 o l ^ 00 r-H o X O t^- ON CO CO CM t-H t-H 00 1-H CO 00 ON T < ON r- ON t-H ON i—H c To -4— « cy o X On <5 CO O'' Nd* X O' O' o O' NO X ON >3 i— c Dm o J-l cn 5 o t— H r* t-H C/D CD t-H cn t-H cn cn c o CD cn c ’C u cn C/D fU L- o j— i u. cy cn > A3 a JC O o Dm CD cn •a o 3 0 A3 k> o 5 UJ Cl O cO a: mJ CQ CC c/5 X E- < H c n a a co c/) a a co to co a co to CL CL - C/5 U tO CL C/D a a C/D C/D a a c/d to C/D oc UJ > a: uj to OQ o UJ < Q c o in D Z ui d I O DC CD i - 1 lO C'- On On t-H pH > > o o Z Z (0 c c (0 co -2 ■a c (0 c o to j* u -3 a (0 c/> 2 u d ori co eri O' CM lO '3* r~ no O' On On X D PL NO > > o o Z Z CD CM hh CM C (0 T> A* CM « CM CM O 00 O' d JC J£ A3 > o z 00 (/) o o If) cn cn A3 1 -4—* D cn CQ fT3 ‘03 1 Uh A3 M-* cn £ *~o o O o ID t- O DC X CQ J a ■33 ui “3 J X CM 00 X O' 00 00 00 O' O' On O' t-H t-H t-H t-H c > > > C A3 o o 0 A3 -3 Z Z Z 3) 00 t-H o CO CM c 1 - o 0 ) in 3 S *a -u c C u3 2 O O ON io 0- On On i- i— ' ro LU in JC o o ca o-- > > > o o o o Z Z Z Z o CM to cn c 'E c (0 U DC to lO NO ON T-H o d Q At CM > H < U o J r\.. (0 o ^ == c 5 * 0 ) XC X. A3 D c If) c CD A3 mm '5 <6 m2 cy - E u* «s = CD °§»l5.8-32PteII CQ ocooc^-§5c“-^ocE 3 ? 3 £ j: O £ ^ o J 2 ~ jp o u. cn o. x u A3 CD ca c o MM cn c c c x T3 o 0) CM DC i- • UJ to cn a: x CD E— ■ c o J— < c/> Ci> J> O co d cn I ! Jim -g 3 5_g 12 o x 2 jo -J _ ss = S 03 -5 Q -a c c cy 5- • > CO tO c A3 ~ di O t; CO "o ^ c .s= CD co a O a < >< E- Z O u ;£ CD J= CO S3 a o o 'EC (0 2 CC a o co > CO E A3 j r a> o | c « ra o J c £ £ a> i Si o K a \ a h" < h" to O u 'x CD A3 1 ^ 1 S .2 x IQ 10 (Q C C C O O O N _N ^NJ Uh Uh Uh rc C o 2 2 ’E ‘E Mm |_ o o M-h M-t o X A3 Cm. O 2 ^2 A3 C 2 'cn To To o O 3 3 o < < < < < < U U u a O a cn CO X CD E— c o M— * cn c X cn A3 2 x E C 3 S o OTU ^ m 2 x E _3 O U X in ‘■C "C CQ 26 Johnson (1963) suggests that this specimen represents a late October record rather than a November record. FLAMMULATED OWL MIGRATORY STATUS Flammulated Owls arrive in southern California by the second week of April (Winter 1974). Until recently the earliest spring records were 18 April 1974 at Henness Ridge in Mariposa County (Winter 1979) and 19 April 1972 at China Camp in Monterey County (Winter 1974). The recordings of Flam- mulated Owls calling in early March 1979 at Tecopa in Inyo County (Garrett and Dunn 1981) and on the night of 23 March 1978 along Bluff Creek in Humboldt County (Marcot and Hill 1980) indicate that a few Flammulated Owls may arrive in California as early as March, There are a number of addi- tional March records of Flammulated Owls from other states. Wauer (1973) reported that this species reaches Big Bend National Park in Texas as early as 30 March, and Rosenberg et al. (1981) reported the occurrence of a Flam- mulated Owl in the Zuni Mountains of west-central New Mexico on 15 March 1981. Flammulated Owls have been recorded as early as 9 March 1979 at the Bill Williams River Delta in Yuma County, Arizona (Monson and Phillips 1981), and on 26 March 1953 in the Catalina Mountains of southeastern Arizona (Monson and Phillips 1964, Phillips et al. 1964). The sighting of a Flammulated Owl north of Boulder, Colorado, from 5-28 March 1966 (Williams 1966) represents the earliest spring record of a Flammulated Owl north of Mexico. The Santa Barbara Island specimen found on 26 May 1984 is only the sec- ond spring record of a migrant Flammulated Owl in lowland coastal southern California. Bloom (1983) documented finding the carcass of a Flammulated Owl on a beach in northern San Diego County on 1 July 1974. He sug- gested that this bird was an extremely late spring migrant. As discussed earlier, the Santa Barbara Island specimen probably represents a spring migrant which died on Santa Barbara Island in late March or April. This timing seems to fit with what we know about the condition of the carcass at the time of its discovery and the timing of the spring migration of Flam- mulated Owls in the Southwest. The accumulation of records of Flammulated Owls in lowland areas away from their known breeding grounds, during the appropriate seasons for migration, has been used as evidence to suggest that this species exhibits a long-distance continental migration pattern (Phillips 1942, Winter 1974, Baida et al. 1975). In addition, the virtual absence of Flammulated Owls in known breeding areas from mid-November until early March, along with records of vagrant Flammulated Owls from Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Texas, provide evidence that the majority of Flammulated Owls are probably long-distance migrants. If this owl were non-migratory, then it seems ques- tionable that it could stray more than 1600 km from its known breeding range. It has been shown in other landbird migrants such as vireos and warblers that long-distance migrants are subject to larger navigational errors than short-distance migrants (DeBenedictis 1971). Johnson (1963) has argued that Flammulated Owls do not make long- distance migrations to neotropical climates, but rather make a limited vertical migration and undergo periodic torpor during the winter. The accumulated evidence does not support this hypothesis. There are only five winter records of Flammulated Owls in all of North America (Table 2) in spite of efforts to locate wintering Flammulated Owls (Winter 1974, Marcot and Hill 1980). One would expect that if a substantial proportion of the population of such a 27 FLAMMULATED OWL MIGRATORY STATUS common owl (Marshall 1939, Winter 1974, Marcot and Hill 1980) was making only a vertical migration to lowland habitats, there should be a larger number of winter records from those areas. Furthermore, physiological work done by Banks (1964) and Ligon (see Winter 1974) demonstrate that Flam- mu lated Owls do not have the ability to undergo periodic torpidity. The fact that 11 of the 17 late fall and winter records are represented by specimens (Table 2) further suggests that this owl is incapable of surviving the harsh weather which is found in its nesting habitat during the winter. In light of the above and the accumulation of records more than 1600 km from Flam- mulated Owl breeding grounds it is reasonable to conclude that the majority of Flammulated Owls are not spending the winter in the United States. There are very few records of Flammulated Owls crossing water barriers. The sighting of a Flammulated Owl on an oil production platform located in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana approximately 120 km southeast of Galveston, Texas (Furrington 1977) represents the farthest that a Flammulated Owl has been recorded from the mainland. The Flammulated Owls on Santa Barbara Island were 61 km from the mainland. There are four additional records of Flammulated Owls crossing water barriers of less than 10 km. Hunn and Mattocks (1981) recorded a Flammulated Owl on 2 Oc- tober 1980 on Mercer Island in Washington and Flammulated Owls were found on 5 October 1982 on Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake, Utah (Kingery 1983), on 30 October 1980 on Padre Island, at Port Aransas, Texas (Webster 1981), and on 4 November 1978 on Sand Key, at Redington Beach, Pinellas County, Florida (Edscorn 1979). In addition, two of the three coastal records of Flammulated Owls in southern California may be the result of birds wandering over water. Bloom (1983) suggested that the Flammulated Owl he found on a beach in northern San Diego County may have wandered out to sea and died before washing ashore. It is also possible that the Flammulated Owl reported aboard a vessel in San Diego Bay, on 10 October 1962 (Banks 1964), may have landed on the vessel while it was on maneuvers 50 km west of San Diego the day before and not during the night when the ship was back in port as purported by Banks (1964). It is always possible that any of the owls reported offshore could have covered all or part of the distance on a boat. In summary, the two sightings reported here of Flammulated Owls on San- ta Barbara Island represent: 1) the first records for the California Channel Islands, 2) two additional migrant records for California, and 3) two addi- tional records indicating that this species occasionally wanders over water during its migratory movements. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS For comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript, we would like to thank Tina Collins, Alan M. Craig, Joan Fellers, Ned K. Johnson, Paul Lehman, Matthew Nixon, Dennis M. Power and Charles D. Woodhouse, Jr. For help with verification of the Santa Barbara Island Flammulated Owl specimen we thank Ned K. Johnson and Stephen F. Bailey of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. We wish to thank the National 28 FLAMMULATED OWL MIGRATORY STATUS Park Service for providing access to Santa Barbara Island and for its financial support of Charles Drost and Gary Fellers. LITERATURE CITED American Ornithologists’ Union. 1983. Check-list of North American birds, 6th ed. , Am. Ornithol. Union, [Washington, D.C.]. Baida, R.P., B.C. McKnight & C.D. Johnson. 1975. Flammulated Owl migration in the southwestern United States. Wilson Bull. 87:520-533. Banks, R.C. 1964. An experiment on a Flammulated Owl. Condor 66:79. Bloom, P.H. 1983. Notes on the distribution and biology of the Flammulated Owl in California. West. Birds 14:49-52. Boswall, J. 1978, The birds of the San Benitos Islands, Lower California, Mexico. Bristol Or- nithology 11:23-32. Brooks, A. 1909. Some notes on the birds of the Okanagan, British Columbia. Auk 26:60-63. Cannings, R. J. 1982. A Flammulated Owl nests in a nest box. The Murrelet 63:66-68. DeBenedictis, P. 1971. Wood warblers and vireos in California: the nature of the accidental. Calif. Birds 2:111-128. DeSante, D.F. & D.G. Ainley. 1980. The avifauna of the South Farallon Islands, California. Studies Avian Biol. 4. Diamond, J.M. & H.L. Jones, 1980. Breeding land birds of the Channel Islands. Pp. 597-612 in D.M. Power, ed. The California Islands: proceedings of a multidisciplinary symposium. San- ta Barbara Mus. Nat. Hist., Santa Barbara. Edscorn, J.B. 1979 The autumn migration. Florida region. Am. Birds 33:169-171. Emlen. J.T. 1936. Flammulated Screech Owl in the Sacramento Valley. Condor 38:43. Erickson, D. & J. Morlan 1978. The fall migration. Middle Pacific Coast region. Am. Birds 32:250-255. Garrett, K. & J. Dunn. 1981. Birds of southern California: status and distribution. Los Angeles Audubon Soc., Los Angeles. Glasgow, L.L., C.H. Gresham & S. Hall. 1950. The Flammulated Screech Owl (Ofus /. flam- meolus) in Louisiana. Auk 67:386. Godfrey, W.E. 1966. The birds of Canada. Natl. Mus. Canada Bull. 203, Biol. Series 73. Grinnell, J. & A.H. Miller. 1944, The distribution of the birds of California. Pac. Coast Avif. 27. Hubbard, J.P. 1972. King Rail and Flammulated Owl at El Paso, Texas. Condor 74:481. Hunn, E.S. & P.W. Mattocks. Jr. 1981. The autumn migration. Northern Pacific Coast region. Am. Birds 35:216-219. Hunt, G.L. , Jr, & M.W. Hunt. 1974. Trophic levels and turnover rates: the avifauna of Santa Bar- bara Island, California. Condor 76:363-369. Jehl, J.R., Jr, 1977. An annotated list of birds of Islas Los Coronados, Baja California, and adja- cent waters. West, Birds 8:91-101. Jehl, J.R. , Jr. & W.T. Everett. 1985 History and status of the avifauna of Isla Guadalupe. Mexico. Trans. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist. 20:313-336. Johnson, N.K. & W.C. Russell. 1962. Distributional data on certain owls in the western Great Basin. Condor 64:513-514. Johnson, N.K. 1963. The supposed migratory status of the Flammulated Owl. Wilson Bull. 75:174-178, Johnson, N.K. 1972. Origin and differentiation of the avifauna of the Channel Islands. California. Condor 74:295-315. Jones, L., P. Collins & R, Stefani. 1985. A checklist of the birds of Channel Islands National Park. Southwest Parks & Monuments Assoc., Tucson. 29 FLAMMULATED OWL MIGRATORY STATUS Jones, H.L. & J.M. Diamond. 1976. Short-time-base studies of turnover in breeding birds of the California Channel Islands. Condor 78:526-549. Jorgensen, P.D. & H.L. Ferguson. 1984. The birds of San Clemente Island. West. Birds 15:111-130. Kingery, H.E. 1983. The autumn migration. Mountain West. Am. Birds 37:205-208. LaFave, L.D. 1954. Flammulated Scops Owl collected at Sprague Lake. Murrelet 35:11. Laymon, S.A. & W.D. Shuford. 1980. The autumn migration. Middle Pacific Coast region. Am. Birds 34:195-199. Lynch, J.F. & N.K. Johnson. 1974. Turnover and equilibria in insular avifaunas, with special reference to the California Channel Islands. Condor 76:370-384. Marcot, B.G. & R. Hill. 1980. Flammulated Owls in northwestern California. West. Birds 11:141-149. Marshall, J.T., Jr. 1939. Territorial behavior of the Flammulated Screech Owl. Condor 41:71-78. Marshall, J.T., Jr. 1967. Parallel variation in North and Middle American screech-owls. West. Found. Vert. Zool. Monogr. 1:1-72. McCaskie, G. 1971. The nesting season. Southern Pacific Coast region. Am. Birds 25:905-908. McCaskie, G. 1977. The spring migration. Southern Pacific Coast reqion. Am. Birds 31:1046-1049. McCaskie, G. 1978. The fall migration. Southern Pacific Coast region. Am. Birds 32:256-265. McCaskie, G. 1982. The autumn migration. Southern Pacific Coast region. Am. Birds 36:216-221. Miller, L. 1936. The Flammulated Screech Owl on Mount Pinos. Condor 38:228-229. Monson, G. 1972. The winter season. Southwest region. Am. Birds 26:638-642. Monson, G. 1973. The fall migration. Southwest region. Am. Birds 27:96-102. Monson, G. & A.R. Phillips. 1964. A checklist of the birds of Arizona. Univ. Arizona Press. Tucson. Monson. G. & A.R. Phillips. 1981. Annotated checklist of the birds of Arizona. 2nd ed.. Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson. Oberholser, H.C. 1974. The bird life of Texas. Univ. Texas Press, Austin. Phillips, A.R. 1942. Notes on the migration of the Elf and Flammulated Screech owls. Wilson Bull. 54:132-137. Phillips, A.. J. Marshall & G. Monson. 1964. The birds of Arizona. Univ. Arizona Press. Tucson. Purrington, R.D. 1977. The autumn migration. Central Southern region. Am. Birds 31:186-190. Rogers, T.H. 1966. The fall migration. Northern Rocky Mountain-Intermountain region. Audubon Field Notes 20:442-445. Rogers. T.H. 1980. The fall migration. Northern Rocky Mountain-Intermountain region. Am. Birds 34:182-184. Rosenberg. K.V., J.P. Hubbard & S.B. Terrill. 1981. The spring migration. Southwest region. Am. Birds 35:849-852. Simpson, J.M. & J.R. Werner. 1958. Some recent bird records from the Salt River Valley, central Arizona. Condor 60:68-70. Snider, P R 1966. The fall migration. Southwest region. Audubon Field Notes 20:78-80. Stephens. F 1902. Owl notes from southern California. Condor 4:40. Sterling. J. & K.F. Campbell. 1985. The autumn migration, Middle Pacific Coast region. Am. Birds 39:96-101, Sutton. G.M. 1960. Flammulated Owl in Lubbock County. Texas. Southwest. Nat. 5:173-174. Unitt. P. 1984. The birds of San Diego County. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist. Memoir 13. Wauer, R.H. 1973. Birds of Big Bend National Park and vicinity. Univ. Texas Press. Austin. Webster. F.S., Jr. 1981. The autumn migration. South Texas region Am. Birds 35:201-204. 30 FLAMMULATED OWL MIGRATORY STATUS Williams, F. 1966, The spring migration. Southern Great Plains region. Audubon Field Notes 20:436-439. Williams, F. 1981. The autumn migration. Southern Great Plains. Am. Birds 35:198-201. Williams, F 1982. The autumn migration. Southern Great Plains. Am. Birds 36:192-194. Williams, F. 1983. The autumn migration. Southern Great Plains. Am. Birds 37:196-199. Winter, J. 1974. The distribution of the Fiammulated Owl in California. West. Birds 5:25-44. Winter, J. 1979. The status and distribution of the Great Gray Owl and the Fiammulated Owl in California. Pp. 60-85 in P.P. Schaeffer & S.M. Ehlers, eds. Owls of the West: their ecology and conservation, Proc. Natl. Audubon Soc. Symposium, West. Education Center, Tiburon, CA. Woolfenden, G.E. 1970. A putative skeletal specimen of the Fiammulated Owl with Alabama locality data. Wilson Bull. 82:223-224. Accepted 6 June 1986 Fiammulated Owl Drawing by Matthew L. Nixon 31 American Kestrel (Falco sparuerius) perched at entrance to nest site in a 12-m high fan palm (Washingtonia spj in Hemet. Riverside Co., California. As of 25 April 1985. when this photo was taken, five kestrel eggs had been laid in a finely woven nest of another species. The nest was situated behind the palm leaves about 0.5 m to the left of this opening and about 3 m above the ground. The kestrels typically left the nest by dropping down behind the leaves about 2 m before flying out of the tree. Photo by Raymond J. Quigley 32 NOTES IDENTIFICATION OF JUVENILE TATTLERS, AND A GRAY-TAILED TATTLER RECORD FROM WASHINGTON DENNIS R. PAULSON, Burke Museum DB-10, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195 On 13 October 1975, Robert M, and Patricia Evans observed a juvenile tattler at Leadbetter Point, Pacific Co. , Washington, that they thought was a Gray-tailed Tattler ( Heteroscelus brevipes) . A description was written, and six photographs of the bird were taken. As juveniles of this species and of the Wandering Tattler ( H . incanus) were thought to be indistinguishable at that time, the record was tabled. Now, 10 years after the sighting, it is possible to re-evaluate the record, based on my examination of tattler specimens in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California. Berkeley; the National Museum of Natural History, Washington; and the Burke Museum, University of Washington, Seattle. In addition, I have examined numerous photographs, both published and in my own collection, of both species in the field. It is especially fortunate that the photographs of the Leadbetter Point bird are available to examine now (Figure 1). Parts of the original description are excerpted, as follows: “Plumage: Like a very pale Wandering Tattler. Light gray breast, white belly and undertail coverts. A little speckling on wings. No wing-stripe or tail pattern. Back, tail and rump appeared one solid color. (We did not notice the rump being lighter.) Light line above eye. Line through eye dark, black from eye to bill. Axillaries gray. “Bill: Greenish-gray shading to black at tip. Legs: Bright yellow (not just yellowish). Voice: Mellow, ringing 3 note call: “too-doo-weet,” repeated several times when flushed. Actions: Occasional tail bobbing. Habitat: Sand-rnudflat. Comments: Seen with Killdeer and [Red] Knot, Lighter than the Knot. Voice not the same as the Wandering Tattler which was seen and heard the previous day and listened to on record. Realized the lighter rump is supposed to be a field mark of this species. Bird allowed approach to within about 25' and returned to same place after flushing.” Most field marks with which to distinguish juveniles of the two species are not ab- solutely diagnostic, but a combination of characteristics of this bird suffice to place a species name on it. The distinguishing characteristics (of juueniles only) are as follows, along with characteristics of the Leadbetter Point bird, taken from the description and photographs: (1) Gray-tailed is slightly paler than Wandering on back and breast, with a slightly more brownish cast. Without being able to compare birds directly, this is a difficult characteristic, but the Leadbetter Point bird looks distinctly pale and brownish-tinged in the photographs, which appear correctly exposed. It is fortunate that the bird was compared directly with a Red Knot (Calidris canutus), as 1 was able to similarly com- pare juvenal- and basic-plumaged specimens of these species (3 Gray-tailed Tattlers, 12 Wandering Tattlers. 4 Red Knots) in the Burke Museum. The Gray-tailed Tattlers are about the same shade as the knots, the Wandering Tattlers distinctly darker. I doubt if a juvenile Wandering Tattler would ever be called paler than a juvenile Red Knot in the field. (2) Gray-tailed has the tail slightly paler than the back, while there is no difference in Wandering. This difference has not been mentioned in the literature, and all field Western Birds 17: 33-36, 1986 33 NOTES guides that I have examined illustrate Gray-tailed in flight as if it were uniformly col- ored above. The contrast is easily seen on specimens, the upper tail coverts and rec- trices distinctly paler than the rest of the dorsal surface. When it could be seen, the tail was paler than the back in all photographs of juvenile Gray-tailed that I have examined. The tail does not show in the photos of the Leadbetter Point bird, and the description indicates the bird was uniformly colored above, but the contrast is subtle and may not be as visible in the field as it is in museum specimens. As the observers were looking for a contrasting rump, they may not have noted a slightly paler tail as such. The whitish tips on rump and upper tail coverts in adult Gray-tailed, lacking in Wandering, have been emphasized as diagnostic in literature descriptions (Ridgway 1919, Pough 1957, Gabrielson and Lincoln 1959, King and Dickinson 1975, Prater et al. 1977) and may, along with the sometime common name of Gray-rumped Tat- tler, have been responsible for thoughts that Gray-tailed should have a paler rump. This characteristic is of little value in the field, not only because the wings normally cover the area, but also because adult Wantering Tattlers also may have a few pale- tipped upper tail coverts. Juveniles of both species have these markings, more abun- dantly on the average in Gray-tailed (see 5 below) . (3) Gray-tailed averages more white on the supraocular stripes and forehead than Wandering. The stripes are usually wider in Gray-tailed and regularly meet on the forehead, while they are usually narrower in Wandering and often are well separated by the dark forehead. This has been mentioned more than once in recent literature (King and Dickinson 1975, National Geographic Society 1983, De Schauensee 1984). I have looked at dozens of specimens and 10 or more photographs of each species, and I find this is only an average difference, with much overlap. The Leadbet- ter Point bird has conspicuously white supraocular stripes that do not quite meet on the forehead. (4) Gray-tailed has white sides; Wandering has gray. This characteristic has not been mentioned in the literature but was pointed out to me by Urban Olsson, who studied both species in September 1984 in Japan. The difference was illustrated but not mentioned in National Geographic Society (1983) and Robbins et al. (1983). From examination of all the photographs of juvenile tattlers available to me (13 Gray- tailed, 6 Wandering) and a small series of specimens, this characteristic seems to hold up and is probably the best plumage attribute to use to separate juvenal- and basic- plumaged tattlers. The Leadbetter Point bird has white sides. (5) Gray-tailed averages more heavily marked above. The scapulars, wing coverts, tertials, upper tail coverts and rectrices of juvenile Gray-tailed usually exhibit pale tips and/or dots along their edges. Juvenile Wandering vary from almost unmarked to rather extensively marked but averaging less than Gray-tailed. The Leadbetter Point bird is quite extensively marked above, as much so as typical Gray-tailed and certainly more than typical Wandering. (6) Nasal groove is shorter in Gray-tailed. The deep groove on each side of the bill into which the nostril opens is shorter in Gray-tailed, not reaching one-half the bill length; in Wandering it reaches to somewhat over one-half the bill length. This dif- ference is very clear on a considerable number of close-range photographs I have ex- amined. No photograph of the Leadbetter Point bird shows the nasal groove very clearly, but in one of them I have the impression that the groove is short. (7) Gray-tailed typically has a two-noted call, the Wandering a multiple-noted call, very often with 10 notes. The Leadbetter Point bird had a three-noted call, the description of which sounds much like literature descriptions of Gray-tailed calls, with the exception of an additional note in the front (or the first note rolled). Falla et al. (1979) listed the call as either two- or three-noted, their three-noted description essen- tially like that of the present bird. I have never heard a Wandering Tattler give a two-or three-noted call. 34 NOTES (8) Gray-tailed shows a wider habitat preference than Wandering, commonly for- aging on mudflats. Although disappointingly sketchy, habitat descriptions of the two species indicate Wandering tends to keep to rocks in most areas in which it occurs, as it clearly does on the Pacific coast of North America. Gray-tailed, on the other hand, commonly forages on mudflats as well as on sand beaches and in rocky areas (Baker 1951, Smythies 1981, Johnsgard 1981). It was the Leadbetter Point bird’s presence on a mudflat, very unusual in Washington, that caused the observers to scrutinize it more closely. Parenthetically, in 18 years of observing shorebirds in Washington, with dozens of tattlers observed every year, I have only twice seen tattlers on mudflats. Both of them were Wandering, as determined by call notes. DISCUSSION Of this list of eight characteristics, the Leadbetter Point bird matches Gray-tailed in five and Wandering in one, and two are inconclusive (forehead color and nasal groove length). The back/rump contrast, the only characteristic in favor of Wandering, might have been missed and is not striking in any case. Only two of the characteristics appear to be definitive, the side color and the call note, and in both of these the bird was clearly a Gray-tailed. Although Gray-tailed Tattlers are seen annually in the western Aleutian Islands, they are considerably rarer anywhere to the east of that area. Roberson (1980) listed about 20 spring and about 40 fall records from Alaska, indicating fall as a time of greater likelihood of occurrence (there has been more field work in spring than fall). The farthest southeast records in Alaska came from Unalaska Island, with three on 24 September 1974 (Roberson 1980), and Middleton Island, with one on 24 September 1982 (Gibson 1983). These occurrences are perfectly timed to produce a bird at Leadbetter Point in early October. Figure 1. Gray-tailed Tattler (Heteroscelus breuipes), Leadbetter Point, Washington, 13 October 1975. The photo shows the distinctive white sides, the pale dorsal colora- tion and the extensive markings on coverts and tertials typical of this species. Photo by Robert M. Evans 35 NOTES The only other record south of Alaska was furnished by an alternate-plumaged adult Gray-tailed that was photographed and heard at Lancaster, California, on 23 July 1981 (McCaskie 1981). ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank Pat and Bob Evans for their notes and photographs. Bob was fairly sure of the identity of this bird ten years ago, and I wish he had lived to see it formally con- firmed. I much appreciate the input of Urban Olsson; the note would not have been written had the “new” field mark not been pointed out by him. LITERATURE CITED Baker, R.H. 1951. The avifauna of Micronesia, its origin, evolution and distribution. Univ. Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist. 3:1-359. De Schauensee, R.M. 1984. The birds of China. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. Falla, R.A., R.B. Sibson & E.G. Turbott. 1979. The new guide to the birds of New Zealand. Collins, Auckland. Gabrielson, J.N. & F.C. Lincoln. 1959. The birds of Alaska. The Stackpole Co., Harrisburg, PA. Gibson, D.D. 1983. Alaska region. Am. Birds 37:213-214. Johnsgard, P.A. 1981. The plovers, sandpipers, and snipes of the world. Univ. Nebraska Press, Lincoln. King, B.F. & E.C. Dickinson. 1975. A field guide to the birds of south-east Asia. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. McCaskie, G. 1981, Southern Pacific Coast Region. Am. Birds 35:977-980. National Geographic Society. 1983. Field guide to the birds of North America. Washington, D.C. Pough, R.H. 1957. Audubon western bird guide. Doubleday & Co., Garden City, NY. Prater, A.J., J.H. Marchant St J. Vuorinen. 1977. Guide to the identification and ageing of Holarctic waders. Guide 17, British Trust for Ornithology, Tring. Ridgway, R. 1919. Birds of North and Middle America, Part 8. U.S. Natl. Mus., Washington, D C. Robbins, C.S., B. Bruun, H.S. Zim & A. Singer. 1983. Birds of North America. Golden Press, New York. Roberson, D. 1980. Rare birds of the west coast. Woodcock Publ., Pacific Grove, CA. Smythies, B.E. 1981. The birds of Borneo. The Sabah Society, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Accepted 12 March 1986 36 NOTES NESTING OF PLUMBEOUS SOLITARY VIREO IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA LARRY L. NORRIS, Research Office, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, Three Rivers, California 93271 On 26 June 1983 a nest of the Plumbeous Solitary Vireo ( Vireo solitarius plumbeus) was discovered at an elevation of 1810 m on Chimney Creek below Chimney Meadow, Kern Plateau, Tulare Co., California. This observation may be the first record of this Rocky Mountain/Great Basin subspecies nesting on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada. Ned K. Johnson collected specimens in breeding condition on 23 May 1973 about 6 km northwest of Chimney Peak at an elevation of 2315 m (Johnson and Garrett 1974); no nest was found. Johnson’s specimen records are only 8 km northwest of the location described in this report. The nearest nesting records are to the north in the White Mountains of eastern California, and to the south in the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California, both of which have habitat similar to that found along Chimney Creek in the arid, pinyon-clad southeastern corner of the Kern Plateau. The White and San Bernardino mountains have slopes that descend to the desert edge. The east slope of the southern Sierra also descends to the desert; however, Chimney Creek is on the west slope of the Sierra, and is part of the South Fork Kern River drainage. Chimney Creek Canyon is a steep-sided gorge cut through large boulders of weathered granite. Pinyon Pine (Pinus monophylla), Jeffrey Pine (P. jeffreyi ) , and Figure 1. Chimney Creek Gorge, Kern Plateau, Tulare Co., California. Nesting habitat of Plumbeous Solitary Vireo; slopes dominated by Pinyon and Jeffrey pines and Canyon Live Oak. Riparian growth is predominantly willow. Photo by Larry L. Norris 37 Western Birds 17: 37-39, 1986 NOTES Canyon Live Oak (Quercus chrysolepis) are the dominant trees on the canyonsides, while willows ( Sa/ix spp.) dominate the riparian areas along the creek (Figure 1). This ecotone of dry canyonside and riparian canyonbottom is recognized as preferred Plumbeous Solitary Vireo habitat (Garrett and Dunn 1981: 302). On 26 June 1983, Bob Barnes, of Tulare County Audubon Society, was leading a field trip up Chimney Creek Canyon when he heard a Solitary Vireo song coming from the top of a Canyon Live Oak. As the bird slowly descended through the sparse foliage it was recognized to be of the plumbeus race by the large white area between eyes and bill, white throat, gray back, and thick base of the bill. To everyone’s surprise the bird fluttered down, with insects in its bill, to a nest, and exchanged places with another Plumbeous Solitary Vireo. The nest was hung toward the end of a lower branch on a Canyon Live Oak about 2 m above the ground. It was constructed of grasses and moss to form a deep bowl with white flower petals attached to the outside. The nest was in no way concealed; never- theless, it was not easily seen at first because the white petals against the darker moss caused the nest to blend into the mottled light and shade background. Ian Austin, of the Los Angeles Audubon Society, watched quietly from 1030 to 1200 observing the feeding exchange sequence of the vireo pair, and documenting the nesting with photographs (Figure 2). Both adult vireos were observed feeding small nestlings. Austin recorded six feeding exchanges during the 1.5 hour observa- tion period. These occurred at intervals of 5 to 15 minutes with one adult always on the nest. Figure 2. Plumbeous Solitary Vireo ( Vireo solitarius plumbeus) on nest in Canyon Live Oak (Quercus chrysolepis) . Chimney Creek. Kern Plateau. Tulare Co.. Califor- nia. 26 June 1983. 38 Photo by lan Austin NOTES Austin’s field notes give a detailed account of the behavior of the adult vireos as they exchanged places on the nest: “The feeding exchange sequence is similar with both adults. It starts with the returning bird calling from the top of the tree and continuing to call as it approaches the nest. The returning bird typically took 2 to 3 minutes to des- cend from the treetop. The adult on the nest often made a yawning or mock food demanding gesture as the returning bird approached. The sequence was completed by the sitting adult quickly leaving the nest as the returning adult moved in to feed the young and then settle down on the nest replacing the mate. The food consisted mainly of small caterpillars. “Both birds were heard singing while descending, though one adult, presumably the female, once only made guttural chips. Both birds froze during the feeding exchange when a Steller’s Jay ( Cyanocitta stelleri ) called in the distance.” The adult vireos seemed to be undisturbed by Austin's long presence at a distance of 2 m. Later in the day Barnes and I observed another Plumbeous Solitary Vireo in the drainage entering the northwest side of Lamont Meadow about 2 km southwest of the nest observation. This bird probably was not one of the pair observed earlier, although Chimney Creek flows through Lamont Meadow. This observation was of interest because it not only documented another Plumbeous Solitary Vireo in the area, but the vireo had responded to the repeated playing of a tape of the Gray Vireo (V. uicinior ) song. In fact, the Plumbeous Solitary Vireo’s response was nearly identical to the Gray Vireo tape. Cassin’s Solitary Vireo (V. solitarius cassinii ) is a fairly common nester on the west slope of the Sierra at the lower limits of the mixed coniferous forest where California Black Oak (Quercus ke/loggii) occurs. On the Kern Plateau cassinii has been observed on the forested slopes of the Kern River Canyon at the western edge of the plateau. Barnes and I have never observed cassinii in the pinyon forest on the lower, southeastern section of the Kern Plateau. There appears to be a habitat segregation between the two subspecies: cassinii nesting in the cooler, mesic mixed coniferous forests of the western portion of the southern Sierra and plumbeus nesting in the warmer, more arid canyons of the pinyon-clad southeastern section of the Kern Plateau. Elevation does not seem to be a critical factor in the two subspecies’ choice of nesting habitats since both are found nesting from approximately 1500 to 2000 m in the southern Sierra. The plant com- munity is the deciding factor, but for whatever reason (s) is unknown to me. Because of the similarity of the habitat on the southeastern section of the Kern Plateau to other known nesting areas in the state, many more pairs of Plumbeous Solitary Vireo quite possibly nest along the creeks and canyons of the Kern Plateau in the southern Sierra Nevada. LITERATURE CITED Garrett, K. & J. Dunn. 1981. Birds of southern California: status and distribution. Los Angeles Audubon Society, Los Angeles. Johnson, N.K. & K.L. Garrett. 1974. Interior bird species expand breeding ranges into southern California. West. Birds 5:45-56. Accepted 1 7 September 1 985 39 NOTES FEMALE TREE SWALLOW NESTS SUCCESSFULLY FOLLOWING LOSS OF EYE ROBERT R, COHEN, Department of Biology, Metropolitan State College, 1006 Eleventh Street, Denver, Colorado 80204 In early July 1983 a pair of Tree Swallows ( Tachycineta bicolor) began a late nesting in one of my nest boxes about 6.7 km S of Rollinsville, Gilpin County, Colorado. The box contained four newly-laid eggs on 10 July. The female did not have a band, and when I captured her for banding on 16 July I discovered that both her right eye and eyelid had recently been torn open and her crown had been stripped of feathers along a narrow line extending from the right orbital area across to the other side of the head. The wound to the eye was still open and exuding fluid. Examination of her plumage coloration indicated that she was at least 2 years old (Cohen, J. Colo.-Wyo. Acad. Sci. 12:44-45, 1980; Hussell, J. Field Ornithol. 54:313-318, 1983). On 25 July the box had four nestlings about 4 days old, and both the female and the male were feeding the nestlings very actively. When I approached the box the female dived repeatedly at me to defend the nest, passing close enough that I could clearly see without binoculars that she lacked a functional right eye. On 3 August, in visiting the box to band the nestlings, I recaptured the female as she brought food to the nestlings and found that her right orbital area had dried, sunk in, and healed over with skin. On 6 August, when the nestlings were about 18 days old and about 3 days from fledging, I again saw both parents feeding the nestlings. When I next visited the box in October to clean it, examination of the nest condition indicated that the nestlings had fledged successfully. The perseverance of this female in nesting following severe injury and her ability to forage successfully and raise a brood with only monocular vision and reduced depth perception are remarkable. The following year (1984) I captured almost all adult Tree Swallows breeding in my nest boxes, but this female did not reappear nor did any of the nestlings. However, in this breeding population the proportion of successfully- breeding females that return to breed the following year is only about 50% and the proportion of fledglings that return to breed the following year is only about 10% (Cohen, unpubl. data). 1 thank Diana Tomback, Cameron Barrows and an anonymous reviewer for com- ments on the manuscript. Accepted 9 September 1985 40 Western Birds 17: 40, 1986 NOTES FIRST RECORD OF A RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD IN CALIFORNIA RONALD E. COLE, Museum of Wildlife & Fisheries Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616 ANDREW ENGILIS, JR, Museum of Wildlife & Fisheries Biology, University of California, Davis, California 95616 (present address: The Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii 96819) On 15 May 1975 Ron Cole collected an adult male Ruby-throated Hummingbird ( Archilochus colubris) at Sagehen Creek Field Station, 11 km north of Truckee, Nevada County, California (39° 25’N, 120° 15’W). The bird was freeze-dried as a study specimen (WFB-972, Museum of Wildlife & Fisheries Biology, University of California, Davis), Because Ruby- throated Hummingbirds are not included in recent comprehensive publications on the occurrence of California birds (McCaskie et al. 1979, Garrett and Dunn 1981, Jones et al, 1981), or reported in the most recent reports of the California Bird Records Committee (Luther et al. 1983; Binford 1983, 1985), we conclude that this specimen represents the first record for the species in California. This specimen was incidentally captured in a net set up to capture bats. It was cap- tured about 20 m from Sagehen Creek in an opening between two groups of willows ( Salix ) in a grassy meadow. It flew into the net simultaneously with an adult male Calliope Hummingbird ( Stellula calliope; WFB-973). It was recorded in the field as a Ruby- throated Hummingbird, but its identity was mistakenly changed by a technician to a Broad-tailed Hummingbird ( Selasphorus platycercus) when it was accessioned in- to the museum collection. It remained misidentified until December 1983, when we discovered the error. This specimen has been examined and verified as a Ruby- throated Hummingbird by the authors and by Bruce Maxwell, Jon Dunn and Kimball Garrett. It was photo- graphed, examined and compared to eight other adult male A. colubris by Garrett at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History. Measurements and descriptions are as follows (K. Garrett pers. comm,): culmen (chord of exposed culmen) = 14.7 mm; wing = 41 mm; tail = 24 mm; depth of tail notch (difference between longest outer and shortest central rectrix) = 5 mm. The chin (extending down about 3 mm from the base of the mandible) is velvety black, with absolutely no iridescence evident at any angle; this black area extends back through and below the eye and flares out somewhat on the auriculars. [We add that the color of the throat is red-orange, irides- cent, and extends down from the chin approximately 10 mm.) The rectrices complete- ly lack rufous tones, even on the outermost pair. The color of the upperparts is a deep forest green, exactly the color shown by A. colubris skins and quite different from the color of S. platycercus. The rectrices are blackish, rather narrow, and form a distinct notch. Our thanks to Bruce Maxwell, Jon Dunn and Kimball Garrett for examining and verifying the species as A. colubris, and to Daniel W. Anderson for reviewing a draft of this note. LITERATURE CITED Binford, L.C. 1983. Sixth report of the California Bird Records Committee. West. Birds 14:127-145. Binford, L.C. 1985. Seventh report of the California Bird Records Committee. West Birds 16:29-48. Western Birds 17: 41-42, 1986 41 NOTES Garrett, K. & J. Dunn. 1981. Birds of southern California: status and distribution. Los Angeles Audubon Society, Los Angeles. Jones, L., K. Garrett & A. Small. 1981. Checklist of the birds of California. West. Birds 12:57-72. Luther, J.S., G. McCaskie & J. Dunn. 1983. Fifth report of the California Bird Records Committee. West. Birds 14:1-16. McCaskie, G., P. DeBenedictis, R. Erickson & J. Morlan. 1979. Birds of northern California. Golden Gate Audubon Society, Berkeley, CA. Accepted 17 August 1985 Ruby-throated Hummingbird Sketch by Narca Moore-Craig 42 NOTES ANOTHER HYBRID DOWNY x NUTT ALL’S WOODPECKER FROM SAN DIEGO COUNTY PHILIP UNITT, 3411 Felton Street, San Diego, California 92104 Short (1971) reported three hybrid Downy [ Picoides ( = Dendrocopos) pubescens ] x Nuttall’s (P. nuttaliii ) Woodpeckers, one collected at “San Francisco,” California, in the 19th century and two along the San Diego River near Lakeside and Santee, San Diego County, California, in September and October 1949. He suggested that the two species are close relatives that hybridize where they are sympatric but one species’ population is sparse enough that individuals have difficulty finding conspecific mates. Such conditions prevail in the riparian woodlands of coastal San Diego County, where the NuttalPs Woodpecker is common and widespread, but the Downy Woodpecker is uncommon and localized (Short 1971, Unitt 1984). On 7 May 1984, along the San Luis Rey River 3.7 km (2.3 miles) northeast of Bon- sall, San Diego County, I heard a peculiar woodpecker call, a chatter on a single pitch that seemed intermediate between the ascending rattle of the Nuttall’s and the descen- ding whinny of the Downy. 1 located the bird visually and saw that at a distance the bird looked much like a Nuttall’s Woodpecker, but that the black and white bars on its back seemed slightly irregular. Suspecting the possibility of a hybrid, I collected the bird and prepared it as a study skin. I had observed both parental species at this locality previously: two pubescens on 28 February 1984 and one on 16 July 1978; two nut- taliii on 16 July 1978. The specimen was a male in breeding condition with the testes greatly enlarged (5.5 x 11 mm each). It weighed 33.5 grams and was moderately fat. As to be expected at this time of year, it was in badly worn plumage and was not molting. The specimen, my original number 366, is now number 43956 in the San Diego Natural History Museum. Most differences in plumage and structure between Nuttall’s and Downy woodpeckers were tabulated by Short (1971). The most conspicuous difference is the back pattern: regular black and white transverse bars in NuttalPs, black with a single longitudinal broad white stripe in the Downy. Male NuttalPs Woodpeckers have fine white streaks on their black crowns, though the extent of this streaking is quite variable, from profuse to slight. Male Downy Woodpeckers have solidly black crowns. The red nuchal band is broader in NuttalPs (about 13 to 15 mm, measured longitudinally and mid-dorsally) than in the Downy (about 6.5 to 9.5 mm) . In NuttalPs Woodpecker a black bar on the side of the head joins the black auricular patch to the black malar stripe; this bar is absent in Downy. The background color of the under- parts is essentially white in NuttalPs but is strongly tinted smoke gray in the coastal California subspecies of Downy (P.p. turati) . The sides of NuttalPs Woodpeckers are heavily spotted with black, and these spots become bars on the flanks. The underparts of adult Downies are unmarked except for one or two small black spots on the sides of the breasts of a few individuals. Picoides nuttaliii is larger than P.p. turati, with males’ wing chords 99.7 — 107 mm and exposed culmens 19.5—22 mm, as opposed to 88.5 — 97 mm and 15—17 mm, respectively (Ridgway 1914, Short 1971). The specimen collected on 7 May 1984 is intermediate between NuttalPs and Downy woodpeckers, being closer to the first species in some characters, to the sec- ond in others. It is closer to NuttalPs Woodpecker in back pattern, though the barring is coarser than in that species, is somewhat irregular in the center of the back, and does not extend to the anterior scapulars. The head pattern is much like that of Downy: the crown is plain black, and the red nuchal band is 9.5 mm wide, equal to the widest in any P.p. turati 1 measured. The black malar stripe barely touches the black auricular patch. The underparts are the most difficult to evaluate since the feathers are so badly worn and likely faded. The background color seems almost pure white, but there are Western Birds 17: 43-44, 1986 43 NOTES only two small black dots on the sides of the upper breast, and the lower flanks are on- ly faintly barred gray. Thus the underparts combine features of both species. The specimen’s wing chord measures 97.2 mm and its exposed culmen, 19.0 mm; so the bird is intermediate in both structures. Therefore 1 conclude that it is a hybrid. Short regarded the previous hybrids as F, individuals, and came to no conclusion regarding the possibility of hybrids backcrossing with the parental species. My specimen’s being so clearly in breeding condition suggests that such backcrossing may occur. The new specimen may not necessarily have been of the F, generation itself. In the field the bird gave the gross impression of being a Nuttall’s Woodpecker. I may not have suspected its hybrid nature had I not heard its odd call. Hybrids between Downy and NuttalFs woodpeckers, though probably rare, may often go unnoticed. Since the genes producing the barred back apparently are dominant over those pro- ducing the white back (Short 1971), observers should not rely exclusively on back pat- tern to distinguish Downy from NuttalFs Woodpeckers or their hybrids. I thank Joseph M. Angeli for his hospitality during my visit to northwestern San Diego County, Ned K. Johnson for a loan of specimens of Downy Woodpecker from the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Berkeley, and Lester L. Short, Kenneth C. Farkes and Amadeo M. Rea for their review of this note. LITERATURE CITED Ridgway, R. 1914. The birds of North and Middle America. Bull. U.S. Natl. Mus. 50, Part 6. Short, L.L., Jr. 1971. Systematics and behavior of some North American woodpeckers, genus Picoides (Aves). Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 145:1-118. Unitt, P. 1984. The birds of San Diego County. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist. Mem. 13. Accepted 28 January 1986 44 NOTES NOTES ON THE FEEDING BEHAVIOR OF BULLER’S SHEARWATER TERENCE R. WAHL, Department of Biology, Western Washington University, Bell- ingham, Washington 98225 Buller’s Shearwater ( Puffinus bulleri ) breeds only on Poor Knights Island in northern New Zealand (Jenkins 1974) and migrates north across the tropics to spend its non- breeding season (the boreal summer) in the subarctic Pacific Ocean (Wahl 1985). It is one of the least-known Pacific shearwaters, perhaps because of its restricted breeding range and small population size. Recently it has been increasing in numbers after the elimination of predators on the nesting island (Bartle 1968, Jenkins 1974) and is now seen regularly over much of the North Pacific. Jenkins (1974) described the feeding behavior of this species as similar to that of surface -feeding ducks: while swimming forward it swings its head from side to side just under the surface of the water. Harper (1983) described two additional feeding tech- niques, one of which was contact dipping, “precisely that described” by King (1974) for the Wedge-tailed Shearwater, P. pacificus: “In contact dipping birds flew close to the surface, wings held back as if to hover, sometimes touching the surface with out- stretched feet. Head and neck were plunged down several inches into the water. For- ward momentum was regained by vigorous wingbeats and foot paddling. Usually when a fish was caught it was eating without interrupting flight although birds stopped on the surface occasionally, presumably to swallow heavy prey.” Harper also states buileri takes prey by surface feeding: “In light airs birds abruptly descend to alight on the water and, with their wings half open, lunge this way and that with their long necks to capture prey.” Roberts (1951) reported seeing several birds dive for bait down to about 20 feet, but stated that he had not previously observed this behavior. Harper (1983) reported seeing Buller’s Shearwaters plunge briefly below the surface on only 2 of 211 observations of feeding behavior. Bartle (1974) reported that Buller’s Shear- waters do not usually follow ships or forage on discards but cited one occasion of “ex- ceptional behavior” when birds fed on fish offal. Wahl and Heinemann (1979) found that, off Washington, this species is not attracted to discards of fishing vessels, whereas Pink-footed (P. creatopus) , Flesh-footed (P. carneipes) and Sooty (P. griseus) shear- waters were readily attracted and can be “chummed” to boats. Short-tailed Shear- waters (P. tenuirosths) are also attracted to fishing vessels on occasion and can be chummed to boats (pers obs.). During several extended mid-ocean cruises and over 140 1-day trips off the coast of Washington I saw numbers of Buller’s Shearwaters in large and small groups and as single birds. Most groups were resting on the surface. I seldom saw this species trying to obtain food. The feeding behavior I observed was similar to that described by Harper. However, in some cases the foraging flight style was remarkable in being ex- tremely active and erratic to a degree not suggested by previous reports. The following notes may expand the knowledge of this species’ behavior: 19 Sep 1976 at 47°07’N, 124°40’W, about 40 km off Copalis Beach, Washington: one bird dove from about 15 cm above the surface, head first with wings partially ex- tended, barely submerged and resurfaced almost immediately without having caught anything obvious. 25 Sep 1976 at about 47°07’N, 125°00’W, about 70 km off Copalis Beach, Washington: one “crashed” on its breast, with wings outspread, in a shallow dive to the surface, plunged its head about 15 cm below the surface and caught something unidentified. 7 Aug 1981 at 47°57’N. 165°17’W, in mid-ocean: one flying bird landed heavily on its breast with wings outspread. Western Birds 17: 45-47, 1986 45 NOTES 11 Aug 1981 at44°01’N, 174°13’E: one flew in tight circles, “flopped” to the surface several times, lightly skimming the surface with its breast and belly, with its head out of the water. 11 Aug 1981 at 44°02’N, 174°46’E: one circled erratically in tight loops and bounced off the water several times. 8 Sep 1985 at 46°52’N, 124°46’W, about 46 km off Westport, Washington: one bird flew in loops and circles, crashing to the surface on its breast, often submerging its head, and quickly taking off again to repeat the operation. I saw the bird persist in this behavior for about 5 minutes. Its course was very erratic, but trended away from the vessel which attempted to close in on it at about 5 kts. I did not get closer than 75 m and could not see if this foraging was successful. This aerial technique resembles a combination of both methods described by Harper (1983). However, in none of these instances did the bird extend its feet to contact the water before bouncing or “flopping” onto the surface. This technique suggests pursuit of fast-moving near-surface prey such as small fish and might possibly be suitable for catching flying fish, although these observations were outside the range of flying fish. This foraging/feeding technique might be described as “heavy contact surface dipping.” The erratic, bouncing chase behavior I observed appeared more active and persistent than previous descriptions. As noted above, I saw just one Ruller’s Shear- water submerge, and only very briefly, following a “crash” to the surface. These observations fit the spectrum of feeding behaviors described by Brown et al. (1978) for various species of Puffinus and Caionectris. These shearwaters range from gliding surface feeders that do not submerge, such as P. leucomelas. to agile divers and underwater swimmers like P. griseus and some smaller Puffinus species. My observations and the literature indicate that in flight Buller’s Shearwater is one of the most agile of this group. It is able to turn sharply in light winds and soar easily. It is also one of the least likely to submerge and pursue prey underwater, the diving behavior described by Roberts (1951) being exceptional. Harper (1983) states that Buller’s Shearwater weighs about one-half as much as the similarly-sized pursuit-plunging Sooty Shearwater, which indicates anatomical characteristics more suitable for flight than diving behavior. That Buller’s Shearwater has not taken to scavenging discards from fishing opera- tions perhaps is a result of competition with aggressive surface-feeding species like gulls and diving shearwaters (e.g. P. griseus). The frequency with which I have seen the species resting on the surface while other shearwaters were feeding nearby and the few observations of feeding behavior during daylight hours suggest that Buller’s Shearwater may be a relatively more nocturnal feeder than other shearwater species. Serventy et al. (1971) list cephalopods, Crustacea and small fish as the diet of Buller’s Shearwater. Such prey would be most readily available to an aerially adapted, non-diving species during the nocturnal plankton rise. Jenkin’s (1974) observations of flocks of bulleri feeding in tidal fronts or convergences off northern New Zealand during the nesting season show that the species certainly takes advantage of local prey concentrations during daylight hours, at least in that season. My observations were made possible by the Department of Oceanography, Univer- sity of Washington, and the Faculty of Fisheries. Flokkaido University. Special thanks are due Capt. J. Watkins. Capt. W. Clampitt of the R. V. Thomas G. Thompson, Dr. H. Ogi and Capt. T. Fujii of the T.V. Oshoro Maru. Laurence C. Binford helpfully reviewed an early version of this note. LITERATURE CITED Bartle. J.A. 1968. Observations on the breeding habits of Pycroft’s Petrel. Notornis 15:70-99. 46 NOTES Bartle, J. A. 1974. Seabirds of eastern Cook Strait, New Zealand, in autumn. Notornis 21:135-166. Brown, R.G.B., W.R.P. Bourne & T.R. Wahl. 1978. Diving by shearwaters. Condor 80:123-125. Harper, P.C. 1983. Biology of the Buller’s Shearwater ( Puffinus bulleri) at the Poor Knights Island, New Zealand. Notornis 30:299-318. Jenkins, J.A.F. 1974. Local distribution and feeding habits of Buller’s Shearwater ( Puffinus bulleri). Notornis 21:109-120. King, W.B. 1971. Wedge-tailed Shearwater ( Puffinus pacificus). In W.B. King, ed. Pelagic studies of seabirds in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Smithsonian Contr. Zool. 158:53-95. Roberts, T.M. 1951, Buller’s Shearwater ( Puffinus bulleri). P. 40 in Summarized classified notes. Notornis 4:38-47. Serventy, D.L., V. Serventy & J. Warham. 1971. The handbook of Australian sea- birds. A.H. & A.W. Reed, Sydney. Wahl, T.R. & D. Heinemann. 1979. Seabirds and fishing vessels: co-occurrence and attraction. Condor 81:390-396. Wahl, T.R. 1985. The distribution of Buller’s Shearwater ( Puffinus bulleri) in the north Pacific Ocean. Notornis 32:109-117. Accepted 16 September 1985 Buller’s Shearwater Sketch by Tim Manolis 47 NOTES NESTING OF THE PHAINOPEPLA ON SANTA CRUZ ISLAND, CALIFORNIA PAUL D. HAEMIG, Lewis and Clark’s Rangers, P.O. Box 4561, Brownsville, Texas 78523-4561 The Phainopepla ( Phainopepla nitens) is reported to breed on only one island off the coast of southern California: Santa Catalina (Diamond and Jones 1980). Re- cently, however, 1 discovered Phainopeplas nesting on Santa Cruz Island, over 100 km away. My discovery shows that the insular breeding distribution of this erratic species is more extensive than previously thought. On 10 June 1984, I found a pair of Phainopeplas nesting in the Central Valley of Santa Cruz Island. Their nest was located between the Nature Conservancy facility and Cascada Canyon, 1.8 km west (by road) of the University of California Field Sta- tion. The nest was situated in an oak tree (Quercus sp.) that overlooked a dry wash, in a small oak woodland at the base of a north-facing mountain slope. The nest was placed in dense foliage near the distal end of a long branch, approximately 4 m above the ground. During my visits to the nest from 10 to 18 June, the adult Phainopeplas were in- cubating eggs. During my visits to the nest from 29 June to 9 July, they were feeding nestlings. On 9 July, when I left the island, the young appeared to be almost ready to leave the nest. I did not collect the nest and its contents because the population of breeding Phainopeplas on Santa Cruz Island appeared to be small. However, I did show the ac- tive nest to both Lynda! Laughrin and Tony Calig, and they can vouch for the validity of this record. My research on Santa Cruz Island was made possible through the kindness of Carey Stanton, Lyndal Laughrin, Shirley Clarke, the Santa Cruz Island Company, the Marine Science Institute of the University of California-Santa Barbara, and the U.S. Navy. LITERATURE CITED Diamond, J.M. & H.L. Jones. 1980. Breeding landbirds of the Channel Islands. Pp. 597-612 in D.M. Power, ed. The California Islands: proceedings of a multidisciplinary symposium, Santa Barbara Mus. Nat. Hist., Santa Barbara. Accepted 9 June 1986 48 Western Birds 17: 48. 1986 Volume 17, Number 1, 1986 Checklist of California Birds — 1986 Laurence C. Binford 1 Habitat Relationships of Winter Wrens in Northern California Cameron Barrows 17 Migratory Status of Flammulated Owls in California, With Recent Records from the California Channel Islands Paul W. Collins, Charles Drost and Gary M. Fellers 21 NOTES Identification of Juvenile Tattlers, and a Gray-tailed Tattler Record from Washington Dennis R. Paulson 33 Nesting of Plumbeous Solitary Vireo in the Southern Sierra Nevada Larry L. Norris 37 Female Tree Swallow Nests Successfully Following Loss of Eye Robert R. Cohen 40 First Record of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird in California Ronald E. Cole and Andrew Engilis, Jr. 41 Another Hybrid Downy X NuttalPs Woodpecker from San Diego County Philip Unitt 43 Notes on the Feeding Behavior of Buller’s Shearwater Terence R. Wahl 45 Nesting of the Phainopepla on Santa Cruz Island, California Paul D. Haemig 48 Couer photo by Jules Evens: Burrowing Owl ( Athene cunicularia) , Limantour Spit, Marin County, California, 26 January 1980 Western Birds solicits papers that are both useful to and understandable by amateur field ornithologists and also contribute significantly to scientific literature. The journal welcomes contributions from both professionals and amateurs. Appropriate topics in- clude distribution, migration, status, identification, geographic variation, conservation, behavior, ecology, population dynamics, habitat requirements, the effects of pollution, and techniques for censusing, sound recording, and photographing birds in the field. Papers of general interest will be considered regardless of their geographic origin, but particularly desired are reports of studies done in or bearing on the Rocky Mountain and Pacific states and provinces, including Alaska and Hawaii, western Texas, north- western Mexico, and the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Send manuscripts to Philip Unitt, 3411 Felton Street, San Diego, CA 92104. For mat- ter of style consult the Suggestions to Contributors to Western Birds (6 pages available at no cost from the editor) and the Council of Biology Editors Style Manual (available for $12 from the American Institute of Biological Sciences, 1401 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209. Reprints can be ordered at author’s expense from the Editor when proof is returned or earlier. Good photographs of rare and unusual birds, unaccompanied by an article but with caption including species, date, locality and other pertinent information, are wanted for publication in Western Birds. Submit photos and captions to Photo Editor. >1 17, No. 2, 1986 WESTERN BIRDS Quarterly Journal of Western Field Ornithologists Acting President: Tim Manolis, 3532 Winston Way, Carmichael, CA 95608 Treasurer/ Membership Secretary: Art Cupples, 3924 Murrietta Ave., Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 Recording Secretary: Jean-Marie Spoelman, 4629 Diaz Drive, Fremont, CA 94536 Circulation Manager: Jerry R, Oldenettel, 4368 37th Street, San Diego, CA 92105 Directors: Laurence C. Binford, Peter Gent, Virginia P. Johnson, John S. Luther, Guy McCaskie, Timothy Manolis, Narca Moore-Craig, Joseph Morlan, Janet Witzeman Editor: Alan M. Craig, P.O. Box 254, Lake view, CA 92353 Associate Editors: Cameron Barrows, Tim Manolis, Narca A. Moore-Craig, Dale A. Zimmerman Logout Artist: Virginia P. Johnson Photo Editor: Bruce Webb, 5657 Cazadero, Sacramento, CA 95822 Review Editor: Richard E. Webster, P.O. Box 6318, San Diego, CA 92106 Editorial Board: Robert Andrews, Alan Baldridge, Andrew J. Berger, Laurence C. Binford (Chairman), Jeanne A. Conry, David F. DeSante, Jon L. Dunn, Richard Erickson, Kimball L. Garrett, Joseph R. Jehl, Jr., Ned K. Johnson, Virginia P. Johnson, Kenn Kaufman, Brina Kessel, Stephen A. Laymon, Paul Lehman, John S. Luther, Guy McCaskie, M. Timothy Myres, Harry B. Nehls, Dennis R. Paulson, Stephen M. Russell, Oliver K. Scott, Ella Sorensen, Richard W. Stallcup, David Stirling, Charles Trost, Terence R. Wahl, Roland H. Wauer, Bruce Webb, Wayne C. Weber, Richard E. Webster Membership dues, for individuals and institutions, including subscription to Western Birds: Patron, $1000; Life, $250; Supporting, $50 annually; Contributing, $25 annually; Regular, $14 U.S. ($17 outside U.S.) annually. Dues and contributions are tax-deductible to the ex- tent allowed by law. Send membership dues, changes of address, correspondence regarding missing issues, and orders for back issues and special publications to the Treasurer. Make checks payable to Western Field Ornithologists. Back issues of California Birds/Westem Birds: $15 per volume, $4.00 for single issues. Xerox copies of out of print issues (Vol. 1 , No. 1 ; Vol. 2, Nos. 1 and 4; Vol. 6, No. 2) : $4.50 each. Checklist of the Birds of California: $2.00 each, 10 or more $1.50 each. Pelagic Birds of Monterey Bay, California: $2.50 each, 10 or more $2.00 each, 40 or more $1.50 each. All postpaid. Published April 22, 1987 WESTERN BIRDS ADVERTISING RATES AND SPECIFICATIONS Full page 4 x 6 3 /4 inches $60 per issue $200 per year Half Page 4x3% inches $40 per issue $130 per year Quarter Page 4 x Vy i6 inches $30 per issue $110 per year Offset printing, one column per page, 4 inches wide. Glossy, black and white photos are ac- ceptable; half-tone screen size: 133 line. Photo-ready copy is requested. If this is not possible, extra charges for typesetting will be made as follows: $15full page, $10 half page, $5 quarter page. Send copy with remittance to the Treasurer. Make checks payable to Western Field Ornithologists. A 15% commission is allowed for agencies. WESTERN BIRDS Volume 17, Number 2. 1986 NINTH REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE DON ROBERSON. 282 Grove Acre Ave., Pacific Grove, California 93950 The editorial staff of Western Birds is pleased to announce that Bushnell Corporation has underwritten the full costs for printing this report of the California Bird Records Committee. We know that members of Western Field Ornithologists will appreciate this special support from Bushnell. Bringing color photos into the journal is costly, but greatly enhances the report. CBRC reports are among the most popularly (and meticulously) read articles appearing in Western Birds. All along the way, Bushnell has been en- thusiastic in its desire to make it a quality report, from way back when Jon Dunn first asked the people at Bushnell to consider sponsoring the Records Committee report, through the time we asked them to send camera-ready copy for the aduertisement of Bushnell products in this issue of Western Birds. To everyone at Bushnell Corporation, a warm thank you. We hope this support of the California Bird Records Committee will be a regular sighting in Western Birds. — Bruce Webb This report contains 212 accepted records of 73 species and 27 unac- cepted records of 24 species (including 2 previously accepted). These numbers represent an acceptance rate of 88.7%, very similar to the accep- tance rate of 88.4% in our Eighth Report (Morlan 1985). One hundred forty-two observers contributed descriptions or photographs, the most for any annual report. Western Birds 17:49-77. 1986 49 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS At its annual meeting in February 1984, the California Bird Records Com- mittee (“CBRC” or u the Committee” hereafter) decided to fulfill its primary purposes of evaluating, publishing and storing records of California rarities by reviewing all reports, including those which are quite old. At that time we had reviewed only about 49% of published reports of species on the CBRC review list. We have obtained unpublished notes, reviewed published ac- counts, and considered extant specimens. Specimens were judged on the basis of photographs of the skins or skeletons and published or unpublished details. Since specimens have been misidentified in the past (for example, see Roberson and Pitelka 1983), review of specimens is as important as review of sight records. Many old records were obtained from the unpublished field notes of Jon L. Dunn, Kimball L. Garrett, Guy McCaskie, Don Roberson, and the late Laidlaw Williams and from published details in The Auk and The Condbr. Many other old reports are still under review. Published herdin are several records which have long been considered acceptable by other authors. This publication simply marks their formal CBRC acceptance under a specific record number. We are pleased to report that we have now evaluated about 65% of all known review-listed species. We welcome documentation of all unreviewed past records. State boundaries. At its February 1985 annual meeting, the CBRC ex- tended its offshore coverage and will now review all rarities observed or col- lected in California waters within 200 miles of the mainland. State list. This report officially adds 10 species to the California state list: Cook’s Petrel, Anhinga, Whooper Swan, Common Black-Hawk, Little Curlew, Little Stint, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, White Wagtail, Rustic Bunting and Brambling. These additions bring the California list to 560 species. A new official state list has been prepared (Binford 1986). Review list. The list of species or forms we review has remained relatively stable over recent years. In general, this list includes species that average four or fewer records per year. We welcome reports of the following: Yellow-billed Loon; Least Grebe; Wandering and Short-tailed Albatross; Mottled, Cook’s and Stejneger’s Petrel; Streaked and Greater Shearwater; Wilson’s, Band- rumped and Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel; White-tailed and Red-tailed Tropicbird; Masked, Brown and Red-footed Booby; Olivaceous Cormorant; Anhinga; Reddish Egret; Yellow-crowned Night-Heron; White Ibis; Black-bellied Whistling-Duck; Whooper and Trumpeter Swan; Emperor Goose; Baikal Teal; Garganey; Tufted Duck; King and Steller’s Eider; Smew; Mississippi Kite; Common Black-Hawk; Harris’ and Zone-tailed Hawk; Gyrfalcon; Sharp-tailed Grouse; Yellow Rail; Purple Gallinule; Mongolian, Wilson’s and Piping Plover; Eurasian Dotterel; American Oystercatcher; Spotted Redshank; Gray-tailed Tattler; Upland Sandpiper; Little Curlew; Hudsonian and Bar-tailed Godwit; Rufous-necked and Little Stint; White- rumped, Curlew and Buff-breasted Sandpiper; Jack Snipe; Little, Common Black- headed and Lesser Black-backed Gull; Sandwich and Sooty Tern; Thick-billed Murre; Kittilitz’s Murrelet; Parakeet, Least and Crested Auklet; Black-billed Cuckoo; Groove- billed Ani; Snowy and Barred Owl; White-collared Swift; Broad-billed, Violet- crowned, Blue-throated and Ruby-throated Hummingbird; Red-headed Woodpecker; Greater Pewee; Eastern Wood-Pewee; Yellow-bellied, Dusky-capped, Great Crested, Sulphur-bellied and Scissor- tailed Flycatcher; Thick-billed Kingbird; Eurasian Skylark; Blue Jay; Sedge Wren; Dusky Warbler; Northern Wheatear; Veery, Gray-cheeked and Wood Thrush; Rufous-backed Robin; Gray Catbird; Curve-billed 50 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS Thrasher; Yellow, White, White/Black-backed and Black-backed Wagtail; Red- throated and Sprague’s Pipit; White-eyed, Yellow-throated, Philadelphia and Red- eyed (Yellow-green) Vireo; Blue-winged, Golden-winged, Blue-winged X Golden- winged, Golden-cheeked, Yellow-throated, Grace’s, Pine, Cerulean, Prothonotary and Worm-eating Warbler; Louisiana Waterthrush; Kentucky, Connecticut, Mourning and Red-faced Warbler; Scarlet Tanager; Northern Cardinal; Pyrrhuloxia; Varied and Painted Bunting; Cassin’s, Field, Baird’s, LeConte’s and Sharp-tailed Sparrow; Rustic and Snow Bunting; Common Grackle; Streak-backed Oriole; Brambling; White- winged Crossbill; Common Redpoll, The CBRC also reviews records of any species not yet on the state list. Committee membership. After serving six years as Secretary, Benjamin D. Parmeter retired in January 1986. I am the new Secretary and all documen- tation of records should be sent to me at the above address. The current members are: Stephen F. Bailey, Louis Bevier, Jon L. Dunn, Richard A. Erickson, Kimball L. Garrett, Jeri M. Langham, Curtis Marantz, Joseph Morlan and Richard Stallcup. Format. The format is similar to that of the Eighth Report (Morlan 1985), with a few modifications discussed below. Each record includes the locality and a standard abbreviation for the county (see below), followed by the date and (in parentheses) the initials of reporting contributors and the CBRC record number. If the observer (s) who first found or identified the bird pro- vided documentation, his or her initials are given first, followed by a semicolon. If an observer submitted a photograph, a dagger (t) follows their initials. Many photographers submitted written descriptions with their photos, a practice we encourage. A specimen is indicated by followed by an ab- breviation (see below) for the museum which houses the specimen and the specimen number. Unless otherwise indicated by or “t,” all reports are sight records. I have provided a full span of dates for each record. This information was provided by committee members or was gleaned from the seasonal reports published in American Birds. If our dates differ from American Birds pub- lished dates, our dates have been italicized, indicating they are correct. I have cited published photographs. Species marked with an asterisk (*) are no longer reviewed by the Committee. A new feature in this report is an annotation following each species name that indicates the number of CBRC accepted records. If a double asterisk (* *) follows this number, refer to the following list of explanations. Short-tailed Albatross: This species was regular offshore California before the 20th century. Only accepted records since 1900 are included in the total. We do not review reports prior to 1900. Cook’s Petrel: Total includes those records accepted with the disclaimer discussed in the text. Emperor Goose: Total includes 22 records cited by Grinnell & Miller (1944) which, due to the lack of available documentation, appear unlikely to be reviewed. They are included in the statistical count of accepted records, but are not formally accepted. 51 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS Harris’ Hawk: This species was a permanent resident in the Imperial Valley into the 1950s and along the Colorado River until the early 1960s. Though some old records have been reviewed, the CBRC no longer reviews records prior to 1960 and only those accepted records since then are included in the total. Parakeet Auklet: Eight specimens (5 from San Francisco, 3 from Monterey Bay) listed by Grinnell & Miller (1944) are apparently no longer extant and are unlikely to be reviewed due to lack of available documentation. They are included in the statistical count, but are not formally accepted. Snowy Owl: Grinnell & Miller (1944) summarized several flights in the period 1895-1897, plus birds in 1908 and 1916. The flight in Nov-Dec 1916 apparently numbered at least 20 birds, but only one specimen now seems extant. The statistical total includes 21 records since 1900 listed by Grinnell & Miller (1944), though only one has been formally accepted. The other early records seem un- likely to be reviewed due to the lack of available documentation. White/Black-backed Wagtail: The total includes records accepted as a specific species. Some records reported here are of individual birds reluming for additional years. Each such report is reviewed annually under a separate CBRC number. Members are asked if they believe the bird is the same individual as previously accepted. If the consensus is that it is the same, it is treated as ad- ditional dates of a previous record and does not appear in the statistical count; otherwise it is considered a new record. Some of these decisions made at the annual meeting in February 1985 are included here. All annotations, except those noted above, are mine, although the infor- mation usually comes from Committee files. The CBRC does not formally review age and sex and all indications herein are opinions, not officially ac- cepted CBRC positions. Abbreviations. Seasonal reports in American Birds are abbreviated AB, followed by volume and page number. County abbreviations follow Morlan (1985): ALA Alameda, BUT Butte, CC Contra Costa, DN Del Norte, HMB Humboldt, IMP Imperial, INY Inyo, KRN Kern, LAS Lassen, LA Los Angeles, MRN Marin, MRP Mariposa, MER Merced, MOD Modoc, MNO Mono, MNT Monterey, NEV Nevada, ORA Orange, PLU Plumas, RIV Riverside, SBE San Bernardino, SD San Diego, SBA Santa Barbara, SJ San Joaquin, SLO San Luis Obispo, SM San Mateo, SCL Santa Clara, SCZ Santa Cruz, SIS Siskiyou, SOL Solano, SON Sonoma, TRN Trinity, TUL Tulare, VEN Ventura. Museums that house specimens reported herein are abbreviated: CAS = California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco LACM = Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History MVZ = Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley PGMNH = Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History SDNHM = San Diego Natural History Museum SBCM = San Bernardino County Museum SBMNH = Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History 52 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS Other standard abbreviations throughout include: NM = National Monu- ment, NS = National Seashore, NWR = National Wildlife Refuge, SE Farallon I. = Southeast Farallon Island, Pt. = Point. Directions of the com- pass are sometimes abbreviated. Contributors: Listed by their abbreviations in the text: David Abbott, Dennis Abbott (DA), Stephen F. Bailey, Alan Baldridge, Bruce Barrett (BBa), Don Bazzi, Rebecca Belkin, Chris Benesh, Linda A. Belluomini, Laurence C. Binford, Ronald L. Branson, N. Bruce Broadbooks, Henry Brodkin, June Buntin, Betty Burridge (BBu), John Butler, Kurt F. Camp- bell, Eugene A. Cardiff, Steven W. Cardiff, Barbara A. Carlson, Karen Car- tier, Herbert Clarke, Ron Cole, Wanda D. Conway, Elizabeth Copper, Malcolm Coulter, Alan M. Craig, Brian E. Daniels, David DeSante (DDeS), Donna Dittmann (DD), Linda Doerflinger, Jon L. Dunn, Tom M. Edell, David G. Edwards, Richard A. Erickson, Jules Evens, Gary M. Fellers, Joan Fellers, Jeffrey W. Fleischer, Ronnie Fowler, Kimball L. Garrett, Doug George, Albert Ghiorso, Ed Greaves, Jeffrey A. Greenhouse, William E. Grenfeil, Jr., Kem L. Hainebach, Robert C. Halsy, Rob Hansen, W. Ed Harper, Syd P. Harrison, Debra L, Hays, Loren R. Hays, Phil Henderson, Lillian K. Henningsen, Wes Hetrick, Don Hoechlin, Dorothy Hoffman, Robert Hogan, Alan Hopkins, Arthur L. Howe, N.G. Howell, Richard Ives, Kenn Kaufman, Brian W. Keelan, Dave Krueper, Woody Kuehn, Jeri M. Langham, Kim Lathrop, Stephen A. Laymon, Paul E. Lehman, Phil Lenna, Gary S. Lester, Ron LeValley, George Lindsay, Mike Lippsmeyer, John S. Luther, Tim Manolis (TM), Curtis Marantz, Roger Malrowe, Guy McCaskie, Teya McElroy (TMc), Nancy McMahon, Patrick McMonagle, Alan B. Meyer- field, Larry A. Moore, Joseph Morlan, Doug Morton, Dan Murphy (DM), Janet B. Murphy, Dan Nelson, Eugene O’Reilly, Benjamin D. Parmeter, John Parmeter, Red & Jacqueline Phillips, Robert L. Pitman, Point Reyes Bird Observatory, Dave Povey, Sylvia J. Ranney, Don Roberson, Henry Robert, Steve & Diane Rose, Mary Louise Rosegay, Larry Sansone (LSa), Barry Sauppe, Scott Seltman, Dennis & Rebecca Serdehely, Arnold Small (AS), Gregory P. Smith, Sue Smith (SSm), Larry Spear (LSp), Richard Stallcup, Andrew Starred (ASt), Don Sterba, Gary J. Strachan, Jim & Ellen Strauss, G. Shumway Suffel, Steve Summers (SSu), Harold Swanton, Chris Swarth, Ian C. Tait, Dan Taylor, Chris Tenney, Bob Tintle, W. Breck Tyler, William Van Meter, Kent Van Vuren, Vitaly Volmenski, Richard E. Webster, Brian Weed, Michael Weinstein, Nick Whelan, Jack Wilburn (JWb), Laidlaw Williams, Douglas R. Willick, Jon Winter (JWn), Frank Wright, David G. Yee, Bob & Carol Yutzy. Acknowledgments. The Committee thanks the many contributors listed above, without whom this report would not be possible. We also appreciate the critical evaluation of records by the following consultants: Peter J. Grant, William E. Grenfell, Jr., Lars Jonsson, Dennis Paulson, Charles A. Pilling, J. Van Remsen, Jr., Frank S. Todd, Terence R. Wahl, George E. Watson, Richard Veit and Mike Wihler. Members and former members provided much information and reviewed an earlier draft of this manuscript: Stephen F. Bailey, Louis Bevier, Laurence C. Binford, Jon L. Dunn, Richard A. Erickson, Kimball L. Garrett, Jeri M. Langham, Curtis Marantz, Guy McCaskie, Joseph Morlan, Benjamin D. Parmeter and Richard Stallcup. 53 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS Former members who voted on some or all of the records in this report were: H. Lee Jones, Paul E. Lehman and Richard E. Webster. The following curators or collection managers graciously provided members access to their collections: Luis F. Baptista and Stephen F. Bailey (CAS), Eugene A. Cardiff (SBCM), Kimball L. Garrett and Ralph W. Schreiber (LACM), Stanley W. Harris (Humboldt State University), Ned K. Johnson and Anne Jacobberger (MVZ), James R. Northern (Univ. of Calif., Los Angeles), Dennis M. Power (SBMNH), Amadeo M. Rea (SDNHM) and Vernal L. Yadon (PGMNH). Lloyd Kiff continues to curate past CBRC records at the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, 1100 Glendon Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024. The following photographers particularly deserve credit for aiding the work of the Committee: Albert Ghiorso, Ed Greaves, W. Ed Harper, Alan Hopkins and Richard E. Webster. ACCEPTED RECORDS YELLOW-BILLED LOON Gauia adamsii (23). One in breeding plumage flying north past Pigeon Pt. SM 9 May 1979 (BS; 97-1983). One inside San Francisco Bay at San Francisco SF 7-14 Feb 1982 (RH; WK, DM; 45-1982). An immature on Lake Perris, near Lakeview RIV 20 Dec 1983-4 May 1984 (DD, SWC; JLD, JML, GMcC, REWt; Figure 1; 134-1983). A previously accepted record from Monterey harbor MNT (7-1972; Winter 1973) is amended to reflect the entire date span 26 Jan-4 May 1972. The Pigeon Point bird is the second record of a breeding-plumaged bird in Califor- nia. The first was also a spring migrant flying north past a coastal viewing site (Morlan 1985). The Lake Perris bird is the first accepted inland record for the state. The San Francisco bird illustrated the need for all observers to submit details; the report was ac- cepted on the third round only after a committee member obtained details from addi- tional observers. SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSS Diomedea a/batrus (2 **). A first-year bird first observed at 35°30’N, 122°1 l’W (off SLO) followed the ship for 45 minutes to a point about 40 miles southwest of Cape San Martin MNT 2 Dec 1983 (RLPT, LSp; 72-1984); a photo was published by Roberson (1985). This species, considered common in California waters in the 19th century, was nearly extirpated and has only recently begun to recover. Recent population estimates are around 250 birds (Haseagawa & DeGange 1982). This is only the second ac- cepted record this century; see Unaccepted Records for a retraction of another report. ’LAYSAN ALBATROSS Diomedea immutabilis (14 *) . One on Monterey Bay MNT 13 Feb 1977 (JMLt, DR; 91-1983) . One about 30 miles west of Pt. Ano Nuevo SM 8 Nov 1982 (SSm; 96-1983). One about 15 miles west of Pt. Pinos MNT 5 Feb 1983 (JLD, DHt; 105-1983). A photograph of the 1977 bird, one of the few records inside Monterey Bay, ap- pears in Roberson (1978) and on the cover of the June 1978 isssue of Birding (Vol. 10, No. 3) . The Laysan Albatross is regular during winter well offshore California (see Sanger 1974) and reports are no longer reviewed by the CBRC. COOK’S PETREL Pterodroma cookii (10 * *) An immature female in a weakened condition found ashore at Santa Cruz SCZ 17 Nov 1983 subsequently expired and is now a specimen (WBT, # CAS 71447; 164-1984). Full details will be published elsewhere. This is the first time a Cook’s Petrel in California was unquestionably iden- 54 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS tified; prior accepted records had been listed as P. cookii/ defilippiana (see Binford 1985). This accepted specimen thus adds the species to the state list. Cook’s Petrel, breeding on islets off New Zealand, regularly spends the austral winter (June-Oct), at least in some years, north to Baja California, Mexico (AOU 1983) . Birds of this type have been seen over the continental shelf (in the narrow zone of water depths from 1300-2200 fathoms) in Oct-Dec 1979 (see Luther et al. 1983, Binford 1983) and again in June 1985 (currently under review). They may yet prove to be a regular component of the summer/fall avifauna over deep water far offshore. At the annual meeting in January 1986, the Committee voted to accept all records of Pterodroma cookii / defilippiana/ pycrofti type petrels as Cook’s Petrels, the one species known to occur here. Although such records are statistically listed as P. cookii, all but the specimen above are accepted with the following note: P. defilippiana and P. pycrofti are considered unlikely on known geographic range, but have not been eliminated by description. All previously accepted records are now considered to be Cook’s with the above disclaimer. Some members believe record 71-1979 (bird *6), near the Davidson Seamount 50 miles sw. of Cape San Martin MNT on 17 Nov 1979, is identifiable to cookii by the photograph, though the majority still consider defilip- piana not eliminated. Most agree pycrofti has been eliminated for this particular bird, a photo of which appears in Roberson (1985). With the adoption of the disclaimer policy regarding defilippiana and pycrofti, the following two records were accepted as Cook’s Petrel: one near the San Juan Sea- mount (85 miles south of Pt. Conception) SBA 14 Aug 1984 (RLP; 246-1984) and another about 65 miles sw. of Pt. Conception SBA 19 Aug 1984 (RLP; 247-1984). Both were over the continental shelf in waters 1500-1800 fathoms deep, consistent with other sightings. Figure 1. Yellow-billed Loon, Lake Perris, Riverside Co., California. 22 Dec 1983. Photo by Richard E. Webster 55 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS WILSON’S STORM-PETREL Oceanites ocearticus (19). One collected on Monterey Bay MNT 24 Aug 1910 (#MVZ 18742; 106-1984). One about 2 miles south of SE Farallon 1. SF 29 Aug 1959 (GMcC, RS; 107-1984). One on Monterey Bay (6-7 miles west of Moss Landing) MNT 7 Oct-1 Nov 1967 (GMcC; 108-1984). One on Monterey Bay MNT 1 May 1978 (DR; 92-1983). The 1910 record was the first for California and was originally published by Grinnell (1915). Since the 1967 record, from 1 to 4 birds have occurred on Monterey Bay nearly every fall The 1978 bird is the first to be found in spring. WEDGE-RUMPED STORM-PETREL Oceanodroma tethys (4). One on Monterey Bay about 10 miles west of Moss Landing MNT 2-9 Oct 1983 (RS; GMF, JF, RI, KK, JML; 77-1983/29-1984). This record encountered some procedural confusion. The 2 Oct bird (77-1983), found away from the large storm-petrel flocks, was originally cir- culated with another report from 9 Oct (138-1983). It was apparent to all committee members that these were two different individuals, and that the 9 Oct bird was not a Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel; it was eventually rejected (see Unaccepted Records). Details of another 9 Oct sighting, from another boatload of birders, were obtained and accepted (29-1984). This acceptable 9 Oct bird was with the large storm-petrel flock over the Monterey submarine canyon. A majority of members felt the two sightings, a week apart, represented the same individual. An important character used to separate the two 9 Oct birds was the amount of white visible on the flanks when the bird was sitting on the water; none was seen on the accepted Wedge-rumped, whereas much was present on the rejected bird. Showing apparent white while at rest is characteristic of Wilson’s Storm-Petrel. Some members felt that this mark alone eliminated the possibility of Wedge-rumped Storm- Petrel. The accepted Wedge-rumped was very small (similar to Least Storm-Petrel Oceanodroma microsoma) and had a long triangular-shaped white rump patch ex- tending nearly to the tip of the tail. WHITE-TAILED TROPICBIRD Phaethon lepturus (1). An adult at Newport Bay ORA 24 May-23 June 1964 (W ? HT, GMcC; 43-1984). Photographs and full details of this remarkable bird, including its attempted copulation with a radio-controlled model glider, appear in Hetrick & McCaskie (1965), BROWN BOOBY Sula leucogaster (7) . An adult male off San Miguel Island SBA 3-5 July 1965 (HCt; 89-1984). A first-year bird off Santa Barbara Island SBA 29 Oct 1983 (ALH; 115-1983) was refound in more advanced plumage 25 Mar 1984 (NBB; 115-1984). Published photographs of the San Miguel Island bird appear in McCaskie (1970) and Roberson (1980). They show the extensively pale hindcrown characteristic of males of the east Pacific race brewsteri. While the CBRC accepts the 1965 sighting, note that an adult Brown Booby was reported in this same area in July 1961 and again in June-July 1968 (McCaskie 1970) . The CBRC welcomes details of these sightings to help determine if the same bird was involved. The two records accepted here are the only coastal records for California (a third record, from SE Farallon I. in 1983, is cur- rently in circulation) . OLIVACEOUS CORMORANT Phalacrocorax olivaceus (3). One in flight at the Whitewater River mouth, Salton Sea RIV 30 July 1983 (GMcC, SSu; 66-1983). This is now considered to be the same individual, previously accepted (Morlan 1986), that was at the north end of the Salton Sea 1 Aug- 10 Sep 1982 (76-1982) and attempted to nest at the south end of the Sea 27 Feb-5 Mar 1983 (37-1983). 56 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS ANHINGA Anhinga anhinga (1). A female at Lee Lake RIV 27 Nov 1983-9 June 1984 (LCB, JLD, JML, GMcC, JM, DR, REWt; 30-1984). This is the first California record . This bird produced extensive dicussion regarding its status as a wild vagrant or a possible escape. The record was accepted (9-1) only after additional information was obtained of the recent occurrence of Anhinga in Sonora, Mexico (provided by SWC) and the general scarcity of the species in captivity (REW provided information that only one had been held recently by the San Diego Wild Animal Park and it was still present). Supporters of this bird as wild cited this data and an 1893 record from Arizona (Monson & Phillips 1981). The single dissenter cited the Committee’s previous rejection of the Sweetwater Reservoir SD bird (Feb 1977 into fall 1980) and the Lake Merced SF bird (summer 1939) , both of which were rejected on split votes as “origin questionable.” In January 1986 the Committee voted to recirculate these two records. REDDISH EGRET Egretta rufescens (11). One around south San Diego Bay SD 18 Dec 1982-26 Mar 1983 (GMcC. REWt; 49-1984) returning 18 Jan- 15 Mar 1984 (JLD, GMcC, REWt; 45-1984). There are now 11 accepted records from California (10 from SD, 1 in VEN), but some 21 published reports remain unreviewed (with another 15 currently in circulation) . This species was recently added to the review list after having been removed for several years. YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON Nycticorax violaceus (10) An adult at Harbor Slough LA 30 May-2 June 1963 (ABM+; 88-1984). An adult at Santa Margarita River mouth SD 9 May 1984 (LRH; 76-1984). The latter bird might be the same as the individual present at San Elijo Lagoon SD in 1982-1983 (records 88-1981, 81-1982, 37-1983: Binford 1985. Morlan 1985), but the majority con- sidered it a different bird. WHOOPER SWAN Cygnus cygnus (1). An adult near Grimes COL 17-19 Jan 1984 (LCB. RAE, AGt, GMcC, RS, REWt. JW; 21-1984). This bird, present with a flock of about 750 Tundra Swan (C. columbianus), is the first for California. Though delighting many observers during its 3-day visit, it disappointed many more by leaving before the weekend After debate regarding origin, the record was accepted (9-1) on the second round. Most persuasive to those supporting the record was the extensive checking (by LCB) of potential sources of escapes, including the Sebastiani Vineyards (which had 7 Whoopers in Jan 1984 but had an alibi for each bird), the San Francisco Zoo, Sea World in San Diego, and various game farms in northern California and Washington. Supporters also noted that Whooper Swans winter south to 35° N in Asia, are regular in the Aleutians, and once occurred in fall migration in southeastern Alaska. The date was appropriate for a vagrant and various other Siberian species visited the U S. in winter 1983-84. The dissenter noted the lack of a pattern of records toward California, the known escapes in Ontario (1979; originally accepted locally and later retracted) and in Wisconsin (1985), and the fact that a list of bird breeders obtained from the California Dept, of Fish & Game showed at least 21 other potential sources of escapes that had not been checked. The Committee’s evaluation was that the bird was more likely a wild bird than an escape. The CBRC does not require irrefutable proof that a particular bird is wild or escaped. Rather, it weighs the evidence to reach a conclusion about the probable origin of a bird. All relevent information should reach the Committee prior to the balancing test. Observers are urged to submit not only field descriptions of birds which may or may not be wild, but facts on both sides of the issue as well. 57 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS EMPEROR GOOSE Chen canagica (32 * *) . One at Carmel MNT 28 Dec 1945-11 Jan 1946 (LW; 110-1984). At the time this was the southernmost record for the state. The Committee amended record 29-1978 (Luther et al. 1983) to reflect the entire date span 19 Dec 1977-22 Apr 1978 at Moss Landing MNT and the Pajaro River mouth MNT/SCZ. The 1946 record illustrates that even very old reports can be researched, reviewed and accepted. The details submitted included a copy of the January 1946 issue of The Sanderling, the newsletter of the Monterey Peninsula Audubon Society, and much more thorough descriptions in the field notes of the late Laidlaw Williams. These field notes were donated to Hastings Natural History Reservation, a University of California field station, and thus were available to researchers. Active field observers are urged to provide for the eventual deposit of their notes in public facilities or museums, thereby providing a valuable resource to future generations. GARGANEY Anas querquedula (3) . A male at Lower Klamath NWR, SIS 29 Apr 1982 (JWF; 76-1983). The record fits well into a pattern of spring Records in North America, and possibilities of an escape or a hybrid were considered and dismissed in committee comments. TUFTED DUCK Aythya fuligula (19). One male at Lake Perris RIV 25 Nov 1983-5 Mar 1984 (JLD, JML, GMcC; 75-1984), with a second male there 2 Jan 1984 (JLD; 31-1984), are considered the same birds which wintered there Jan-Feb 1983 (previously accepted 53-1983; Morlan 1985). One male at Quail Lake LA 29 Dec 1983-7 Mar 1984 (WDC, KLG; 73-1984) is regarded as the same bird there in winters 1978-79 and 1979-80 (previously accepted 49-1980; Binford 1985, which also ap- peared in Cuddy Valley KRN as 80-1982; Morlan 1985). By a split vote, a slight ma- jority favored listing it as the same bird, having been overlooked in this lightly-birded area in intervening winters. One male at the Stockton sewage ponds SJ 17-22 Mar 1984 (DGY; 70-1984). The Committee evaluated, for statistical purposes, previously accepted records of birds returning winter to winter. Their decisions follow: One male at Lake Sherwood VEN 25-31 Jan 1973, 31 Dec 1973-2 Feb 1974, 30 Oct 1974-12 Jan 1975, 19 Nov 1975 late Feb 1976, and 19 Nov 1976- Jan 1977 (25-1974, 25-1976) is considered a single record. One male at Lake Merritt, Oakland and nearby Alameda ALA 28 Oct 1976-28 Mar 1977, 27 Oct-6 Nov 1977, and 2 Dec 1978-13 Jan 1979 (126-1976, 24-1978, 13-1979) was joined by a female 28 Oct-12 Dec 1976 (46-1976, 24-1978), for a total of two records. One male at Limantour MRN 12 Jan- 17 Apr 1978, 14 Dec 1978-10 Mar 1979, 29 Sep 1979-12 Jan 1980, and 3 Oct-27 Dec 1980 (78-1978, 12-1979, 44-1981, 237-1980) is con- sidered one record, A second male appeared there 9 Nov-12 Dec 1980 (44-1981, 237-1980). These amendments result in a total of 19 records of Tufted Duck through March 1984. An additional 8 published reports remain unreviewed and another 4 are pending. SMEW Mergellus albelius (1). One male at Foster City SM 19 Dec 1983-22 Jan 1984 (AGt, JML, GMcC, REW; 24-1984) returned for its third winter (same bird as 95-1981; Binford 1985). It remains the only record for the state. MISSISSIPPI KITE Ictinia mississippiensis (12). A first-summer bird at Long Beach (California State University campus) LA 21 June 1982 (KLG; 118-1983). A first- summer bird at Oasis MNO 1 June 1984 (ML, JML, REW; 116-1984). 58 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS COMMON BLACK-HAWK Buteogallus anthracinus (1). An adult at Thousand Palms Oasis (Nature Conservancy Reserve) RIV 13 Apr 1985 (BED, DLH, LRH; 46-1985). This apparent overshooting spring migrant is the first record of a species that had been anticipated to occur in California (Jehl 1980). It had previously oc- curred as near as Ehrenberg and the Bill Williams Delta, Arizona (on the Colorado River), and near Las Vegas, Nevada. This bird was seen only in flight but was carefully described and sketched. In comments. Committee members considered and rejected the possibilities of an escape or confusion with Black Vulture Coragyps atratus, dark phase Hook-billed Kite Chondrohierax uncinatus , Mangrove Black-Hawk B. subtilis. Great Black-Hawk B. urubitinga. Harris’ Hawk, Solitary Eagle Harpyhaliaetus solitarius, and Zone-tailed Hawk. While not all these tropical hawks are likely to occur wild here, many raptors are kept in zoos and are potential escapes. All should be con- sidered in reports of vagrant raptors. HARRIS’ HAWK Parabuteo unicinctus (2 **). Three around Imperial Dam IMP 19 Dec 1958 (GMcC; 138-1984). One adult at Topock Marsh, near Needles SBE 22 Nov 1962 (GMcC; 47-1984). One adult about 20 miles north of Blythe RIV 28 Nov 1964 (GMcC; 46-1984). This species was resident along the lower Colorado River (Grinnell & Miller 1944) and the CBRC no longer reviews records prior to 1960. Severe declines occurred in the early 1960s and the 1964 bird may be the last wild bird seen in California. Five reports from the 1970s were rejected on origin or identification questions. Govern- mental efforts are currently underway to re-establish the species along the Colorado River. ZONE-TAILED HAWK Buteo albonotatus (17). An adult near Bonsall SD 7 Dec 1982-27 Feb 1983 (GMcC: 5-1983) returned 10 Dec 1983-14 Feb 1984 (GMcC, REWt; Figure 2; 135-1983). A second adult was near Fallbrook SD (about 8 miles away from the Bonsall bird) 26 Dec 1982-8 Jan 1983 (REWt; 27-1984). One of these birds may be the same individual at nearby Whelan Lake 13 Jan 1979 (previously accepted 40-1979: Binford 1985). but the majority considered all three to Figure 2. Zone-tailed Hawk. Bonsall. San Diego Co., California, 16 Dec 1983. Photo by Richard E. Webster 59 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS be different birds. An adult at Furnace Creek Ranch, Death Valley NM, INY 31 May 1983 (AH; 92-1984) . An adult at Morongo Valley (Big Morongo Reserve) SBE 2 May 1984 (RB; 93-1984), The latter record was previously unpublished. GYRFALCON Falco rusticolus (2). An immature collected near Lower Klamath Lake (not Tule Lake as cited by Roberson 1980 and others) SIS 23 Oct 1948 (#MVZ 15104; 87-1984). This bird was the first for California, shot by a quail hunter when it dived at his dog (Jewett 1949). YELLOW RAIL Coturrticops noueboracensis (18). Eighteen specimens collected in late fall and winter between 1863-1936, as detailed below. This species, now ex- ceptionally rare in the state, was apparently regular in winter during this early era and nested east of the Sierra Nevada (Grinnell & Miller 1944). The Quincy PLU record might be a migrant or a breeding bird. 15 Dec 1863 Martinez CC 128-1984 #MVZ 4460 24 Apr 1894 Quincy PLU 122-1984 *MVZ 57968 16 Nov 1898 Pt. Reyes Station MRN 121-1984 #MVZ 81933 27 Dec 1903 Locks Marsh SCZ 26/134-1984 "MVZ 91349 27 Dec 1903 Locks Marsh SCZ 135-1984 m\JZ 91350 31 Oct 1905 Locks Marsh SCZ 129-1984 *MVZ 91351 5 Nov 1905 Locks Marsh SCZ 130-1984 #MVZ 91352 5 Nov 1905 Locks Marsh SCZ 131-1984 *MVZ 91353 5 Nov 1905 Locks Marsh SCZ 132-1984 #MVZ 91354 12 Nov 1905 Locks Marsh SCZ 133-1984 #MVZ 91355 19 Oct 1910 Suisun Marsh SOL 125-1984 # MVZ 24900 28 Dec 1910 Suisun Marsh SOL 124-1984 #MVZ 17250 1 Jan 1911 Suisun Marsh SOL 123-1984 #MVZ 17251 30 Nov 1911 Los Banos MER 126-1984 *MVZ 22141 30 Nov 1911 Los Banos MER 127-1984 *MVZ 22142 17 Nov 1912 Rincon Valley SON 119-1984 *MVZ 23339 31 Jan 1914 Corona RIV 136-1984 *MVZ 54552 22 Feb 1936 Pt. Reyes Station MRN 120-1984 #MVZ 100442 The 1936 Pt. Reyes Station bird and the 7 from Locks Marsh SCZ were not pub- lished by Grinnell & Miller (1944). Morlan, in comments, noted that he had searched for Locks Marsh as found on old maps, and discovered that today it is a parking lot in Scott’s Valley. MONGOLIAN PLOVER Charadrius mongolus (2). An adult in breeding plumage at the Santa Clara River mouth VEN 26 July-2 Aug 1983 (ASt; JLD, GMcC; 65-1983). The Committee regards this as the same individual which appeared here the previous Aug (previously accepted 74-1982; Morlan 1985). AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER Haematopus palliatus (5). An adult at Fraser Pt., Santa Cruz Island SBA 26 Feb 1984 (PEL; 51-1984). This is considered to be one of up to three individuals present here year-round since first noted on 11 Nov 1966 (previously accepted 92-1980; Binford 1983). It shows the spotted breast characteristic of the Pacific Coast race jrazari. This bird could be more than 18 years old, but some members noted that the Eurasian Oystercatcher H. ostralegus has been known to live longer than 35 years (Terres 1980), LITTLE CURLEW Numenius minutus (1). A juvenile in the Santa Maria River Valley, near Betteravia SBA 16 Sep-14 Oct 1984 (PEL; JLD, RAE, AHT, JML, ML, CM, GMcC, JM, DR + , ASt, BTT; 215-1984) . This first state record was seen by hun- dreds of observers after being relocated on the ranch of the Mahoneys, who graciously 60 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS permitted birders to enter their property. The excitement of the find, surely one of the most remarkable in North America, was described by Schram (1985). Full details and color photos appear in Lehman & Dunn (1985). LITTLE STINT Calidris minuta (1). A juvenile at the Bolinas sewage ponds MRN 14-22 Sept 1983 (DHE; LCB, AGt, AHT, NGH, PL, JM, BDP, RSt; 62-1983). This bird was originally identified as a Rufous-necked Stint C. ruficollis, but a review of photos provided by Ed Greaves and W. Ed Harper of juvenile stints on Attu Island, Alaska, in Sep 1983 raised serious questions regarding this identification. The issue was only settled to the satisfaction of the Committee after Lars Jonsson of Sweden and Peter J. Grant of Britain provided comments. The combination of characters they used to identify the bird as a Little Stint have since been published by Grant and Jonsson (1984) and Veit and Jonsson (1985), and illustrated in Jonsson’s color plates, prints of which he provided prior to publication. This is the first record south of Alaska in western North America. The discussion and controversy it spawned led to a better understanding of the identication of juvenile stints. BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER Tryngites subruficollis (22). One at Greenhills Cemetery, Palos Verdes Peninsula LA 5-17 Sep 1971 (JLD; 57-1984). Two on SE Farallon I. SF 29 Aug 1978 (PRBO; 112-1984). One at Manchester Beach MEN 2-3 Sep 1978 (BBu, RM; 113-1984). One in breeding plumage at the Areata marina HMB 3-4 May 1980 (LD, RLeV; 95-1983). One at the Lancaster sewage ponds LA 3-9 Sep 1983 (BWK; HCT, JLD, GMcC, REW; 67-1983). The Areata bird is the only spring record. Accepted fall birds, apparently all juveniles, occurred between 26 Aug-22 Oct. In some autumns, such as 1978, unusually large numbers have been present. JACK SNIPE Lymnocryptes minimus (1). One collected near the Sutter Buttes BUT 20 Nov 1938 (#MVZ 94397; 86-1984) is the only California record. The cir- cumstances were described by McLean (1939) . After some initial debate regarding the question of origin, the record was accepted (9-1) on the second round. LITTLE GULL Larus minutus (21). An adult migrating north past Pigeon Pt. SM 19 Apr 1979 (BS; 98-1983). Up to three at the Stockton sewage ponds SJ over the past 6 years. A second-winter bird was first noted 20 Mar-2 Apr 1979 (previously ac- cepted 21-1979; Luther et al. 1983). Since then adults have occurred on the fol- lowing dates and numbers: 4 Feb-31 Mar 1980, 17 Oct 1980-31 May 1981 (JMLT; 93-1983), 26 Oct 1981-30 Apr (2)-9 May (2) 1982, 18 Oct 1982-22 Apr (2)-26 Apr (3) -30 Apr (3) -9 May (2) 1983 (JML, DRT; 1/42-1984), and 18 Oct 1983-15 Apr(2)-28 Apr (2) 1984 (LCB, JML, GMcC, BDP, REWt; 85-1983). A second- winter bird at Monterey MNT 3-13 Apr 1982 (AB, RLBT; 94-1983). A photo of this bird was published by Roberson (1985). COMMON BLACK-HEADED GULL Larus ridibundus (9). An adult in winter plumage at Long Beach LA 10 Sep- 13 Oct 1983 (LRH; GMcC: 70-1983). An adult at the Stockton sewage ponds SJ 18 Oct 1982-10 Apr 1983 (DRt; 2-1984) and 11 Oct 1983 9 Apr 1984 (LCB, JML, GMcC, BDP, REWT: Figure 3; 84-1983). The lat- ter bird has been present six consecutive winters since first discovered in March 1979 (previously accepted 20-1979; Luther et al. 1983). Complete dates of occurrence in its first four winters were 20 -30 Mar 1979, 4 Feb-31 Mar 1980. 7-12 Nov 1980. 10 Nov 1981-8 Apr 1982. 61 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS PARAKEET AUKLET Cyclorrhynchus psittacula (16). Fifteen specimens (^CAS 10291-10305), all showing head plumes, taken by Rollo Beck on Monterey Bay MNT on the following dates: twelve on 13 Jan 1908 (records 139-1984 through 148-1984 and 150-1984, 151-1984) , one on 15 Jan 1908 (149-1984) and one on 30 Jan 1908 (152-1984), Another was picked up on the Pacific Grove MNT shoreline on 28 Jan 1908 (153-1984). These were reported by Beck (1910) and Grinnell& Miller (1944). One found dead just north of the Pajaro River mouth SCZ 28 Apr 1947 (skeleton # MVZ 119009; 200-1984). The numbers in 1908 are truly extraordinary. Nothing like it has occurred since, though it is not known if the species was regular off-shore before 1908. The 1947 specimen posed an interesting question of identification, as only a photo of the skull was available for review, but reference to Ainley et al. (1980) was useful. Several members considered whether the bird should be accepted as a California record since a dead bird might be carried by ocean currents for some distance (see Grinnell 1938). The British Ornithologists’ Union Committee does not accept records of “tide-line corpses” on the “A” British list, but CBRC members considered the record acceptable, as this state is far from other jurisdictions. BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO Coccyzus erythropthalmus (6). An immature mist- netted at Pt. Reyes NS, MRN 22 Sep 1965 (LKHT; 12-1984). Details of this first California record were published by Van Velzen (1967). SNOWY OWL Nyctea scandiaca (34 * *)• An immature male collected at Hum- boldt Bay HMB 19 Dec 1916 (#CAS 44914; 157-1984). Grinnell & Miller (1944) list another 18 birds from northwestern California that winter. BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD Cynanthus latirostris (19). An immature male in the Tijuana River Valley SD 9-11 Sep 1983 (JLD; 58-1984). An immature male in Bundy Canyon, Brentwood LA 6-17 Nov 1983 (KLG, GMcC; 119-1983). A female at Goleta SBA 31 Dec 1983-18 Jan 1984 (JLD, PEL, GMcC; 53-1984). RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD Archilochus colubris (1) . An adult male col- lected at Sagehen Creek, 11 km north of Truckee NEV 15 May 1975 (RC; # U.C. Davis WFB-972; 100-1984). This bird has an interesting history (Cole & Engilis 1986). The specimen was distinguished from Broad-tailed Hummingbird ( Selasphorus platycercus ) by its a) black non-iridescent feathers extending from the chin to the auriculars, b) rectrices lacking any rufous and forming a distinct fork (5 mm in depth) , and c) upperparts deep forest green. GREATER PEEWEE Confopus pertinax (12). One at Griffith Park, Los Angeles LA 31 Oct 1982-16 Feb 1983 and 10 Nov 1983-23 Mar 1984 (KLG + ; GMcC; 88-1983). This bird wintered here five consecutive years, occurring in its first three years 7 Nov 1979-30 Jan 1980, 1 Nov 1980-23 Feb 1981, and 13 Jan-20 Feb 1982 (previously accepted 19-1980; Binford 1983). DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER Myiarchus tuberculifer (9). A male collected at Furnace Creek Ranch, Death Valley, NM, INY 23 Nov 1968 (GMcC, GSS; # LACM 66519; 84-1984). One at Palomarin, near Bolinas MRN 12-14 Nov 1983 (DDeS, RSt; 132-1983). One at Goleta SBA 5 Dec 1983 (PEL; JLD, REWT; 126-1983). One at Areata HMB 13 Jan- 12 Mar 1984 (RAE; 55-1984). One at Los Osos (Sunset Terrace Golf Course) SLO 22 Jan-20 May 1984 (DB, CB; JLD, CMt, GMcC, REWT; 23-1984). 62 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS The 1968 specimen was the first record for California; details were published by Suffel (1970). It agrees well with the northern race olivascens (KLG, in comments). The Areata bird is the northernmost record in North America; a photograph was published in AB 38:354, but inexplicably was not submitted to the Committee. GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER Myiarchus crinitus (8). One banded at Palomarin, near Bolinas MRN 19 Oct 1974 (ICTT; 83-1984). One at Pt. Loma SD 20 Sep 1983 (REW; JLD, GMcC; 69-1983). SULPHUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER Myiodynastes luteiuentris (5). One at Pt. Loma SD 16-20 Sep 1983 (REWt; JLD, GMcC; 68-1983). One at Harbor Lake, Harbor City LA 8 Oct 1983 (DS; 116-1983). These reports stirred questions about the potential of the tropical Streaked Flycat- cher (M. rnaculatus) to reach California. Members noted that Streaked Flycatcher has a highly migratory race, is variable in plumage between races, and is given conflicting field marks in neotropic guides [e.g., Peterson & Chalif (1973), Ridgely (1976), Meyer de Schauensee & Phelps (1976)]. J. Van Remsen, Jr., of Louisiana State University, provided comments on the Pt. Loma record, confirming the importance of chin color (pale in Streaked, dark in Sulphur-bellied) and of the much broader maler stripe and frosty look to the crown in Sulphur-bellied. Other characters, emphasized by some authors, are of little value, including the color of the lower mandible and the color of the underparts (though Sulphur-bellied averages yellower). Because the field descriptions conflicted on some of these marks, this record pointed up the value of clear photographs, even if taken at some distance. SCISSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER Musciuora forficata (11). One on East Anacapa Island SBA 24 May 1974 (NWT; 54-1984). One in the Tijuana River Valley SD 17 Oct 1974 (JLD; 59-1984). One at San Elijo Lagoon SD 8-10 Nov 1974 (JBT, JLD, GMcC; 60-1984); the photo was published by Roberson (1980). One at Pt. Lobos State Reserve MNT 27-30 May 1978 (LAM; SPH; 105-1984). One at Needles SBE 26 July 1978 (SWC?; 82-1984). One at Pt. Gorda MNT 15 May 1983 (R&JP; 67-1984). One at Furnace Creek Ranch, Death Valley NM, INY 28-30 May 1984 (JML, ML, GMcC, REW; 98-1984). The two MNT records were not published in American Birds, but were accepted by Roberson (1985) . This species has been on and off the CBRC review list several times, leading to observer confusion on submission of details. Details of all records are desired. To date, there are only 11 accepted California records, but at least 42 published reports remain unreviewed. DUSKY WARBLER Phylloscopus fuscatus (2) One at Hayward Regional Shoreline, Hayward ALA 28-29 Sep 1984 (JSL, JM; SFBt, BBa, LCB, KFC, RAE, AGt, JAG. WEG, KLH, AHt, JML, PEL. ML, TM, GMcC, DN, BDP, DR, AS+. J&ES, JW; Figure 4; 216-1984). This is the second record for California, the first hav- ing occurred on SE Farallon I. 27 Sep 1980 (Luther et al. 1983) . Useful discussions of identification were found in Johns & Wallace (1980), Svensson (1984) and William- son (1962). Photos were reviewed by Peter J. Grant in Britain, who pointed out that even the partial wing formula could be discerned in photos provided, pointing directly to Dusky or Radde’s Warbler (P. schwarzi ) . A review of all characters led to his conclu- sion that “I don’t think you could have got a more certain Dusky.” Important points separating the species from other Phylloscopus, including Radde’s, included 1) brown (not olive-toned) upperparts, 2) brownish-buff (not yellowish) wash to underparts, brightest on undertail coverts, 3) sharp “tchack” call, recalling Lincoln's Sparrow [Melospiza lincolnii), 4) the comparatively small, thin bill, 5) a rather even and short supercilium palest before the eye, and 6) the rather dark legs. Committee comments 63 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS considered, and rejected, the possibilities of P. fulvigiventer, griseolus, armandii, neglectus. ijimae, amoenus, oliuaceus. cebuensis, ruficapillus, laurae, umbrovirens, laetus, budongoensis and herbert, and the possibility of an escape, which was judged to be nil. This surprising bird inhabited a most unremarkable small patch of grass and weeds, actively feeding on the ground or fluttering briefly in the foliage. This being only the se- cond Phytloscopus ever found south of Alaska, it is not surprising that the possibility of Swainson’s Warbler ( Limnothlppis swainsonii) was originally considered, but the fre- quent flicking of wings and fanning of tail dispelled this initial impression. During its 2-day stay it was viewed by over 200 observers, 23 of whom submitted details or photographs, which must set a CBRC record for documentation! Published photos ap- pear in AB 39:99. WOOD THRUSH Hylocichla mustelina (6). One captured in weak condition and collected in the Tijuana River Valley SD 18 Nov 1967 (AMCt, GMcC; # SDNHM 36353; 81-1984). One at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco SF 21 Dec 1983-23 Mar 1984 (JM; LCB, AGt, RCH, JBM, BDP. 136-1983). Details and a photograph of the San Diego bird, the first record for the state, were published by McCaskie (1971) . The San Francisco bird was unexpected, being the first to winter in the state. It was quite elusive, but had begun singing by the time of its departure. RUFOUS-BACKED ROBIN Turdus rufopalliatus (4). One at Newport Bay (Newport Nature Center) ORA 1 Jan- 11 Apr 1983 joined by a second bird 23 Feb-5 Mar (JLD, KLG, BWK, GMcC, JM, SJR, DRt. REW; 6-1983). One at Furnace Creek Ranch, Death Valley NM, INY 5 Nov 1983 (DA, GMcC, REWT; 86-1983). A photo of one Newport Bay bird appeared in AB 37:339 and was deposited in SDNHM, but inexplicably was not submitted to the Committee. The presence of two birds in this small urban park was surprising, but members considered, and rejected, the possibility of escapes. The Death Valley bird is the northernmost record of this species anywhere. GRAY CATBIRD Dumetella carolinensis (16). One at Pt. Loma SD 7 Nov 1983-13 Mar 1984 (JLD, GMcC, REWt; 87-1983). This is the third time this species has wintered in California. WHITE WAGTAIL Motacilla alba (1). An adult at Arroyo de la Cruz SLO 5-8 Oct 1984 (GPSt, SFBt. JLD, JML, PEL, ML, CM, GMcC, JM, EOT, BDP, DR, AS; Figure 5; 218-1984). The extensively white greater and median coverts, forming a large white patch on the wing, identified the bird as an adult. At that age the dark (not mostly white) flight feathers eliminated Black-backed Wagtail (M. lugens). The com- bination of black eyeline and pale gray upperparts are indicative of the Alaska/Siberia breeding race ocularis. A wagtail at this same site 9 Oct 1983, originally submitted as a White/Black- backed Wagtail, has since been accepted as a White Wagtail and as probably the same individual which returned the following autumn (TMEt; CM; 38-1984). This bird, now accepted for 1983 and 1984, is the first White Wagtail in California. The standard reference on the identification of the species pair is Morlan (1981). WHITE/BLACK-BACKED WAGTAIL Montacilla alba/lugens (6 **)- A first- winter bird at Long Beach (Los Angeles River channel) LA 4 Nov 1982-18 Jan 1983 (JLD, KLG, GMcC, J&ESt, REW; 119-1982). This is the first wagtail to winter in California. 64 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS Figure 3. Common Black-headed Gull (left) and Bonaparte’s Gulls ( Laws Philadelphia). Stockton. San Joaquin Co.. California. 19 Jan 1984. Photo fay Richard E. Webster Figure 4. Dusky Warbler. Hayward Regional Shoreline. Alameda Co., California, 28 Sep 1984. Photo fay Albert Ghiorso 65 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS RED-THROATED PIPIT Anthus cervinus (41). One banded on SE Farallon 1. SF 3 Nov 1968 (HRt; 13-1984). Up to six birds present in the Tijuana River Valley SD 19-27 Oct 1974 (2 on 19 Oct, 3 on 2 Oct, 6 on 21 Oct, dwindling numbers from 22-27 Oct; GMcC; JLD, JM, DR; 61-1984), SPRAGUE’S PIPIT Anthus spragueii (19). One west of Blythe RIV 2 Jan 1984 (DK; 74-1984). This is only the second record from the lower Colorado River Valley. The species winters regularly in small numbers in southern Arizona (Monson & Phillips 1981). PHILADELPHIA VIREO Vireo philadelphicus (43). An immature male collected on Southeast Farallon I. SF 14 Sep 1969 (*CAS 68462; 14-1984). A female col- lected at Kelso SBE 10 Oct 1976 (*SBCM 30274; 7-1984). One at Pt. Reyes NS (New Willows) MRN 4 Oct 1981 (B&CY; 33-1982). One at Pt, Reyes NS (Mendoza Ranch) MRN 26 Sep 1983 (LCB; 72-1983). One at Pt. Reyes NS (New Willows) MRN 26-27 Sep 1983 (LCB; AGt; Figure 6; 73-1983). One on the.Oxnard Plain, near Oxnard VEN 2-3 Oct 1983 (S&DiR; 128-1983). A female collected at Kelso SBE 2 Oct 1983 ( # SBCM 38070; 6-1984). One at Morongo Valley (Big Morongo Reserve) SBE 3 Oct 1983 (REW; 122-1983). Very small numbers of this species appear each fall, although the five found during the single week 26 Sep-3 Oct 1983 are exceptional. Directions to specific Pt. Reyes spots are found in Morlan (1978) and Richer (1984). The 1981 Pt. Reyes bird elicited extensive comments, eventually circulating three rounds and being accepted (10-0) only on the final round following a discussion at the annual meeting. The most impor- tant point of controversy involved the description of the lores: “dark line through eye which quit at or just into lores slightly.” Some members contend Philadelphia Vireo always has dark lores, while others insist some freshly molted fall birds can appear pale-lored. This issue remains unresolved, although the doubters were willing to ac- cept a bird which showed partially dark lores, as described. BLUE-WINGED WARBLER Vermivora pinus (2). One collected in Wyman Can- yon INY 16 June 1954 ( # MVZ 132435; 104-1984). One at Morongo Valley (Big Morongo Reserve) SBE 2 Oct 1983 (LSa; BAC; 83-1983). The Wyman Canyon bird was the first record for California; details were published by Miller & Russell (1956). Blue- winged Warbler remains one of the most difficult species to find in the state. The Morongo bird, like all others reported, was seen on but a single day. GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER Vermivora chrysoptera (23) . One at Montecito, Santa Barbara SBA 23-24 Oct 1960, collected 24 Oct (*SBMNH 4326; 69-1984). A male collected on SE Farallon I. SF 5 July 1972 ( # CAS 68648; 20-1984). A male banded on SE Farallon I. SF 14 Sep 1974 was found dead 16 Sep ( # CAS 68917; 19-1984). The Montecito bird was the first for California and was published by Richardson & Richardson (1961) . It is labelled a first-year male, but its plumage appears to be that of a female (PEL, in comments) . The specimens accepted here are the three oldest ac- cepted records, but three other reports from 1962-1972 remain unreviewed, GOLDEN-CHEEKED WARBLER Dendroica chrysoparia (1). An immature male collected on SE Farallon I. SF 9 Sep 1974 ( # CAS 68546; 18-1984). This extraor- dinary record was the first for California; details were published by Lewis et al. (1974) . YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER Dendroica dominica (32) . One banded on SE Farallon I. SF 8 July 1969 (HRt; 17-1984); a photo appears in DeSante (1980). A singing male in Northridge LA 7 May 1981 (HS, 41-1982). A pair at Eureka HMB 12 66 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS June-1 July 1982 (RAE; 27-1983). One found dead at Santa Monica (Palisades Park) LA 7 Jan 1983 (*LACM 100690; 111-1983). A singing male in Lincoln Park, San Francisco SF 6 June 1983 (AHt; 91-1984). A singing male at Pt. Lobos State Reserve MNT 24 May 1984 (DR; 103-1984). All showed whitish lores, characteristic of the western race albilora. The Santa Monica bird is the first specimen for California and the first to occur in winter. The Eureka pair were observed nest-building, but nesting success was not documented. GRACE’S WARBLER Dendroica graciae (11). One banded at Pt. Loma SD 8 Sep 1968 (AMCt; 16-1984); details and a photo were published by Craig (1970). One at Zuma Beach LA 30 Sep 1979 (HB; 114-1983) . One near Carpinteria SBA 22 Feb-21 Mar 1982 (KLG; 103-1983) and returning 22 Oct 1983-27 Mar 1984 (JLD, PEL; 62-1984). The Committee considers this the same individual present 24 Feb-21 Apr 1980 (previously accepted 119-1980; Binford 1983). though it was not located during brief coverage in winter 1980-1981 Thus by 1983-1984 it had returned for its fourth winter. One at Pt. Loma SD 7 Sep 1983 (REW; 124-1983). An adult male at Montecito SBA 28 Sep 1983-14 Mar 1984 (PEL. GMcC: 114-1984). This is con- sidered the same individual first located 6 Jan-2 Apr 1980 (previously accepted 23-1980: Bmford 1983) . now returning for its fifth winter, having been present 4 Nov 1980-28 Mar 1981, 10 Oct 1981-10 Mar 1982 and 11 Oct 1982-1 Apr 1983. PINE WARBLER Dendroica pinus (9). One on SE Farallon I. SF 16 Oct 1979 (PH. DT; 197-1980). An immature female at Pt. Loma SD 13 Oct 1983 (REW; GMcC; 78-1983). One atPt. Loma SD 12-23 Dec 1983 (REW + ; GMcC: 127-1983). A male at San Luis Obispo (Cal. Poly, campus) SLO 9 Jan-14 Mar 1984 (CM; LCB, JLD. JML. GMcC. DR, REWt; 32-1984). A singing male at Furnace Creek Ranch, Death Valley NM. INY 31 May 1984 (REW: 137-1984). R.E. Webster appears to have a special affinity for this species, having discovered three of the birds accepted here, including the Death Valley male which provides the Figure 5. White Wagtail. Arroyo de la Cruz, San Luis Obispo Co., California, 7 Oct 1984. Photo by Stephen F. Bailey 67 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS first accepted spring record in California. The San Luis Obispo bird, which was seen by mobs, began singing before its departure. It is the second Pine Warbler known to have wintered in the state. The Farallon individual provoked much controversy and exten- sive comment. Its original circulation was interrupted when it was resubmitted as an “Olive Warbler,” but this suggestion was unanimously rejected. Details of this ill-fated detour and of the record itself were published in Binford (1985). It was eventually ac- cepted (10-0) as a Pine Warbler on a fourth and final round following discussion at an annual meeting. PROTHONOTARY WARBLER Protonotaria citrea (35). One collected in Mission Canyon, Santa Barbara SBA 25 May 1953 ( # SBMNH 4258; 68-1984). This was the first record for California; details were published by Hillman & Erickson (1954). One at Malibu Lagoon LA 18 Sep 1983 (KLG; 63-1983). One at Morro Bay State Park SLO 19-20 Oct 1983 (GPS: CM; 39-1984). One at Furnace Creek Ranch, Death Valley NM, INY 19-20 May 1984 (GMcC; 97-1984). WORM-EATING WARBLER Helmintheros vermivorus (25). One found dead at Carmel Highlands MNT 16 Dec 1967 ( # PGMNH 2343; 102-1984). One in the Tijuana River Valley SD 10 Sep 1974 (JLD, GMcC; 63-1984). One in Long Beach (Recreation Park) LA 6 Nov 1981, returning 5 Nov 1982-9 Mar 1983 (BED; 137-1983). One at Zuma Creek mouth, Malibu LA 15 Oct-18 Dec 1983 (KLG; 120-1983). One at Goleta (San Jose Creek) SBA 23 Dec 1983-11 Mar 1984 (JLD, PEL, GMcC, BDP, DR, REW; 41-1984). The Carmel Highlands bird was the first for northern California. After some debate, the CBRC considers the Long Beach bird to be a different individual than one present at nearby Whaley Park 5 Nov 1981-21 Mar 1982 and 1-5 Nov 1982 (previously ac- cepted 5-1982; Binford 1983). LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH Seiurus motacilla (1). One collected at Mecca RIV 17 Aug 1908 ( # MVZ 1105; 187-1984). This was the first state record; details were published by Miller (1908), The status, distribution and identification of California waterthrushes were summarized by Binford (197 la, b). KENTUCKY WARBLER Oporornis jormosus (12). A male banded at Pt. Loma SD 4 June 1968 (AMCt ; GMcC; 15-1984). This was the first record for California; a photo and description were published by Craig (1970). A female at Morongo Valley (Big Morongo Reserve) SBE 4 Oct 1981 (DRW: 23-1983). One at Deep Springs MNO 27 May 1982 (JLD; 102-1983). A male at Del Mar SD 14-16 Nov 1983 (JLD, GMcC, REWT: 89-1983). A female at Goleta (San Jose Creek) SBA 16 Dec 1983-5 Mar 1984 (JLD, JML, PEL, DR, REW; 11-1984) . A male at Corona del Mar ORA 29 Dec 1983-6 Mar 1984 (CM; JLD, GMcC, REW; 25-1984). The latter two birds are the first to winter in California. CONNECTICUT WARBLER Oporornis agilis (13) . An immature on SE Farallon I. SF 29 Sep 1975 (JWn; 4-1984) . An immature at Pt. Reyes NS (Lighthouse) MRN 26 Sep 1983 (LCB; 74-1983). Both of these birds engendered numerous comments, although both passed unanimously. Both were brown-hooded birds The Farallon bird was repeatedly seen walking, jerking its tail upward, which most members felt was characteristic of the species. The Pt. Reyes bird was seen only perched or in flight. Though there was a wide white eyering, it was broken slightly, and some members felt this was unusual. However, the olive-brown hood, the white (not yellow or buffy) eyering, the buffy yellow (not rich yellow) belly and the very long undertail coverts were considered, in combination, to be conclusive. 68 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS Figure 6. Philadelphia Vireo, Point Reyes National Seashore, Marin Co., California, 27 Sep 1983 Photo by Albert Ghiorso Figure 7. LeConte’s Sparrow, Nearys Lagoon, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Co.. Califor- nia, 30 October 1983. Photo by Albert Ghiorso 69 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS MOURNING WARBLER Oporornis philadelphicus (19). An immature male at Pt. Reyes (Fish Docks) MRN 27-30 Sep 1979 (RAE, AGt, GMcC, JM, DR, RS; 61-1979); a photo was published in Roberson (1980). An immature female at Pt. Loma SD 8 Oct 1982 (REW; 111-1982) . An immature female at Big Sycamore Can- yon, Pt. Mugu State Park VEN 18 Sep 1983 (HB; 130- 1983) . An immature female at Pt. Loma SD 20 Sep 1983 (REW; 123-1983). The Pt. Reyes bird proved to be very controversial, having almost been published as “unaccepted” when additional photos of the bird were uncovered and ciruclated. It passed on its fourth round (9-1) . There had been much concern about the color of the throat and the reliability of call-notes, eyering shape, and color of sides of breast in separating immatures of this species from the very similar MacGillivray’s Warbler (O. tolmiei ). The new photos showed a single black feather appearing on the lower throat, indicating the bird was a male (which makes throat color an academic argument, as immature males of both species may have off-white throats). In addition, recent years have added to our experience in dealing with fall Oporornis and some of the marks, thought to be untested in 1979, are now considered reliable. RED-FACED WARBLER Cardellina rubrifrons (7). One collected at Brock Ranch, east of Holtville IMP 30 May 1970 ( # SDNHM 37494; 80-1984). This was the first California record; details were published by McCaskie (1970b). SCARLET TANAGER Piranga oliuacea (26). An immature female banded on SE Farallon I SF 29 Sep-2 Oct 1975 (JWnT; 5-1984). An immature male found dead at Malibu Lagoon LA 7 Nov 1982 (KLG; # LACM 100438; 112-1983). An immature male at Pt. Loma SD 16-17 Oct 1983 (GMcC, REW; 79-1983). An immature female on Pt. Loma SD 29 Oct 1983 (REW; 125-1983). PAINTED BUNTING Passerina ciris (9). An adult male at Furnace Creek Ranch, Death Valley NM, INY 4 Nov 1972 (GMcC; 50-1973). An immature at Goleta SBA 3 Oct 1983 (PEL; 131-1983). The Death Valley bird is the first adult male to be accepted. It was actually published as accepted in the Committee’s second report (Winter & McCaskie 1975), with the notation that eight members thought the point of origin questionable. This vote was taken before the Committee had adopted its current voting forms, which at the time did not have a “reject, origin questionable” category as we do now for votes against birds thought to be escapes Due to this confusion, the record was recirculated. Com- mittee members now have over 10 years’ more experience in evaluating the potential of escaped birds vs. wild vagrants. Given the now-established pattern of Oct-Nov records of Painted Buntings in California, the known presence of adult vagrants of other species, the paucity of information on captivity status in the U.S., and the vagrant trap location, the Committee, on recirculation, accepted this record unanimously. CASSIN’S SPARROW Aimophila cassinii (9). One banded on SE Farallon I. SF 11-12 July 1969 (MCJ; 36-1984). An immature female present, eventually collected, on SE Farallon I. SF 22-23 Sep 1969 ( # CAS 68475; 9-1984). An adult female pres- ent, eventually collected, on SE Farallon I. SF 2-4 June 1970 ( # CAS 68520; 10-1984). One banded on SE Farallon I. SF 17 June-6 July 1982 (TMc, CSt; 91-1982). SE Farallon I. now accounts for nearly half of the accepted records. FIELD SPARROW Spizella pusilla (1). One present and banded on SE Farallon I. SF 17 June-9 July 1969 (HRt; 77-1984). This was the first state record; details and an in-hand photo were published by Robert (1971). BAIRD’S SPARROW Ammodramus bairdii (2). An immature collected on SE Farallon I. SF 28 Sep 1969 ( # CAS 68476; 8-1984) was the first state record. 70 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS LE CONTE’S SPARROW Ammospiza leconteii (7). An immature at Nearys Lagoon, Santa Cruz SCZ 28-30 Oct 1983 (DG; AGt, KH; Figure 7; 80-1983). SHARP-TAILED SPARROW Ammodramus caudacuta (23). One at Pt. Pinos (Crespi pond), Pacific Grove MNT 12 Oct 1975 (SAL; 28-1984). Two (one banded, one unbanded) at Bolinas Lagoon (Pine Gulch) MRN 19-31 Dec 1983 (JP; 121-1983) are considered returning individuals. Up to three have been present here since winter 1980-81 (previously accepted 222-1980, 120-1982; Binford 1985, Morlan 1985). RUSTIC BUNTING Emberiza rustica (1). One at Stone Lagoon HMB 7-8 Jan 1984 (GJSt, RAE; GSL; 33-1984) is the first California record. This same winter, termed the “Siberian Express” by Lehman (1984), also brought the first record of this species to British Columbia, Canada. A previous report for California (see Garrett & Dunn 1980) has not been submitted to the Committee. SNOW BUNTING Plectrophenax niualis (17). One at north spit, Humboldt Bay HMB 7-17 Nov 1975 (JLD; 66-1984). COMMON GRACKLE Quiscalus quiscula (11). A male at Baker SBE 24-30 May 1984 (GMcC, REW; 99-1984). A female at Pt. Reyes NS (Nunes Ranch) MRN 13-16 June 1984 (LCB; KFC, JM, MLR; 94-1984). BRAMBLING Fringilla montifringilla (1). One at Crescent City DN 5 Feb-24 Mar 1984 (RAE; JLD, JML, GMcC, JM, DR, J&ESt, JWn; 44-1984). This is the first California record. The obliging female, discovered by Jim Rooney in his back yard and identified by Erickson, delighted all by remaining there for 2 months. It occurred during a winter, now known as the “Siberian Express” (Lehman 1984), which brought other Bramblings to British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado and Min- nesota — a spectacular and unprecedented invasion! COMMON REDPOLL Carduelis flammea (1). A large flock, from which 5 specimens (4 females, 1 male) were taken, at Eagle Lake LAS 30 Nov-23 Dec 1899 KCAS 47883, 47884, 47885; *MVZ 5542, 5543; 159-1984). These were first reported by Willard (1902). This flock constitutes the first state record. UNACCEPTED RECORDS, identification questionable SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSS Diomedea albatrus. A “sub-adult” photographed at 36°14.9’N, 123°01.8’W, about 80 miles WNW of Monterey MNT 20 Apr 1978 (100-1978). Details of this report, along with a photo, were published by Helm (1980) and were initially accepted by the Committee (Luther et al. 1979). Roberson re- quested a recirculation based upon a study of plumages of this species and cor- respondence with Terence R. Wahl and Dennis Paulson regarding Washington and Oregon reports, including one published by Wahl (1970) which he no longer con- siders a Short-tailed Albatross. On recirculation and after discussion at an annual meeting, the Committee agreed that the photograph was conclusively not of this species, representing possibly an old or aberrant Black-footed Albatross D. nigripes or a Black-footed X Laysan hybrid, which have been reported from Midway I. Among points wrong for Short-tailed were a) too short a bill, b) white (not dark) undertail coverts, c) lack of large white patches on upperwings, d) comparatively short and broad wings, e) lack of huge feet extending well beyond tail, and f) wrong facial and neck pattern. See Roberson (1980) for more details on this identification problem. 71 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS UNACCEPTED RECORDS, identification questionable MANX SHEARWATER Puffinus puffinus. One off Pt. Pinos, Pacific Grove MNT 28 Oct 1977 (82-1982). One about 2 miles west of Carlsbad SD 28 Dec 1980 (92-1982). Both were rejected (1-9) on the grounds that the details were insufficient to document a first state record of a species which is difficult to separate from closely related species. The Pt. Pinos report was published by Roberson (1980), but was not accepted by Roberson (1985). WEDGE-RUMPED STORM-PETREL Oceanodroma tethys. One on Monterey Bay MNT 9 Oct 1983 (138-1983). Another report of this species on this same date, but from another boatload of birders, was accepted (see Accepted Records). The Committee was convinced that this was a different bird (the accepted Wedge-rumped did not show white while resting on the water, whereas this bird did) and was nearly unanimously convinced (1-9) that this was not a Wedge-rumped. The majority felt it was probably a Wilson’s Storm-Petrel, and some members noted that Murphy (1936) had described a small race (O.o. chilensis) from South America which might account for the apparent small size of this individual. This bird was accepted by Tucker (1984) , a position which became controversial (Greenman & Tucker 1985). Not all observers submitted details, so this report might have been more thoroughly reviewed if more in- formation had been available. ANHINGA Anhinga anhinga. One-two birds at Potholes (now near Laguna Dam on the Colorado River) IMP 9-12 Feb 1913. These sightings were discussed by Brooks (1913) and Dawson (1916, 1923). Grinnell & Miller (1944) placed this species on their supplemental list because a specimen was not taken. The CBRC was sharply split (6-4) after four rounds on the issue of whether the early discussions contained suffi- cient details for the first state record. A 1983-1984 record was subsequently accepted, adding the species to the state list. YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON Nycticorax violaceus. One at Furnace Creek Ranch, Death Valley NM, INY 14 May 1984 (95-1984). If it had been ac- cepted, this would have been the first record of a first-year bird in California. See Blom (1985) for a recent comment on this identification problem. TRUMPETER SWAN Cygnus buccinator. One at the Chico oxidation ponds BUT 2 Jan 1982 (2-1982). It had been published in AB 36:326, but was defeated (6-4) on the fourth round. MISSISSIPPI KITE Ictinia mississippiensis. One at Creighton Ranch Preserve TUL 10 June 1983 (82-1983). This was published in AB 37:1023 and the report called “well- described,” but the Committee (2-8) did not agree. GRAY HAWK Buteo nitidus. One seen briefly in flight near Bolinas MRN 16 June 1984 (21-1985). Most members expressed concern about the brevity of observation for a first state record. Several members commented that they felt this species was an unlikely vagrant to northern California and that even if a Gray Hawk were involved, it was most likely an escape from captivity. YELLOW RAIL Coturnicops noveboracensis. One at upper Newport Bay ORA 12 Jan 1984 (22-1984). Most thought the possibility of an immature Sora Porzana Carolina was not eliminated. 72 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS UNACCEPTED RECORDS, identification questionable AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER Haematopus pa/liatus. One at Pt. Lobos State Reserve MNT 3 Apr 1954 (111-1984), Two at Tomaies Pt., Pt. Reyes NS, MRN 25 Feb 1981 (75-1983). These are the only reports for northern California. The former had been widely ac- cepted (e.g., McCaskie et al. 1979, Roberson 1980) but was recently rejected by Roberson (1985). Details could not be found despite efforts to locate them. Further- more, the field notes of the late Laidlaw Williams make no mention of this species, despite his active birding at Pt. Lobos in April 1954. Normally the Committee does not review records which contain no details, but it was felt important to formally reject this record because it has long been cited as a positive record. RUFOUS-NECKED STINT Calidris ruficollis. A juvenile seen briefly and distantly photographed in the Tijuana River Valley SD 10 Aug 1980 (238-1980). If accepted, this would have been the first juvenile recorded in California. After five circulations, the record was defeated (3-7). Those opposed felt the photos were inconclusive and the bird too briefly seen to obtain details adequate to address the numerous fine points in separating juvenile stints (see Grant & Jonsson 1984, Veit & Jonsson 1985 for a full discussion). TEMMINCK’S STINT Calidris temminckii. A basic-plumaged bird at the Salinas River mouth MNT 6 Aug 1983 (51-1983). If accepted, this would have been the first state record; after three rounds it was defeated (4-6) . Those opposed noted the brevity of observation, particularly of tail pattern seen only briefly in flight, expressed concern that the bird did not call, and questioned whether a basic-plumaged bird was likely in early August. Those favoring the record emphasized the correctly described shape, breast pattern and tail pattern. COMMON BLACK-HEADED GULL Larus ridibundus. One at Lake Merritt, Oakland ALA 21 Nov 1983 (143-1977). THICK-BILLED MURRE Uria lornuia. One at Otter Pt. , Pacific Grove MNT 21 Jan 1978 (26-1978). This report, published as unaccepted and discussed in Binford (1983), was recirculated on the basis of a recently discovered photograph. After two circulations, the Committee decided (3-7) the original decision was correct. GREEN VIOLET-EAR Colibri thalassinus. One at Berkeley ALA 18 Aug 1977 (159-1977). One near Iris Meadow, Mt. Pinos KRN 31 Aug-1 Sep 1977 (40-1978). Either report, if accepted, would have been the first for California. Both were rejected after three circulations (Berkeley 2-8, Mt. Pinos 3-7) on split grounds. Five members opposed to the Berkeley report and four opposed to the Mt. Pinos bird expressed concern about identification. The descriptions accompanying both reports were comparatively brief for a first state record; a photo said to have been taken of the Mt. Pinos bird was never submitted (though would still be welcomed). Re- maining “reject” votes were based on questions of origin, noting that this species has occurred in captivity in California. Those supporting the record (s) countered that those in captivity were of southern races from South America, separable in the field from the northern race (tha/cissinus) , which has occurred as a vagrant in Texas, and felt the descriptions eliminated the southern races. Those opposed were either unim- pressed with racial determination or expressed concern about the lack of intervening records from Arizona. 73 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS UNACCEPTED RECORDS, identification questionable RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD Archilochus colubris. An adult male at Placerita Canyon LA 5 May 1984 (96-1984). Most members (3-7) expressed a reluc- tance to accept single-observer reports of this rarity, especially when the diagnostic black chin was not specifically described. EASTERN WOOD-PEEWEE Contopus uirens. One at Big Sycamore Canyon VEN 18-19 Oct 1974 (27-1975). This report, based on a calling (not singing) bird, was accepted in the third CBRC report (Luther et al. 1979) as the first state record. It was re-evaluated on the request of one observer (Dunn) who now doubts the iden- tification. The 1974 bird gave a clear, descending whistle, thought at the time to be lacking in the repertoire of Western Wood-Pewee (C. sordidulus). More recent field work suggests that Western Wood-Pewee can give this clear call, while Easterns more typically give an upslurred “pweeeee” note and a sharp “chip.” Most members (1-9) agreed the report should be retracted. It is clear from member’s comments that much is left to be learned about the voices and plumages of these sibling species. For more information see Dunn & Garrett (1983). YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER Empidonax flaviventris. One at Yucca Valley SBE 23 Oct 1982 (16-1983). DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER Myiarchus tuberculifer. A molting bird at Cholame SLO 27 Sep 1982 (21-1983). The state of molt, early date (earliest ac- cepted record is 12 Nov), and lack of the diagnostic call troubled most members. SC1SSOR-TAILED FLYCATCHER Tyrannus forficatus. One about 6 miles south of Big Sur MNT in May 1981 (56-1984). SCARLET TANAGER Piranga olivacea. A female-plumaged bird at Deep Springs INY 30 May 1983 (44-1983). The presence of wingbar(s) on a spring bird concerned most members. UNACCEPTED RECORDS, origin questionable (identification accepted) BLACK VULTURE Corag^ips atratus. One seen with a flock of Turkey Vultures Ccrthartes aura at Chico BUT 13 Apr 1972 (12-1972). This record was published as “unaccepted, origin uncertain” in the third CBRC report (Luther et al. 1979), but recirculated during the brief tenure of the “unresolved” category (see Binford 1983). It circulated for a fourth time when the “unresolved” category was abolished (see Bin- ford 1985) and missed acceptance by the narrowest of margins (8-2) . There are still no California records. Those supporting the record noted that the bird was with migrant vultures at an ap- propriate date and latitude for vagrants for the southeast, was without cage wear, and was scarce in captivity. The two members still voting “reject, origin questionable” preferred to wait for some “intermediate” record between Arizona and northern California. BLACK-TAILED GULL Larus crassirostris. An adult at the U.S. Naval Training Center on San Diego Bay SD 26 Nov 1954 was collected 28 Nov (143-1977). It was reported by Monroe (1955) and been variously accepted (AOU 1957, Small 1974, 74 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS Terres 1980) and rejected (Roberson 1980, Garrett & Dunn 1981, AOU 1983, Unitt 1984). Dates published in Small (1974) and AOU (1983) are in error. The CBRC rejected this record (2-8) after three rounds. The majority suggested that the bird’s presence at a U.S. Naval Base was attributable to heavy naval traffic be- tween the range of this species (Japan, Korea) and San Diego during the post-Korean War period. They felt that ship-assistance, probably as a captive, was more likely than occurrence of a wild vagrant, noting the absence of records between the outermost Aleutian Islands and California. Some thought long-distance vagrancy to California possible, cited vagrant records in Thailand and Australia, but thought an immature more likely than an adult. PAINTED BUNTING Passerina ciris. An adult male photographed at a feeder in Cambria SLO 7 Dec 1972-4 Mar 1973 (78-1984). A slight majority (4-6) felt an escaped cage bird to be more likely in winter than a genuine vagrant adult male. There are no accepted winter records in California. LITERATURE CITED Ainley, D.G., G.W. Page, L.T. Jones, R E. Jones, L.E. Stenzel & R.L. LeVailey, 1980. Beached marine birds and mammals of the North American west coast: a manual for their census and identification. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Serv., Biol. Serv. Prog., FWS/OBS-80/03, Washington, D.C. American Ornithologists’ Union. 1957. Check-list of North American birds, 5th ed. Am. Ornithol. Union, Baltimore, MD. American Ornithologists’ Union. 1983. Check-list of North American birds, 6th ed. Am. Ornithol. Union, Washington, D.C. Beck, R.H, 1910. Water birds in the vicinity of Point Pinos, Calif. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 3:57-72. Binford, L.C. 1971a. Identification of Northern and Louisiana waterthrushes. Calif. Birds 2:1-10. Binford, L.C. 1971b. Northern and Louisiana waterthrushes in California. Calif. Birds 2:77-92. Binford, L.C. 1983. Sixth report of the California Bird Records Committee. West. Birds 14:127-145. Binford, L.C. 1985. Seventh report of the California Bird Records Committee. West. Birds 16:29-48. Binford, L.C. 1986. Checklist of California birds. West. Birds 17:1-16. Blom, R. 1985. Immature Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned night-herons. Birding 17:149. Brooks, A. 1913. Unusual records for California. Condor 15:182. Cole, R.E. & A. Engilis, Jr. 1986. First record of a Ruby-throated Hummingbird in California. West. Birds 17:41-42. Craig, A.M. 1970. Two California records of Grace’s Warbler. Calif. Birds 1:77-78. Craig, J.T. 1970. Kentucky Warbler in San Diego. Calif. Birds 1:37-38. Dawson, W.L. 1916. A personal supplement to the distributional list of the birds of California. Condor 18:24. Dawson, W.L. 1923. The birds of California. South Moulton Co., San Diego. DeSante, D.F. & D.G. Ainley. 1980. The avifauna of the South Farallon Islands, California. Studies in Avian Biol, No. 4. 75 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS Dunn, J.L. & K.L. Garrett. 1983. The identification of wood-pewees. West. Tanager 50(4): 1-3. Garrett, K. & J. Dunn. 1981. Birds of southern California. Los Angeles Audubon Society, Los Angeles. Grant, P.J. & L. Jonsson. 1984. Identification of stints and peeps. Brit. Birds 77:293-314. Greenman, J. & J. Tucker. 1985. Basham's bad birds. Birding 17:192-198. Grinnell, J. 1915. A distributional list of the birds of California. Pac. Coast Avifauna No. 11. Grinnell, J. 1938. Ocean waifs and what they mean for distribution. Condor 40:242-245. Grinnell, J. & A.H. Miller. 1944. The distribution of the birds of California. Pac. Coast Avifauna No. 27. Hasegawa, H. St A.R. DeGange. 1982. The Short-tailed Albatross: its status, distribution and natural history. Am. Birds 36:806-814. Helm, R.C. 1980. A Short-tailed Albatross off California. West. Birds 11:47-48. Hetrick, W. & G. McCaskie. 1965. Unusual behavior of a White-tailed Tropicbird in California. Condor 67:186-187. Hillman, M. & M.M. Erickson. 1954. Prothonotary Warbler in California. Condor 56:52-53. Jehl, J.R., Jr. 1980. Trends in the state list of California birds. West. Birds 11:103-109. Jewett, S.G. 1949. A Gyrfalcon in California. Condor 51:223. Johns, R.J. & D I M. Wallace. 1980. Field identification of Dusky and Radde’s warblers. Pp. 120-125 in J.T.R, Sharrock, ed. The frontiers of bird identification. Macmillan, London. Lehman, P. 1984. The changing seasons — winter 1983-84. Am. Birds 38:287-291. Lehman, P. & J.L. Dunn. 1985. First record of Little Curlew for North America. Am. Birds 39:247-250. Lewis, T.J., D.G. Ainley, D. Greenberg & R. Greenberg. 1974. A Golden-cheeked Warbler on the Farallon Islands. Auk 91:411-412. Luther, J.S. 1980. Fourth report of the California Bird Records Committee. West. Birds 11:161-173. Luther, J.S., G. McCaskie & J. Dunn. 1979. Third report of the California Bird Records Commit- tee. West. Birds 10:169-187. Luther, J.S., G. McCaskie & J, Dunn. 1983. Fifth report of the California Bird Records Commit- tee. West. Birds 14:1-16. McCaskie, G. 1970a. The occurrence of four species of Pelecaniformes in the southwestern United States. Calif. Birds 1:117-142. McCaskie, G. 1970b. A Red-faced Warbler reaches California. Calif. Birds 1:145-146. McCaskie, G. 1971, The Wood Thrush in California. Calif. Birds 2:135-136. McCaskie, G., P. DeBendictis, R. Erickson & J. Morfan. 1979. Birds of northern California: an an- notated field list. Golden Gate Audubon Society, Berkeley, CA. McLean, D.D. 1939, European Jack Snipe and Franklin’s Gull in California. Condor 41:164. Meyer de Schauensee, R., W.H. Phelps, Jr. & G. Tudor. 1978. A guide to the birds of Venezuela. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ. Miller, A.H. & W.C. Russell. 1956. Distributional data on the birds of the White Mountains of California and Nevada. Condor 58:75-79. Miller, L.H. 1908. Louisiana Water-thrush in California. Condor 10:236-237. Monroe, B.L., Jr. 1955. A gull new to North America. Auk 72:208. Monson, G. & A.R. Phillips. 1981. Annotated checklist of the birds of Arizona. 2nd ed. Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson. Morlan, J. 1978. Finding rarities at Point Reyes, California. Birding 10:9-12. 76 CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS Morlan, J. 1981. Status and identification of forms of White Wagtail in western North America. Continental Birdlife 2:37-50. Morlan, J. 1985. Eighth report of the California Bird Records Committee. West. Birds 16:105-122. Murphy, R.C. 1936. Oceanic birds of South America. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., New York. Peterson, R.T. & E.L. Chalif. 1973. A field guide to Mexican birds. Houghton Mifflin, Boston. Richardson, C.H. & A. I. Richardson. 1961. Golden-winged Warbler in southern California. Con- dor 63:504. Richer, C. 1984. Point Reyes — the outer point. In A. Scanlon-Rohrer, ed. San Francisco penin- sula birdwatching. Sequoia Audubon Society, Burlingame, CA. Ridgely, R.S. 1976. A guide to the birds of Panama. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ. Roberson, D. 1980. Rare birds of the west coast Woodcock Publ.. Pacific Grove, CA. Roberson. D. 1985. Monterey birds. Monterey Pen. Audubon Society, Carmel, CA. Roberson, D. & F.A. Pitelka. 1983. Occurrence of Willow Warbler in North American refuted. Condor 85:258. Robert, H. 1971. First record of Field Sparrow in California. Calif. Birds 2:72. Sanger, G.A. 1974. Laysan Albatross. Pp. 129-153 in W.B. King, ed. Pelagic studies of seabirds in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. Smithsonian Contrib. Zool. No. 158. Schram, B. 1985. “Mahoney’s” curlew. Birding 17:15-20. Small, A. 1974. The birds of California. Winchester Press, New York. Suffel, G.S. 1970. An Olivaceous Flycatcher in California, Calif. Birds 1:79-80. Svensson, L. 1984. Identification guide to European passerines. 3rd ed. Svensson, Stockholm, Sweden. Terres, J.K. 1980, The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York. Tucker, J.A. 1984. The North American big year. Birding 16:270-276. Unitt, P. 1984. The birds of San Diego County. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist. Memoir 13. Van Velzen, W.T. 1967. Black-billed Cuckoo records in California. Condor 69:318. Veit, R.R, & L. Jonsson. Field identification of smaller sandpipers within the genus Calidris. Am. Birds 38:853-875. Wahl, T.R. 1970. A Short-tailed Albatross record for Washington State. Calif. Birds 1:113-115. Willard, J.M, 1902. Occurrence of the Redpoll in California. Condor 4:45-46. Williamson, K. 1962. Identification for ringers: the genus Phylloscopus. Brit. Trust for Ornithology, I.D. guide No. 2, Tring, England. Winter, J. 1973. First report of the California Bird Records Committee. Calif. Birds 4:101-106. Accepted 14 June 1986 77 A WORD FROM ROGER TORY PETERSON There are few reuurds greater lha n the enjoyment of future The earth > land* and iivtcrs prm’ide an endless panorama of wildlife. Ixvuhfully exhibited in natural habitat Withagood fxnr t »f binoculars and the aid of a field guide, ue can study and enjoy hrds and the other wildlife that ^hare our planet I hojx you will join with the millions of people eterywhere who share the enjoyment of nature and the desire to present it for future generations Roger lory Peterson Aivilable in three distinctizr m*xfels: 8 fxnver. 3*rrrr»» obfectne | | BB ^ | lens • 10 fxmrr, 40mm obfeetnr lens • 7 fxmvr compact. QUq| || 1 1 1 I object iiy lens. All models hair near focus of 13 ' and ovijjkdn or BAU8CM & LOMB tong eye relief The Highest Stamfords In Sight rz 78 A COOK’S PETREL SPECIMEN FROM CALIFORNIA WM. BRECK TYLER, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064 KENNETH BURTON, Dosen Bahasa Inggeris, Universitas Palangka Raya, Tunjung Nyaho, Palangka Raya, Kalteng, Indonesia On the morning of 17 November 1983, Bob Moon found a Cook's Petrel (Pterodroma cookii) floundering in the driveway of his seaside home at 2-2702 East Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County, California (37 °N). Moon called the Native Animal Rescue Service, a local wildlife rehabilitation center, but the bird expired before the center’s volunteers could respond. They retrieved the carcass, however, and delivered it to us for identification. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first specimen of Cook’s Petrel for the continental United States and the first land record for the species in the Northern Hemisphere. Our preliminary examination revealed that the specimen was a small (length 30 cm) tube-nosed bird in extremely worn plumage. Its upperparts were uniformly dark gray, its wings and rump sooty black and brown, and its underparts all white except for a narrow dark margin on the underwing. The pale blue feet and high-contrast white inner vanes of the otherwise black primaries (Figure 1) indicated that it was one of the Cookilaria petrels (Palmer 1962); the subgenus Cookilaria comprises several species of small Pterodroma petrels (see Table 1). We identified this specimen as cookii on the basis of plumage characteristics, after comparing it with a series of Pterodroma petrels at the California Academy of Sciences. George Watson (in litt.) subsequently compared the specimen with those in the National Museum of Natural History and confirmed our diagnosis. The specimen was deposited in the California Academy of Sciences (71447). The problem of identifying Cookilaria petrels is exacerbated by the lack of a universally accepted classification for the group. We combine those by Jouanin and Mougin (1979) and Bourne (1983), both of which accom- modate Fleming’s (1941) finding (based on skull morphology) that two parallel radiations of similar species exist within the group. Arrangements by other authors (e.g., Murphy 1936, Harper and Kinsky 1978, Harrison 1983) differ in varying degrees from the one presented here (Table 1). Historically, three races of P. cookii have been described, as follows: cookii from breeding islands near New Zealand; orientalis, described by Murphy (1936), from unknown breeding areas believed to be in the southeastern Pacific; and defilippiana, from Mas Atierra and other islands west of Chile. Murphy described orientalis as larger than cookii and paler above (due to light feather edgings). Most authors now believe orientalis is invalid, having been based on freshly molted or juvenal plumage cookii (Palmer 1962, Bourne 1983, G. Watson in litt.). P. defilippiana, believed to be restricted to Chilean waters (Harrison 1983), is now considered by Jouanin and Mougin (1979), Bourne (1983) and the AOU (1983) to be a separate species, the Mas Atierra Petrel. Therefore, P. cookii is currently considered monotypic. Western Birds 17:79-84, 1986 79 COOK’S PETREL SPECIMEN Whether observed at sea or in the hand, a Cookilaria petrel presents an identification challenge. Plumage differences between the taxa are subtle, and individual and seasonal variation within species are not adequately ad- dressed in most field guides. In general, our Santa Cruz specimen resembles the Cook’s Petrel pictured in the National Geographic Society guide {Scott 1983), but it has the upperwing pattern of the Pycroft’s Petrel (P. longirostris pycrofti) illustrated in Harrison’s guide (1983). The crown, nape and back of the Santa Cruz specimen are uniformly dark gray. The color is much darker than that usually depicted for cookii (Harper and Kinsky 1978, Harrison 1983), but the distinctly darker cap typical of P. longirostris is not evident. Apparently, among Pterodroma petrels, plumage becomes darker with wear; in fact, a very worn cookii may appear as dark as a fresh longirostris, but the former’s cap and back will be concolor (Roberson 1980). The upper- parts of this specimen are so dark that the M-shaped mantle pattern described for cookii by several authors (Roberson 1980, Harrison 1983) is not obvious. The central rectrices (dorsal side) are sooty brown, but the lateral ones are paler, ranging from light gray to white with a fine gray speckling (Figure 2) . I he lateral rectrices become sequentially paler toward the edge of the tail, and the inner vane of each feather is significantly paler than the outer vane, a pattern which is typical for cookii (Murphy 1936). The white outer tail men- tioned as a diagnostic field mark for cookii by several authors (Roberson 1980, Harrison 1983) is probably most conspicuous when the rectrices are heavily worn. In contrast, P.l. longirostris usually has darker outer rectrices; P.I. pycrofti, however, is intermediate, often showing some white in the Figure 1. Dorsal view of primaries of immature female Cook's Petrel (P. cookii: California Academy of Sciences 71447) showing contrasting white inner vanes. 80 COOK’S PETREL SPECIMEN outer tail {Oliver 1955, Roberson 1980). In the field, P, defilippiana is not considered to be safely separable from cookii, but in the hand it can be distinguished by the larger, more deeply grooved bill (Murphy 1936), darker eye patch, and longer tail (Harper and Kinsky 1978). All other Cookilaria petrels have even darker upperparts and more pronounced underwing patterns. Cook’s Petrels breed from October to April. During the austral winter (May-September) , they leave their breeding areas (Oliver 1955) and disperse into the central and eastern Pacific. The range of dispersal and migration routes are not well known. Most records are from waters off Peru, northern Chile, and Baja California (Murphy 1936, Roberson 1980, Pitman 1986), but considerable movement through the central Pacific has been noted (Pit- man 1986) . The northernmost records are from the vicinity of the western Aleutians (Roberson 1980). During the period 3 October through 1 December 1979, 21 sightings of Cookilaria petrels were made 50 to 200 km off the coast of California, from Point Piedras Blancas (35°40’N) to Point Arena (39°N; Roberson 1980). These sightings represent the northernmost records along the west coast of North America (excluding the Aleutian records) . Because P. defilippiana is nearly identical to P. cookii under field conditions, the identification of these birds, as well as several others seen off southern California and one on the Salton Sea during summer 1984 (McCaskie 1984, R. Pitman in litt.), is cur- rently unresolved; all are under consideration by the California Bird Records Committee. Figure 2. Dorsal view of rectrices of immature female Cook’s Petrel (P. cookii: CAS 71447). 81 COOK’S PETREL SPECIMEN The distribution of Cook’s Petrels at sea is almost certainly related to pat- terns of sea surface temperature and associated oceanographic factors. Bourne (1983) says that Cook’s Petrels prefer waters somewhat cooler than those frequented by other Cookilaria, but he does not mention any specific thermal range. Previously, it was thought that Cook’s Petrels were associated with subpolar waters (4.0 to 13.9°C) in both hemispheres (Bourne, in Palmer 1962), but especially those of the sub-Antarctic Zone (Murphy 1936). However, current evidence shows that the species should be con- sidered subtropical. The species’ nesting islands are located in subtropical waters, very near the sub-Tropical Convergence. Breeding birds could easily forage in the cold productive waters of the sub- Antarctic Zone, but in fact are rarely recorded there (Watson 1975). During the austral winter, when waters nearer the colony become colder, the birds depart the area (Oliver 1955). Recent pelagic surveys have found that cookii occurs frequently in sub- tropical (14 to 21.9°C) and tropical (22+°C) waters (Ainley and Boekelheide 1983, Pitman 1986). In the eastern Pacific, most records are from mild oceanic waters (approximately 15 to 25 °C) seaward of cold-water upwelling zones (Murphy 1936, Roberson 1980, Pitman 1986). Pitman’s data show also that Cook’s Petrels are scarce in the very warm tropical Table 1. The subgenus Cookilaria, after Jouanin and Mougin (1979) and Bourne (1983). Taxon Pterodroma c hypoleuca P. nigripennis “ ,c P. axillaris a c P. cookii b P. defilippiana b P. longirostris longirostris bd P. longirostris pgcrofti h d P. leucoptera leucoptera b d P. leucoptera brevipes b - d P. leucoptera caledonica d (undescribed ) d English Name Bonin Petrel Black-winged Petrel Chatham Island Petrel Cook’s Petrel Mas Atierra Petrel Stejneger’s Petrel Pycroft’s Petrel Gould’s Petrel Collared Petrel New Caledonian Petrel Breeding Range Center Bonin and Volcano Islands (south of Japan), Leeward Hawaiian chain Southwest Pacific Southeast Chatham Island (east of New Zealand) Little and Great Barrier Islands (northern New Zealand) Juan Fernandez Islands (west of Chile) Juan Fernandez Islands (west of Chile) Northeast of New Zealand Cabbage Tree Island (eastern Australia) Southwest Pacific New Caledonia Solomon Islands “Together form a superspecies (Jouanin and Mougin 1979). Together form a superspecies (Jouanin and Mougin 1979). ■"Together form a superspecies (Bourne 1983) . ■Together form a species, the White-winged Petrel, P. leucoptera (Bourne 1983). 82 COOK’S PETREL SPECIMEN regions of the eastern Pacific, suggesting that records from tropical waters are probably birds in transit. Although Cook’s Petrels have been recorded in cold (4-5 °C) water (Wahl 1978), the waters adjacent to the coast of California probably are usually too cold (10-17°C) for the species. The 1979 sightings and the present specimen were recorded during the warmest season (early autumn) and in unusually warm years. Weak and very strong El Nino conditions prevailed off Point Sur (36°N) during 1979 and 1983, respectively (Breaker 1983). Hydrograph- ically, waters in the reported sighting locations (Davidson Seamount and northwest of Point Arena) are characterized by persistent warm-core (16-19°C) eddies that closely approach the California coast (Simpson et al. 1983, K. Briggs pers. comm.). As evidenced by its worn plumage (G. Watson in litt.) and underdeveloped ovary (L. Thompson pers. comm.), the Santa Cruz specimen is an immature female. Given the October-November dates of oc- currence relative to the nesting season, many of the California records likely have been of immature or nonbreeding individuals. Most late records of austral-breeding Sooty Shearwaters [Puffinus griseus) in California waters also pertain to immatures (E. Chu pers. comm.). Our examination of the specimen’s digestive tract revealed only irregular strips of thin translucent plastic (up to 1 x 3 cm) in the foregut, and several squid beak fragments and four small plastic particles (various colors, all < 1 cm across) in the gizzard. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Luis Baptista and Mary Marcusson for providing access to the collections of the California Academy of Sciences. George Watson verified the identification of the specimen. Robert Pitman provided expert guidance and access to his unpublished data. Ken Briggs, David Lewis and Martha Brown reviewed earlier drafts of this manuscript, and Cyndi Hitchcock did the typing. We also thank Bob Moon and the Native Animal Rescue Service for bringing us this unique specimen. LITERATURE CITED Ainley, D.G & R.J. Boekelheide. 1983. An ecological comparison of oceanic seabird com- munities of the South Pacific Ocean. Studies Avian Biol. 8:2-23. American Ornithologists’ Union. 1983. Check list of North American birds. Sixth ed. Am. Or- nithol. Union. [Washington, D.C.]. Bourne, W.R.P. 1983. The appearance and classification of the Cookilaria petrels. Sea Swallow 32:65-71. Breaker, L.C. 1983. The space-time scales of variability in oceanic thermal structure off the central California coast. Ph D. thesis. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA. Fleming, C.A. 1941. Notes on Neozelanic forms of the subgenus Cookilaria. Emu 41:69-80. Harper, P.C. & F.C, Kinsky. 1978. Southern albatrosses and petrels. Victoria Univ. Press, Wel- lington, New Zealand. Harrison, P. 1983. Seabirds: an identification guide. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA. Jouanin, C & J.-L. Mougin. 1979. Procellariiformes. Pp. 76-78 in E. Mayr& G.W. Cottrell, eds., Check-list of the birds of the world, Vol. 1, 2nd ed. Mus. Comp. Zool., Cambridge, MA. 83 COOK’S PETREL SPECIMEN McCaskie, G. 1984. Southwest Pacific coast region. Am. Birds 38:1061. Murphy, R.C. 1936. Oceanic birds of South America, Vol. I. Macmillan Co., New York. Oliver, W.R.B. 1955. New Zealand Birds. Second ed. A.H. & A.W. Reed, Wellington, New Zealand. Palmer, R.S., ed. 1962. Handbook of North American birds, Vol. I. Yale Univ. Press, New Haven, CT. Pitman, R.L. 1986. Atlas of seabird distribution and relative abundance in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv. Admin, Rep, LJ-86-02. La Jolla, CA. Roberson, D. 1980. Rare birds of the west coast of North America. Woodcock Publ., Pacific Grove, CA. Scott, S.L., ed. 1983. Field guide to the birds of North America. Natl. Geogr. Soc., Washington, D.C. Simpson, J.J., T.D. Dickey, & C.J. Koblinsky. 1982. California Current eddies — A. Eddies and seasonal variability. Abstr. Eos. 63:82. Wahl, T.R. 1978. Seabirds in the northwestern Pacific Ocean and south central Bering Sea in June 1975. West. Birds 9:45-66. Watson, G.E. 1975. Birds of the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic. Amer. Geophysical Union. Washington, D C. Accepted 1 7 February 1 986 Cook’s Petrel Sketch by Keith Hansen 84 NOTES OBSERVATION OF COPULATION BETWEEN A NON- NESTING ADULT AND SUBADULT BALD EAGLE IN CALIFORNIA BARRETT A. GARRISON, Department of Wildlife Management, Humboldt State University, Areata, California 95521 (present address: 4252 Mason Lane, Sacramento, California 95821) Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) copulatory behavior has been described for wild and captive adult birds (Herrick 1932, 1934; Broley 1952; Gerrard et al. 1979; Wiemeyer 1981), but not, as far as I know, between adults and subadults. Gerrard et al. (1980) observed a marked 4-year-old female in subadult plumage adopt copula- tion solicitation posture with an adult male, but no copulation was observed. Breeding of subadults has been rarely recorded (Hoxie 1910, Bent 1937). A 3-year-old male in adult plumage nested with an adult female and successfully fledged one young (D.A. Hammer unpubl. data). In this note I describe copulation between an adult male and a subadult female that apparently was not followed by successful nesting. From 1 1 January to 23 March 1980 I studied Bald Eagles at Ruth Reservoir, Trinity County, California. An adult eagle present from 11 January to 28 February 1980 was the male of a pair that was resident there from 1976 to 1978. On 1 March 1980 I observed a second Bald Eagle fitting the description of a subadult in the fifth-year class (Southern 1964, 1967). This bird looked much like an adult, except the head and neck were streaked with brown, the tail had a diffuse brown terminal band approx- imately 8 cm high, and the breast, belly and back had considerable white speckling. This subadult was frequently seen soaring and perching with the male. Because the subadult was larger than the male, I assumed it was a female. Between 0715 and 0720 on 16 March I observed two copulations. The female was perched on a shoreline tree and snag while the male circled approximately 10-30 m above her. The female uttered high-pitched gull-like screams as the male flew down to her. In one case, he landed directly on her back. In the other instance, he landed on a branch 1 m above her, hopped down to her branch, and gave several wing-out bows. Copulation ensued and lasted approximately 10 seconds, with considerable wing- flapping by the male and vocalizations by the female. In both cases, the male flew directly off the female and eventually flew out of sight. These observations are similar to published descriptions of adult-adult copulations (Herrick 1932, 1934; Gerrard et al. 1979). Despite repeated visits to the lake throughout the breeding season, I observed no other copulations and found no evidence that the birds nested in 1980. The male was seen infrequently during the following breeding season after the disappearance of the female on 18 January 1981. My observations combined with those of Hammer (un- publ. data) and Gerrard et al. (1980) suggest that males may be capable of successful- ly reproducing at an earlier age than females. More data are needed on the sex and age class of Bald Eagle breeding pairs to answer this question. I thank Laurence Binford, James Fraser, David Garcelon, Joseph Ganey, Mark Martell, Donald Spencer and Stanley Wiemeyer for critical review of the manuscript, and Six Rivers National Forest and Ronald Escano for financial and logistical support during the study. Western Birds 17:85-86, 1986 85 NOTES LITERATURE CITED Bent, A.C. 1937. Life histories of North American birds of prey. Part I. U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 167. Broley, M.J. 1952. Eagle Man. Pelligrini and Cudahy, New York. Gerrard, J.M., P.N. Gerrard & D.W.A. Whitfield. 1980. Behavior in a non-breeding Bald Eagle. Can. Field-Nat. 94:391-397. Gerrard, P.N., S.N. Wiemeyer & J.M. Gerrard. 1979. Some observations on the behavior of captive Bald Eagles before and during incubation. Raptor Res. 13:57-64. Herrick, F.H. 1932. Daily life of the American Eagle: early phase. Auk 49:307-323. Herrick, F.H. 1934. The American Eagle, a study in natural and civil history. D. Appleton-Century, New York. Hoxie, W.J. 1910, Notes on the Bald Eagle in Georgia. Auk 27:454. Southern, W.E. 1964. Additional observations on winter Bald Eagle populations: in- cluding remarks on biotelemetry techniques and immature plumages. Wilson Bull. 76:121-137. Southern, W.E. 1967. Further comments on subadult Bald Eagle plumages. Jack- Pine Warbler 45:70-80. Wiemeyer, S.N. 1981. Captive propagation of Bald Eagles at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and introductions into the wild, 1976-80. Raptor Res. 15:68-82. Accepted 25 September 1986 Subadult Bald Eagle Sketch by Tim Manolis 86 NOTES PREY REMAINS FROM GOLDEN EAGLE NESTS IN CENTRAL ARIZONA WADE L. EAKLE, School of Renewable Natural Resources, 214 Biological Sciences East, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721 (present address: Dames and Moore, 7500 North Dreamy Draw Road, Suite 145, Phoenix, Arizona 85020) TERYL G. GRUBB, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Ex- periment Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, ASU Campus, Tempe, Arizona 85287 The food habits of the Golden Eagle ( Aquila chrysaetos ) in North America have been well documented. Olendorff (1976) summarized the available data to date from the literature. Bloom and Hawks (1982), Collopy (1983) and Marr and Knight (1983) documented prey remains collected from Golden Eagle nests in various regions of the western United States. However, the food habits of Golden Eagles in Arizona have not been described Willard (1916) reported White-tailed Deer ( Odocoileus uirgi- nianus) and domestic livestock being killed and fed upon by eagles, but this is the only information for the entire state. This note documents the first recorded collection of prey remains from Golden Eagle nests in central Arizona. We collected prey remains from nests in Coconino, Gila, Maricopa and Yavapai counties incidental to entering the nests to obtain measurements for an unrelated study comparing Bald Eagle ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) and Golden Eagle nest struc- ture (manuscript in preparation). Entering 15 nests from 9 territories, we collected re- mains from 9 nests between 18 June and 12 July 1985. Six territories were located in pinyon-juniper habitat ( Pinus spp ,-Juniperus spp.), two in Sonoran desertscrub, and one in Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) . The remains from three nests in one ter- ritory are considered one collection because of the close proximity of the nests to one another (<5 m) . The number of individual prey items at each nest was determined by the maximum number of body parts present (e.g., feet, mandibles, skulls). Prey re- mains were identified in the field, by comparison with museum specimens and with the aid of a dichotomous key (Glass 1951). A total of 38 prey items representing 12 species was collected (Table 1). Mammals made up 78.9%, birds 18.4% and reptiles 2.6%. No evidence of domestic livestock was noted in the remains. Black-tailed Jackrabbit ( Lepus californicus ) and Rock Squir- rel ( Spermophilus uariegatus) remains were found in approximately 86% and 57%, respectively, of the nests from which prey remains were collected, indicating their im- portance to nesting eagles in central Arizona. Our results are comparable with those reported by Olendorff (1976) on a continent-wide basis, 83.9% mammals, 14.7% birds and 1.0% reptiles. No previously unreported prey species were collected. Table 1. Prey remains from Golden Eagle nests in central Arizona, 1985. Occurrence Prey item Individuals Nest collection (N = 38) (N = 7) N % N % Reptiles Gopher Snake 1 2.6 1 14.3 ( Pituophis melanoleucus ) Subtotal 1 2.6 Western Birds 17:87-89, 1986 87 NOTES Table 1 (Cont.) Occurrence Prey item Individuals Nest collection (N = 38) (N = 7) N % N % Birds Turkey Vulture 1 2.6 1 14.3 ( Cathartes aura) Red-tailed Hawk 2 5.3 2 28.6 C Buteo jamaicensis) Mourning Dove 1 2.6 1 14.3 [Zenaida macroura) Great Horned Owl 1 2.6 1 14.3 ( Bubo virginianus) Common Raven 1 2.6 1 14.3 ( Coruus corax) Unidentified birds 1 2.6 1 14.3 Subtotal 7 18.4 Mammals Black-tailed Jackrabbit 14 36.8 6 85.7 ( Lepus californicus) Rock Squirrel 6 15.8 4 57.1 ( Spermophilus uariegatus) Unidentified woodrat 1 2.6 1 14.3 {Neotoma spp.) Gray Fox 2 5.3 2 28.6 (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) Striped Skunk 3 7.9 3 42.8 { Mephitis mephitis ) White-tailed Deer 1 2.6 1 14.3 (Odocoileus virginianus ) Unidentified mammals 3 7.9 3 42.8 Subtotal 30 78.9 Total prey items 38 ' 100.0 We would like to thank Timothy Smith and Alien Allen, U.S. Bureau of Reclama- tion helicopter pilots, whose skill and expertise made our study iogistically possible. Joseph Yarchin, Northern Arizona University, also assisted in the field. This note is derived from Bald Eagle research jointly funded by the USDA Forest Service. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. LITERATURE CITED Bloom, P.H. & S.J. Hawks. 1982. Food habits of nesting Golden Eagles in northeast California and northwest Nevada. Raptor Res. 16:110-115. Collopy. M.W. 1983. A comparison of direct observations and collections of prey re- mains in determining the diet of Golden Eagles. J. Wildl. Manage. 47:360-368. 88 NOTES Glass, B.P. 1951, A key to the skulls of North American mammals. Burgess Publ. Co., Minneapolis, MN. Marr, V.N. & R.L. Knight. 1983. Food habits of Golden Eagles in eastern Washington. Murrelet 64:73-77. Olendorff, R.R. 1976. The food habits of North American Golden Eagles. Am. Midi. Nat. 95:231-236. Willard, F.C. 1916. Notes on the Golden Eagle in Arizona. Condor 18:200-201. Accepted 15 Ju/y 1986 Golden Eagle Sketch by Narca Moore-Craig WESTERN BIRDS HAS A NEW EDITOR As long as anyone can remember, Alan Craig has been the editor of Western Birds. Thirteen years, and thirteen volumes, to be exact; ever since Western Birds appeared as the “mature adult” form of the fledgling journal California Birds , in its fourth year of publication. Actually, Alan was there at the beginning, as one of the original editors of California Birds. Indeed, Alan wrote the first sentence that appears on page one of the first issue of the first volume of the journal, just as he would write the first sentence to appear in Western Birds. Needless to say, then, Western Birds and, indeed, Western Field Or- nithologists, owe a great deal of their current stature in the ornithological community to Alan. Our pride in our journal and our organization is in large part pride in the results of long hours of work Alan has selflessly devoted for the past 17 years. Alan’s accomplishments as editor have been many. A stickler for detail, he has produced issue after issue virtually error-free. He has maintained high standards for the quality of the information presented in the journal’s pages. But perhaps his most valued and lasting contribution has been his willingness to nurse “greenhorn” authors— the student and amateur field ornithologists for whom Western Field Ornithologists and Western Birds came into be- ing-through their first published papers. I know, because I was one. But Alan’s long stint (no, that isn’t a new species of Calidris) as editor has taken its toll on other aspects of his life. Work and other commitments forced Alan to tender his resignation a couple of years ago— a resignation the board was unable to accept, until now, because of an inability to find anyone willing and able to fill his shoes. We are now pleased to announce that Philip Unitt has volunteered to take on the editorship of Western Birds in the fine tradition established by Alan Craig. Philip brings excellent credentials to the job. A member of Western Field Ornithologists since its inception, Philip has made substantial contributions to field ornithology in Southern California, many of these being published in Western Birds over the years. His most notable achievement to date has been the monumental task of summarizing the wealth of information about what is perhaps the most ornithologically complex California county, resulting in The Birds of San Diego County. In addition to being a widely respected or- nithologist, Philip is a technical editor by profession. Most importantly, Philip brings a strong commitment to the enhancement of field ornithology in the West that we know will serve him well as the editor of Western Birds. And so the editorship of your journal has passed to good hands. We will miss Alan’s steady guidance, but we are also happy to see him find time at last for other goals in life. And we will always be aware of the indelible mark of quality that is his legacy to Western Birds. Tim Manolis, Acting President 90 PRESIDENTS MESSAGE The recent return of WFO’s president, Dr. Laurence C. Binford, to Illinois has left a major gap not only on the inside front cover of Western Birds, but in the ranks of bird students in the West. Laurie leaves behind a legacy of com- mitment and leadership that, as far as western field ornithologists are con- cerned, has brought us to the doorway of an exciting future for amateur field ornithology in western North America. We wish him only the best in future endeavors. ANNUAL MEETINGS, PAST AND FUTURE. Approximately 160 members and friends of WFO, including 47 new members, attended the 11th Annual Meeting in Sacramento, California, 7-9 February 1986. Among the highlights of the meeting were a jam-packed workshop on breeding bird atlas efforts in the West, an excellent series of informative papers during the Saturday session, an enthusiastically debated workshop on field identification, and a round-the-world cruise presented at the banquet by Arnold Small. Brisk, sunny skies prevailed for the wide-ranging field trips. The vitality of WFO depends entirely on the level of participation by its members. It was thus very encouraging to see such a high level of intensity and involvement sustained through the meeting. All who helped put on the convention deserve considerable thanks for making it a success. The 1987 Annual Meeting is scheduled for 21-23 August at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. The scenery should be glorious, and the shorebird migration— well, who knows what might turn up! Past President Terry Wahl is heading up the local committee. More details will be forthcoming. NEW TREASURER/MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY FOR WFO. Art Cupples of Sherman Oaks, California, was appointed treasurer and membership secretary for WFO at the Sacramento convention, replacing Garth Alton. Garth deserves much thanks for his years of service to the organization. The new treasurer brings a strong financial background to an often thankless but vitally important position. YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO PETITION. On May 15, 1986, WFO joined with eight environmental and wildlife organizations in submitting a for- mal petition to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requesting that the western race of the Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Cocc^zus americanus occidentalis, be add- ed to the federal endangered species list over a major part of its range (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada and California). The decision to put WFO at the forefront in calling for endangered species status for the cuckoo was made at the Sacramento convention’s Board of Directors’ meeting. Members of WFO and other western field biologists have long been concerned about the cuckoo’s status in the region. The most re- cent detailed report on the cuckoo in California appeared in Western Birds (Vol. 15:49-80) in 1984. Much critical habitat in California remains threatened by destruction and alteration. Addition of the cuckoo to the federal list apparently has been held up because of the general impression that populations of the species in Arizona and New Mexico are still relatively healthy. However, the status of these 91 populations, and of any remnant populations that may still exist in the North- west and the intermountain states, remains to be established quantitatively. Given the loss and alteration of riparian habitat throughout the West, the cuckoo deserves concern throughout its range. Observers in the region are encouraged to contribute information in support of the petition to list the cuckoo. This information should be provided to regional offices of the Fish and Wildlife Service or to the Office of Endangered Species at the Service’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. Tim Manolis, Acting President BULLETIN BOARD WFO ANNUAL MEETING WFO’s 12th annual meeting will be held 21-23 August 1987 at Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington. The program will include discus- sions of distribution, identification, and atlas mapping. There will be field trips to near- by areas of interest such as shorebird habitat and the Cascade mountains. For further information contact T.R. Wahl, 3041 Eldridge, Bellingham, WA 98225, (206) 733-8255. 1987 WESTERN BIRD BANDING ASSOCIATION MEETING: CALL FOR PAPERS AND DEMONSTRATIONS The 1987 WBBA meeting, 9-11 October at Tucson, Arizona, will emphasize techniques useful to field biologists. There will be workshops on special methods of netting, trapping, making traps, capturing raptors, marking (from hummingbirds to eagles), ageing, sexing, laparoscopy, cloacal lavage, and tissue and blood sampling. If you have developed a useful technique, plan to come and share it with others. If you need to learn a new technique, plan also to participate in the program. Please contact Dr. Stephen M. Russell, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721. British birdwatcher and photographer, of raptors, shorebirds, and gulls especially, wishes to exchange letters, photos, and possibly reciprocal visits with West Coast birders/photographers of similar interests. Please contact Paul Doherty, 10 Cheriton Way, Maidstone, Kent, England ME16 OPH, England. (Readers of Western Birds may look forward to seeing some of Paul’s fine photographs on future covers. — Ed.) 92 A white goose with pink bill and feet and black primaries should not present much of an identification problem; the choice would be either Snow Goose ( Chen caerulescens ) or Ross’ Goose (C. rossii). Even so, a single adult individual that spent the winter of 1984-1985 in Upper Newport Bay, Orange County, California, caused a certain amount of consternation for many observers. Those viewing it at a distance, where body size estimates were difficult, noted the longer bill with prominent “grinning patch” and tended to identify it as a Snow Goose, It was so reported on the 1984 Christmas Bird Count in that area. Since the bird spent much of its time among bread- mooching American Coots and Mallards at the local “let’s-feed-the-ducks” place, other observers, myself included, first saw it at very close range (less than 10 feet) and were strongly influenced by its overall small size and more rounded head profile to call it a Ross' Goose This discrepancy prompted closer examination by several observers and a consideration of all field marks of the two species. Ross’ Goose is a small bird, little larger than a Mallard, with a short stubby two-toned bill (blue or greyish at the base) that lacks the “grinning patch.” The Snow Goose on Western Birds 17:93-94, 1986 93 the other hand is clearly a much larger bird; Snow Geese are, on the average, more than twice the body weight of Ross' Geese. The head and neck of a Snow Goose are proportionally larger and the bill, complete with “grinning patch,” is longer than in a Ross’ Goose. The juncture of the feathers of the lores and the base of the upper mandible forms a straight line in a Ross’ Goose and a sharply curved arc in a Snow Goose. Both species have a distinctive blue phase (see illustrations in Field Guide to the Birds of North America, National Geographic Society) although it occurs at very low frequencies in Ross’ Goose populations (McLandress and McLandress, Auk 96:544-550, 1979). There are also recognizable vocal differences between the two species. The bird in question lacked the very stubby bill of a Ross’ Goose and had the “grinning patch” of a Snow Goose. The bill did not appear as long as in a typical Snow Goose and the “grinning patch” was somewhat smaller than usual. The bill showed some blue coloration at the base but was not as sharply two-toned as in a Ross’ Goose. The head was not as massive and angular as in a Snow Goose or as diminutive and rounded as in a Ross’ Goose. The juncture of the loral feathers and upper mandible formed only a slightly rounded arc. In size, the bird was larger than a typical Ross’ Goose but seemed smaller than a typical Snow Goose, particularly when seen side by side with Mallards or American Coots. All of the above suggested to several observers that the bird was a hybrid. Fred Cooke, who has extensive experience with Snow Geese, examined black and white photographs and a color slide of the bird in question and concurred on its apparent hybrid origin. He did feel that the bill was somewhat longer than might be expected for such a hybrid. Robert McLandress, after seeing black and white photos of the bird, thought that it was arguably a hybrid, or at least not a typical one, and that its apparent small size could have been accentuated by spending much time in “submissive” postures as would be typical of injured, sick, or “lone” geese. The Newport Bay goose did not appear injured or sick, was seen in very alert postures on several occasions, and migrated on schedule that spring, Ross’ and Snow geese are known to nest together in the same arctic areas and a number of hybrids between the species, including both white and blue morphs, have been reported. Hybrid specimens tend to be intermediate in most linear measurements as might well be expected (Trauger, Dzubin and Ryder, Auk 88:856-875, 1971; McLandress and McLandress op. cit.). One unsuccessful attempt was made to capture the Newport Bay goose and get the measurements which would have clarified the proposed hybrid origins of this bird. Specimens of Ross’ x Snow Goose hybrids were first reported only from the Central Flyway but are now known from both the Central and Pacific flyways. However, such birds are easily overlooked and may occur in both flyways more commonly than previously reported. Had the bird in question been part of even a small flock of Snow Geese it is doubtful that it would have attracted much attention; I feel it would have stood out rather obviously among a group of Ross’ Geese. Such hybrids are one thing more for observers to be aware of and look for among the large wintering flocks of white geese. CHARLES T. COLLINS, Department of Biology, California State University, Long Beach, California 90840. 94 Eurasian Dotterel ( Charadrius morinelius), Point Reyes, Marin County, California, 9 September 1986 Photos by Richard Hallowell 95 DUTCH BIRDING Quarterly journal for every keen birder! □ Excellent papers on identification, distribution, movements and behaviour of Palearctic birds. □ Latest news on rare birds in the Netherlands and Belgium. □ In English or with English summaries. □ Well produced with numerous high quality photographs. For information write to: Dutch Birding, Postbus 5611, 1007 AP Amsterdam, Netherlands. Subscribers to Dutch Birding can claim 25% off a British Birds subscription WING TIPS A NEW JOURNAL FOR THE CURIOUS FIND OUT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE WORLD OF ORNITHOLOGY FEATURING BEHAVIORAL NOTES • DISCUSSION OF CURRENT RESEARCH MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTS • DESCRIPTIONS OF BIRD ORGANIZATIONS READER PARTICIPATION ENCOURAGED SUBSCRIPTIONS $10.00 per year Outside U.S.A. add $2.00 (U.S.) for postage Box 226 Lansing, N.Y. 14882 (607)533-7642 ISSN 8756-4505 96 Volume 17, Number 2, 1986 Ninth Report of the California Bird Records Committee Don Roberson 49 A Cook’s Petrel Specimen from California Wm. Breck Tyler and Kenneth Burton 79 NOTES Observation of Copulation Between a Non-nesting Adult and Subadult Bald Eagle in California Barrett A. Garrison 85 Prey Remains from Golden Eagle Nests in Central Arizona Wade L. Eakle and Teryl G. Grubb 87 President’s Message Tim Manolis 91 Bulletin Board 92 Identification Quiz Charles T. Collins 93 Cover photo by Ebbe Banstorp: Little Stint ( Calidris minuta), Attu Island, Alaska, September 1983. Lawrence G. Balch discussed the identification of this bird in Birding 18:103-104, 1986. Western Birds solicits papers that are both useful to and understandable by amateur field ornithologists and also contribute significantly to scientific literature. The journal welcomes contributions from both professionals and amateurs. Appropriate topics include distribution, migration, status, identification, geographic variation, conservation, behavior, ecology, population dynamics, habitat requirements, the effects of pollution, and techniques for censusing, sound recording, and photographing birds in the field. Papers of general interest will be considered regardless of their geographic origin, but particularly desired are reports of studies done in or bearing on the Rocky Mountain and Pacific states and provinces, including Alaska and Hawaii, western Texas, northwestern Mexico, and the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Send manuscripts to Philip Unitt, 3411 Felton Street, San Diego, CA 92104. For matter of style consult the Suggestions to Contributors to Western Birds (6 pages available at no cost from the editor) and the Council of Biology Editors Style Manual (available for $12 from the American Institute of Biological Sciences, 1401 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22209. Reprints can be ordered at author’s expense from the Editor when proof is returned or earlier. Good photographs of rare and unusual birds, unaccompanied by an article but with caption including species, date, locality and other pertinent information, are wanted for publication in Western Birds. Submit photos and captions to Photo Editor. No, 3, 1986 WESTERN BIRDS Quarterly Journal of Western Field Ornithologists Acting President: Tim Manolis, 3532 Winston Way, Carmichael, CA 95608 Treasurer/Membership Secretary: Art Cupples, 3924 Munrietta Ave., Sherman Oaks, CA 91423 Recording Secretary: Jean-Marie Spoelman, 4629 Diaz Drive, Fremont, CA 94536 Circulation Manager: Jerry R. Oldenettel, 4368 37th Street, San Diego, CA 92105 Directors: Laurence C. Binford, Peter Gent, Virginia P. Johnson, John S. Luther, Guy McCaskie, Timothy Manolis, Narca Moore-Craig, Joseph Morlan, Janet Witzeman Editor: Alan M. Craig, P.O. Box 254, Lakeview, CA 92353 Associate Editors: Cameron Barrows, Tim Manolis, Narca A. Moore-Craig, Dale A. Zimmerman Layout Artist: Virginia P. Johnson Photo Editor : Bruce Webb, 5657 Cazadero, Sacramento, CA 95822 Review Editor : Richard E. Webster, P.O. Box 6318, San Diego, CA 92106 Editorial Board: Robert Andrews, Alan Baldridge, Andrew J. Berger, Laurence C. Binford (Chairman), Jeanne A. Conry, David F. DeSante, Jon L. Dunn, Richard Erickson, Kimball L. Garrett, Joseph R. Jehl, Jr., Ned K. Johnson, Virginia P. Johnson, Kenn Kaufman, Brina Kessel, Stephen A. Laymon, Paul Lehman, John S. Luther, Guy McCaskie, M. Timothy Myres, Harry B. Nehls, Dennis R. Paulson, Stephen M. Russell, Oliver K. Scott, Ella Sorensen, Richard W. Stallcup, David Stirling, Charles Trost, Terence R. Wahl, Roland H. Wauer, Bruce Webb, Wayne C. Weber, Richard E. Webster Membership dues, for individuals and institutions, including subscription to Western Birds: Patron, $1000; Life, $250; Supporting, $50 annually; Contributing, $25 annually; Regular, $14 U S. ($17 outside U.S.) annually. Dues and contributions are tax- deductible to the ex- tent allowed by law. Send membership dues, changes of address, correspondence regarding missing issues, and orders for back issues and special publications to the Treasurer. Make checks payable to Western Field Ornithologists. Back issues of California Birds/Westem Birds: $15 per volume, $4.00 for single issues. Xerox copies of out of print issues (Vol. 1, No. 1; Vol. 2, Nos. 1 and 4; Vol. 6, No. 2) : $4.50 each. Checklist of the Birds of California: $2.00 each, 10 or more $1.50 each. Pelagic Birds of Monterey Bay, California: $2.50 each, 10 or more $2,00 each, 40 or more $1.50 each. All postpaid. Published June 2, 1987 WESTERN BIRDS ADVERTISING RATES AND SPECIFICATIONS Full page 4 x 6 3 /4 inches $60 per issue $200 per year Half Page 4 x 3% inches $40 per issue $130 per year Quarter Page 4 x l u / l6 inches $30 per issue $110 per year Offset printing, one column per page, 4 inches wide. Glossy, black and white photos are ac- ceptable; half-tone screen size: 133 line. Photo-ready copy is requested. If this is not possible, extra charges for typesetting will be made as follows: $15 full page, $10 half page, $5 quarter page. Send copy with remittance to the Treasurer. Make checks payable to Western Field Ornithologists. A 15% commission is allowed for agencies. WESTERN BIRDS Volume 17, Number 3, 1986 HAVE ORNITHOLOGISTS OR BREEDING RED- BREASTED SAPSUCKERS EXTENDED THEIR RANGE IN COASTAL CALIFORNIA? W. DAVID SHUFORD, Point Reyes Bird Observatory, 4990 Shoreline Highway, Stinson Beach, California 94970 Grinnell and Miller (1944) mapped the breeding range of Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber ) in coastal California as extending south in Mendocino County to just below the Big River on the west and to Mt. Sanhedrin on the east (Figure 1), The recent discovery of Red-breasted Sap- suckers breeding in coastal Marin County about 165 km south of this limit (Laymon and Shuford 1980, Shuford 1985) and the knowledge of a number of recent unpublished breeding records from northern Sonoma County (B.D. Parmeter pers. comm) prompted me to investigate the extent of this apparent range extension. 1 also examined the question of whether this was a true extension of the species’ breeding range or just an artifact of more thorough coverage of a previously neglected area. METHODS To document the extent of the apparent range extension 1 thoroughly searched both the published literature and sources of unpublished records. I gave particular attention to the regional editors’ notebooks of the Middle Pacific Coast region (northern California) of American Birds and the museum collections of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ), Berkeley, and the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 1 also corresponded with all observers that I knew to have made recently more than casual in- vestigations of the birdlife of southern Mendocino County, adjacent Lake County, and coastal Sonoma and Marin counties. Records that I considered to document the extension of the breeding range either (1) confirmed breeding, i.e., were of adults feeding nestlings or fledglings, or (2) were of adults in appropriate breeding habitat outside the period of 16 September through 21 April, which is the span of extreme dates of migrant/ wintering birds in lowland California (Bird Lore/ Audubon Field Notes/ American Birds [Middle and Southern Pacific Coast regions] 1917-1985, Grinnell and Western Birds 17:97-105. 1986 97 BREEDING RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS Wythe 1927, Grinnell and Miller 1944, Sibley 1952, regional editors’ notebooks for the Middle Pacific Coast region of American Birds 1954-1985, Gaines 1974, Bolander and Parmeter 1978, McCaskie et al. 1979, Davis et al. 1980, DeSante and Ainley 1980, Webster et al. 1980, Garrett and Dunn 1981, Laymon 1981, Roberson 1985). Evidence for assessing the thoroughness of prior field work in the area in question I collected by inspecting the number of records (primarily specimens) of other coniferous forest species plotted on the distribution maps in Grinnell and Miller (1944), by checking all pertinent references in that publication, and by thoroughly checking the hundreds of notebooks of the field workers from MVZ, which, along with those workers’ specimen collec- tions, were Grinnell and Miller’s (1944) primary source of information for describing the distribution of the state’s avifauna. RESULTS Recent records extend the known breeding range of Red-breasted Sap- sucker in California south and east in the interior Coast Range of the southern Yolla Bolly region of the Mendocino National Forest as far as Lake County and continuously south along the coast to northern Sonoma County. Also, a small isolated population occurs in Marin County (Figure 1, Appendix 1). All sources indicate that up to the time of the publication of Grinnell and Miller (1944) the area of the apparent range extension received only minimal ornithological investigation. Grinnell and Miller cite only three main references on Mendocino County’s breeding birds (McGregor 1896, Stone 1904, Mailliard 1919) , and these are all short accounts based on field work in limited areas over a short time span. Because Grinnell and Miller’s work was based in large part on specimens and unpublished records these sources should shed the most light on the amount of investigation in the area of ap- parent range extension. Grinnell and Miller’s distribution maps of other con- iferous forest species, such as Pygmy Owl, Hairy Woodpecker, Steller’s Jay, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and Brown Creeper, show only from one to four localities per species in the coastal areas of southern Mendocino and northern Sonoma counties. The single record of Hairy Woodpecker, a species that breeds along the whole length of coastal northern California, is telling. Since this region is in the heart of the breeding range of this species, which they considered “common” or sometimes “abundant” (Grinnell and Miller 1944), it stands to reason that the single record indicates a dearth of field work rather than a dearth of Hairy Woodpeckers. The notebooks of MVZ field workers indicate only one major collecting trip to southern Mendocino and northern Sonoma counties. A.C. Shelton, W.P. Taylor, and their co-workers made an extended collecting trip from the Point Reyes area of Marin County to the southern Yolla Bolly region of north- western Mendocino County from 26 May to 24 August 1913 (unpubl. field notes in MVZ) . They were in the area of the apparent range extension from 26 May to 17 July and made encampments for collecting 3 miles west of In- verness, Marin Co. (26 May to 9 June), at Freestone, Sonoma Co. (10 to 19 June) , 7 miles west of Cazadero, Sonoma Co. (19 to 27 June) , at the mouth 98 BREEDING RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS Figure 1. Southern extent of the breeding range of the Red-breasted Sapsucker in the Coast Range of California. Hatched northern area is the range reported by Grinnell and Miller (1944:235). Various shadings indicate the extent of coniferous and associated forests (Wieslander and Jensen 1945); light stippling along the coast represents coast redwood forest, widely spaced dots represent Douglas fir forest, and dense stippling towards the interior represents ponderosa pine forest. Recent records with confirmed evidence of breeding, i.e.. adults feeding young, are indicated by squares, and sight or specimen records of birds in the breeding season are indicated by triangles. Individual records are listed in Appendix 1. 99 BREEDING RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS of the Gualala R., Sonoma Co. {28 June to 7 July), and at the town of Men- docino, Mendocino Co. {8 to 17 July) . Apparently most of the records of all species plotted for this region in Grinnell and Miller’s (1944) distribution maps were from the collections of this single expedition. Although the trip was of rather long duration, the limited number of sites sampled (because of dependence on rail and wagon transportation), the preoccupation with running trap lines to collect mammals, and the extensive time spent prepar- ing bird and mammal specimens (Shelton, unpubl. field notes) together sug- gest that the expedition easily could have missed Red-breasted Sapsuckers, which are presently rare at the southern limit of their coastal range. DISCUSSION Grinnell and Miller (1944) was one of the first regional avifaunas in North America to include breeding range maps, for almost all species with more than one subspecies (Robbins 1982). These maps were based of necessity, because of the large area covered and small number of observers at that time, on records collected over a long time span. A quick inspection of any of their maps of widespread species shows that the records are clumped in areas given the greatest attention by collectors and that many areas have few if any records. The ranges shown by shading were inferred from the distribution of actual records. Such mapping by inference usually works well within the main range of a species because mappers generally know what habitats the species occurs in and how these habitats are distributed within the region in question. However, this technique often gives the false impression that a distribution is continuous when in fact it may be patchy, and the technique tends to give poor results on the edge of a species’ range unless that area has been covered very thoroughly. Red-breasted Sapsuckers in California breed primarily in moist conifer and mixed conifer forests or woodlands and bordering riparian associations dominated by aspens or alders (Grinnell and Miller 1944, Hemphill 1952, Shuford 1985) . A map of the distribution of conifer forests in coastal north- ern California fits well with the current breeding distribution of Red-breasted Sapsuckers (Figure 1) and suggests that the former range (Grinnell and Miller 1944) was incompletely defined at its southern boundary because of insuffi- cient field work in that area. Mapping on the basis of habitat distribution alone, however, has its pitfalls. Inaccuracies in habitat mapping would carry over to bird mapping. For example, Weislander and Jensen (1945) show a limited amount of Douglas fir forest in Marin County when in fact this forest extends northward to include the area of all the recent sapsucker breeding records in that county (Figure 1). I suspect the apparent lack of con- ifer forests in central Lake County in areas with breeding-season records of sapsuckers, according to Wieslander and Jensen (1945) (Figure 1) , is due to inadequacies in vegetation mapping. Also, the classification of habitats for vegetation mapping may not be the most appropriate for mapping birds. Kuchler (1977), for example, mapped California’s potential natural vegeta- tion, i.e., what the vegetation would be under undisturbed conditions, of ob- viously limited applicability considering the current extent of disturbances to natural communities. In addition his mixed hardwood category includes 100 BREEDING RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS associations both with and without conifers, rendering it inadequate for map- ping sapsucker breeding distribution since sapsuckers generally do not oc- cupy stands of pure hardwoods. Furthermore, species’ ranges sometimes stop abruptly even when “appropriate habitat” (to the human observers’ eye at least) continues on over great distances. Clearly, accurate mapping of bird distribution must be based on field work that provides systematic and com- plete coverage of an area. Additionally, the field work should be conducted intensively over a relatively few years since range changes might go undetected if data were collected infrequently over a long time span. Ornithological exploration of coastal California north of San Francisco Bay has been spotty until the last decade, and still remains so in some areas. Since Grinnell and Miller’s (1944) work exploration of Mendocino’s avifauna has not progressed measurably. Hemphill’s (1952) work on the avifauna of the southern Yolla Bolly Mountains of northeastern Mendocino and parts of adjacent counties gives a detailed account of breeding avifauna of the higher elevations of that area. However, it is the only major work on any part of Mendocino’s avifauna since 1944. Today most advances in our knowledge of the distribution of California’s avifauna are made by the contributions of amateurs through the regional reports of American Birds or publication of regional annotated bird lists. Coverage of the state is of course spotty and in some ways our knowledge of bird distribution reflects the distribution of bird students as much as the distribution of the birds themselves. For example, in the last decade only one resident of Mendocino County has regularly con- tributed to the Middle Pacific Coast regional reports in American Birds (OJK in Appendix 1) and, although a number of observers contribute from Sonoma County, the remoter northern regions of that county have only recently begun to be explored. The cluster of recent breeding records of Red- breasted Sapsucker near the Mendocino/Sonoma county border (Figure 1) appears to be due solely to a few observers making repeated trips to that area in the last 10 years (Appendix 1 and pers. comm.). Although observers have covered Marin County reasonably well in the last 20 years, all sapsucker breeding records there have been obtained during or since the intensive field work carried out during the Marin County Breeding Bird Atlas project from 1976 to 1982 (Shuford in prep.). The evidence does not completely exclude the possibility that the apparent range extension of Red-breasted Sapsuckers may be due all or in part to an actual expansion of sapsucker distribution since Grinnell and Miller’s (1944) work. However, the limited prior exploration of coastal northern California argues more strongly that ornithologists have extended the range of their field work to document an area of previous occupation by sapsuckers. Range ex- tensions of breeding sapsuckers in the higher mountains of San Diego County (Devillers 1970, Unitt 1981, McCaskie 1983, Unitt 1984) also ap- pear to be a result of more thorough coverage of formerly poorly worked areas. In a time of rapid human alteration of the environment it is more important than ever to document accurately range extensions and especially range con- tractions of birds. Presently it is frustrating to try to understand whether a species’ range has contracted or expanded in historical times since in most areas we lack a systematically collected data base from which to evaluate 101 BREEDING RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS perceived changes. Determining the extent and intensity of historic explora- tion involves time-consuming and tedious perusal of old field notebooks and often leaves unanswered questions. Although recent increases in the number and quality of field observers and greatly improved transportation both sug- gest that field coverage has been greater in modern times, this is not always true and needs to be investigated in all cases of apparent distributional changes. In California, and elsewhere, it is only the glaring examples of drastic declines in species such as the California Condor, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, and Bell’s Vireo that capture our attention, and then often too late. If field ornithologists in the West are to make local distributional studies useful for historical comparison and for conservation there is an urgent need for widespread systematic breeding bird atlas work similar to the intensive efforts already initiated in northeastern North America and other parts of the world (Laughlin et al. 1982). ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I gratefully acknowledge all the observers who shared unpublished field notes and especially Jack R. Arnold, Oliver J. Kolkman, Edward H. McClintock, and Benjamin D. Parmeter, all of whom furnished a number of sapsucker breeding records. Ned K. Johnson and Anne D. Jacobberger pro- vided recent specimen records from the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Stephen F. Bailey confirmed the lack of recent specimen records from the California Academy of Sciences, Barbara Stein provided access to field notebooks at MVZ, and Kurt F. Campbell supplied unpublished records con- tributed to the files of the editors of the Middle Pacific Coast region of American Birds. Ned K. Johnson thoughtfully reviewed an earlier version of the manuscript. This is Contribution No. 339 of the Point Reyes Bird Observatory. LITERATURE CITED Bolander, G.L. & B.D. Parmeter. 1978. Birds of Sonoma County, California. B.D. Parmeter, Napa. Davis, J., W.D. Koenig, & P.L. Williams. 1980. Birds of Hastings Reservation, Monterey County, California. W. Birds 11:113-128. DeSante, D.F. & D.G. Ainley. 1980. The avifauna of the South Farallon Islands, California. Studies Avian Biol. 4. DeSante, D. & V. Remsen. 1972. The nesting season. Middle Pacific coast region. Am. Birds 26:897-903. Devillers, P. 1970. Identification and distribution in California of the Sphyrapicus varius group of sapsuckers. Calif. Birds 1:47-76. Erickson, D. & J. Morlan. 1978. The autumn migration. Middle Pacific coast region. Am. Birds 32:250-255. Evens, J. & R. LeValley. 1982. The spring migration. Middle Pacific coast region. Am. Birds 36:889-892. Gaines, D. 1974. The birds of Yolo. California Syllabus, Oakland. 102 BREEDING RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS Garrett, K. & J. Dunn. 1981. Birds of southern California: Status and distribution. Los Angeles Audubon Society, Los Angeles. Grinnell, J. & A.H. Miller. 1944. The distribution of the birds of California. Pac. Coast Avifauna 27. Grinnell, J. & M.W. Wythe. 1927. A directory to the birdlife of the San Francisco Bay Area. Pac. Coast Avifauna 18. Hemphill, D.V. 1952. The vertebrate fauna of the boreal areas of the Yolla Bolly Mountains, California. Unpubl. Ph.D. thesis, Oregon State Univ., Corvallis. Kuchler, W.A. 1977. Appendix: The map of the natural vegetation of California, Pp. 909-938 in M.G. Barbour & J. Major, eds. Terrestrial vegetation of California. Wiley, New York. Laughlin, S.B., D.P. Kibbe, & P.F.J. Eagles. 1982. Aliasing the distribution of the breeding birds of North America. Am. Birds 36:6-19. Laymon, S.A. 1981. Avifauna of an island of lowland riparian woodland: Dog Island City Park, Red Bluff, California. Unpubl. M.S. thesis, Calif. State Univ., Chico. Laymon, S.A. & W.D. Shuford. 1980. The nesting season. Middle Pacific coast region. Am. Birds 34:925-929. LeValley, R. & J. Evens. 1981. The nesting season. Middle Pacific coast region . Am. Birds 35:973-977. Mailliard, J. 1919. Notes on the avifauna of the Inner Coast Range of California. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., 4th ser., 9:273-296. McCaskie, G. 1983. The nesting season. Southern Pacific coast region. Am. Birds 37:1026-1028. McCaskie, G., P. DeBenedictis, R. Erickson, & J. Morlan. 1979, Birds of norihern California. 2nd ed. Golden Gate Audubon society, Berkeley. McGregor, R.C. 1896. Cahto birds. Nidiologist 3:129-130, 148, and 4:8. Remsen, V. & D.A, Gaines. 1973. The nesting season. Middle Pacific coast region. Am. Birds 27:911-917. Robbins, C.S. 1982. Overview of international atlasing. Pp. 3-10 in S.B. Laughlin, ed. Proceedings of the northeastern breeding bird atlas conference. Vermont In- st. Nat. Sci., Woodstock, VT. Roberson, D. 1985. Monterey birds: Status and distribution of birds in Monterey County, California. Monterey Peninsula Audubon Soc., Carmel. Sibley, C.G. 1952. The birds of the South San Francisco Bay Area. Mimeo, publ. by the author (available at PRBO library) . Shuford, W.D. 1985. Acorn Woodpecker mutilates nestling Red-breasted Sap- suckers. Wilson Bull. 97:234-236. Stone, W. 1904. On a collection of birds and mammals from Mount Sanhedrin, California. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, July, pp. 576-585. Unitt, P. 1981. Birds of Hot Springs Mountain, San Diego County, California. W. Birds 12:125-135. Unitt, P. 1984. The birds of San Diego County. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist. Memoir 13. Webster, R., P. Lehman, & L. Bevier. 1980. The birds of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, California. Santa Barbara Mus. Nat. Hist. Occas. Pap. 10. Wieslander, A.E. & H.A. Jensen. 1945. Vegetation types of California. U.S. Forest Serv., Calif. Forest and Range Exp. Stn., Berkeley. 103 BREEDING RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS APPENDIX 1 Breeding-season records of Red-breasted Sapsuckers in coastal northern California since the publication of Grinnell and Miller (1944). Observers or collectors cited are Jack R. Arnold, Terry Babineaux, Karen Cartier, Doug Ellis, Ben Glading, Roger Harris, D.V. Hemphill, Emmy Hill, Ned K. Johnson, Oliver J. Kolkman, Edward H. McClintock, Benjamin D. Parmeter, John Parmeter, Mary Ann Sadler, Rich Stallcup, Robert M. Stewart, and Meryl Sundove. MVZ = Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Berkeley. Glenn County 19 Jul 1949 Plaskett Meadows, near Black Butte, 6000', ad. male (MVZ 149682, DVH) 7 Jun 1951 Sheetiron Mtn., summit 6400', ad. male (MVZ 149683, DVH) Lake County 16 & 19 Jun 1950 Snow Mtn., Milk Ranch 6400', ad. male and female (MVZ 149679 and 149680, DVH) 24 Jun 1950 Snow Mtn., 6400', “feeding of young” (Hemphill 1952) 14 Jun 1970 & 21 May 1971 Blue Lakes (EHM) 12 Jul 1970 near Evans Peak, approx. 4000', “evidently young out of the nest” (EHM) 9-11 Jun 1973 Crockett Peak, 3900-4700 ' , 5 birds including pair collected at nest (MVZ 162461-162466, NKJ) 1 Jul 1973 Lake Pillsbury (Remsen and Gaines 1973) Mendocino County 20 Jul 1950 13 Jun 1951 19 Jul 1951 28 Apr 1974 2 May 1974 6 Jun 1980 23 Jun 1975 Bald Mtn. 2 mi SE, Sand Creek, imm. (MVZ 149677, DVH) Hull Mtn. Lookout, 1 mi NW, 6400', ad. (MVZ 149676, DVH) Etsel Ridge, Port Camp, 5600', ad. (MVZ 149678, DVH) P. M. Dimmick Wayside Camp, Navarro River, 3 birds (OJK) N. Fork Gualala River, 2 mi NE of the town of Gualala (OJK) near mouth of Gualala River, one bird seen entering a hole (BDP) 3 mi W of Boonville, adult feeding young in next (OJK) 23 & 24 Jun 1975 north side of Cold Springs Lookout, 7 mi W of Boonville, adult feeding young in nest (OJK) 8 Oct 1977 near town of Mendocino, ad. feeding fledgling (Erickson and Morlan 1978) 9 Jun 1980 Low Gap Rd., 8 mi W of Ukiah (OJK) 13 Jun 1981 Gualala River, about 2 mi inland, pair with young (LeValley and Evens 1981, erroneously reported as Sonoma Co.) Sonoma County 20 Jul 1972 “near” Bodega Bay (DeSante and Remsen 1972) “July” 1977 Gualala Point County Park, adults feeding young in nest hole (TB fide BDP); 6 Jun 1980 (BDP) 5 May 1978 Sea Ranch just S of Gualala R., two pairs in courtship and territorial display (BDP) Cluster of sightings from the turnoff onto Annapolis Rd. from Highway 1 at Sea Ranch east to the vicinity of the town of Annapolis: 6 Jun 1976 (BDP); 30 Jun 1976, pair (JRA); 11 Jul & 13 Aug 1976 (JRA); 12 Jul 1977, “carrying food to young” (JRA); 20 May 1978, 2 birds calling (BDP) ; 3 Jun 1979 (BDP) ; 8 Jun 1980 (BDP) ; 1 1 Jun 1981, nest with young (JRA); 5 & 6 Jun 1982, 2 pairs, one bird excavating a hole 104 BREEDING RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKERS (BDP, DE); 26 Jun 1982, one pair (KVV, KC, JP); 26 & 27 May 1984 (BDP) ; 8 Jun 1985, pair in and out of hole in alder (BDP); 8 Jun 1986, 3 birds at two sites (BDP) Marin County 27 Apr 1977 Olema, two birds (RMS) 22 Jun 1980 near Bear Valley Hdqtrs. , Point Reyes Natl. Seashore (P.R.N.S.) , pair carrying food to nest hole; young destroyed by Acorn Woodpeckers (Laymon and Shuford 1980, Shuford 1985) 9 May 1982 Inverness Park (Evens and LeValley 1982) 23 May 1982 Papermill Creek, Pt. Reyes Station (BG; Evens and LeValley 1982) 18 Oct 1982 Five Brooks, P.R.N.S., adult feeding full-sized fledgling (EH, MAS) 11 May 1983 Rift Trail, P.R.N.S. between Five Brooks and Bear Valley, adult drilling “nest hole” (MS, RH) 22 Apr 1985 Inverness “investigating hole in alder” (RS) Accepted 23 December 1986 105 Red -breasted Sapsucker Sketch by Tim Manolis 106 LOCAL WINTER MOVEMENTS OF FOUR RAPTOR SPECIES IN CENTRAL COLORADO THOMAS A. GATZ, Denver Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- vice, Denver, Colorado 80225 (present address: Environmental Division, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, P.O. Box 9980, Phoenix, Arizona 85068) PAUL L. HEGDAL, Denver Wildlife Research Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Denver, Colorado 80225 Although most North American raptors are migratory (Bent 1937, 1938), considerably less emphasis has been placed on studying wintering habitat than breeding habitat. Newton (1979) noted that relatively few raptor studies have been conducted in winter. Wilkinson and Debban (1980) stated that lit- tle is known about wintering habitat preferences for any raptor species (but, see Southern 1963, Weller 1964, Schnell 1968, Edwards 1969, Koplin 1973, Page and Whitacre 1975, Parker and Campbell 1984, Fisher et al. 1984). Consequently, it is difficult to predict the effects of wintering habitat alterations on raptor populations. One of the most detailed winter studies of raptors (Craighead and Craighead 1956) based its movement estimates on observations of unmarked birds in southern Michigan. The study by Ender- son (1964) of Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus ) movements in the central Rocky Mountain region was based on observations of marked birds. However, without telemetry equipment, the locations of unobserved birds could not be determined. While field testing methods of attaching radio transmitters to raptors, we collected movement data for three Red-tailed Hawks { Buteo jamaicensis ) , one Rough-legged Hawk ( Buteo lagopus), one Prairie Falcon and three Great Horned Owls ( Bubo uirginianus) for various periods of time (1 day to 4 months) between 1 December 1974 and 10 April 1975 in central Colorado. STUDY AREA AND METHODS The study was conducted in a 186 km 2 area of south Sedalia, Douglas County, in central Colorado. The study area was on private land adjacent to the Rampart range foothills east of Pike National Forest. West Plum Creek and its major tributaries are the primary drainage courses, and the habitat within 0.4 km of these drainages constitutes 29% of the study area. The elevation ranges from 1739 m in the drainage bottoms to 2280 m on the buttes. Habitat in the area, primarily used for cattle production, comprises short grass pasture and alfalfa with scattered stands of natural and planted tree groves. Dominant native trees include Ponderosa Pine ( Pinus ponderosa) and oak (Quercus spp.) on the uplands and Plains Cottonwood ( Populus sargentii) and willow (Salix spp.) in the drainages. We trapped all raptors near roads which paralleled major drainages in the area. The Prairie Falcon, Red-tailed Hawks and Rough-legged Hawk were Western Birds 17:107-114. 1986 107 WINTER RAPTOR MOVEMENTS captured by means of bal-chatri traps (Berger and Harnmerstrom 1962, Berger and Mueller 1959); the Great Horned Owls were captured in Swedish goshawk traps (Meng 1971) and with bal-chatri traps. The raptors were held overnight and blood samples were taken from the hawks and falcon. We used 164 MHz, 15 to 25 g transmitters which were attached with nylon cord “back-pack” harnesses to two Red-tailed Hawks and to two Great Horned Owls. The remaining birds were radio-equipped with experimental tail mounts on the two central rectices. Radio tracking was done primarily from vehicles equipped with roof-mounted dual yagi antennas (Hegdal and Gatz 1979). Yagi antennas were used for aerial tracking. Hand-held loop and yagi antennas were used for “walking-out” radio-equipped birds. Model LA 12 receivers (built by AVM Instrument Co., Champaign, IL) 1 were used for all radio-tracking. Raptor locations were determined about twice each week by triangulation. Each bird was located visually approximately once each week to observe the radio attachment. Since the main objective of this study was to field test radio attachment techniques, primary consideration was not given to continuous or daily monitoring of raptor movements. The tracking of radio-equipped birds was fairly regular from 4 December 1974 to 19 February 1975. Track- ing was discontinued in March and April except for the periods of 6 to 10 March and 5 to 12 April when additional movement data were collected. No active radio transmitters were located in the study area on 13 August 1975. We plotted raptor locations on 1:24000 scale USGS quadrangle maps. The convex polygon method (Southwood 1966, Jennrich and Turner 1969) was used to calculate the area used by the raptors. Although this method often in- cludes areas of non-use and gives no weight to relative densities of locations in the polygon, it is a consistent method and it provides information com- parable to other movement data often calculated with this technique (Jenn- rich and Turner 1969). We follow Craighead and Craighead (1956) in defin- ing a winter raptor range as “a rather limited area of land over which a raptor moves or hunts during a given period.” It is generally undefended, thus it dif- fers from a territory. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Red-tailed Hawks Of the three Red-tailed Hawks radioed, number 3 flew west and was not located again after it was released on 23 December 1974 (Table 1). Red- tailed Hawk number 1 was monitored from 4 to 18 December 1974, and had moved 6.3 km south of its capture site when last located. Red-tailed Hawk number 2 was monitored from 5 December until 1 1 December 1974 when no signal was received in the study area. An aerial search in late February 1975 over the study area and 290 km south to near the Colorado-New Mex- ico border failed to locate the bird. However, it was located again 20 March 1975 in the study area 0.4 km from its last December location. It was building ‘Use of brand names does not imply endorsement by the Federal Government. 108 WINTER RAPTOR MOVEMENTS in r'- on a < st On cu .o E Q CM o XJ o U 6 U (A jg cn 3 O a o E a ra DC ju JD <0 H Q LU cn dc UJ H < Q O H 2 O 2 cn > < Q DC UJ CQ 2'0 D 2 2 lu tn O 2 Q UJ DC o H 2 DC UJ CQ 2 D 2 O F < u o „ 2 cn uj 2 o H < U o ►j £R UJ U 2 < f- cn Q x’ < 2 UJ DC U LU o E uc St o E Q UJ > O 2 E UJ O 2 < DC DC UJ CQ 2 D 2 cn UJ U UJ CL cn st st r- r-. cn on in r- O' o o o o o Q> Q 00 st st in xt" r-- r- r- On On ON On LO On on n r- ON O st in no 2 o CM a < in cm i-h CM ON o if. 6R o o o o i-h in CM O CM 00 CM CM 3 (0 I xj a> J£ 3 ia I -a Q» ‘5 E xj a> xj o> O O jo n ON u »- o ~ w q, ax q-q iZ a < ll ~ ^ r-» o st o co 9- st CM I— I CM T-H H < o CM 00 I 00 00 CO DC DC 3 io 2 xj JS) 0 1 xj a> DC cn 3 0 DC O o NO eg uu 3 (0 2 xj 0) Cn cn cu c o JJ <0 LU .S ’£ ‘<3 NO Xt in CO &R eR ^ eR o in o no o ON o oo o oo o ON CM ON o m ON &R eR c- o ON o X o CM o t-h CM CO "3 "3 O O o XJ X XJ 0) 0) 0) c c c o o 0 2 2 2 -*-< <0 (0 <0 a> 0) o E c . 2 ! ’35 c 10 0) XJ 0) 10 0) a a (0 3 10 2 XJ ju ’5 i XJ QJ DC IA E (- oi cn c 10 0) c 3 0) 3 h> -i-< <0 -4 — 1 o £ n (0 n o 109 WINTER RAPTOR MOVEMENTS a nest with another Red-tailed Hawk in a large cottonwood 1.2 km south of its capture location on 10 April 1975, when monitoring was discontinued. Bailey and Niedrach (1965) stated that, in contrast to 20 to 30 years ago, when prairie dogs (Cynomys spp.) and other small mammals were abun- dant, most breeding Red-tailed Hawks in Colorado now leave for the winter. They show egg laying dates for this species in early May in Colorado. This is consistent with our data. Two of our radio-equipped birds were apparently transient in the study area in December. Red-tailed Hawk number 2, a breeding bird in the study area, left the area in mid-December for 3 months, returned by mid-March, and initiated nest-building in April. Based on our limited data, the winter range of the resident Red-tailed Hawk was 2.2 km 2 . In comparison, Craighead and Craighead (1956) estimated Red-tailed Hawk winter ranges of 0.75 to 2.98 km 2 for individual birds and 3.80 to 10.0 km 2 for pairs in southern Michigan. The mean size of winter home ranges for Red-tailed Hawks of both sexes in a southwestern Wisconsin study was 1.65 km 2 (Peterson 1979). Fitch et al. (1946) found that Red-tailed Hawks have circular or oval home ranges which varied spatially according to the number and distribution of perch trees, food sup- ply, territorial pressures and physiographic features of the terrain. Peterson (1979) showed that winter home range boundaries of radio-equipped Red- tailed Hawks in Wisconsin frequently appeared to follow public roads (which are modified by physiographic features) and woodlot edges containing selected trees used as hunting perches. Similar selection for a physiographic feature may have been occurring in our study area. All of the Red-tailed Hawks locations were within 0.4 km of drainage courses, most of which were paralleled by roads, but habitat within 0.4 km of drainages constituted only 29% of our study area. Rough -legged Hawk We radio-tracked a dark-phase Rough-legged Hawk from 17 December 1974 to 21 January 1975, and located it visually from 6 to 19 February 1975 after the radio transmitter came off. We identified it by its missing tail feathers which came off with the transmitter. Our last sighting of this bird in February is consistent with Bailey and Niedrach’s (1965) observation that the north- ward migration of Rough-legged Hawks out of Colorado starts in late February. The total range of this bird (8.0 km 2 ) may be exaggerated by including two locations that could represent wandering from its usual range. Eighty-nine percent of its locations were within a 1 .0 km 2 area. This small range is in con- trast to the 10 to 15 km 2 winter range estimated to be used by this species in southern Michigan (Craighead and Craighead 1956). Two of the Rough- legged Hawks observed in the Michigan study did have winter ranges more comparable to our data (1.8 to 4.4 km 2 ). Except for these two individuals, accurate range data were not obtained in the Michigan study for other in- dividuals because of the difficulty in distinguishing individual birds (Craighead and Craighead 1956). Citing increases in daily ranges of hawks from fall to spring as rodent populations decreased, Craighead and Craighead (1956) 110 WINTER RAPTOR MOVEMENTS concluded that small ranges of raptors were always correlated with either very high or unusually vulnerable local rodent populations. The majority (95%) of our Rough-legged Hawk radio-locations were within 0.4 km of a drainage course. Prairie Falcon A male Prairie Falcon had the largest total winter range of any raptor monitored in this study (27.6 km 2 ) - However, the range may be exaggerated by including large areas of probable non-use between its diurnal range and its roosting sites up to 10 km to the south . Ninety percent of its locations were within a 9.3 km 2 area and all locations were within 0.4 km of major drainages. Most (91%) of the locations were taken between 1000 and 1600. Two locations in the late afternoon were 3.8 km south of the usual diurnal range and two locations after dark were 10 km south of the diurnal range. From 11 December 1974 to 14 February 1975 most (83%) of its daytime locations were within a 0.5 km 2 area where it frequently was observed perched in dead trees or on haystacks. From 18 February to 20 March it ex- panded its diurnal range 2.5 km to the south, increasing its range to 1 .9 km 2 . Including diurnal movements away from this 1.9 km 2 , a total of 9.3 km 2 were used by the falcon during the daytime. Only by including the distant roost sites does the total winter range expand to 27.6 km 2 . On 4 April 1975 the falcon’s radio transmitter and feathers were found near a dirt road, indicating that the bird was dead. This last location was 6,5 km south of its capture site. Enderson (1964) used the length of a line between the two most distant points of observation to measure marked Prairie Falcon winter ranges in Col- orado and Wyoming. Using this method he found the average “range” to be 5.5 km, with a maximum of 19.4 km. Female birds had greater average ranges (11.5 km) compared to males (6.1 km). The male bird in our study had a maximum range of 10 km between its two most distant locations. Great Horned Owls The three Great Horned Owls we monitored frequently changed roost locations within their respective ranges of 0.4 km 2 , 0.9 km 2 and 0.2 km 2 (mean area of 0.5 km 2 ). The actual areas used by these owls are probably under-estimated because most (96%) of the locations were taken during daytime roosting periods and do not adequately reflect the owls’ nocturnal movements. Great Horned Owl number 1 removed its radio harness on 10 February 1975. Great Horned Owl number 2 was last located on a nest in a conifer in a ranch yard on 20 March 1975. These data are in agreement with Craighead and Craighead’s (1956) con- clusions (based on observations of unmarked birds in Michigan) that Great Horned Owls maintain relatively small home ranges where they nest as well as winter and that winter ranges seldom exceed 1.3 km 2 . Similarly, Peterson (1979) found a mean January home range of 1.48 km 2 for Great Horned Owls of both sexes in southeastern Wisconsin. He also noted that owls un- successful in breeding had a similar sized home range from January through 111 WINTER RAPTOR MOVEMENTS March, while successful males increased their home ranges between 26 and 64% during the same period. Ninety-four percent of the Great Horned Owl locations in our study were within 0.4 km of a drainage course. SUMMARY We collected movement data for eight raptors of four species with the use of radio telemetry in Douglas County, Colorado. We monitored three Red- tailed Hawks, one Rough-legged Hawk, one Prairie Falcon and three Great Horned Owls for various periods of time (1 day to 4 months) from 1 December 1974 to 10 April 1975. Two of the three Red-tailed Hawks were apparently transient birds. One remained in the study area only 15 days and a second bird was never located in the area after its release on 23 December. The third Red-tailed Hawk left the study area 11 December 1974 and re- turned to the area by 20 March 1975 where it remained to nest. It confined its local movements to a 2.2 km 2 area. Eighty-nine percent of the Rough- legged Hawk locations were confined to a 1.0 km 2 area. The Prairie Falcon moved up to 10 km between its day use area of 9.3 km 2 and its roost sites. The daytime roost locations of the three Great Horned Owls were each limited to a mean area of 0,5 km 2 . Our data, based on radio-equipped raptors, tend to support Craighead and Craighead’s (1956) conclusions, based on observations of unmarked birds, that “definite and limited winter ranges are established by raptors and that these populations are spatially fixed and do not wander indiscriminately.” The relatively small main- use areas of the Rough- legged Hawk and the Prairie Falcon may indicate that high prey populations were available to these species in the winter of 1974-75 in this area (Craighead and Craighead 1956, Newton 1979). The majority (97%) of all raptor loca- tions in this study were within 0.4 km of drainage courses though this habitat made up only 29% of the study area. This observation suggests that the habitat associated with these riparian areas is important to wintering raptors. Glinski and Ohmart (unpublished data) surmise that in Arizona riparian areas may be essential to raptors as wintering refuges. Anderson and Ohmart (1977) have reported that wintering passerines exhibit a higher degree of habitat specialization than permanent residents. This factor also may be operating in riparian habitats for some wintering raptor species. Although no investigations were undertaken to test this hypothesis in our study area, perhaps the greater number of suitable perch sites and the greater or more vulnerable prey base available in the drainage bottoms account for almost all of the raptor use occurring in this habitat. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Larry Mechlin, Merle Richmond and Kathy Fagerstone for assistance in raptor trapping and in data collection and George Corner for transmitter construction and for assistance in developing radio attachment methods. 112 WINTER RAPTOR MOVEMENTS LITERATURE CITED Anderson, B.W. & R.D. Ohmart. 1977. Vegetation structure and bird use in the lower Colorado River valley. Pp. 23-34 in Importance, preservation and management of riparian habitats: a symposium. USDA Forest Service General Tech. Rep. RM-43. Bailey, A.M. & R.J. Niedrach. 1965. Birds of Colorado. Vol. 1. Denver Mus. Nat. Hist. , Denver. Bent, A.C. 1937, 1938. Life histories of North American birds of prey. U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 167, 170. Berger, D.D. & F. Hamerstrom. 1962. Protecting a trapping station from raptor predation. J. Wildl. Manage. 26:203-206. Berger, D.D. & H.C. Mueller. 1959. The bal-chatri: a trap for the birds of prey. Bird- Banding 30:18-26. Craighead, J.J. & F.C. Craighead, Jr. 1956. Hawks, owls and wildlife. Wildlife Management Institute, New York. Edwards, C.C. 1969. Winter behavior and population dynamics of American eagles in western Utah, Ph.D. diss., Brigham Young Univ,, Provo, Utah. Enderson, J.H. 1964. A study of the Prairie Falcon in the central Rocky Mountain region. Auk 81:332-352. Fischer, D.L., K.L. Ellis & R.J. Meese. 1984. Winter habitat selection of diurnal raptors in central Utah. Raptor Res. 18:98-102. Fitch, H.S., F. Swenson & D.F. Tillotson. 1946. Behavior and food habits of the Red- tailed Hawk. Condor 48:205-237. Hegdal, P.L. & T.A. Gatz. 1979. Technology of radiotracking for various birds and mammals. Pp. 204-206 in Proceedings of the PECORA IV Symposium: ap- plication of remote sensing data to wildlife management. Natl. Wildl. Fed., Sci. & Tech. Series. Jennrich. R.I. & F.B. Turner. 1969. Measurements on non-circular home range. J. Theor. Biol. 22:227-237. Koplin. J.R. 1973. Differential habitat use by sexes of American Kestrels wintering in northern California. Raptor Res. 7:39-42. Meng, H. 1971. The Swedish goshawk trap. J. Wildl. Manage. 35:832-835. Mills, G.S. 1975. A winter population study of the American Kestrel in central Ohio. Wilson Bull. 87:241-247. Newton, I. 1979. Population ecology of raptors. Buteo Books, Vermillion, South Dakota. Page, G. & D.F. Whitacre. 1975. Raptor predation on wintering shorebirds. Condor 77:73-83. Parker, R.E. & E.G. Campbell. 1984. Habitat use by wintering birds of prey in southeastern Arizona. West. Birds 15:175-183. Peterson. L. 1979. Ecology of Great Horned Owls and Red-tailed Hawks in southeastern Wisconsin. Tech. Bull. No. 111. Dept. Nat. Res., Madison, Wisconsin. Schnell, G.D. 1968. Differential habitat utilization by wintering Rough-legged and Red-tailed hawks. Condor 70:373-377. Southern, W.E, 1963. Winter populations, behavior and seasonal dispersal of Bald Eagles in northwestern Illinois. Wilson Bull. 75:42-55. 113 WINTER RAPTOR MOVEMENTS South wood, T.R.E. 1966. Ecological methods. Methuen & Co., Ltd., London. Weller, M.W. 1964. Habitat utilization of two species of buteos wintering in central Iowa. Iowa Bird Life 34:58-62. Wilkinson, G.S. & K.R. Debban. 1980. Habitat preferences of wintering diurnal rap- tors in the Sacramento Valley. West. Birds 11:25-34. Accepted 15 December 1986 SEASONAL ANALYSIS OF A SOUTHWESTERN NEW MEXICO RIPARIAN BIRD COMMUNITY WILLIAM H. BALTOSSER, Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003 (present address: 5022 La Cienega NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87107) The lower Gila River Valley of southwestern New Mexico has some of the finest riparian habitat and the most diverse association of wildlife to be found in the entire lower Colorado River drainage {Zimmerman 1970, 1975; Hubbard 1971; Johnson etal, 1974). Over two-thirds of New Mexico’s total of 449 species of birds are known from the valley (Zimmerman 1975, Hub- bard 1977). In addition, the New Mexico portion of the Gila River Valley contains the greatest diversity of raptors in the lower Colorado River drainage and the largest number of endangered, threatened and peripheral bird species (Johnson et al. 1974). The present study was conducted to examine and quantify seasonal changes in avian composition, density and diversity along the Gila River. Comparisons of the present study with similar studies indicate numerous similarities, but the results reaffirm the richness of the avi- fauna in the New Mexico portion of the Gila River Valley. METHODS I established twenty contiguous study plots along the Gila River on the northeast side of the U.S. Highway 180 bridge (T15S, R17W, Sec. 33 & T16S, R17W, Sec. 4) in Grant County, New Mexico. Two types of habitat were recognized and subdivided accordingly: sandy riverbottom (5.30 ha) and adjacent woodlands (9.15 ha) composed of Fremont’s Cottonwood ( Populus fremontii ), Box-elder ( Acer negundo ), and Goodding’s Willow ( Salix gooddingii) stands (see Figures 1 & 2). Twenty-three weekly surveys were made between 4 January and 30 June 1975. Surveys were conducted according to methods outlined under the heading “Winter Bird-Population Study” in Audubon Field Notes (Anonymous 1950). The spot-map method (Williams 1936, Kendeigh 1944) was used in conjunction with the former methods to estimate breeding bird populations during May and June. Den- sities and size classes of trees in the wooded stands were measured during winter months by direct counts and checked against low-altitude aerial photographs, No effort was made to measure vegetation in the riverbottom because there was virtually no terrestrial and very little aquatic vegetation. Species diversity was calculated using the Shannon- Weaver (1949) infor- mation function, S H 1 = -I p f In pt i=l where S is the number of species, and p, is the proportion of the total number of individuals consisting of the ith species. This measure (H 1 ) has two separate components, species richness (S) and the equitability or evenness of species abundance (Lloyd and Ghelardi 1964, Tramer 1969). Species Western Birds 17:115-131. 1986 115 NEW MEXICO RIPARIAN COMMUNITY richness is simply the number of species in the sample. To measure the even- ness of abundance, I used the index J 1 = HVH 1 max in which H 1 max is In S. This index represents the ratio of the observed diversity to the maximum diversity possible for the same number of species. It has a maximum value of one when all species are equally abundant. AREA DESCRIPTION The study area is at an elevation of 1370 m and was the largest single stand of riparian woodland in the immediate vicinity. Surrounding areas included abandoned farm land to the west, farmed land to the east, and land similar to that of the study area to the north and south. Box-elder, cottonwood and willow trees within the study area produced a combined canopy cover of ap- proximately 80% , excluding the riverbottom and two small open areas. Box- elders attained heights up to 15 m, average densities of 41 trees per ha {ex- cluding saplings, which averaged 102 per ha) , and DBH (diameter at breast height) values from 26 to 64 cm (based on pooled averages from each of the 12 wooded study plots). Fremont’s Cottonwoods reached heights of 27 m, average densities of 14 trees per ha (virtually no saplings) , and DBH values from 36 to 128 cm. Goodding’s Willow stands attained heights of 12 m, average densities of 11 trees per ha, and DBH values from 29 to 47 cm. Cot- tonwoods and willows were well dispersed throughout the area, as were Box-elders, but the latter tended to be somewhat more concentrated in Figure 1. Panoramic view of a portion of the Gila River Valley study area looking south; area of study includes both the open sandy riverbottom in the foreground and densely wooded areas in the background. 116 NEW MEXICO RIPARIAN COMMUNITY southern portions of the study area. Small stands of Emory Baccharis ( Bac - charis emoryi) in southern portions of the study area were replaced in the more northern plots by Seepwillow ( Baccharis glutinosa) . The dense understory was also composed of fallen limbs, snags and the following plants: Chuchupate ( Ligusticum porteri), Buffaloweed ( Ambrosia trifida). Sweet Four-O’Clock (Mirabilis longiflora). Skunk-bush ( Rhus trilobata), and Western Virginia-Creeper (Parthenocissus inserta). RESULTS Species Composition and Seasonal Occurrence. Each of the 112 bird species observed during the study was grouped into one of four categories based on its seasonal occurrence and breeding status (Table 1). The four categories are: (1) winter birds (30 species), those present during January and February but not remaining to breed; (2) migrants (29 species), those present during months other than January and February but not remaining to breed; (3) summer residents (24 species), those not members of the former categories but nesting or using the area extensively during May and June; and (4) permanent residents (29 species), birds generally present throughout the 6-month period. Of the 30 winter species, only the Red-tailed Hawk, Brown Creeper, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Rufous-sided Towhee, Song Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco were consistently present. Others such as Green-winged Teal, Nor- thern Pintail, Northern Harrier, Golden Eagle, Prairie Falcon, Bushtit, Figure 2. Typical view of Gila River Valley wooded areas showing Goodding’s Willows in the foreground with Box-elders and Fremont’s Cottonwoods in the background. 117 NEW MEXICO RIPARIAN COMMUNITY Western Bluebird and Loggerhead Shrike were recorded within the area only once, although most were present in nearby areas throughout much of the period. The one Ring-billed Gull was merely a vagrant to the study area; the species is irregular in the lower Gila River Valley. The single Hermit Thrush observed on the first of February may have wintered in nearby habitats. Very few of the 29 migrant species remained for an extended period. Those lingering included Wilson’s Warbler, House Wren and Chipping Spar- row. Most of the remaining species were simply present one week and were gone by the next. Some, such as Broad-tailed Hummingbird, Painted Redstart, Western Tanager and Green-tailed Towhee, were common in other, generally more elevated, areas of the lower Gila River Valley during late spring and summer. Say’s Phoebe and Chihuahuan Raven were relative- ly common in open habitats adjacent to the study area but rarely ventured in- to the area itself. The Gray Flycatcher is a regular migrant in this area of New Mexico, but it is more typical of evergreen woodlands (John Hubbard in litt.). The Winter Wren and American Redstart are uncommon in the area but nonetheless may occur somewhat regularly in very low numbers. Most of the 24 summer species were continuously present after their initial arrival and all but three nested within the study area. Turkey Vultures and Cooper’s Hawks occasionally entered the study area but I obtained no evidence of nesting. The single American Crow observed in late May and early June was probably a vagrant, since the species was uncommon throughout the lower Gila River Valley prior to 1975. It has, however, become more common in the Valley during the past decade (Dale Zimmerman in litt.). The extended presence of Cliff Swallows resulted from the establishment of a nesting colony under the U.S. Highway 180 bridge, which formed the southern boundary of the study. Only six of the 29 permanent residents were observed on each of the 23 weekly surveys. All but two, however, were observed on 50% or more of the surveys. Despite the fact that Brown Towhees and Western Meadowlarks only occasionally entered the study area, I considered them residents because they were consistently seen and/or heard throughout the study in adjacent areas. The Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Common Merganser, Spot- ted Sandpiper, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Common Raven, Brown Towhee and Western Meadowlark did not nest within the confines of the study area, but all presumably nested in adjacent areas. Common Ravens are, however, known to have nested within the area during other years (Dale Zimmerman in litt.). The remaining 21 permanent residents are known to have nested within the study area during the course of my study (Table 1). Seasonal Variability, Variability in avian density, species richness, equitability, and bird species diversity in each habitat type are shown in Table 2. Avian density within riverbottom areas showed considerable monthly variation; there was less variation within the wooded areas. Seasonal density patterns within both riverbottom and wooded habitats showed expected seasonal trends; i.e., numbers were lowest during winter, highest during spring migration, and of intermediate magnitude during the breeding season. The number of species present throughout the entire 6-month period in river- bottom areas remained relatively constant, whereas that for wooded areas showed expected seasonal fluctuations. 118 NEW MEXICO RIPARIAN COMMUNITY x £ g 'G v a 5 t n V t/> 2 2 c fc g 2 3 c Q) — Jc I 3 j*: o <» ’C - g TO C > < fa- 0 ) S" > D- OC - -2 c g v £ § c fa- -a E E £ if TO C 3 (0 c - (0 g }=, ( j CD c C g c fa- fa- s £ u O w 'ft ^ o fa- >vj5 y - 5 s ^ E O' 3 g 5 (0 0>S **“ o 1 g <0 .2 T3 •- T3 O .£ 3 •r '*-* 5 w w q^TJ g . fa> JC o> O •*" 3 — C ,mm (0 X _ g xi 00 *- D • 0 ) 0 ? rH I g g _g 2 2 *0 0 S2 ca id ,fl ^ 9) lb 00 00 00 m 9) s S u u* u o 9) o *- B J £ 1 3 S 8 •p* U. « 10 •0 a» S •m (0 <*> 00 CO - (0 > !S v O O j_ o -a x 2^ 00 m o r-" 00 CO 00 a> .£ E B t-H On >M "O g « rH g o. v> 3 -o 2? c C (0 g o $S "S « faS Si c fa- g AJ 8 3 9) § 3 S ? S m CO CO 0 T3 NO 00 > 'S m ON ON O ON CM in oo rH CM Tt ON ON m co CM CO CO m NO m On CO t-- 00 CO N3* t'' 00 00 CM iri NO c 3 T) J0 g LU C 3 X) g UU Vm «3 £ c 3 "3 c 3 *3 c p a D J0 g U_ J- <0 £ C 3 c 3 *3 m r— 1 1 c (0 m rH JO g u_ rH t c 10 m rH 1 X) g UL 0 rH 1 Vp (0 £ rH 1 c to "3 O CO 1 s £ CO rH 1 C (0 m rH 1 -O g uu ON CM 1 C (0 ’-3 rH 1 a < O CO 1 p- (T3 £ r4* m ’Ct' m 0 00 CM rH m m pNj 0 NT rH rH rH CM rH rH CM VN rH Cu a £ CL ^ -c c c 9 * * _ _ c a <0 *- Q) C H — IE 3 £• .£ -2 O. Q, C ■2 8 | «j c ■£ "5 ’T o £ 2 5 2. 3^ a g S “ B) C _ S a c c t; 3 r^ a £1 3s -c fc g -s £-£ O <0 3 a 8 o g 3 g g « (0 g -5 X Op g c UJ ii « a jo Sjt (0 O OQ 2 3 C 5 c/> JS 3 X c "O i| g C «> J= 3 w 6 Cj fO JO cn «) 3 -*-1 .2 jc ■fc 3 «) «3 fa- "T“ g J - .9- "b 8 ^ < 8 u 3 C 3C g « 1 2 c « j: 2 X -g 8 55 8 8 3 g 1:0 a H C Ol a. o o t £ ^ g c 3 s ^ *m >,> 11 s is* O) > 3 JO w ft) U. e 3 ■3 O * ft) s § s i er § u 3 S U UL U O V u <- e .5 t c 3 § g ■M «*. 2 o E ® 3 ■o « 3 ** 3 +* (A c o U _Q) X 3 H 3 0) u ft) a (A 120 NEW MEXICO RIPARIAN COMMUNITY 00 eg 00 LA t-H eg l-H t-H 00 o 00 la CM c-H t-H t-H ^d* o 00 00 co o 00 00 c-H rH t-H t-H t-H 00 O' LA LO LA CO eg T 1 ’it ■3“ LA t'' 00 o t-H t-H LO Tt c-H co 00 00 o co rH LA 7 — 1 lA CO CO lA LA o CO lA o 'd' CO 'd' lO sd cd lA 3)" cd r^ ’sf lA lA t-H O' LA t-H t-H Wh a < -D ft) UL, c 3 "3 c 3 "3 c 3 —3 c 3 "3 l-H (0 2 c 3 *3 3t 3 2 3t 3 2 a < La a < eg t-H O CO ) LA eg eg o CO 1 o rH o co CO CO o eg LA 1 l c 3 "-ft X) ft) UL X) ft) UL c 3 -3 ■ c 3 -3 c 3 "3 c 3 -3 i c 3 *"3 3t 3 2 c 3 "3 i c 3 "3 C 3 "3 t-H o t-H LA eg LA eg 00 t-H C J£ 0) 3 .a 3 3 ' £ as "O 0) 5 — Ji ^ 8 OT-C ^ 3 0"^ <0 s •? o 3 £ "T 3 •o 00 ft) oc ’UU ^3 C •= , ft) = : -* c u O i S 8 I g*£ DC ft) -o ! §> c d-s s a.U (Cl B v "ft) ^'' : = X> — X p O -O £ G c ™ 3 O CA .CO <0 c ft) TJ o c a 5J 2 « O 2 eo 3 b~ U O 3 V) 3 *iZ "a E o -c CJ Q. .2 Cl <3 T3 S2 II 5 2 .9-0 3 Cl SJ 3 Jd" 3 O. C TJ u -s .= c o a c ra c -o c (A c C , >j _ co 3 C JS 'C — O to 3 - ^ g< s y . 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X o "O w CD 3 c -c c y JZ o JC CJ ■O JO cn c I E 3 X TJ 0) ~ _2 CQ QQ UJ 3 U k_ 0 a S O si U. 0 t) r £12 E Z* CJ -C ■t jC t: CO u " O 1 “ CD CD 3 CD a. ~a o o £ a c O k. o S CJ 3 to _3 3 -o ■S k. o to <0 3 a -c cn nT3 c X a ,o > E O 50 uj 2^0 121 Table 1 (Cont.) Monthly density First and last Frequency of (avg. no. individuals/ 40 ha) Species Status date of occurrence occurrence (%) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun NEW MEXICO RIPARIAN COMMUNITY in On On 00 On O ’sf no co lO on On 00 00 ON o in Nj" no m t'' CM O' On ON t'-' CO o NO ON m CO ON m in co m r-'- r-« co 00 00 Tt; in in in 00 'Cf o 00 co co’ ON CO co co i-H >. 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JS 10 OQ E§ to C 05 gs £ x .25 3 = £ S wi "a 0) r- c/) o 3 5 Q i H •o c CD W „ c - B 5 S-S o "si == 3 P 3 »- C 05 o C C 5 c -a «? e -H J» s Q E 0) o 3 |.E O 05 3 cS ^ o Z. ■£2 to S 3 o o „ a »- 52 ic _c a O -K -C -Q 3 .2 ft, r- » o 5 3 =3 X 3 O ® .2 |= Q. c > II = S2 c -2* ^ 2 o£« § 3 P O C w S C *55 o 5LT* « sop 3 u 124 NEW MEXICO RIPARIAN COMMUNITY m ^ x oo oo XX i— l i— l i-H as oo X VO X X X X X X X rH X Tt X X 'vf O' t*- lD 'd' 'd* t''~ o o ^ CM VO x oo l n \d Os vO X t'' OS Os X X o as o so as lO x o 00 r>- X 1 "H o X vq X o 00 X d i“H 00 X X CM H X X Os X X T-H 'd' rH X t-H VO 3, <0 2 x tL -• a < <0 2 J-N a < o X c 10 X " 3 “ c •o 00 rH c (0 X rH t-h S-. 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X r- x 1 — 1 r-» r- > — i co vD t d CO tO ' i i CM i i i rH o 1 1 I 00 CM o 1 CO CO d 1 1 Si o o to CO co ^ d co cm ^ s. t'' X X CO CM X 00 qo o> io d x O' TT CM CM d d CO d i— • X d CM rH § £ -a 5 x> 6 I >> C lo "O b > -O CM I o k csj i lO *-h csj »— 1 X "d 00 o 00 at _ Ct) o rH CM lD CO X to X CM co CM co i i 1 rH 1 1 i i ct) i i i at LO o 1 X o CO rH o ^Hl o O CO i-H CM rH rH CM rH 1 — - ’ — ^ ■ — ■ CN CSJ 4 3 6 Ct) CM r-' co CM CM CM rH rH CM rH CM CO CM CO CM CM 00 — (/) to ~ +* c © 3 H O (J d vO O CM rH LO X 00 CO CM X X d O' rH rH tO O' CM rf rH NXt' CM — ■ — ■ ' — ' ■ — ' cm X CM 00 CM X O CM X CO X ^ X rH i—i CM O CM co tt CM d x oo CM (0 <£ O « E- 0) >> CM CMddCMi-HXi— 'i— i d CO G X d C’I'JvDvOCVIlDtHth tO d vOvO X X X X X X vO X X X X X X X x a (J 0) <0 Q. DQ — CQtOQtOtOtOtnc/) O O Q tO Q O CQ tO CO CO CD -o 3 -4—1 -4-^ d 5 5 5^5 $ $ ; s 5 i ? 5 5 5 5 5 % ; o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o X o o O o O CO o o o o o o CO CO CO co o o CO d CO CO O ...... . ■> - - - o lo O X f" X o X at oo o at X r-~ rH ^H i-H d* X lO CSJ rH OXd df df CO CM X CM i — * l-H o o o o X •d 0 o O o O 0 o o o 0 o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 rH rH rH 1-1 o o o o o at oo 00 00 00 00 00 X 00 Oh r^. *d "d 1 'd M* d" •d CO CO CO CO co co CO CO CO CO X to > 4 -J C 3 o u CD -4-^ o Z "dj Q d 3 JS id ■3 d> § CQ 0 u *§ is p o 1 3 o £ a: _a> -4— < o > 0-5 5? -> DQ c E O Id to U a cl to to 3 'a Cl ^< n, 2 >> -£ ~ (d t 3 £22 -2 2 Z tO ■4—1 T1 k. J- -= CD CD J .5 > g DC od 3 o z ■R >> Cl id CO ca X o _ a* I uJ uu c 3 O U o c 'o o "O c CM 2 a> X o X o Id Ot CQ bm CD +-• tn Q> X u c Id 2 X (J Id 01 CQ jc c 3 O U io £ o c o to X u Id w CQ c Id i- o Q X X o Id Q> CQ O Z io C = so w ai u co =» 3> w HI 51 m DC CC j* . id D D. CL Q a „ to — a v- a 3 co 2 CO C d d C .£ i -1 CQ -4—1 C 3 O U o u CO X d CD g CQ c d D- UL C d co c d CD o 150 Beach Total Total Yearly median Yearly maximum Latitude type" years* counts* bird numbers c bird numbers' WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS _ CO _ Os „ ^ , _ CM „ ^ , K — . O' — ^ rH „ _ rH CM rH CO CO o r o l n lO o LO ■ct m o rH rH 1 CM 1 to u> o> x u <0 cy ■H -i 2 oS5 o cu <5 cy «— ■«— ro CO 0**0 -C ■j; ro ju C (U (JJ 3 ca « O CQ u-S jg g a- £ ro 8- 35 X .3 1- — nj w w C(/)ja.li/)a.a. |Q co &.§ 0 ) C ( s O-o U Q. m E o O 1> c <0 3 -*= I s CU O 1) 3 •r w O 3 . +-< c 3 o U N 3 u ro c ro co x o CQ 8 o ro CU -t- >- cu so ^ Cl ro | =-1 > cn-2 U v DC B O - N C to ra , 5 r- ® J— i_ CD O 1 - 1 ro c >s c .2. 3 ro CO CL X u ro cu CQ oo 3s § £ o -a U s 3^ cu §S 151 Moss Landing Salt Ponds 36° 49' 00" E 6(3) 25(22) 25(0-118) 45(0-130) Salinas River Mouth North 36° 46' 30" D 6(6) 60(53) 18(2-39) 33(5-60) Salinas River Mouth South 36° 45' 00" S 5 (5) 33 (29) 18 (8-32) 30 (10-80) Marina Beach 36° 42' 00" D 6(6) 35(25) 9(2-28) 22(2-48) Del Monte Beach 36° 36' 30" D 6(6) 69(62) 38(24-51) 50(44-69) Beach Total Total Yearly median Yearly maximum g ite Latitude type" years* counts* bird numbers 1 bird numbers' WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS — ct> oo vO i— i vO CM i * i >— i 00 © CM O' t-~ CM t— I H LO — . _ O CM t-h ^ ^ CO — . — CO 00 CO i— c . . O r-< CO . LO LO Mhh I CM rH cm CO i I i i— i i i i i in i—i CO O MN H CM CM lO O CM O O st C'- i—t CO CO t-h c 1 t-h cm co t" O' co [h- in t— 1 st — O' — o sf N CO h H I I l-H I 00 O'! 1 CM t-h lO CO cm 00 t" CM in CM t" CM mO . — . . — . CM CO QO in CM i-h i i i 00 O sf CM ooto t-h t-H lO co i o 00 ^_.^co „ qo co — in st co ,io to — — in r-- co io t-ht-ht-h t mD CM lO lO i i X t> i CM i i i i CO i i i i i O CM i t f— t lO O O O <— t lOOOOO'-^CMO'-H’-HC'rH i o o CM hh in cm co o t' in CM >- 1 © st *-■< CO st CO t in lO O CO 1—1 CM — . O' M5 t> — — CM h iO I s i i CM CM lO — 1 st O' cm 92.c3.0-S2- uor^MO lOincMioocinr^C'MninoiOiDHC.o o cm O' c- st st CM CO CO CO CM O t CM LO t-h^hCO sf LO CO C0CM'-H'-HCM'DCMMO2.CM^,inMO^,CMUn^ii£, 23 £. S- 0 MOiOCO COCMCMCMstlOCOiOsttStlOlOCMCMinCMlD St lO St lO Cl Cl O. CLCLCLQ.CLQCLDuCLDQQtnDQDQQ^ QQQD o o o CO CO co O' CM 00 co co t-h o o o £5 "5 E <5 CJ JC cj <0 01 CQ k. 3 c n c 5 CL JZ (J <0 O CD S* as O £ a S o a U) 35 O _ J gl cioa 0 ) u a to c 3 05 v 2 W . — I fy co c o CD E J£ CD 01 hr o p Uin O O o r, V c k- (0 < CL LO t 0 -iC CD s 2 ! 8 u l-H A 3 o u (— si u A 3 - 4 -j ® a cQ co r o to co CQ ~a to u in (0 CD CQ S 10 I iu £ X i u u cu 10 to - CD CD g CQ CQ jo O 0 U- E E o if) t£> LD cl d. O 3 o >- CD > ex 2 ‘C to 2 to ■4 — I £ tO LO r JO f- k-H j= z; >k v; C -2 CD 3 Z 3 CD o _* 1 - U w to H to v 3 J= O ■c 2 p k. CD > CJ *- -- £ DC lo 2 5 to 2 S h— JZ A 3 £ CO CO to N CD c > CO £ to CO 152 Beach Total Total Yearly median Yearly maximum Latitude type" years* counts* bird numbers' bird numbers' WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS o — .. O — _ if) h eg 00 CO I SsCO' I f-H I I I OCO'COO r-« . — . . — . , — .CM CM O ^ i-i CO 00 ^ I I I I o CO O 00 o CM CM CO i-i ON lO i r-l CO O lo \D I *3" 00 CM t— I LO 1141 i— i O th O CO ON ^ CO uO I I <-1 o if) CO CM O CM U0 CO CM 00 lO >— i i i*0 CM CM ^ rH t'' 00 •— 1 CM CO ^ O CO CO i— i i— i rt CO CM NO CM ^ . qp i In CO O' I fN* | I t on^oo CM 00 'Cf ^ O CM CO N H I — 1 1 _ uo ON CO O CM 00 i CM • i i cm O' ; — 1 00 CM — ^ Tf O CM h CM CM O' CO co MO — . CO . ^ CM i Tef* CO t— * O i i i i H O rt o CO iO OO On CM CO CO 00 CO '“i — ' M3 — . T — I CO I I C! S CO CM — . ON CO 00 o 00 o ON (O' o NO Cn t-H CM t-H t-H t-H CM ug H t-H NO eg H oo cm t-H t-H CO ’ ' — — ^ — — CT- CM QO CM CO CO CO NO 00 t-H NO 00 CO ON CM CM CM 00 CM CM CM H CO t-H t-H CO rH co CO NO NO rf t— i ^ NO NO U1 CO CM lO CM CO CM if) CM CO NO ^ CO CM NO CM CM ye * — * lO CM Q. (/) Cl D D DQQifl CQDDDDDD 10 SI Q> o DQ 10 X 3 (0 ro Ci) > CD ITS ■*—* CO <0 on *o Q) s a , 5 0) -Li Q O £ n o^u sz (J to 0 > CQ =K C g' ey c 3 o 3 o 2 <0 - U 3 no CO h- 3 C •p CO 5 ^ J= o 0) u CQ g> SO <1 gN J= u so 0 > c m O SO o .y - Cj) c # ® o CD-Is zx 0 ) oc 13 TO <0 > re o (0 -= 3 S t 0 (0 TSS m — 1 S U £ co u <0 c o CA Q> sz u 10 C O 3 TJ cn c w OJ o sa CO *0 10 QJ CD UJ DC c « 3 -y O CJU 8 .J c o sz u (0 0 ) CD c o -*-* cn c 153 Balboa/Newport Beaches 33 ° 36 ' 30 " U 3 ( 1 ) 6 ( 1 ) 0 ( 0 - 4 ) 0 ( 0 - 4 ) Crystal Cove 33 ° 34 ' 30 " B 6 ( 6 ) 134 ( 122 ) 7 ( 5 - 13 ) 12 ( 7 - 19 ) Aliso Beach 33 ° 30 * 30 " P 4 ( 1 ) 8 ( 2 ) 0 ( 0 - 1 ) 0 ( 0 - 1 ) Doheny State Beach 33 ° 27 ' 30 " B 5 ( 4 ) 20 ( 13 ) 6 ( 0 - 17 ) 8 ( 0 - 34 ) Beach Total Total Yearly median Yearly maximum Site Latitude type" years 6 counts 6 bird numbers' bird numbers' WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS — r - _ qo — _o — . ^co , s*oooisoocm— ~ tooo oo VO ^ r - 1 *-H CO ICO O' 1 i— I i i i i i O i O i i O i ONOOONJ'HO'ttf CM — ., 00 00 — s O 1—1 CO CM O CO i i MH i ^ CO I 1 O 1 -H CO o o comco^coini-iocooo CM CM CM CM 05 M3 t'' vO tO M3 O CO 1— I 1—1 CO —.O.-*,— .M30' , tf , G~-.r''U3 'X)COt--'vD-— CMCMCMO-CO p l i i i i p i i i i O 2 SiSS 9 .dlStS.lG COvOCO^COHOvOCMHCM i — 1 i — 1 i — 1 t-H CM 00 1—1 I CM CO CO _ — . t". 1-1 CO CM CO CM ' i CM On i Tf CM i i O 1 -P CO o o h MO PO o (Ji i — i i — ' h CO CM CM. — . . . . . 00 'd' CO 00 . . . . i— •'d'^lOCMCOCOCM^OO CO ri M" CJ CO H 2 MvovooiM , aioo'nioo' 1-1 i — p i— i CO CO CO lO 03 CM CO CO 00 ^^N^^lOlOincOCMCM CM03*3'<3 , *d'LOU30303CMCM ^ CO CM CM l£3 CO 1— 1 ^ CM CM CO MO CQCOZJCOClCOCOCODUJLU d Q (/) UJ UJ t/) C/) s » s o © o o o o o o o o o o O o o o o o o o O CO CO CO CO O o CO o o O o o co o o V 1* N ■V «* >1 V «k V V V *». *. v H CO CM CO 03 O 00 M3 CM M3 MD 03 i— i O' O' 00 03 co CM t-H rH 0 0 0 10 0300 ■tt *c? CO CM co co co o O 0 0 o 0 0 0 0 0 o o o 0 O o o o CO CO CO CO CO CO CM CM CM CM CM CM CM CM CM CM CM CM co co co co co co co co eo CO co CO CO CO CO co CO CO SI o >, (0 c ® § CQ O ® U o g ffo a s S c/> B • s, ® ffcc *2 o — i «* .-a t-J *-t in ^ £ .2. g 5 3 C C fO <0 tO 03 CO CO c o o 05 B 1—1 (A to *2 £ its 3 CO S' g 1 b .£ C 1 “ m <5i Ou CL -S5 o >1 *s (0 B C CQ CQ o C c ^ O 2 T 3 s a 8 22U. ® DC -D o o 0 ) c 05 in o -1 ~0 — ft 05c — to w £ i n B £ 5 J2 M to C c u r SJ o B ^ 0 U- CQ CO Z > B J= ffl B 0 >u rn " «J= CQ -*-• 25E cO cO • •a ^ 2 g I ■H il <0 CO CQ 5 q5 B ® 5c Ck> 3 « 3 co Q co JZ - 4 — ■ ■g | s E “cri B itJ ‘C C <55 B a 3 154 “ For explanation of codes, see Methods section in text. * Numbers in parentheses are numbers of counts on which plovers were found. c Numbers are grand medians; numbers in parentheses are range of medians. WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS Table 2. Densities of Snowy Plovers along the mainland California coast. Counties Km of sand beach" Breeding density 6 Winter density 6 Winterer/ breeder ratio 1 Del Norte, Humboldt & Mendocino 196.8 0.41 0.45 1.1 Sonoma & Marin 69.8 0.57 4.67 8.2 San Francisco & San Mateo 54.5 0.24 2.61 10.9 Santa Cruz & Monterey 69.7 2.37(1.69) 7.73(7.09) 3. 3(4. 2) San Luis Obispo & Santa Barbara 193.3 1.26 3.76 3.0 Ventura. Los Angeles, & Orange 200.2 0.77(0.68) 1.71(1.71) 2. 2(2. 5) San Diego 102.2 2.51(1.22) 3.39(1.80) 1.4(1. 5) ° From Anon. (1971). 6 Densities in parentheses exclude birds in coastal wetlands and salt flats. For density calculations see Methods. Mendocino County: Only 13% of Mendocino County’s 193-km shoreline is sandy beach. We estimated 25 wintering plovers (Table 1); Page and Stenzel (1981) estimated 15 breeders in 1977. MacKerricher Beach was the main area used by plovers at both seasons. Other sites, checked once or twice, which produced no plovers were the Howard Creek, Wages Creek, Noyo River and Navarro River mouths, and the Caspar, Russian Gulch, Van Damme, and Fish Rock beaches. Sonoma County: Only 18% of the 100-km Sonoma County shoreline is sandy beach. Our estimate of 93 winterers, at two sites in the Bodega Bay area (Table 1), likely overestimates the population size. Frequent and coor- dinated censuses showed that birds shifted between sites during the winter, making the sum of the maximum counts higher than the number of birds ac- tually present. From censuses conducted simultaneously at the two sites, the median of maximum winter counts over the six years was only 72 birds. Other sites, which produced no plovers, were the Sonoma Coast State Beaches, surveyed 9 to 17 times over to a 2- to 3-year period, and the Gualala River mouth, surveyed 10 times between 1982 and 1985 and monthly from October 1975 to March 1979 (W. Eastman pers. comm.). Marin County: Forty-six percent of Marin County’s 113-km shoreline is sandy beach with an estimated 233 wintering Snowy Plovers (Table 1). The main wintering areas are Drakes and Limantour spits, Point Reyes Beach, Dillon Beach, and the spit at Bolinas Lagoon. All but Dillon Beach are breeding sites (Page and Stenzel 1981). The north and south sections of Point Reyes Beach are contiguous and should be considered as one area. They are separated in Table 1 because census data for the two segments were frequently obtained on different dates. Wintering Snowy Plovers shift between Drake’s and Limantour spits during the winter. A subset of censuses 155 WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS taken on the same or consecutive days at Drakes and Limantour spits in- dicated that 80 birds, rather than the 102 indicated by our general technique, would be a more accurate estimate for the two areas combined. Other sites, which produced no plovers, were Estero de San Antonio (9 surveys over 2 years), Estero Americano (8 surveys over 2 years), McClures Beach (7 surveys in 1 year), Blakes Landing on Tomales Bay (1 survey), Muir Beach (48 surveys in 6 years) , and Rodeo Lagoon (28 surveys in 6 years) . San Francisco County: We estimated a winter population of 14 plovers for the 9.3 km of sand beach in San Francisco County, which extends along 13.4 km of coastal shoreline. All plovers occurred on Ocean Beach, which receives very heavy recreational use. San Mateo County: We estimated 128 wintering Snowy Plovers for the 45 km of sandy beach along San Mateo County’s 90-km shoreline. Wintering birds occurred at nine sites (Table 1) , whereas the species is known to breed at only four: Pomponio, Pescadero, Aho Nuevo, and Gazos Creek (Page and Stenzel 1981, authors’ unpubl. data). It is likely that there was con- siderable overlap between wintering birds counted at Princeton Harbor and on the state beaches around Half Moon Bay. We also found color-banded plovers moving between Gazos Creek and Pescadero, between Gazos Creek and Aho Nuevo, and between Pescadero and Pomponio beaches. Other sites, checked one to four times, that produced no plovers were Thornton, Montara, Moss, Pillar Point, Tunitas Creek, Fiddlers Cove, and Bean Hollow beaches. Santa Cruz County: Forty-five percent of the 68-km shoreline of Santa Cruz County is sandy beach. We estimated 202 wintering plovers at nine sites (Table 1); the Pajaro River mouth is clearly the most important of these. The birds at Sunset Beach were part of the Pajaro River mouth population. The Pajaro River mouth was frequently visited by birds from as far north as Wilder Beach and infrequently visited by birds from as far south as the Salinas River. Birds at Wilder Creek, Seabright State Beach, and the San Lorenzo River mouth were largely the same individuals. Color-banded birds also moved between Scott and Waddell creeks and between Scott and Laguna creeks. Santa Cruz sites used only by wintering birds were Scott Creek, Davenport Beach, Seabright State Beach, and the San Lorenzo River mouth. Davenport Beach and the San Lorenzo River mouth received only incidental winter use (Table 1) . Several sites were checked regularly and pro- duced no plovers: Yellowbank Creek, Majors Creek, Younger Lagoon, Natural Bridges (each 23 to 29 surveys over 3 to 5 years) , and Moran/Cor- coran Lagoons Beach (81 surveys over 6 years). Sites, surveyed once or twice a winter, that held no birds were Greyhound Rock and Baldwin Creek (each 1 year), Twin Lakes State Beach, (3 years), Capitola Beach (5 years), and New Brighton Beach (4 years) . Monterey County: We estimate 337 wintering Snowy Plovers (Table 1) along the 22% of Monterey County’s 179-km shoreline that is sandy beach. Except for birds at Point Sur, all the wintering plovers in Monterey County are on or close to Monterey Bay. The major roosting sites are Moss Landing (both in the salt ponds and at Jetty Road), the Salinas River mouth, Marina Beach, Del Monte Beach, Asilomar Beach, and the Carmel River mouth. We found little evidence that wintering Snowy Plovers used the salt 156 WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS evaporators at Moss Landing until 1982 when some levees broke and the evaporators were subjected to tidal action. Subsequently, wintering plovers have occurred there regularly. Birds from as far north as Wilder Beach and as far south as Marina Beach intermittently moved from their usual roosting sites to the salt ponds. Since 1983 there has been a regular movement of birds between the Pajaro River mouth and the salt ponds. Snowy Plovers breed at all sites listed in Table 1 except for Del Monte Beach, Asilomar Beach, and the Carmel River mouth. The Little Sur River mouth, near Point Sur, was not found to hold plovers on five checks made over four years. San Luis Obispo County: We estimated 398 wintering Snowy Plovers (Table 1) along the 53 km of sandy beach in this county with 150 km of coastline. The plovers occurred at several pocket beaches north of Morro Bay, but the major concentrations were at Morro Bay and at the Nipomo Dunes, including the Santa Maria River mouth. Cayucos Creek received only incidental plover use (Table 1). For the area from San Carpoforio Creek to Morro Bay sandspit, we recorded movements of color-banded birds be- tween San Carpoforio and Arroyo Laguna Creek, San Carpoforio and San Simeon State Beach, San Carpoforio and Atascadero, Arroyo Laguna Beach and San Simeon, Arroyo Laguna Creek and Atascadero, San Si- meon State Beach and Atascadero, Cayucos Creek and Atascadero, and Atascadero and the Morro Bay spit. At the Nipomo Dunes we found that marked birds moved between Pismo Beach and the Santa Maria River mouth. Many of the pocket beaches with wintering birds between San Carpoforio and Cayucos creeks are not Snowy Plover breeding sites. Breeding occurs mainly in the Morro Bay and Nipomo Dune areas (Page and Stenzel 1981). Beaches at Arroyo Honda, San Simeon Bay, Little Pico Creek, Leffingwell Landing, Old Creek, and Port San Luis were each check- ed once and Santa Rosa Creek Beach was checked 7 times, but no wintering plovers were found. Santa Barbara County: We estimate 329 wintering plovers for this county (Table 1), which has 177 km of coastline and 140 km of sand beach. Surveys of all Santa Barbara sites, except Carpenteria State Beach, in November 1984 and February 1986 produced counts of 242 and 340 birds, respective- ly. The major concentrations of wintering birds were at Purisima Point Beach (reported as Shuman Creek north, San Antonio Creek north, and Purisima Point north in Table 1), at the Santa Ynez River mouth, and at Devereaux Beach. Marked Snowy Plovers moved between Devereaux and Goleta beaches; it is likely that there is interchange between these areas and Santa Barbara Harbor as well. Sites used by wintering but not by breeding birds in- clude Jalama Beach, Goleta Beach, Santa Barbara Harbor, and Carpenteria State Beach. Beaches at Gaviota, Refugio, El Capstan, and Leadbetter were also surveyed once or twice, but no plovers were found. Ventura County: Ninety-nine percent of the 66-km Ventura County shoreline is sand beach, holding an estimated 210 wintering Snowy Plovers (Table 1). Our November 1984 survey of all sites except San Buenaventura Beach (28 of the 210 birds) produced 171 Snowy Plovers. The main con- centrations of wintering and breeding birds (Page and Stenzel 1981) are at Mugu Lagoon and Ormond Beach, which are contiguous. The Santa Clara River mouth and San Buenaventura Beach are also contiguous and probably 157 WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS have an interchange of birds. Beaches at Solimar and Port Hueneme were surveyed once, and Emma K. Wood State Beach 5 times, but no plovers were found. Los Angeles County: Sand beach occurs along 68% of the 119-km Los Angeles County shoreline. We estimated a winter population of 105 birds (Table 1) but found only 58 birds on our November 1984 survey. Although we list birds at seven sites, Malibu Lagoon and Corral beaches are contiguous as are the last four Los Angeles County sites in Table 1. Thus wintering Snowy Plover areas in Los Angeles County are more accurately considered as three: Zuma Beach, Corral Beach to Malibu Lagoon, and Santa Monica to Torrance beaches. We have no information on winter movement of plovers among these areas. Single surveys of beaches at Long Beach and Bluff Cove yielded no plovers. Orange County : Eighty percent of Orange County’s 68-km shoreline is sand beach, with an estimated 27 winterers (Table 1). Our November 1984 survey tallied 38 birds, mainly at Crystal Cove, Doheny State Beach, and Bolsa Chica. Bolsa Chica, Huntington, Balboa, and Newport beaches are contiguous and probably have an interchange of birds. Of the areas with wintering birds only Bolsa Chica is also used by breeders (Page and Stenzel 1981). Four to five censuses each at Seal Beach, Upper Newport Bay, and Laguna Beach yielded no plovers. San Diego County: San Diego County has 122 km of shoreline, 83% of which is sand beach. We estimate 346 wintering birds for the county (Table 1), as compared to 257 winterers on our November 1984 survey. We have no estimate for the Western Salt Works, which had 31 breeding birds in 1978 (Page and Stenzel 1981) and for which there is one winter specimen dated 13 January 1968 in the San Diego Natural History Museum. Our survey team found 21 plovers at Las Flores Creek mouth at Camp Pendleton on 29 November 1984, but no plovers were found on a single survey done the previous winter. One banded bird was seen at Silver Strand and at the San Dieguito River estuary during the 1982 winter, and at San Dieguito and Los Penasquitos lagoons during the 1983 winter. We have no other information on the movement of birds in San Diego County. The beach at Buena Vista Lagoon was surveyed 7 times over 2 winters and yielded no plovers. Sites surveyed 1 to 4 times that held no plovers include Aliso Canyon mouth, Carlsbad Beach, Whale Point, La Jolla Beach, Mission Beach, and Point Loma. San Francisco Bay Snowy Plovers have wintered on San Francisco Bay since at least the late 1800s, as evidenced by specimens dated 25 December 1893 (1) and 14 December 1898 (3) in the California Academy of Sciences. Our survey coverage of the extensive and virtually inaccessible privately owned salt evaporators on south San Francisco Bay was limited and undoubtedly resulted in an underestimate of current winter numbers. Our winter popula- tion estimate of 153 birds (Table 3) compares with breeding-period estimates of 351 birds in 1978 (Henderson and Page 1981) and 270 in 1984 (Point Reyes Bird Observatory [PRBO] unpubl. data). The only winter area covered regularly was Alameda South Shore, where there are records of 158 WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS Table 3. Summary of winter Snowy Plover counts in San Francisco Bay. Site Years 0 Counts 6 Yearly maximum numbers 1 Alameda South Shore 6 (6) 63(32) 33 (21-58) Hayward Shoreline Park 2 (2) 7 (2) 4 (1-7) W of Baumberg salt evaporators Coyote Hills to Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct 3 (3) 3 (3) 61 (42-87) salt evaporators Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct to Coyote Creek 3 (3) 17 (15) 5 (1-28) salt evaporators 2 (2) 8 (6) 36 (7-66) Foster City area salt evaporators 3 (2) 4(4) 5 (0-33) Redwood Cr. to Steinberger Slough 4 (2) 9 (6) 9 (0-38) • Numbers in parentheses are numbers of years in which plovers were found. b Numbers in parentheses are numbers of counts on which plovers were found. c Numbers are grand medians; numbers in parentheses are range of medians. Snowy Plovers dating back to at least 1962 (ABN) . Our high count for this area was 58 birds (Table 3); however, there is a report from there of 100 Snowy Plovers on 24 February 1964 (ABN). Elsewhere in San Francisco Bay most wintering Snowy Plovers were found at salt evaporators. The largest concentration was west of Baumberg, which had a high count of 87. birds (Table 3) . Larger numbers of Snowy Plovers were reported here during and after our surveys. On 14 February 1980 there were at least 100 birds (ABN), on the Hayward-Fremont CBC, 23 December 1985, 113 birds (ABN), and on 22 February 1986, 332 birds (H. Cogswell pers. comm.). We did not survey Oakland International Airport, where there were 30 Snowy Plovers on 18 December 1983 (ABN), or San Pablo Bay, where eight were reported on 3 February 1983 at Point Pinole, Comra Costa County (R. Erickson pers. comm.). On the basis of currently available information, we suspect the wintering plover population of San Francisco Bay to be 350 to 500 birds. The Channel Islands Spear (1981) estimated at least 260 breeders on San Nicolas, San Miguel, and Santa Rosa islands combined, from censuses conducted between 1978 and 1980. Snowy Plovers winter on all of these as well as on San Clemente, Santa Catalina, and Santa Cruz islands. L. Jones (in litt.) describes the Snowy Plover as common on San Nicolas Island in the winter. He noted monthly peaks of 46 birds on 10 February 1974, 33 on 17 November 1976, 39 on 11 December 1977, and 49 on 14 January 1977. Additionally we have censuses for Jetty and Daytona beaches of 14 birds on 22 December 1976, 17 on 15 January 1977, and 15 on 12 February 1977, and for Dutch Harbor of 14 birds on 26 February 1984. We have no records for San Miguel Island but agree with L. Jones (in litt.) that this is undoubtedly due to the lack of winter visits by ornithologists. Monthly peaks for Santa Rosa Island of 40 159 WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS birds on 12 December 1973, 1 on 23 February 1976, 10-15 on 8 November 1976, and 1 on 25 January 1977 were reported by L. Jones (in litt.) . For San Clemente Island, Jones (in litt.) has records of 10 birds on 8 December 1976 and 1 on 16 December 1976. There are additional records of single birds at Horse Beach on 16 December 1972 and 3 January 1980, 3 birds at Northwest Harbor on 9 November 1975, 6 birds at Pyramid Cove on 10 November 1975, and 2-23 (median = 15) birds at West Cove on nine dates between 7 January 1976 and 21 January 1981 (L. Salata in litt.). The only records for Santa Catalina Island are of 1 bird on 1 January 1975, 8 on 28 February 1976, and 8 on 23 November 1976 (L. Jones in litt.). L. Jones’ (in litt.) monthly high counts for Santa Cruz Island were 33 birds on 9 November 1975, 40 on 7 December 1975, 11 on 18 January 1976, and 18 on 22 February 1976. We have additional records of 3 birds at Fraser Point on 21 December 1976 and, for beaches on the southwest portion of the island, 21 birds on 25 January 1977 and 28 birds on 20 February 1977 (PRBO unpubl. data) . If the ratio of winterers to breeders on the Channel Islands is similar to that on the mainland coast nearby, there could be up to (2.63 x 260 =) 684 Snowy Plovers wintering on the Channel Islands; however, given the low numbers reported above (under 240, total), it is likely that many fewer than this number winter there. The Interior of California The only confirmed, regularly used, interior wintering area is the Salton Sea. However, Snowy Plovers probably winter regularly now in the newly created irrigation-runoff evaporation ponds on the former Tulare Lake bed, 30 km south of Corcoran, Kings County. Up to 37 Snowy Plovers have been recorded on Salton Sea CBCs since 1968. Our surveys located 1-6 Snowy Plovers at Salt Creek on six dates be- tween 12 Janaury and 5 February from 1980 to 1983, 8 at Niland Marina on 19 December 1979, 12 at the south end of the Salton Sea on 18 December 1979, 8 at the end of Poe Road on 18 January 1982, and 15 along the Salton City shore on 19 December 1979. These sites supported 112 of the 226 breeders found by Henderson in the 1978 survey (Page and Stenzel 1981). At one additional site, Red Hill Marina near the Alamo River mouth, two surveys done in January 1985 turned up no birds. Although we current- ly cannot estimate the size of the winter population, given the information ob- tained thus far, we believe that it is smaller than that of the breeding population. In Kings County there were 3 birds in the South Wilbur Flood Area, Tulare Lake, on 10 January 1980 (ABN). H. Coe (in litt.) found up to 36 Snowy Plovers on 18 censuses of varying areas of the irrigation-runoff ponds at Tulare Lake during the 1983 winter. The ponds were constructed between 1980 and 1983; up to 126 adult-sized birds were found there during the summer of 1982 (Ivey 1984). It is likely Snowy Plovers now winter regularly at the evaporation ponds but more data are needed to confirm this. The only other winter records from this area are two birds at Tulare Lake on 1 November 1983 (ABN), one bird on the old lake bed on the Creighton Ranch -Corcoran CBC, 29 December 1985 (R. Hansen pers. comm ), and eight birds in the Tulare Lake basin on 22 December 1985 (ABN). 160 WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS Elsewhere in the California interior the Snowy Plover is currently known as only an irregular winterer; however, most potential inland sites are seldom visited by observers in winter. In Los Angeles County there are winter records of 1 bird at the Lancaster Sewage Ponds from December 1981 through February 1982 (McCaskie 1982), and at Rosamond Lake of 26 birds on 17 December 1983 and 2 birds on 15 December 1984 (F. Heath in litt.). All these birds were located on Lancaster CBCs, which commenced in 1979. There are four winter records for Owens Lake, Inyo County; 1 bird on 27 December 1890 (Fisher 1893), 2 birds on 3 January 1975 (McCaskie 1975), 2 birds on 11 Janaury 1976 (T. Heindel in litt.), and 1 bird on the Lone Pine CBC, 15 December 1984 (D. Gaines pers comm ). Further survey of Rosamond and Owens lakes specifically for Snowy Plovers might show that they winter there more regularly than current records indicate. Other interior records are from El Dorado County, Lake Tahoe, 1 bird on 11 and 12 November 1961 (McCaskie in litt.); Merced County, Volta, 1 bird on 17 February 1965 (Chase 1965); Kern County, Lake Isabella, 1 bird on 25 January 1985 (McCaskie 1985); San Bernardino County, East Cronese Lake, 1 bird on 19 November 1978 (McCaskie 1979); Riverside County, Lake Elsinore, 6 birds on 11 December 1981 (D. Willick in litt.) and 10 birds on 30 January 1982 (McCaskie 1982); and San Diego County, Lake Henshaw, 1 bird on 5 November 1978 (McCaskie 1979), and Lake Hodges, 2-3 birds during the 1979-80 winter (Garrett and Dunn 1981) and 2 birds on 6 November 1982 (PRBO unpubl. data). Unitt (1984) considered the 5 November Lake Henshaw bird to be a migrant, as may be true of the other early November sightings. We suspect that at most 300 Snowy Plovers winter at the interior of California, mostly at the Salton Sea and in the San Joaquin Valley. A few other areas, such as Owens Lake and dry lakes in the Mohave Desert, may prove to have small but regular wintering populations; however, it appears that the Snowy Plover is an irregular winterer throughout most of the interior of the state. Historical California Winter Population We suspect that development and human recreation, by altering habitat quantity and quality, has reduced winter numbers of Snowy Plovers along the California coast within the past 100 years, as has been described for the breeding period (Page and Stenzel 1981) However, the historical data on winter numbers needed to test this hypothesis are insufficient. We examined coastal Christmas Bird Counts made annually from 1962 to 1984 to detect any trends in winter numbers of Snowy Plovers during this period. For both northern and southern California CBCs we used the raw sums of the Snowy Plover totals to test the hypothesis of no change in winter numbers against an alternative hypothesis of a downward trend. The effect of a probable increase in area coverage (due to increased numbers of observers) over the 23-year period undoubtedly makes this a conservative test. In southern California, the Spearman rank correlation, -0.489, between number of plovers and year, is significantly less than 0 (P = 0.019), while in northern California the rank correlation, 0. 152, is not significantly less than 0 (P = 0.7623) (Fig. 2). Many factors contribute to variability in these 161 WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS Christmas Count totals, so this strong circumstantial evidence for a decrease in the size of the southern California winter population is particularly in- teresting. The quality of the habitat in winter might be diminished by direct disturbance factors such as heavy human use and indirect factors that could reduce food resources on beaches. During a survey of southern California beaches, D. Shuford (pers. comm.) noted that the daily mechanical raking of some beaches in winter effectively removed all wrack and thoroughly dis- turbed the upper layer of sand. It would be valuable to know the effect of this activity on the plovers’ invertebrate prey. We examined the locations of 103 museum specimens collected at 29 California sites during the winter between 1861 and 1978. During our 1979 to 1985 survey period, wintering Snowy Plovers were recorded at, or within a few kilometers of, all these locations. They were also recorded at, or within a few kilometers of, all locations confirmed as historical breeding areas by the presence of eggs in museum collections as recorded by Page and Stenzel (1981). Consequently we can report that Snowy Plovers winter at, or close to, all known areas of historical use. A decline, if it has occurred, must be manifested mostly by reduced numbers using particular coastline segments rather than by the elimination of all birds from formerly used wintering habitat. Other Western States Snowy Plovers winter in small numbers on the Oregon coast and sparingly along the lower Colorado and Gila rivers in Arizona. They are rare and ir- regular in winter in other western states. Winter surveys of plovers in coastal Oregon between 1979 and 1985 (Table 4) suggest that up to 100 birds winter in that state. The only interior Oregon winter record is of three birds seen by J. Scharff at Harney Lake on 27 February 1968 (G. Ivey in litt. ) ; these may have been early spring arrivals. R. Widrig (in litt.) reports that wintering birds are rare in coastal Washington, where there are sightings of 1-9 birds at Leadbetter Point between 19 December 1978 and 26 February 1979. We are unaware of any winter records for interior Washington or Nevada. Breeding-population estimates for the same areas are: Washington coast, 32 (E. Cummins pers. comm.); Oregon coast, 84 (C. Bruce pers. comm.); Oregon interior, 1032 (Herman et al. 1981); and Nevada, 969 (Herman et al. 1981). Consequently only about 100 Snowy Plovers winter where the breeding population is estimated at 2117 birds. In the Southwest, Snowy Plovers winter regularly but sparingly along the lower Colorado and Gila rivers (Monson and Phillips 1981). Additionally, there are Arizona winter records of a bird at Phoenix on the 28 December 1963 CBC, one to two at Tucson between 11 October and 3 December 1971 (Monson 1972), one at Lake Havasu on 20 January 1982 (Witzeman 1982), and one at Wilcox on 31 December 1976 (Witzeman et al. 1977). The only winter Snowy Plover records for New Mexico are 1 to 2 birds in the vicinity of Salt Lake, east of Loving, from 9 to 27 January 1975 (Witzeman et al. 1975), a single bird at Laguna Grande on 28 December 1976 (Witzeman et al. 1977), and one at Hollomon Lakes, Otero Co., on 23 February 1985 (Hubbard 1985). Twenty individuals at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge until at least 2 November 1973 (Parker 1974) were likely late 162 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS £ sT § ® O c U ° •!= Q> DQ 1/5 O (/j "3 2 c E (/> Jr CD w jg o o - .c -o « ( g s 10 CO .2 > r = O > -S & c « ® »- L / CD JS: tj cO .2 c M— U. o o I (/) c Je fl3 qj CO . c o c 3 o O C CD CD T3 CL '53 CO c o 33 Im o a o 163 WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS Table 4. Number of Snowy Plovers at coastal Oregon sites during five winters. Site 1979 1983 1984 1985 1986 Clatsop County Clatsop Beaches — 0 0 1 0 Tillamook County Nehalem Spit — 2 — 0 0 Bayocean Spit — 10 10 11 13 Sand Lake Spits — 7 0 0 0 Lane County Sutton Beach 30 28 5 24 11 Siltcoos River area 6 0 0 12 13 Douglas County Umpqua River area 10 4 12 0 0 Coos County Horsfall Beach — 0 3 0 0 Coos Bay Area 42 12 0 9 18 New River area 6 13 13 8 17 Curry County Euchre Creek 8 2 0 1 0 TOTALS 102 78 43 66 72 migrants. A specimen labeled Roswell Lake, December 1925, which was questioned by Hubbard (1970), may be valid in light of the other recent winter records from New Mexico. Baja California and Mainland Mexico Wilbur (1987) described the Snowy Plover as a common resident locally on sandy beaches of both coasts of Baja California. He speculates that it may occur more widely in winter than in summer. We confirm that wintering Snowy Plovers occur in widely separate locations along both Baja coastlines (Table 5). Application of our methods to Wilbur’s data and to sightings reported to us from 1979 to 1985 produced a winter estimate of 397 birds (Table 5), but this probably represents a small proportion of the actual numbers because most winter records resulted from casual observations rather than directed surveys. Additionally, the records are few and represent only a small fraction of the extensive potential habitat. We suspect the number of Snowy Plovers wintering in Baja California approaches or ex- ceeds the number in Upper California. On the eastern shore of the Gulf of California a sizable Snowy Plover population winters at Puerto Pehasco. Five Puerto Penasco CBCs during our survey years had 48 to 252 (median = 243) birds. Wintering Snowy Plovers occur along the same coastline at least as far south as San Bias, where six 164 WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS Table 5. Counts of wintering Snowy Plovers in Baja California, 1978- 1985.“ Site Years 6 Counts* Yearly maximum numbers' 1 Pacific Coast Rosarito Beach 3 (2) 4 (3) 2 (0-8) Las Gaviotas 1 (1) 1 (1) 8 La Salina 1 (1) 2 (2) 47 Bahia de Todos Santos 2 (2) 3 (3) 96 (8-184) Isla San Martin 4 (3) 9 (8) 4 (0-10) San Quintin area 3 (3) 5 (5) 19 (5-222) Laguna Manuela 3(3) 8(8) 22 (18-31) Laguna Manuela Island 1 (1) 1 (1) 28 Estero de San Jose 1 (1) 1 (1) 19 Guerrero Negro 3 (3) 3 (3) 4 (3-8) San Ignacio Lagoon 5 (5) 6 (6) 37 (17-45) Magdalena Bay 6(6) 12 (12) 44 (5-75) Punta Marques 1 (1) 1 (1) 11 Cabo San Lucas 3 (3) 4(3) 3 (1-3) Gulf Coast Bahia de Pescadero 2 (2) 2 (2) 16 (12-20) Punta Chivata 3 (3) 3(3) 10 (3-15) Bahia Concepcion 1 (1) 1 (1) 1 El Requesion 1 (1) 1 (1) 3 Rancho Liqui 1 (1) 1 (1) 3 San Jose Del Cabo 1 (1) 1 (1) 20 “ Data from our surveys and Wilbur (1987). * Numbers in parentheses are numbers of years in which plovers were found. 1 Numbers in parentheses are numbers of counts on which plovers were found. d Numbers are grand medians; numbers in parentheses are range of medians. CBCs during our survey period reported 1 to 33 (median = 17) birds. We are uncertain about the winter status of Snowy Plovers in the remainder of Mexico, especially in regard to race and origin. Birds wintering in eastern Mexico likely are probably of the paler race C.a. tenuirostris, which occurs from the southern Great Plains and Gulf of Mexico coast through the West Indies to northern South America (Johnsgard 1981). The validity of the distinction between niuosus and tenuirostris has been disputed (e.g., Blake 1977). Population Shifts between Breeding and Wintering Grounds We found only a few hundred Snowy Plovers wintering in the interior of the western states in contrast to recent counts of 3844 breeders in interior California, Oregon and Nevada (Page and Stenzel 1981, Herman et al. 1981). Our surveys revealed 6 of 86 females but none of 44 male breeders color-banded at Mono Lake, Mono County, wintering on the California coast. One female was sighted on 15 dates between 9 September 1981 and 25 March 1982, and on 13 dates between 14 September 1982 and 23 165 WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS March 1983 at Del Monte Beach, Monterey Bay. Two breeding females from Mono Lake wintered at Devereaux and Goleta beaches in Santa Barbara County. One was seen at Devereaux Beach on four dates between 27 November 1981 and 20 March 1982, and on seven dates between 6 August 1982 and 6 November 1982. The other bird was sighted at both Goleta and Devereaux beaches 21 times over dates spanning five winters from 1981 to 1985. One female from Mono Lake was encountered during four winters (1979-1982) and another during two (1981 and 1982) at Malibu Lagoon, Los Angeles County. One other Mono Lake female was sighted during the winter of 1980-1981 and in the late fall of 1981 on San Clemente Island. Birds marked as chicks at Mono Lake also were found on the coast be- tween fall and spring. One was seen either at Pismo Beach or the Santa Maria River mouth on five dates between 14 December 1979 and 25 February 1980, one at Purisima Point Beach, Vandenberg Air Force Base, on 5 January 1983 and 14 November 1984, another at Purisima Point Beach on 20 April 1982 and 19 January 1983, and one at Atascadero Beach on four dates between 5 September and 25 November 1982 and on 8 and 13 September 1983. One was seen in Baja California at Magdalena Bay on 31 January 1984. These results verify that many birds breeding in interior western North America migrate to coastal sites for the winter. Some coastal birds also are migratory. In Oregon several adults color- banded on nests in 1978 were relocated near their nesting site during winter in 1979 (Wilson-Jacobs pers. comm.). However, two males that bred near Newport, Oregon, spent the winter in the Point Reyes area in 1978 and 1979. Those plovers that migrate from Monterey Bay breeding sites for winter may go either north or south. Breeders from Monterey Bay have wintered as far north as Humboldt Bay in northern California and as far south as San Quintin Bay in Baja California. These results, too extensive to report here, are the subject of continuing analysis. Comparison of Wintering and Breeding Numbers in the West Warriner et al. (1986) found that Snowy Plovers fledged at least 0.8 to 0.9 young per female over a six-year period; therefore in early winter there could be 0.8N (where N = number of female breeders) more birds than in the preceding summer. Males outnumber females by as much as 1.4: 1.0 in the breeding population and, at least in the interior, are more readily detected on censuses than females (Warriner et al. 1986). Both in the interior and on the coast raw survey data likely underestimate population size (Page and Stenzel 1981, Warriner et al. 1986). We use data available in the two publications listed above to estimate the potential sizes of breeding and wintering Snowy Plover populations in the western United States. These estimates exclude Utah, which may contribute a significant number of additional birds, and New Mexico and Arizona, with relatively small numbers; suitable data are unavailable for these states. Recent breeding-season surveys for coastal Washington, Oregon, and California (including San Francisco Bay) totaled 1682 Snowy Plovers (Page and Stenzel 1981, C. Bruce pers. comm.). This could be an undercount by as much as 28% (Page and Stenzel 1981). Consequently, the coastal breeding population might reach (100/72 x 1682) = 2336 birds and the 166 WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS winter population (2336 + 2336 x (1/2.4 x 0.8)) = 3115 birds (including first-year birds) . As noted above, breeding surveys for interior Oregon, Nevada and California totaled 3844 birds. At Mono Lake, one of several major breeding sites, a typical census detected only 1 marked male for every 1.643 known to be present and 1 female for every 3.010 present (Warriner et al. 1986). If these rates are characteristic of the interior as a whole, the size N of the female breeding population may be estimated from N/3.010 + 1.4N/1.643 = 3844, giving N = 3246. So the size of the male population is 1.4 N = 4544, for a total breeding population of 7790 birds. We exclude from this estimate a few hundred Snowy Plovers that have colonized agricultural drainage ponds in the Tulare Lake basin since the statewide surveys (Ivey 1984, Campbell et al. 1985) on the assumption that these birds are immigrants from other localities rather than an added component to the existing population. The early winter population is, then, estimated at 7790 + (3246 x 0.8) = 10,387 birds (in- cluding first-year birds, assuming reproductive rates similar to those along the coast). Coastal and interior estimates combined give a potential breeding population as high as 10,126 birds and a wintering population as high as 13,502 birds. Allowing 100 wintering Snowy Plovers for coastal Oregon, 2500 for coastal California, up to 500 for San Francisco Bay, and up to 900 for the Channel Islands, the California interior, and the remaining western states combined, we account for only 4000 Snowy Plovers. Even with rather severe mortality between the breeding season and winter, a substantial pro- portion of the estimated wintering population is unaccounted for in our surveys. Many breeders and their progeny apparently winter farther south in Baja California and other parts of Mexico, despite the failure of limited recent fieldwork there to reveal substantial numbers of wintering plovers. This speculation is supported by the discovery of a few marked birds in Baja California and the disappearance of many marked coastal breeders for the winter. During 1984 and 1985, 78 marked males and 85 females bred on Monterey Bay. Forty-one percent of the males and 51.8% of the females were residents; the remainder migrated from the area for the winter. We located 41.5% of the migrant females and 10.9% of the migrant males wintering in coastal California and 2 males, representing 4.3% of the migrants, in Baja. Given the extensive coverage of our coastal survey in California, we believe that most color-marked plovers were not missed there, but were in Mexico, where survey coverage was minimal. SUMMARY The size of the Snowy Plover population in western North America (except Utah) at the end of the breeding season is estimated at approximately 13,500, including breeders and juvenals. Surveys of mainland coastal sites in California (including San Francisco Bay) and Oregon between November and February, 1979 to 1985, suggest that approximately 3100 plovers 167 WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS winter there. Most of the major concentrations were found from the Bodega Harbor, Sonoma County, south. Up to 900 plovers may also winter in in- terior California, on the Channel Islands, and in other western states; this liberal estimate is based on surveys of a few interior areas, incidental sightings, and the summer-to-winter population ratio of the mainland coast applied to the islands. These findings suggest that the majority of the plovers west of the Rocky Mountains winter on the Gulf of California and the west coast of Baja California, where our surveys of a few sites, and two Christmas Bird Counts, turned up about 657 plovers. The most important sites in coastal California were spits and dune-backed beaches, particularly at river and creek mouths, although many areas of wide sand beach were used. There is some evidence of a decline in the size of the southern California wintering population since 1961. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The following people contributed significantly to this study by conducting one or more years of censuses: E. Aiken, S. Allison, L. Atkins, M. Atkins, J.L. Atwood, J. Barton, L.J. Barnes, M. Baumgartel, D. Bazzi, J. Belland, W. Belland, L. Belluomini, R. Bidstrup, J. Bodkin, M. Bondello, J. Boone, R.L. Branson, M. Bramwell, J. Breece, R. Briggs, D.S. Briggs, M. Brown, C. Bruce, B Burridge, H. Childs Jr., T. Ciani, L. Ciani, T. Coddington, 2. Coddington, M. Coffeen, H.L. Cogswell, L.D. Collins, H. Connon, N T. Conzett, B. Cornett, N.L. Cornett, D. Cutter, E. Dankworth, D. Davis, D. Davison, C. Dean, R Dement, T. Dement, L. Doerflinger, B. Dorsey, R. Dow, L. Drake, T Edell, C. Edwards, B.G Elliott, R.A. Erickson, J.G. Evens, L.R. Feeney, S. Fettig, G. Finger, P. Frankel, J. Frawley, C. Frederiksen, A. Fries, P. Frost, K.L. Garrett, J. Garey, T. Gates, D. George, S. Getty, M. Greene, H. Green, A. Gross, M. Harms, D. Harper, M. Harper, M. Harris, S. Harris, J. Harrison, S. Harrison, H. Hartman, J. Hartman, T. Harvey, N. Heistand, R.P. Henderson, J. Hewston, M. Hilton, A. Hock, C. Hohenberger, B. Hopkins, D. Houle, D. Hunt, G. Ivey, R. Wilson-Jacobs, P. Jacobson, S. Jacobson, R. Jameson, G. Jameson, R. Johnson, T. Johnson, P. Jorgensen, M. Kelley, D. Kelly, J. Kelly, N. Kelly, D. Kilfoil, F. Kilfoil, D. King, S. King, M. Kincheloe, D. Klopfer, M. Klope, C. Kolb, M. Kozak, H. Labersart, R. Labersart, W f ,G. Lehmann, J. Lentz, J. Leslie, G.S. Lester, R.R. LeValley, J. Lewison, F. Maclise, I. Manicci, N. Mann, G. Markowitz, A. Martyn, H. Matelson, B. Maxwell, M. Mayer, R. Mayer, S. Mayer, H. McFarland, B McIntosh, E.J. McNeil, G. Mensik, P.J. Metropulos, T. Meyer, G. San Miguel, M. Miller, S. Miller, J. Montgomery, Y. Montgomery, J. Moran K. Netz, W. Netz, L. O’Neill, M. Oldfield, R. Oldfield, D. Osterbrock, D, Parker, D. Parham. J. Parham, A. Patterson, S. Peaslee, P, Persons, C. Pergler, D. Pine, T. Pitsenberger, M. Plant, D Porch, B. Powers, H. Pratt, L.J. Prairie, P Pyle, B. Rains, R. Rains, B. Allen Ramer, D. Rice, E. Richie, A, Rodgers, 1, Rodgers, E. Roemer, L. LaRue, T. Schick, D, Schmoldt, B. Scharfenstein, E. Schionneman, D. Serdehely, S. Seyman, L. Shelton, W.D. Shuford, G. Smith, L. Spear, H. Spear, N. Spear, P.F. Springer, C. Stanton, J.C. Sterling, G.J. Strachan, G. Swarth, F. Sweet, N, Sweet, F Tainter, B. Tatman, M. Test, A. Thomas, D. Tobkin, K. Trayser, L. Trayser, D. Trocki, J. Tutton, D. Vollmer, E. Vollmer, J.C, Warriner, J.S. Warriner, K. Weaver, R E. Webster, D. Weir, M. Weinstein, J. Welch, B. Wentzel, J. Wessel, C. Wilson, J. Wilson, K. Wilson, C. Wolfe, P. Wyman, J. Young, V. Silvas-Young, and S. Zeiler. K. Foote, C. Shaw, and J. Young conducted the November 1984 survey, and W.D. Shuford the February 1986 survey. C. Frederiksen and N. Spear assisted in coordinating the surveys during the first year. Providing valuable winter records were C. Bruce for coastal Oregon, H.L. Jones and L. Salata for the Channel Islands, and S.R. Wilbur 168 WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS and R.R, LeValley for Baja California. W.D. Shuford researched published records and reviewed the manuscript. J.C. and J.S. Warriner supplied valuable information on color- marked birds and reviewed the manuscript. R.A. Erickson and T.D. Manolis were the other reviewers. LITERATURE CITED Anon. 1971. National shoreline study California regional inventory. U.S. Army Engineer Div., San Francisco. Blake. E.R. 1977. Manual of Neotropical Birds. Vol. 1. Univ. Chicago Press, Chicago. Campbell, K.F., Erickson, R.A., and Bailey, S.F. 1985. The nesting season. Middle Pacific coast region. Am. Birds 39:956-961. Chase, T. Jr. 1965. The winter season. Middle Pacific coast region. Aud. Field Notes 19:412-415. Fisher, A.K. 1893. Report on the ornithology of the Death Valley expedition of 1891, comprising notes on the birds observed in southern California, southern Nevada, and parts of Arizona and Utah. N. Am. Fauna 7. Garrett, K., and Dunn, J, 1981. Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution. Los Angeles Aud. Soc., Los Angeles. Herman, S.G., Bulger, J.B., and Buchanan, J.B. 1981. The Snowy Plover in south- east Oregon and western Nevada. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Rept., Portland, Oregon. Henderson, R.P., and Page, G.W. 1981. III. San Francisco Bay and the interior, pp. 16-23 in The breeding status of the Snowy Plover in California (G.W. Page and L.E. Stenzel, eds.). W. Birds 12:1-40. Hubbard, J.P. 1970. Check-list of the birds of New Mexico. New Mexico Ornithol. Soc. Publ. 3. Hubbard, J.P. 1985. The winter season. Southwest region. Am. Birds 39:198-199. Ivey, G.R. 1984. Some recent nesting records for the Snowy Plover in the San Joaquin Valley, California. W. Birds 15:189. Johnsgard, P.A. 1981. The Plovers, Sandpipers and Snipes of the World. Univ. Nebr. Press, Lincoln. McCaskie, G. 1975. The winter season. Southern Pacific coast region. Am. Birds 29:740-745. McCaskie, G. 1979. The autumn migration. Southern Pacific coast region. Am. Birds 33:213-218. McCaskie, G. 1982. The winter season. Southern Pacific coast region. Am. Birds 36:330-333. McCaskie, G. 1985. The winter season. Southern Pacific coast region. Am. Birds 39:209-212. Monson, G. 1972. The fall migration. Southwest region. Am. Birds 26:100-104. Monson, G., and Phillips, A.R. 1981. Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Arizona. 2nd ed. Univ. Ariz. Press, Tucson. Page, G.W., and Stenzel, L.E., eds. 1981. The breeding status of the Snowy Plover in California. W. Birds 12:1-40. Parker, T. 1974. The fall migration. Southwest region. Am. Birds 28:88-90. 169 WINTERING SNOWY PLOVERS Spear, N.L. 1981. I. Channel Islands, pp. 3-6 in The breeding status of the Snowy Plover in California (G.W. Page and L.E. Stenzel, eds.). W. Birds 12:1-40. Unitt, P. 1984. The birds of San Diego County. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist. Mem. 13. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1985. Management guidelines for the Western Snowy Plover. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon. Warriner, J.S., Warriner, J.C., Page, G.W., and Stenzel, L.E. 1986. Mating system and reproductive success of a small population of polygamous Snowy Plovers. Wilson Bull. 98:15-37. Wilbur, S.R. 1987. Birds of Baja California. Univ. Calif. Press, Berkeley. Wilson-Jacobs, R., and Meslow, E.C. 1984. Distribution, abundance, and nesting characteristics of Snowy Plovers on the Oregon coast. Northwest Sci. 58:40-48. Witzeman, J. 1982. The winter season. Southwest region. Am. Birds 36:317-320. Witzeman, J., Hubbard, J.P., and Kaufman, K. 1977. The winter season. Southwest region. Am. Birds 31:358-362. Witzeman, J., Kaufman, K., Burge, S. and Hubbard, J.P. 1975. The winter season. Am. Birds 724-728. Accepted 28 January 1987 THE AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY, ARIZONA GARY H. ROSENBERG, Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803 SCOTT B. TERRILL. Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York at Albany, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany, New York 12222 In general, the distribution and the seasonal status of the avifauna of Arizona are fairly well understood. The Birds of Arizona {Phillips et al. 1964) encompasses the entire state and is fairly complete for all seasons. Large sec* tions of the state, however, have received relatively little ornithological coverage. The entire region of Apache County in northeastern Arizona is one such area. Even though this area is quite interesting ornithologically, before 1976 it received little coverage relative to the many popular birding “hot spots” in other sections of the state. It is possible to assemble a list of those species that breed in Apache County using Phillips et al. (1964), its revision by Monson and Phillips (1981), and several detailed studies (e.g. Carothers et al. 1973, Franzreb 1975). Yet there remain substantial gaps in our knowledge of migrant, wintering, and some nesting species found in Apache County. Since the mid-1970s, primarily as a result of the “vagrant hunting” boom that swept parts of the West, Apache County has been visited repeatedly during all seasons. A significant increase in knowledge of the status and distribution of birds in northeastern Arizona has resulted. This paper em- phasizes the diversity and ornithological uniqueness of Apache County and summarizes the status of the birds found there. Apache County covers an area of approximately 15,000 km 2 in the north- eastern corner of Arizona. It extends from the White Mountains in the south to the Utah border in the north. The entire eastern border is shared with New Mexico and the county extends about 85 km to its western border shared with Navajo County. Much of the area of Apache County is part of the Nava- jo Indian Reservation. The elevations range from 1689 m along the Little Colorado River to 3476 m at the summit of Mt. Baldy in the White Moun- tains. The climate is similar to that of the Great Basin Desert: hot and dry in the summer, cold and wet in the winter. The higher mountainous areas within the county are generally snow-covered from November to April, and sometimes well into May. HABITATS Vegetational associations found in the county are very diverse, ranging from sage-dominated grassland in the northern portion up through pinyon- juniper forests, to spruce-fir-aspen forest at the higher elevations. We have divided the environment of Apache County into seven arbitrarily defined categories, mostly on the basis of vegetational association. These categories are labeled according to the dominant perennial plant species found in a given association or for some common feature or features we consider biologically appropriate to the discussion of the distribution of birds in this area. Western Birds 17:171-187, 1986 171 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY L Spruce-Fir-Aspen. This association encompasses most of the area located at high elevations in the White and Chuska mountains. The White Mts. reach an elevation of 3476 m at the summit of Mt. Baldy, which is one of only two mountains in Arizona that rise above timberline. The dominant tree species found here are Englemann Spruce (Picea englemanni) , White Fir (Abies concolor) and Quaking Aspen ( Populus tremuloides) . There are numerous grassy meadows with streams bordered primarily by Bebb Willows ( Salix bebbiana ) and Thinleaf Alders ( Alnus tenuifolia). There are many small, and several large, lakes within this elevational range. Most high elevation habitat within Apache Co. is restricted to the White Mts., but a small patch is found in the Chuska Mts. in the northeast section of the county. These mountains are poorly known ornithologically, and, because of their close proximity to the Rocky Mountains in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, may resemble them more closely than other ranges in Arizona. A recent summer trip to the Chuska Mts. revealed several new local records including a new breeding species for Arizona, the Ham- mond's Flycatcher. No winter data are yet available for this area. 2. Ponderosa Pine. This association covers the area in elevation immediately below the spruce-fir-aspen habitat. The dominant tree species in this habitat is Ponderosa Pine ( Pinus ponderosa) , but Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii) stands are quite prevalent in the wetter drainages. Large expanses in both the White Mountains and the Chuska Mountains are monotypic Ponderosa Pine forests. A pine forest located in the Carrizo Mountains in the extreme northeast corner of Apache County has been visited only once or twice, yet the close proximity of these mountains to the mountains in southwestern Colorado makes them potentially very interesting. 3. Pinion-Juniper. Below the Ponderosa Pine belt is the pinyon-juniper associa- tion, which is widespread throughout the county. The dominant tree species in this habitat are the Pinyon Pine ( Pinus edulis), the Utah Juniper ( Juniperus osteosperma) and the One-seed Juniper (J. monosperma) . This habitat has a relatively limited breeding avifauna similar to that of other pinyon-juniper forests in Arizona. Even though this habitat probably covers most of the forested area in the county, it receives relatively little coverage. 4. Riparian Woodland, Rivers and Streams. These habitats are very important to many nesting, wintering and especially migrant bird populations in Apache County. The county is arid, with perennial water restricted to those rivers and streams draining the White and Chuska mountains. The Little Colorado River is the main northern drainage for the White Mountains and, along with its tributaries, accounts for most of the perennial water found in the county. Dominant plant species are the Narrowleaf Willow ( Salix exigua), the Thinleaf Alder ( Alnus tenuifolia ) and the American Dogwood (Cornus stolonifera) . Narrowleaf Cottonwoods (Populus angustifolia ) are also found commonly along some of the larger streams. The most highly visited locali- ty in Apache County (and probably the best known ornithologically) is a section of willow-alder-dogwood riparian woodland along the Little Colorado River at its con- fluence with the South Fork of the Little Colorado River (hereafter referred to as South Fork). Here the breeding grounds for several more typically “eastern” species, in- cluding Veery and American Redstart, reach their southwestern limit. This locality is excellent for migrants during the spring and fall, and especially good for eastern “vagrants.” For example, Kentucky Warbler, Worm-eating Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler and Swainson’s Warbler were all found in the same group of trees within a few-week period in spring 1981 . Migrants are, in general, highly concentrated around water and its associated vegetation throughout the county. 5. Grassland and Rocky Cliffs. This broadly defined category includes the vast ma- jority of the area in Apache County. Most of the land is heavily eroded, overgrazed grassland and is dominated by the shrub Big Sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ) in the north. This habitat is somewhat depauperate for birds; however, winter raptor popula- tions can be quite high. 172 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY 6. Lakes, Reservoirs, Sewage Ponds and Marsh. Apache County contains several small lakes and reservoirs which provide excellent nesting habitat for ducks. Addi- tionally, many species of migrating shorebirds and waterbirds frequent these areas. Many lakes, such as Ganado Lake, have restricted hunting on them and can potential- ly support large numbers of wintering ducks. Most of the higher elevation lakes, where many of the nesting species of ducks occur, are frozen over during most winters. Lower elevation lakes are irregularly open during the winter. The many sewage ponds throughout the county are particularly good for migrating shorebirds. The American Avocet has recently nested on several of these sewage ponds, providing new breeding localities for Arizona (Witzeman 1982). 7. Oases, Towns and Agricultural Land. This catch-all category refers to most of the habitats, such as rows of planted trees and agricultural areas, that appear as lush oases in an extremely arid landscape. These habitats may be somewhat marginal for breeding birds, but their value to migrants is extremely high. Disturbed, wet, grassy fields in the Springerville region serve as the only nesting habitat in Arizona for Bobolink, Common Snipe and possibly Wilson’s Phalarope. These oases range in size from a small clump of salt cedars ( Tamarix ) around a sewage pond at Tez Nez Iah to the entire towns of Ganado and Springerville. OCCURRENCE BY HABITAT TYPE The occurrence of birds in each habitat type during each season was deter- mined using The Birds of Arizona (Phillips et al. 1964), An Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Arizona (Monson and Phillips 1981), American Birds (including Audubon Field Notes) and the field notes of many observers (Table 1). Seasons are defined as follows: winter = December through March, spring = April through early June, summer = mid- June through mid-August, fall = mid-August through November. Also calculated are the number of residents and the number of “pure” transients for each habitat during each season (Table 1). Table 1. Bird species occurrence in seven Apache Co. habitat types. These numbers were calculated from The Birds of Arizona (Phillips et al. 1964) and field notes of many observers including the authors. Each number represents the total number of species found within a particular habitat during a particular season. Numbers of per- manent residents and pure transients were also calculated for each habitat type. The numbers should not be interpreted as absolute. They are useful as comparative values for detecting non -subtle trends. (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) Winter 27 35 31 39 38 30 63 Spring 42 63 63 97 51 63 121 Summer 51 58 37 53 35 27 25 Fall 43 66 66 105 54 87 149 Residents 19 21 15 12 14 6 12 Transients 5 8 7 26 7 49 57 (1) = Spruce-Fir- Aspen; (2) =Ponderosa Pine; (3) = Pinyon-Juniper; (4) = Riparian; (5) = Grassland; (6) = Lakes and Reservoirs; (7) = Oases and Agriculture 173 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY Approximately 328 species of birds have been recorded in Apache Coun- ty, about 50 of which are considered permanent residents. During the sum- mer season roughly 189 species have been recorded and at least 182 of these are known to have nested. During the winter season at least 128 species have been recorded. Approximately 112 migrant species are con- sidered “pure” transients within Apache County and many of these are con- sidered accidental. In winter, habitats 4 (Riparian Woodland) and 7 (Oases and Agricultural Land) consistently support the most species. All habitats probably show high degrees of variability in species richness and abundance, not only between winters but within winters, due to climatic variability. Additionally, in some years the coniferous forests have a healthy cone crop and support large numbers of birds during the winter and in other years the cone crop may be relatively poor, resulting in few species using those habitats. Cone crops and seed crops at other locations farther north can also influence species occur- rence in Apache County. It is noteworthy that 70% of the winter species in habitat 1 (Spruce-Fir- Aspen Forest), 60% of the winter species in habitat 2 (Ponderosa Pine Forest) and 28% of the winter species in habitat 3 (Pinyon-Juniper Forest) are permanent residents. In habitats 4 (Riparian) and 7 (Towns, Agriculture), however, far fewer of the species recorded there in winter (20% and 16% respectively) are permanent residents. Christmas Bird Counts conducted in the Springerville-White Mountains region during 1978, 1979 and 1980 recorded 89, 91 and 91 species respectively. These are very high counts considering that the lowest elevation within the circle was 2130 m (7000 ft). In spring and fall, habitats 4 and 7 again are the most important habitats for passerines. Of the approximately 105 “pure” transients recorded in Apache County, 48 are waterbirds and restricted to habitat 6 (Lakes and Reservoirs). Of the others, 57 species have occurred in habitat 7 and 26 have occurred in habitat 4, compared to 5, 8, 7 and 7 species in habitats 1,2,3 and 5, respec- tively. These values reflect the relative importance of these habitats to migrants. The low number of migrants recorded in the coniferous habitats (see Table 1) may be lower than reality due to the less overall coverage during the spring and fall seasons; nevertheless, not one “pure” transient has been found exclusively in the coniferous habitats. Of the approximately 182 bird species that have nested in Apache County, fully 37 reach either a southwestern, southwestern interior or northeastern breeding limit in or around the region. The White Mountains and adjacent Mogollon Highlands of western New Mexico form a front of highlands that support extensive spruce-fir-aspen forests. It is along this front that the Rocky Mountains reach their southwest limit. Along with this southward extension of high montane habitat, 30 species reach their southwestern (SW) or southwestern interior (SWI) breeding range limit. Southwest interior is de- fined as the portion of the Southwest that lies east of California. These species are Blue Grouse (SW), Mountain Plover (SW), Common Snipe (SWI), Wilson’s Phalarope (SW), Lewis’ Woodpecker (SWI), Red-naped Sapsucker (SW), Williamson’s Sapsucker (SWI), Downy Woodpecker (SWI), Three-toed Woodpecker (SW), Hammond’s Flycatcher (SW), Tree Swallow (SWI), Gray Jay (SW), Black-billed Magpie (SW), Mountain 174 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY Bluebird (SW), Townsend’s Solitare (SWI), Veery (SW), Swainson’s Thrush (SWI), Gray Catbird (SW), Sage Thrasher (SW), Water Pipit (SW), American Redstart (SW), MacGillivray’s Warbler (SW), Wilson’s Warbler (SWI), Green-tailed Towhee (SWI) Vesper Sparrow (SWI), White-crowned Sparrow (SWI), Bobolink (SW), Pine Grosbeak (SW) and American Goldfinch (SWI). Seven typically southeastern Arizona species reach their northeastern breeding limit in this region. These species are Montezuma Quail, Whip- poor-will (race arizortae), Greater Pewee, Phainopepla, Red-faced Warbler, Painted Redstart and Olive Warbler. It is interesting that several of these species are expanding their ranges to the northwest through isolated moun- tain ranges in northwest Arizona and southeast California; their expansion to the northeast appears to be limited by the Mogollon Plateau and the southern limit of the Rocky Mountains. The presence of both Mexican Plateau and Rocky Mountain species in the White Mountains is unique among the pat- terns of distribution of North American birds. ANNOTATED LIST OF SELECTED SPECIES The following is a list of those species that have occurred accidentally in Apache County through 1985. The species included in this list have been backed up either by specimens, by photographs, or by written details submit- ted to the Arizona Rare Bird Committee. All post- 1976 records are still under review by the ARBC. Also included in this list are species of special note for distributional reasons. Nomenclature follows the AOU Check-list (6th - edition) , Pacific Loon — One fall record: one on Becker Lake in Springerville 26 Nov 1981 (AB 36:204). Horned Grebe — One fall record, one winter record: one at Sunrise Lake in the White Mts. 30 Oct 1984 (AB 39:86) and one at Round Rock 22 Mar 1985 (AB 39:333). Clark’s Grebe — One fall record: one at Ganado L. 7 Oct 1984 (AB 39:86) . Although Western “dark-phased” Grebe is a common migrant on lakes in the county, little atten- tion has been devoted in the past to distinguishing between the two types. This record represents the first definitive Clark’s Grebe for Apache County. Great Egret — One fall record: one at Ganado L. 5 Nov. 1984 (AB 39:86). Cattle Egret — Two spring records, three fall records: One at Ganado 30 May 1979, one at Richville May 1981 (AB 35:850), 26 at Many Farms Lake 6 Nov 1984, 19 at Moaning Lake near Chinle 9 Nov 1984, 6 near Many Farms 13 Nov 1984 (all AB 39:86) and two at St. Johns 11 Aug 1985 (AB 40:150). Wood Stork — One fall record: one near St. Johns 29 Aug 1934 (Phillips et al. 1964) . A late summer, post-breeding wanderer into southwestern Arizona. Greater White-fronted Goose — One fall record: a flock of six at Ganado L. 21 Sep 1985 (AB 40:150). 175 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY Wood Duck — One spring record, one fall record: one at Round Rock 14 Apr 1985 (AB 39:334) and one 10 mi. N Springerville 9 Aug 1984 (AB 39:86). Eurasian Wigeon — One fall record: a male with over 1000 American Wigeon on Ganado L. 6 Oct 1979 (AB 34 : 188) . Surf Scoter — One fall record: one on Nelson Reservoir 12 Nov 1973 (Speich 1975). White-winged Scoter — Two fall records: one on Nelson Reservoir 12 Nov 1974 and one there 24-26 Nov 1979 (AB 32:240). Hooded Merganser — One fall record: one 28 Nov 1982 W of Springerville (AB 37:209). Red-breasted Merganser — Two fall records: seven on Many Farms L. 2 Nov 1985 and one on Tsaile L. 10 Nov 1985 (AB 40:150). Common Moorhen — One fall record: one at Becker L. in Springerville. Sandhill Crane — Formerly an uncommon summer resident on the Apache Indian Reservation in the White Mts. (Phillips et al. 1964); one recent fall record at Many Farms L. 26 Oct 1985 (AB 40:151). Mountain Plover — Status uncertain: suitable habitat for this grassland nesting species exists in the Springerville region where several flocks were observed in Aug 1914 (Phillips et al. 1964). Although these birds may have represented early migrants, this species was found nesting on the Arizona-New Mexico border only 37 km E of Spring- erville on 12 Jun 1978 (Johnson and Spicer 1981). Lesser Golden-Plover — One fall record: one at Many Farms L. 14 Sep 1985 (AB 40:151). Black-necked Stilt — One fall record: one at Ganado L. 30 Sep 1984 (AB 39:86). American Aoocet — A common migrant on lakes throughout the county; recently found nesting at sewage ponds at Petrified National Park and at Chinle (AB 36: 1004) . Ruddy Turnstone — One spring record, two fall records: one seen during a violent storm at Ganado L. 20 May 1981 (AB 35:850), one at Tsaile L. 1-3 Sep 1985 and one at Round Rock L. 8 Sep 1985 (AB 40:151). One nearby at Zuni, New Mexico, 10 May 1981 is the only record for northwestern New Mexico (AB 35:850). Most Arizona records are from late summer and fall. Red Knot — A fall record of two at Ganado L. 6 Oct 1979 (AB 34: 188) . one of which was killed by a Prairie Falcon, is the only northern Arizona record. Sanderling — Two fall records: two at Ganado L. 23 Sep 1979 and two at Chinle 14 Sep 1980 (Monson and Phillips 1981). Semipalmated Sandpiper — Probably a rare fall migrant at lakes in Apache Co. Definite records are for juveniles: three photographed at Ganado L. 17 Aug 1980 (AB 35:212) and one photographed at Ganado L. 11 Sep 1981 (AB 36:204). The fall 1980 record coincides with a record number of 65 individuals in southern California (Garrett and Dunn 1981). 176 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY Dunlin — Two spring records, one fall record: one at Round Rock L. 16 Apr 1985, two at Many Farms L. 21 Apr 1985 (AB 39:334) and two at Many Farms L. 4 Nov 1984 (AB 39:86). Common Snipe — A rare and local summer resident in disturbed, wet fields in the Springerville region. Summer records include one 7 Jul 1979, two 7 Jul 1980, and one flushed from tall, wet grass and observed performing a broken wing act on 12 Jun 1981, all at Springerville. This locality represents the southwestern interior breeding limit for Common Snipe. Wilson's Phalarope — Recent nesting records for this species from Pintail L. near Show Low, Navajo Co., in Jun 1982 (AB 39:86) support the possibility that pairs near Springerville in suitable nesting habitat in Jun 1979 and 7-8 Jun 1980 (AB 34:919) may have been breeding rather than late transients. The Show Low birds represent the southwesternmost nesting record for this species. Red Phalarope — One fall record: one photographed on Becker L. in Springerville 5 Oct 1978 (AB 33:203). Pomarine Jaeger — One fall record: one at Becker L. in Springerville 14 Nov 1985 (AB 40:151). Sabine’s Gull — Two fall records: one imm. on Many Farms L. 15 Oct 1978 (AB 34:188) and two (one ad., one imm.) on Tsaile L. 13 Sep 1985 (AB 40:151). Caspian Tern — A fall record of two photographed at Ganado L. 17 Aug 1980 (AB 35:212) is the only record for northeastern Arizona. Common Tern — A rare fall transient on lakes throughout the county. Three spring records, one on Ganado L. 29 May 1979 (AB 33:796), one on Lyman L. 20 May 1981 (AB 35:850) and one on Many Farms L. 24 May 1984 (AB 38:943) are three of only four acceptable spring records for Arizona (Monson and Phillips 1981). Band-tailed Pigeon — Although this pigeon is an uncommon summer resident in the White Mountains, and probably the Chuska Mts. , the only record in Apache Co. away from known breeding areas is of seven seen at Teec Nos Pos 27-30 May 1979 (AB 33:796). Inca Dove — A fall record of one seen at Eagar 13 Oct 1979 (AB 34: 188) is the only record for northeastern Arizona. Black-billed Cuckoo — One summer record: one at Many Farms L. 9 Jul 1985 (AB 39:947). Groove-billed Ani — One fall record: one seen at Lyman L. near St. Johns 24 Oct 1967 (Monson and Phillips 1981). Chaetura sp. — The status of the species of this genus in Apache Co. is uncertain because of the difficulty in distinguishing the Chimney Swift from Vaux’s Swift. Records include one at Ganado 30 May 1979 (thought to be a Chimney), one at Chi- nle 31 Aug 1980 and one at South Fork 10 Sep 1980. Either species is possible in this region of Arizona: there is only one reliable sight record of Vaux’s from New Mexico (Hubbard 1978). 177 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY Magnificent Hummingbird — Four late spring and summer records: one seen at a feeder in Greer 14 May 1973, another at Greer 3-11 Jun 1978, one at a feeder at South Fork 16 Jun-3 Sep 1978 (Monson and Phillips 1981) and one at a feeder in Eagar in early Aug 1983 (AB 38:232). Gila Woodpecker — A fall record of one seen in a cottonwood grove in Eagar 26 Nov 1978 (AB 33:203) is the only record of this resident species in northeastern Arizona. Least Flycatcher — Three probable spring records (all involving calling birds) : one at Becker L. in Springerville 26 May 1979 (AB 33:797), one at Chinle 19 May 1981 (AB 33:203) and one at Petrified Forest N.P. 20 May 1984 (AB 38:943). Hammond’s Flycatcher — Common transient throughout the county. Reaches its southernmost breeding limit in the spruce-fir habitat of the Chuska Mts. where a nest was photographed about 7.5 m high in a Douglas-fir on 4 Jul 1980 (AB 34:919) . This site is the only confirmed nesting locality in Arizona. Eastern Phoebe — One seen at South Fork 19-26 May 1979 (AB 32: 1041) represents one of only three spring records for Arizona, all from northern Arizona in late May. Vermilion Flycatcher — One winter record: an imm. male observed at 2130 m eleva- tion in Eagar 25 Dec 1980 (AB 35:325). Eastern Kingbird — Rare early fall and late spring transient at oases and in riparian woodland; about 15 records in all. Summer records suggest that this species may nest locally in Apache Co. August records do not necessarily represent transient birds as this species has been found nesting as late as 14 August in Lassen Co., California (Manolis 1973). Scissor-tailed Flycatcher — One summer record: one at Many Farms L. 2 Jul 1985 (AB 39:948). Tree Swallow — Reaches its southwesternmost interior breeding limit in the White Mts. (Monson and Phillips 1981). Two were carrying nesting material at Lee Valley Res. 28 May 1978, a pair was feeding young at Crescent Lake 15 Jul 1979 (Monson and Phillips 1981) and nesting was noted at Lakeside in May and Jun 1981 (Terrill pers. obs.). A summer record for the Chuska Mts. 4 Jul 1980 (Monson and Phillips 1981), may represent another nesting locality in the county. Blue Jay — One spring record: one seen at Teec Nos Pos 30 May 1977 (AB 31:1033). The only other Arizona record is also from northern Arizona. Black-billed Magpie — Reaches its southernmost breeding limit along Chinle Wash in the northeastern portion of Apache Co. where it is a common breeder in cottonwoods and Russian Olives south to Many Farms, and north to Dennehotso. Black-capped Chickadee — Only one published record: one seen in riparian woodland at Teec Nos Pos 26 Nov 1976-5 Feb 1977 (Monson and Phillips 1981). This species’ accidental status in Arizona (particularly Apache Co.) is perplexing as this chickadee nests commonly in southern Utah and along the San Juan River in north- western New Mexico only 40 km E of Teec Nos Pos. Veery — A rare and local breeder in riparian woodland along the South Fork of the Little Colorado River (Monson and Phillips 1981). This site is the only known nesting 178 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY locality in the Southwest, south of south-central Colorado (AOU 1983). An intensive search of similar habitat in the Chuska Mountains and the mountains of western New Mexico may turn up more nesting localities for this species. Swainson’s Thrush — The race swainsoni reaches its southwestern breeding limit along the Little Colorado River at the confluence with its South Fork, and in fir habitat in the White Mts. (Monson and Phillips 1981). Nesting in these areas appears to be a recent phenomenon and has yet to be fully documented. Hubbard (1978) lists this species as casual in summer in the Mogollon Mts. of New Mexico. Wood Thrush — A fall record of one photographed at Sanders 6 Oct 1978 (AB 33:202) is the only northern Arizona record. Gray Catbird — Nests commonly along the Little Colorado River in riparian habitat between Eagar and Greer, at the southwestern breeding limit for the species. Although individuals have been seen into late November (Terrill and K.V. Rosenberg pers. obs.), there is but one winter record: one seen and heard singing along the Little Col- orado River at South Fork 25 Dec 1980 (AB 35:325). Extralimital records include: one at Petrified Forest N.P. 22 May 1980 (AB 35:968) and one at Chinle 22 Sep 1984 (AB 39:88). Brown Thrasher — Two spring records, two fall records, one winter record: one at Sunrise 22 Jun 1974 (AB 28:935), one at Petrified Forest N.P. 14 Jun 1981 (AB 35:968), one at Teec Nos Pos 15 Oct 1977 (AB 32:242), one at Springerville 8 Oct 1980 (Betty Jones) and one at Springerville 24 Dec 1978. Water Pipit — Reaches its southwestern breeding limit in a small expanse of tundra habitat on Mt. Baldy in the White Mts. Nests in Arizona only here and on the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff (Phillips et al. 1964). Sprague’s Pipit — One fall record: one seen and heard at Teec Nos Pos 5 Oct 1980 (AB 35:213). Bohemian Waxwing — One winter record: about 40 at Ganado 18 Feb 1979 (Monson and Phillips 1981). White-eyed Vireo — One fall record: one seen at Round Rock 11 Oct 1980 (AB 35:213). Philadelphia Vireo — One fall record: one seen at Richville 5 Oct 1978 (AB 33:102). Most Arizona records are for October, as are all interior southern California records (Monson and Phillips 1981, Garrett and Dunn 1981). Blue-winged Warbler — A fail record of one seen at Eagar 9 Oct 1982 (AB 37:210) is only the second Arizona record. Golden-winged Warbler — Two summer records: one adult male 26 Jul 1972 and one adult female 28 Jun 1973, both near Springerville (Monson and Phillips 1981). Tennessee Warbler — Two spring records, three fall records: one at South Fork 19 May 1978 (AB 32:1042), a singing male there 29 May 1979 (Terrill pers. obs.), one 10 Aug and one 12 Aug 1976, both at South Fork (AB 31:210), and one at Eagar 22 Oct 1978 (AB 33:202). 179 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY Northern Parula — Two spring records: a singing male at South Fork 30 May-4 Jun 1978 (Monson and Phillips 1981) and one there in May 1981 (B. Jones) represent two of only three northern Arizona records. Chestnut-sided Warbler — Two spring records, one fall record: one at Teec Nos Pos 23 May 1977 (AB 31:1034), one at Round Rock 1 Jun 1979 (AB 33:797) and one at Many Farms L. 22 Sep 1985 (AB 40:152). Magnolia Warbler — One spring record, four fall records: one female at Ganado L. 24 May 1984 (AB 38:944) , one at South Fork 22 Oct 1979 (AB 33:202) , one at Tez Nez Iah 2 Sep 1979 (AB 34: 189), one at Round Rock 11 Oct 1980 (AB 35:214), and one at Becker L. in Springerville 15 Sep 1984 (AB 39:88). The 2 Sep record is the earliest fall record in Arizona and only 2 out of at least 75 fall records from southern California precede this early date (Garrett and Dunn 1981). Black-throated Blue Warbler — One spring record, three fall records: one male at Richviile 28 Jun 1981 (AB 35:968), one male photographed at Sanders 2 Sep 1978 (AB 33:202), one female at Ganado L. 6 Oct 1978 (AB 33:202) and one male at Sanders 4 Oct 1980. The September record is one of the earliest fall records for the Southwest. Black-throated Green Warbler — Three fall records: one at Teec Nos Pos 3 Sep 1978 (photo), one at Ganado L. 21 Oct 1978 (both AB 33:202), and one at Chinle 11 Oct 1980 (AB 35:214). The 3 Sep record is earlier than any California record in fall (Garrett and Dunn 1981). Blackburnian Warbler — Five fall records: one photographed at South Fork 5 Oct 1978 (AB 33:202), one at Ganado L. 6 Oct 1978 (AB 33:202), one at South Fork 3 Oct 1980, one at Ganado 4 Oct 1980 and one photographed at Teec Nos Pos 5 Oct 1980 (all AB 35:214). Yellow-throated Warbler — One spring record: a singing male at South Fork 22 May-7 Jun 1981 (AB 35:851). Palm Warbler — Two fall records: one seen at Richviile 22 Sep 1979 (AB 34:189) and one at Ganado L. 7 Oct 1984 (AB 39:88). Bay-breasted Warbler — One spring record, one fall record: an adult male at South Fork 1-3 Jun 1980 (AB 34:805) and one photographed at Ganado L. 6 Oct 1978 (AB 33:202). Blackpoll Warbler — Two fall records: one at Ganado 14 Sep 1980 (AB 35:214) and one there 16 Sep 1984 (AB 39:88). The 1980 record was one of seven individuals that were' recorded in Arizona in that year and coincided with a record number of in- terior southern California records that same fall (Garrett and Dunn 1981). American Redstart — Rare but regular migrant, irregular summer resident: found in summer in riparian habitat along the Little Colorado River where it is a rare, irregular breeder. This locality is far south of the closest regular breeding populations in north- ern Colorado and northern Utah. Although there are numerous summer records from New Mexico, as of the late 1970s, no nesting had been documented (Hubbard 1978). In California, the only breeding record is from the extreme northwestern part of the state (Binford and Stallcup 1972). 180 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY Prothonotary Warbler — One spring record, one fall record: a singing male at Spring- erville 12 Jun 1981 (AB 35:968) and one photographed at Ganado L. 17 Aug 1980 (AB 35:213). Worm-eating Warbler — Two spring records: one at South Fork 23 May 1981 (AB 35:851) and one seen at Richville 28 Jun 1981 (AB 35:968) were both later than any previous Arizona spring records. Swainson’s Warbler — One spring record: a singing male seen and song recorded at South Fork 12 Jun 1981 (AB 35:968) represents the only record of this ‘"southeastern” warbler west of the Rocky Mountains. Ovenbird — One spring record, six fall records: one at Teec Nos Pos 24 May 1984 (AB 38:944), five seen at once at Teec Nos Pos 15 Oct 1977 (AB 32:243), one at Teec Nos Pos 7 Oct 1978 (AB 33:202), one at Springerville 22 Oct 1978 (AB 33:202), one at Richville 10 Oct 1982 (AB 37:210) and one at Ganado 6 Oct 1985 (AB 40:152). The record of five is the largest concentration reported from the Southwest. Kentucky Warbler — One spring record, one fall record: one photographed at South Fork 18 21 May 1981 (AB 35:851) and one at South Fork 1 Sep 1978 (AB 33:202). There are only two other fall records from Arizona. Mourning Warbler — One fall record: one seen at Ganado 15 Sep 1985 (AB 40:152) is under review by the ARBC and if accepted would represent only the second record for Arizona. Scarlet Tanager — One spring record: two seen at Petrified Forest N. P. 3-4 Jun 1979 (AB 33:888) represent one of only two northern Arizona records. Painted Bunting — One spring record, one fall record: an adult male seen at Sanders 13 Jun 1981 (AB 35:969) and a female-plumaged bird photographed at Ganado 17 Aug 1980 (AB 35:214). Dickcissel — One spring record, six fall records: one seen at Teec Nos Pos 30 May 1977 (AB 31:1035), one at Springerville 23 Nov 1978 (AB 33:204), one at Becker L. in Springerville 15 Sep 1984 (AB 39:88), one at Rough Rock 19-20 Sep 1984 (AB 39:88), one at Becker L. 14 Sep 1985 (AB 40:152), one N of Springerville 14 Sep 1985 (AB 40:152) and two at Ganado 15 Sep 1985 (AB 40:152). Cassin’s Sparrow — One summer record: “numerous” 30 Jun-1 Jul 1976 along Highway 61, 31 mi. N of St. Johns (Monson and Phillips 1981). May breed irregularly in grassland north of the White Mts. as it is known to breed, sometimes in numbers, in similar habitat in adjacent New Mexico. Clay-colored Sparrow — Although records for the region have been considered as un- substantiated (Monson and Phillips 1981), perfectly reliable records indicate that this species is a sparse transient throughout the county. Records include a singing male at Teec Nos Pos 19 May 1981 (AB 35:852), as well as numerous fall records. Field Sparrow — A winter record of one photographed at a feeder in Ganado 10-17 Jan 1980 is the only Arizona record (Monson and Phillips 1981). Baird's Sparrow — A fall record of one collected near Eagar 14 Oct 1934 (Phillips et al. 1964) is the only northern Arizona record. 181 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY Grasshopper Sparrow — A fall record of one photographed at Teec Nos Pos 13 Sep 1981 (AB 36:205) is apparently the only record for northern Arizona. Golden-crowned Sparrow — Two spring records: one at Springerville 25 Apr 1953 (Phillips et al. 1964) and one at Many Farms Spring 19 Apr 1985 (AB 39:335). McCown’s Longspur — Four fall records: one 3 Oct and another 16 Oct 1976 (Witzeman 1977), two 11 Nov 1977 (Terrill and K.V. Rosenberg pers. obs.) and two 27 Oct 1983 (AB 38:232). All records are, amazingly, from the barren ground of the parking area at Becker L. in Springerville! Lapland Longspur — One fall record: one seen at Round Rock 10 Oct 1980 (AB 35:2143). Winter records from nearby Navajo Co. suggest that this species may turn out to be more regular than the paucity of records indicates. Smith’s Longspur — One collected in the White Mts. 25 Apr 1953 (Phillips et al. 1964) provides the only Arizona record of this species. Bobolink — Rare spring and fall transient: in Arizona, nests only irregularly in disturb- ed, wet, grassy fields in the Springerville- Eagar region. Formerly bred near Show Low, Navajo Co., in 1937 (Phillips et al. 1964) but was unrecorded as nesting in Apache Co. until a nest with eggs was located with up to six individuals present 16 Jun-7 Jul 1979 (AB 33:888). A pair was present at the same localtiy 7 Jul 1980 (AB 34:920). These records represent the southwestern breeding limit for this species. Rusty Blackbird — One spring record: a female seen at Becker L, in Springerville 31 May 1981 (AB 35:852) was very late; possibly the only May record for the Southwest. Purple Finch — Two spring records: one at Ganado 31 May 1981 (AB 35:852) and one at Richville 13 Jun 1981 (AB 35:969). This species is very rare in Arizona in spring. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Murray Hanson, Betty Jones, Kenn Kaufman, Kenneth Rosenberg, Douglas Stotz, Linda Terrill and Janet and Bob Witzeman for graciously supplying their field notes to us. Alan Craig, J.V. Remsen, Jr., Douglas Stotz, Linda Terrill and Janet Witzeman all helped with earlier drafts of this manuscript. LITERATURE CITED American Ornithologists’ Union. 1983. Check-list of North American birds. 6th ed. Am. Ornithol. Union, Washington. D.C. Binford. L.C. & R.W. Stallcup. 1972. American Redstart breeding in California. Calif. Birds 3:87-90. Carothers, S.W.. R.P. Baida & J.R. Haldeman. 1973. Habitat selection and density of breeding birds of a coniferous forest in the White Mountains. Arizona. In S.W. Carothers. J.R. Haldeman & R.P. Baida. Breeding birds of the San Francisco Mountain area and the White Mountains. Arizona. Mus. Northern Arizona Tech. Ser. No. 12. Franzreb. K.E. 1975. Avian densities in mixed-coniferous forests. Thomas Creek. White Mountains, Arizona. West. Birds 6:101-105. 182 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY Garrett, K. & J. Dunn. 1981. The birds of southern California: status and distribution. Los Angeles Audubon Soc,, Los Angeles. Hubbard, J.P. 1978. Revised check list of the birds of New Mexico. New Mexico Ornithol. Soc. Publ. No. 6. Johnson, N.K. & K. Garrett. 1974. Interior bird species expanding breeding ranges into southern California. West. Birds 5:45-56. Johnson, T.B. & R.B. Spicer. 1981. Mountain Plovers on the New Mexico-Arizona border. Continental Birdlife 2:69-73, Manolis, T. 1973. The Eastern Kingbird in California. West. Birds 4:33-44. McCaskie, G. 1970. The Blackpoll Warbler in California. Calif. Birds 1:95-104. Monson, G. & A.R. Phillips. 1981. Annotated checklist of the birds of Arizona, 2nd ed. Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson. Phillips, A., J. Marshall & G. Monson. 1964. The birds of Arizona. Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson. Speich, S. 1975. Arizona bird records, 1973, with additional notes. West. Birds 6:145-155. Witzeman, J. 1977. Field observations. The Roadrunner 28(1) :8. APPENDIX 1 he following is a list of the species of birds known to have occurred in Apache Co., with their relative abundance, seasonal status and general habitat preference. Nesting determined from The Birds of Arizona (Phillips et ah 1964), An Annotated Checklist to the Birds of Arizona, 2nd ed. (Monson and Phillips 1981) and various field notes. Species in brackets are hypothetical. KEY TO SYMBOLS Abundance C = Common, regularly seen in moderate to high numbers; U = Uncommon, regularly seen in low numbers or irregularly in moderate numbers; R = irregular in low numbers; A = Accidental, recorded five or fewer times; * = nests in Apache Co.; *? — possibly nests in Apache Co. Seasonal Status P = Permanent resident; S = Summer resident; W = Winter resident; M = Migrant; f = fall; sp = spring; i = introduced. Habitat 1 — spruce-fir-aspen; 2 = Ponderosa Pine; 3 = pinyon-juniper; 4 = riparian; 5 = grassland and rocky cliffs; 6 = lakes, reservoirs, sewage ponds; 7 = oases, towns, agriculture; + == three or more of the above Pacific Loon A,fM,6 Common Loon R,M,6 * Pied-billed Grebe C,P,6 Horned Grebe A,fM,6 * Eared Grebe U,S,6 (C.M.6) Western Grebe C,M,6 Clark’s Grebe A?,fM,6 White Pelican C,M,6 Double-crested Cormorant R.M.6 * ?American Bittern R,S?,6 (R,M,6) Great Blue Heron U,P,4,6 Great Egret A,fM,6 Snowy Egret U,M,6 Cattle Egret A,M,4,6 Green-backed Heron R,M,4 Black-crowned Night-Heron U.P,6 White-faced Ibis C,M, + Wood Stork A.fM,6 183 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY Tundra Swan R,fM,6 Greater White-fronted Goose A,fM,6 Snow Goose U,fM,6 Ross’ Goose R,fM,6 * Canada Goose U,Si,6 (U,fM,6) Wood Duck A,M,6 * Green-winged Teal U,S,6 (C,M,W,6) * Mallard U,S,6 (C,M,W,4,6) ’ Northern Pintail U,S,6 (C,M,W,6) * ? Blue-winged Teal R,S,6 (U,M,6) * Cinnamon Teat U,S,6 (C,M,6) Northern Shoveler C,M,W,6 * Gadwal! U,S,6 (C,M,W,6) Eurasian Wigeon A,fM,6 American Wigeon C,M,W,6 Canvasback C,M,W,6 * Redhead R,S,6 (C,M,W,6) * Ring-necked Duck U,S,6 (C,M,W,6) Lesser Scaup C,M,W,6 Surf Scoter A,fM,6 White-winged Scoter A,fM,6 Common Goldeneye U,M,W,6 Bufflehead C,M,W,6 Hooded Merganser A,fM,6 * Common Merganser U,S,4,6 (U,M,W,6) Red-breasted Merganser A,fM,6 * Ruddy Duck U,S,6 (C,M,W,6) * Turkey Vulture U,S, + (C,M, +) * Osprey R,S,6 (U,M,6) Bald Eagle C,W,4,6 * ? Northern Harrier R,S?,5 (C,M,W, + ) * Sharp-shinned Hawk U,S, 1,2 (C,M,W,+) Cooper’s Hawk C,M,W, + * Northern Goshawk U.P.1,2 (U,W, +) ’ Swainson’s Hawk U,S,5 (C,M, + ) * Red-tailed Hawk U,S, + (C,M,W, + ) * ? Ferruginous Hawk R,S,5 (u,m,w, + ; Rough-legged Hawk U,W, + * Golden Eagle U.P.5 * American Kestrel C,S, + (C,M,W, + ) Merlin, U,M,W, + Peregrine Falcon R,M, + * Prairie Falcon U,P,5 (R,W,7) * Chukar U, Pi, 4,5 * Blue Grouse U,P,1 * Wild Turkey R,P, 1,2 * Montezuma Quail U,P,2,3 * Scaled Quail C,Pi,5 * California Quail C,Pi,4,5 * Virginia Rail U,S,6 (U.M.W.6) * Sora U.S.6 (U.M.W.6) Common Moorhen A,fM,6 * American Coot C,P,6 (C,M,W,6) Sandhill Crane R,S,fM,5 Black-bellied Plover R,fM,6 Snowy Plover U,fM,6 Semipalmated Plover U,fM,6 ’ Killdeer C.P.M, + Mountain Plover R,S?,5 (R,M,5) Black-necked Stilt A,fM,6 ’ American Avocet U,S,6 (C,M,6) Greater Yellowlegs C,M,6 Lesser Yellowlegs C,M,6 * Spotted Sandpiper C,S,4,6 (C,M,W,4,6) Long-billed Curlew R,spM,6 Marbled Godwit C,spM,6 (R,fM,6) Ruddy Turnstone A,M,6 Red Knot A,fM,6 Sanderling R,fM,6 Semipalmated Sandpiper A,fM,6 Western Sandpiper C,M,6 Least Sandpiper C,M,6 (R,W,6) Baird’s Sandpiper U,fM,6 Pectoral Sandpiper U,fM,6 Dunlin A,M,6 Stilt Sandpiper U,fM,6 Short-billed Dowitcher R,fM,6 (A,spM,6) Long-billed Dowitcher C,M,6 * Common Snipe R.S, 5,7 (C,M,W, +) ’ ? Wilson’s Phalarope R.S.6.7 (C.M.6) Red-necked Phalarope R,M,6 Red Phalarope A,fM,6 Pomarine Jaeger A,fM,6 Franklin’s Gull R,M,6 Ring-billed Gull C,M,6 California Gull R,M,6 Sabine’s Gull A,fM,6 Caspian Tern A.fM,6 Common Tern A.spM.6 (U,fM,6) Forster’s Tern C.M.6 Black Tern C,M,6 * Rock Dove C,Pi, 7 * Band-tailed Pigeon U.S.1.2 (A,spM,7) * Mourning Dove C.S, + (U,M,W. + ) Inca Dove A.fM.7 Black-billed Cuckoo A,S.7 Yellow-billed Cuckoo U,fM,4.7 * Roadrunner U. P.3, 5 Groove-billed Ani A,fM,7 * Common Barn-Owl U,P,7 * Flammulated Owl U,S,1 (R,M,4) * Great Horned Owl C,P, + 184 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY Northern Pygmy-Owl C,P,2,3 ? Burrowing Owl R,S?,5 {R,M,W,5) Spotted Owl R,P, 1,2 Long-eared Owl R,S,4,6 (R,spM,W,4,7) Short-eared Owl R,spM,5 Northern Saw-whet Owl U,S,1 Common Nighthawk C,S, + (C,M, +) Common Poorwill R,S,2,3 Whip-poor-will U,S,2,3 Chaetura swift R,M, + White-throated Swift C,S,5 (C,M, +) Magnificent Hummingbird A,spM,S,2,7 Black-chinned Hummingbird U,S,M,4 Calliope Hummingbird U,fM,+ Broad-tailed Hummingbird C,S,M > + Rufous Hummingbird C,fM , + ? Belted Kingfisher R,S,4 (C,M,W,4,6) Lewis’ Woodpecker U,S,2,4 Acorn Woodpecker C,S,2 Gila Woodpecker A,fM,7 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker R,M,W,4,7 Red-naped Sapsucker C,S, + (C,M,W,+) Williamson’s Sapsucker C,P,1,2 (R,fM,7) Downy Woodpecker U,P,1,2 (U,fM,W,4,7) Hairy Woodpecker C,P, + Three-toed Woodpecker U,P,1,2 Northern Flicker C,S, + (C,M,W, +) Olive-sided Flycatcher C,S,1 ^ ( U,M, + ) Greater Pewee R,S,2 Western Wood-Pewee C,S,2,4 ( C,M, + ) [Eastern Wood-Pewee] A,fM,7 Willow Flycatcher U.S.4 (C,M,4,7) Least Flycatcher A,spM,7 Hammond’s Flycatcher R,S,1 (C.M.+) Dusky Flycatcher C,S,1,4 (C,M, +) Gray Flycatcher U,S,3 (U,fM,7) Western Flycatcher C,S, + (C,M, +) Black Phoebe C.S.4 (R.M.W.4,7) Eastern Phoebe A,spM,4 Say’s Phoebe C,S,M, + (R,W,5,7) Vermilion Flycatcher A,spM,W,7 Ash-throated Flycatcher C,M, 4- Cassin’s Kingbird C,S,M, + Western Kingbird G,S,4,7 (C,M, +) Eastern Kingbird R,S,M,7 Scissor-tailed Flycatcher A,S,7 * Purple Martin U,S,1,2 (R,spM,6) * Tree Swallow U,S,1 (C,M, + ) * Violet-green Swallow C,S, 1,2 [G.M, +) * Northern Rough-winged Swallow U,S,4 (C,M, +) Bank Swallow C,M, + * Cliff Swallow C,S, + (C,M, + ) * Barn Swallow C,S, 7 (C,M,+) * Gray Jay C,P,1 * Steller’s Jay C,P,1,2 (R,M,7) Blue Jay A,spM,7 * Scrub Jay C,P,2,3 * Pinyon Jay C,P,3 (R,fM,7) * Clark’s Nutcracker C,P, 1 (U,W,2,3) * Black-billed Magpie C,P,4,7 * American Crow C,P,2,3 (C,W, +) * Common Raven C,P,5 (C,W,+) Black-capped Chickadee A,M,W,4,7 * Mountain Chickadee C,P,1,2 (R,M,W,4,7) * Plain Titmouse C,P,3 (R,M,7) * Bushtit C.P.3 (U,M,W,4,7) * Red-breasted Nuthatch C,P,1,2 (R.M.4,7) * White-breasted Nuthatch C,P,1,2 (U,M,W,4,7) * Pygmy Nuthatch C,P,2 * Brown Creeper C,P,1,2 (C,M,W, +) Rock Wren C,P,5 * Canyon Wren U,P,5 * Bewick’s Wren C,S,3,4 (U,W, +) * House Wren C,S,M, + Winter Wren R,W,4 Marsh Wren C,M,W,4,6 American Dipper C,P,4 Golden-crowned Kinglet C,P, 1 * Ruby-crowned Kinglet C,S,1 (C,M,W,+) * Blue-gray Gnatcatcher U,S,3 (R,M,7) ‘ Western Bluebird C,P,2,3 (U,W, +) * Mountain Bluebird C,S,3,5 (C.M.W, +) Townsend’s Solitaire C,S,2,3 (C,w, + ) Veery U,S,4 Swainson’s Thrush U,S,1,4 (U,M,4,7) * Hermit Thrush C,S, 1,2 (C,M,W, +) Wood Thrush A,fM,7 * American Robin C,P,2,3 (C,W,+) * Gray Catbird C,S,4 (A,fM,W,4,7) Northern Mockingbird C,S, + (R.W.7) * Sage Thrasher C,S,3,5 (R,W,5) 185 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY * Bendire’s Thrasher U,S,3 (U,fM,3,7) * Water Pipit C,S,1 (C,M,W,5,7) Sprague’s Pipit A,fM,7 Bohemian Waxwing A,W,7 Cedar Waxwing C,M, + (R,W,7) Phainopepla R,S,3,7 Northern Shrike R,W, + ’ Loggerhead Shrike C,S, + (R,M,W, +) European Starling C,P,7 White-eyed Vireo A,fM,7 Solitary Vireo C,S,2,4 (C,M,+) Warbling Vireo C,S, + (C,M, +) Philadelphia Vireo A,fM,7 Red-eyed Vireo A,S,1 (R,M,4,7) Blue-winged Warbler A,fM,7 Golden-winged Warbler A,S,4,7 Tennessee Warbler R,M,4,7 * Orange-crowned Warbler C,S,1,4 (C,M, +) Nashville Warbler C,M,4,7 * Virginia’s Warbler C,S,2,3 (C,M, + ) Lucy’s Warbler R,M,7 Northern Parula A.spM.7 * Yellow Warbler C,S,4,7 (C,M, + ) Chestnut-sided Warbler A,M,7 Magnolia Warbler A,M,4,7 Black-throated Blue Warbler A,M,7 * Yellow-rumped Warbler C,S, 1,2 (C.M.+) (R,W,7) * Black-throated Gray Warbler U,S,3 (U.M, + ) Townsend’s Warbler C,M, + Hermit Warbler U,M,1,2 (R,M,7) Black-throated Green Warbler A,fM,7 Blackburnian Warbler A,fm,4,7 Yellow-throated Warbler A,spM,4 ’ Grace’s Warbler C,S,2 Palm Warbler A,fM,7 Bay-breasted Warbler A,M,4,7 Blackpoll Warbler A,fM,4,7 Black-and-white Warbler R,M,7 * American Redstart R,S,4 (U,M,4,7) Prothonotary Warbler A,M,4,7 Worm-eating Warbler A,spM,4,7 Swainson’s Warbler A,spM,4 Ovenbird R,fM,4,7 (AspM,7) Northern Waterthrush R,M,4,7 Kentucky Warbler A,M,4 [Mourning Warbler] A,fM,7 * MacGillivray’s Warbler U,S,4 (C,M, +) * Common Yellowthroat C,S,6 (C,M, + ) * Wilson’s Warbler U,S,4 (C,M, + ) * Red-faced Warbler U,S,2 * Painted Redstart U,S,2 * Yellow-breasted Chat U,S,4 (C,M,4,7) * Hepatic Tanager R,S,2 (R,fM,4,7) * ? Summer Tanager R,S,4 (R,fM,4,7) Scarlet Tanager A,spM,7 * Western Tanager C,S,2 (C,M, +) Rose-breasted Grosbeak U,fM,4,7 * Black-headed Grosbeak C,S,2,4 (C,M,+) * Blue Grosbeak C,S,4 (C,M,4,7) * Lazuli Bunting C,S,4 (C,M,4,7) Indigo Bunting U,M,4,7 Painted Bunting A,M,7 Dickcissel A,spM,7 (R,fM,7) * Green-tailed Towhee C,S, 1,4 (C,M, +) * Rufous-sided Towhee C,S,2,4 (C,M,W, + ) * Brown Towhee C,P,3,5 * Rufous-crowned Sparrow R,S,3 * ? Cassin’s Sparrow R,S,5 American Tree Sparrow R,W,4,7 * Chipping Sparrow C.S.1.2 (C,M,W, + ) Clay-colored Sparrow A,spM,7 (R,fM,7) * Brewer’s Sparrow C,S,5 (C,M, + ) Field Sparrow A,W,7 * Vesper Sparrow C,S,5 (C,M,W,5,7) * Lark Sparrow C,S,M,5,7 * Black-throated Sparrow U,S,5 * Sage Sparrow U,S,5 (R,M,1) Lark Bunting U,M,5 * Savannah Sparrow U,S,5 (C,M,W,5) Baird’s Sparrow A,fM,7 Grasshopper Sparrow A,fM,7 Fox Sparrow R,M,W,4,7 * Song Sparrow C,S,4 (C,M,W, + ) * Lincoln’s Sparrow C,S,1,4 (C,M,W, +) Swamp Sparrow U,fM,W,4 White-throated Sparrow R,M,W,4,7 Golden-crowned Sparrow A,spM,7 * ? White-crowned Sparrow U,S,1,4 (C,M,W, + ) Harris’ Sparrow R,M,W,4,7 * Dark-eyed (Gray-headed) Junco C,S,1,2 (C,M,W, +) Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco R,M,W, + Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco C,M,W, + McCown’s Longspur A,fM,5,7 186 AVIFAUNA OF APACHE COUNTY Lapland Longspur A,fM,7 Smith’s Longspur A,spM,5? Chestnut-collared Longspur C,M,W,5 ’ Bobolink R,S,7 (R,M,7) * Red-winged Blackbird C,S,6 (C,M,W,+) * Eastern Meadowlark C,P,5,7 * Western Meadowlark C,P,5,7 * Yellow-headed Blackbird C,S,6 (C.M.+) Rusty Blackbird A,spM,7 * Brewer’s Blackbird C,S,4,6 (C,M, +) * Great- tailed Grackle U,S,P?,7 * Brown-headed Cowbird C,S,M, + (R,W,7) Orchard Oriole A,fM,7 ’ ? Hooded Oriole R,S,4 (R,fM,7) * Northern (Bullock’s) Oriole C,S,4 (C,M,4,7) Northern (Baltimore) Oriole A.fM,7 * Scott’s Oriole U,S,3 (U,M,3,7) * Pine Grosbeak U,P, 1 Purple Finch A,spM,7 * Cassin’s Finch C,S,1,2 (R,M,W, + ) * House Finch C,P, + * Red Crossbill U,S,1,2 (U,W,1,2) 0 Pine Siskin C,S,1 (C,W, +) * Lesser Goldfinch U,S,4,7 (C,M,W,4,7) * ? American Goldfinch R,S,4 (U,M,W,4,7) * Evening Grosbeak U,S,1 (U,M,W, +) * House Sparrow C,P,7 Accepted 28 Nouember 1 986 Veery Sketch by Brian Euans Gray Catbird Sketch by Brian Evans Use of skin for drawing courtesy of Museum of Southwestern Biology (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 188 NOTES THE RING-BILLED GULL: A REDISCOVERED NESTING SPECIES IN WYOMING SCOTT L. FINDHOLT, Game and Fish Department, 260 Buena Vista Drive, Lander, Wyoming 82520 (present address: Wyoming State Training School, Lander, Wyoming 82520) Historically, two Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis ) nesting colonies existed in Wyoming (Conover and Conover 1981, Conover 1983). Knight (1902) indicated that this species bred on the Laramie Plains, Albany County, It was also found nesting on the Molly Islands, Yellowstone Lake, Yellowstone National Park (Skinner 1917, Kemsies 1930). I can find no evidence for the four recent Ring-billed Gull nesting col- onies Conover (1983) listed for Wyoming. The intent of this note is to clarify the literature on the recent status and distribution of Ring-billed Gull nesting colonies in the state and provide details on the only known breeding location of this species in Wyoming. In 1983 and 1984 I conducted a comprehensive survey for Ring-billed Gull nesting colonies in Wyoming. On 21 May 1984 I counted 102 adults and 70 nests of this species at Soda Lake (42° 54' N, 106° 18' W), about 3 km north of Casper, Natrona County. Ring-billed Gulls were nesting in two small groups on the east perimeter of a large concentration of breeding California Gulls (Larus calif ornicus) . Mean clutch size was 2.6 with a standard error of 0.09; the range was 1-3 eggs). I did not revisit the colony to determine hatching or fledging success. To my knowledge, this survey is the first documentation of Ring-billed Gulls nesting in Wyoming in over 50 years. The nesting colony was on a 1.3-ha man-made island near the southeast shore of Soda Lake. Although Ring-billed Gulls may have previously nested elsewhere at Soda Lake, this island was not constructed until after the 1983 nesting season. Soda Lake is a natural lake that has been enlarged and is used by Amoco Oil Company for the evaporation of waste water from its local oil refinery. It provides significant nesting habitat for several species of colonial nesting waterbirds and protection from human intervention because the area is closed to the public. Dominant vegetation on the island consists of Silver Sagebrush (Artemisia cana) and Cheat Grass ( Bromus tectorum) . Other common plants were Plains Pricklypear (Opuntia polyacantha) , Green Rabbitbrush ( Chrysotharnnus uiscidiflorus) , Needle- and-thread (Stipa comata) , and other grasses. Other birds nesting with the Ring-billed Gulls included the Double-crested Cor- morant (Phalacrocorax auritus; 58 active nests), Snowy Egret ( Egretta thuia; one ac- tive nest), and California Gull (1907 ± 204 (SE) active nests). In addition to these species, Black-crowned Night-Herons (Nycticorax nycticorax ) and Caspian Terns (Sterna caspia) were nesting in other colonies at Soda Lake. The Ring-billed Gull breeds in Idaho (Larrison et al. 1967, C.H. Trost pers. comm.), Montana (Skaar 1980), and South Dakota (Johnsgard 1979) but is not known to nest in other states that adjoin Wyoming. In contrast to the reported in- creases in breeding populations of Ring-billed Gulls in the Great Lakes region. Western Birds 17:189-190, 1986 189 NOTES Washington, California and other western states (Ludwig 1974, Conover et al. 1979, Conover and Conover 1981, Conover 1983), there appears to have been no signifi- cant increase in nesting Ring-billed Gulls in Wyoming in historical times. I thank Larry Pate for assistance with field work. Alan Craig, Nancy Findholt, Bob Oakleaf, and Oliver Scott provided helpful comments on the manuscript. This study was made possible through funding by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Nongame Project. LITERATURE CITED Conover, M.R., Thompson, B.C., Fitzner, R.E., and Miller, D.E. 1979. Increasing populations of Ring-billed and California gulls in Washington State. W. Birds 10:31-36. Conover, M.R., and Conover, D. 1981. A documented history of Ring-billed and California gull colonies in the western U.S. Colonial Waterbirds 4:37-43. Conover, M.R. 1983. Recent changes in Ring-billed and California gull populations in the western United States. Wilson Bull. 95:362-383. Johnsgard, P.A. 1979. Birds of the Great Plains: Breeding Species and Their Distribu- tion. Univ. Nebraska Press, Lincoln. Kemsies, E. 1930. Birds of the Yellowstone National Park, with some recent addi- tions. Wilson Bull. 42:198-210. Knight, W.C. 1902. The birds of Wyoming. Univ. Wyo. Agric, Exp. Sta. Bull. 55:1-174. Larrison, E.J., Tucker, J.L., and Jollie, M.T. 1967. Guide to Idaho birds. J. Ida. Acad. Sci. 5:1-220. Ludwig, J.P. 1974. Recent changes in the Ring-billed Gull population and biology in the laurential Great Lakes. Auk 91:575-593. Skaar, P.D. 1980. Montana bird distribution. Publ. by P.D. Skaar, Bozeman, MT. Skinner, M.P. 1917. The birds of Molly Islands, Yellowstone National Park. Condor 19:177-182. Accepted 20 February 1987 190 ij&ySZJJ >187 Ring-billed Gulls Sketch by Keith Hansen 191 NOTES BREEDING BY A TWO-YEAR OLD SANDHILL CRANE MARCIA F. RADKE, P.O. Box 753, Othello, Washington, 99344 WILLIAM R. RADKE, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Modoc National Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 1610, Alturas, California 96101 Most animal species do not reproduce before a given age and cannot reproduce after a certain age (Dempster 1975). It is necessary to know age at first breeding to understand the population dynamics of a species (Caughley 1977). Studies have shown that Sandhill Cranes first breed at 3 or 4 years of age (R.C. Drewien unpubl. data, Littlefield and Ryder 1968, Walkinshaw 1973). Here we describe nesting in 1985 by a 2-year-old Greater Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis tabida ) on Modoc Na- tional Wildlife Refuge (N.W.R.), California. The 2543-ha Modoc N.W.R. surrounds the confluence of the north and south forks of the Pit River in Modoc County, adjacent to the town of Alturas in extreme north- eastern California. Geographically, the refuge is situated on the western edge of the Great Basin Desert at an elevation of 1322 m. Several habitat types are represented on Modoc N.W.R. , including freshwater lakes and ponds, farmland and irrigated meadows, sagebrush and juniper upland, and riparian corridors. The refuge contains the largest number of nesting Sandhill Cranes on public land in California (Littlefield 1981). In 1982, the Central Valley population of Greater Sandhill Cranes was placed on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Region 1 Sensitive Species List (USFWS 1982). Because of the downward trend in the size of the Sandhill Crane population, in- creased emphasis was placed on the gathering of baseline data on crane production at Modoc N.W.R. Research involved monitoring of nest success and banding of chicks. On 14 June 1983, we banded a locally hatched 5-week-old crane chick in the Town Field of Modoc N.W.R. We placed U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service band 519-96615 above the tibiotarsal joint of the crane’s left leg. This crane was later captured 3.2 km south of its original capture site on Modoc N.W.R. by means of a rocket net on 22 May 1985. It was then banded with three colored plastic bands, allowing it to be identified individually at a distance. The bird was released, and later the same day we observed it on a nest in the northeast Sharkey Field of Modoc N.W.R., 1 km west of the rocket net capture site, On the basis of its behavior, smaller size, and longer time spent at the nest relative to its mate, we believed the crane to be female (Littlefield and Ryder 1968). On the day of discovery the nest contained one egg measuring 9.21 cm x 5.28 cm. The nest was in an irrigated meadow vegetated primarily with rushes ( Juncus sp.) and sedges ( Carex sp.) that reached a maximum height of 40 cm. The nest itself was com- posed of Juncus. On 4 June 1985 the nest contained two eggs. The eggs hatched suc- cessfully by 23 June 1985, as evidenced by inner shell membranes and shell fragments found in the nest. Both adults, unaccompanied by chicks, were observed throughout July, indicating the chicks died before fledging. We did not determine the cause of death. Haley (1983) studied 67 pairs of Sandhill Cranes of known age and found that they began pairing at 3.5 years (range 3. 5-6. 5) and did not raise young until they reached 6.5 years. Our observation is the first of a Sandhill Crane forming a pair bond and becoming a parent at 2 years of age. Breeding at such a young age is perhaps in part the bird’s response to a healthy environment that has not yet reached its carrying capacity of nesting cranes. 192 Western Birds 17:192-193. 1986 NOTES We made our observations while volunteering for and under the employ of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which we thank for making information available for this paper. LITERATURE CITED Caughley, G. 1977. Analysis of Vertebrate Populations. Wiley, New York. Dempster, J.P. 1975. Animal Population Ecology. Academic Press, New York. Haley, D. 1983. Age at pair formation and first breeding of sandhill cranes from mid- continental North America, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Res. Info. Bull. 83-66. Littlefield, C.D. 1981. The status and distribution of greater sandhill cranes in Califor- nia, 1981. Wildlife Mgt. Branch Admin. Rep. 82-1. Calif. Dept. Fish & Game W- 54-4- 13. Littlefield, C.D. , and Ryder, R.A. 1968. Breeding biology of the greater sandhill crane on Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon. Trans. N. Am. Wildlife Nat. Conf. 33:444-454. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 1982. Sensitive bird species. Region 1. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Portland, Oregon, Walkinshaw, L.H. 1973. Cranes of the World. Winchester Press, New York. Accepted 14 March 1987 193 WESTERN BIRDS, INDEX, VOLUME 17, 1986 Compiled by Mildred Comar Accipiter cooperii, 5, 119, 184 gentilis, 5, 184 striatus, 5, 119, 184 Actitis macularia, 6, 118,120, 184 Aechmophorus clarkii, 2, 3, 175, 183 occidentals, 3, 183 Aegolius acadicus, 8 , 185 funereus, 2 Aeronautes saxatalis, 9, 121, 185 Aethia cristatella, 8, 50 pusilla, 2, 8, 50 Agelaius phoeniceus, 14, 126, 187 tricolor, 14 Aix sponsa, 4, 176, 184 Ajaia ajaja, 14 Alauda aruensis, 10, 50 Albatross, Black-footed, 3 Laysan, 3, 54 Short-tailed, 3, 50, 51, 54, 71 Wandering, 3, 50 Alectoris chukar, 5, 184 Aimophila cassinii, 13, 51, 70, 181, 186 ruficeps, 13, 186 Amazilia violiceps, 9, 50 Ammodramus bairdii, 13, 70, 181, 186 caudacutus, 13, 51, 71 leconteii, 13, 51, 59, 71 savannarum, 13, 182, 186 Amphispiza belli, 13, 186 bilineata, 13, 186 Anas acuta, 4, 117, 119, 184 americana, 5, 184 clypeata , 4, 184 crecca, 4, 117, 119, 184 cyanoptera, 4, 119, 184 discors, 4, 184 formosa, 4, 50 penelope, 4, 176, 184 platyrhynchos, 4, 118, 119, 184 querquedula, 4, 50, 58 rubripes, 4 strepera, 4, 184 Anhinga, 2, 4, 50, 57, 72 Anhinga anhinga, 2, 4, 50, 57, 72 Ani, Groove-billed, 8, 50, 177, 184 Anser, albifrons, 4, 175, 184 Anthus cervinus, 11, 51, 66 spinoletta , 11, 123, 175, 179, 186 spragueii, 11, 51, 66, 179, 186 Aphelocoma coerulescens, 10, 185 Aphriza uirgata, 7 196 Aquila chrysaetos, 5, 87-89, 117, 120, 134, 184 Archilochus alexandri, 9, 121, 185 colubris, 2, 9, 41-42, 50, 62, 74 Ardea herodias, 4, 118, 119, 136, 183 Arenaria interpres, 7, 176, 184 melanocephala, 1 Asio flammeus, 8, 185 otus, 8, 185 Athene cunicularia, 8, 22, 185 Auklet, Cassin’s, 8 Crested, 8, 50 Least, 2, 8, 50 Parakeet, 8, 50, 52, 62 Rhinoceros, 8 Auriparus flauiceps, 10 Avocet, American, 6, 173, 176, 184 Aythya affinis, 5, 184 americana, 5, 184 collaris, 5, 184 fuligula, 5, 50, 58 marila, 5 ualisirieria, 5, 184 Baltosser, William H., Seasonal analysis of a southwestern New Mexico riparian bird community, 115-131 Barn-Owl, Common, 8, 184 Barrows, Cameron W., Habitat relation- ships of Winter Wrens in northern California, 17-20 Bartramia longicauda, 6, 50 Bidstrup, Frances C., see Page, G. Binford, Laurence C., Checklist of California birds— 1986, 1-16 Bittern, American, 4, 183 Least, 4 Black-Hawk, Common, 2, 5, 50, 58, 119 Blackbird, Brewer’s, 14, 126, 187 Red-winged, 14, 126, 187 Rusty, 14, 182, 187 Tricolored, 14 Yellow-headed, 14, 187 Bluebird, Mountain, 11, 174, 185 Western, 11, 118, 123, 185 Bobolink, 14, 173, 174, 182, 187 Bombycilla cedrorum, 11, 186 garrulus, 11, 179, 186 Bonasa umbellus, 6 Booby, Blue-footed, 3 Brown, 3, 50, 56 Western Birds 17:196-208, 1986 Masked, 3, 50 Red-footed, 3, 50 Botarus lentiginosus, 4, 183 Brachpramphus brevirostris, 2, 8, 50 marmoratus, 8 Brambling, 2, 14, 50, 51, 71 Brant, 4 Brartta bernicla, 4 canadensis, 4, 184 leucopsis, 2 Bubo uirginianus, 8, 88, 107, 114, 121, 134, 184 Bubulcus ibis, 4, 175, 183 Bucephala albeola, 5, 184 clangula, 5, 184 islandica, 5, 184 Bufflehead, 5, 184 Bunting, Indigo, 13, 186 Lark, 13, 186 Lazuli, 13, 125, 186 Painted, 13, 51, 70, 75, 181, 186 Rustic, 2, 14, 50, 51, 71 Snow, 14, 51, 71 Varied, 13, 51 Burton, Kenneth, see Tyier, W. Bushtit. 10, 117, 123, 185 Buteo albonotatus, 5, 50, 59 jamaicensis, 5, 88, 107-114, 117, 120, 184 lagopus, 5, 107-114, 184 lineatus, 5 nitidus, 72 platppterus, 5 regalis, 5, 184 swainsoni, 5, 184 Buteogallus anthracinus, 2, 5, 50, 58, 119 Butorides striatus, 4, 183 Calamospiza melanocorps, 13, 186 Calcarius iapponicus, 14, 182, 187 mccownii, 14, 182, 186 ornatus, 14, 187 pictus, 182, 187 Caiidris alba, 7, 176, 184 acuminata, 7 alpina, 7, 177, 184 bairdii, 7, 184 canutus, 7, 176, 184 ferruginea, 7, 50 fuscicollis, 7, 50 himantopus, 7, 184 mauri, 7, 184 melanotos, 7, 184 minuta, 2, 7, 50, 61 minutilla, 7, 120, 184 ptilocnemis, 1 pusilla, 7, 176, 184 ruficollis, 7, 50, 73 temminckii, 73 Callipepla calif arnica, 6, 184 gambelii, 6, 120 squamata, 184 Calonectris leucomelas, 3, 46, 50 Calppte anna, 9 costae, 9 Campplorhpnchus brunneicapillus, 11 Canvasback, 5, 184 Caprimulgus vociferus, 9, 175, 185 Cardeliina rubrifrons, 13, 51, 70, 175, 186 Cardinal, Northern, 13, 51, 125 Cardinalis cardinalis, 13, 51, 125 sinuatus, 13, 51 Carduelis flammea, 14, 51, 71 lawrencei, 14 pinus, 14, 126, 187 psaltria, 14, 126, 187 tristis, 14, 126, 175, 187 Carpodacus cassinii, 14, 187 mexicanus, 14, 126, 187 purpureus, 14, 182, 187 Casmerodius a/bus, 4, 175, 183 Catbird, Gray, 11, 50, 64, 175, 179, 185 Catharacta maccormicki, 1 Cathartes aura, 5, 88, 118, 119, 184 Catharus fuscescens, 11, 50, 172, 175, 178, 185 guttatus, 11, 118, 123, 185 minimus, 11, 50 ustulatus, 11, 123, 175, 185 Catherpes mexicanus, 11, 185 Catoptrophorus semipalmatus, 6 Centrocercus urophasianus, 6 Cepphus columba, 8 Cerorhinca monocerata, 8 Certhia americana, 10, 98, 117, 123, 185 Cerple alcpon, 9, 121, 185 Chaetura pelagica, 9 uauxi, 9, 177, 185 Chamaea fasciata, 11 Cbaradrius alexandrinus, 6, 145- 170, 184 hiaticula, 2 melodus, 6, 50 mongolus, 6, 50, 60 montanus, 6, 174, 176, 184 morinellus, 6, 50, 95 semipalmatus, 6, 184 197 vociferus, 6, 120, 184 wilsonia, 6, 50 Chat, Yellow-breasted, 13, 125, 186 Chen caerulescens, 4, 93, 94, 184 canagica, 4, 50, 51, 58 rossii, 4, 93, 94, 184 Chickadee, Black-capped, 10, 178, 185 Chestnut-backed, 10, 98 Mountain, 10, 185 Chlidonias niger, 8, 184 Chondestes grammacus, 13, 186 Chordeiles acutipennis, 9 minor, 9, 185 Chukar, 5, 184 Cinclus mexicanus, 11, 185 Circus cyaneus, 5, 117, 119, 184 Cistothorus palustris, 11, 123, 185 platensis, 11, 50 Clangula hyemalis, 5 Coccothraustes vespertinus, 14, 187 Coccyzus americanus, 8, 91, 121, 184 erythropthalmus, 8, 50, 62, 177, 184 Cohen, Robert R,, Female Tree Swallow nests successfully following loss of eye, 40 Colaptes auratus, 9, 121, 185 Cole, Ronald E., First record of a Ruby- throated Hummingbird in California, 41-42 Colibri thalassinus, 73 Collins, Charles T., Identification quiz, 93-94 Collins, Paul W., Charles Drost, and Gary M. Fellers, Migratory status of Flammulated Owls with recent records from the California Channel Islands, 21-31 Columba fasciata, 8, 177, 184 livia, 8, 184 Columbina inca, 8, 177, 184 passerina, 8 talpacoti, 15 Condor, California, 5 Contopus borealis , 9, 185 pertinax, 9, 50, 62, 175, 185 sordidulus , 9, 121, 185 virens , 9, 50, 74, 185 Coot, American, 6, 184 Coragyps atr at us, 2, 74 Cormorant, Brandt’s, 4 Double-crested, 4, 136, 183, 189 Olivaceous, 4, 50, 56 Pelagic, 4 Cornett, James W., Gila Woodpecker nesting in northern Baja California, 139-140 Coruus brachyrhynchos, 10, 118, 122, 185 corax, 10, 88, 118, 123, 185 cryptoleucus , 118, 122 Coturnicops noveboracensis, 6, 50, 60, 72 Cowbird, Bronzed, 14 Brown-headed, 14, 126, 187 Crane, Sandhill, 6, 120, 176, 184, 192-193 Creagrus furcatus, 2 Creeper, Brown, 10, 98, 117, 123, 185 Crossbill, Red, 14, 187 White-winged, 14, 51 Crotophaga sulcirostris, 8, 50, 177, 184 Crow, American, 10, 118, 122, 185 Cuckoo, Black-billed, 8, 50, 62, 117, 184 Yellow-billed, 8, 91, 121, 184 Curlew, Little, 2, 6, 50, 60 Long-billed, 6, 184 Cyanocitta cristata , 10, 50, 178, 185 Stelleri, 10, 39, 98, 185 Cyclorrhynchus psittacula, 8, 50, 52, 62 Cygnus buccinator, 4, 50, 72 columbianus, 4, 184 cygnus, 4, 50, 57 Cynanthus latirostris, 9, 50, 62 Cypseloides niger, 9 Cyrtonyx montezumae, 175, 184 Daption capense, 2 Dendragapus obscurus, 6, 174, 184 Dendrocygna autumnalis, 4, 50 bicolor, 4 Dendroica caerulescens, 12, 180, 186 castanea, 12, 180, 186 cerulea, 12, 51 chrysoparia, 12, 51, 66 coronata, 12, 117, 124, 126 discolor, 12 dominica, 12, 51, 66, 172, 180, 186 fusca, 12, 180, 186 graciae, 12, 51, 67, 186 magnolia, 12, 180, 186 nigrescens, 12, 124, 186 occidentalis, 12, 186 palmarum. 12, 180, 186 pennsyluanica, 12, 180. 186 petechia, 12. 124, 129, 186 pinus, 12, 51, 67 striata, 12, 180, 186 tigrina, 12 townsendi, 12. 124, 186 virens, 12, 180. 186 Dickcissel, 13, 181, 186 198 Diomedea albatrus, 3, 50, 51, 54, 71 exulans, 3, 50 immutabilis, 3, 54 nigripes, 3 Dipper, American, 11, 185 Dolichonyx oryziuorus, 14, 173, 174, 182, 187 Dotterel, Eurasian, 6, 50, 95 Dove, Inca, 8, 177, 184 Mourning, 8, 88, 121, 129, 184 Rock, 8, 184 Spotted, 8 White-winged, 8, 121 Dowitcher, Long-billed, 7, 184 Short-billed, 7, 184 Drost, Charles, see Collins, P. Dryocopus pileatus, 9 Duck, American Black, 4 Harlequin, 5 Ring-necked, 5, 184 Ruddy, 5, 184 Tufted, 5, 50, 58 Wood, 4, 176, 184 Dumetella carolinensis, 11, 50, 64, 175, 179, 185 Dunlin, 7, 177, 184 Eagle Bald, 5, 85-86, 87, 119, 184 Golden, 5, 87-89, 117, 120, 134, 184 Eakle, Wade L., and Teryl G. Grubb, Prey remains from Golden Eagle nests in central Arizona, 87-89 Egret, Cattle, 4, 175, 183 Great, 4, 175, 183 Reddish, 4, 50, 57 Snowy, 4, 183, 189 Egretta caerulea, 4 rufescens, 4, 50, 57 thula, 4, 183, 189 tricolor, 4, 183, 189 Eider, King, 5, 50 Stelier’s, 2, 5, 50 Elanus caeruleus, 5 Emberiza rustica, 2, 14, 50, 51, 71 Empidonax alnorum, 2, 15 difficilis, 10, 122, 185 flauiuentris, 9, 50,74 hammondii, 9, 172, 174, 178, 185 minimus, 9, 178, 185 oberholseri, 9, 185 traillii, 9, 185 uirescens, 2 wrightii, 9, 118, 121, 185 Engilis, Andrew, Jr., see Cole R. Eremophila alpestris, 10 Eudocimus albus, 4 Eugenes fulgens, 2, 178, 185 Euphagus carolinus, 14, 182, 187 cyanocephatus, 14, 126, 187 Falco colurnbarius, 5, 184 mexicanus, 5, 107-114, 117, 120, 184 peregrin us, 5, 184 rusticolus, 5, 50, 60 sparverius, 5, 32, 120, 184 Falcon, Peregrine, 5, 184 Prairie, 5, 107-114, 117, 120, 184 Fellers, Gary M., see Collins, P. Finch, Cassin’s, 14, 187 House, 14, 126, 187 Purple, 14, 182, 187 Rosy, 14 Findholt, Scott, L., New American White Pelican nesting colony in Wyoming, 136-138; Ring-billed Gull: a rediscovered nesting species in Wyoming, 189-190 Flicker, Northern, 9, 121, 185 Flycatcher, Acadian, 2 Alder, 2, 15 Ash-throated, 10, 122, 185 Brown-crested, 10 Dusky, 9, 185 Dusky-capped, 10, 50, 62, 74 Gray, 9, 118, 121, 185 Great Crested, 10, 50, 63 Hammond’s, 9, 172, 174, 178, 185 Least, 9, 178, 185 Olive-sided, 9, 185 Scissor-tailed, 10, 50, 63, 74, 178, 185 Sulphur-bellied, 10, 50, 63 Western, 10, 122, 185 Willow, 9, 185 Vermillion, 10, 122, 178, 185 Yellow-bellied, 9, 50, 74 Fratercula cirrhata, 8 corniculata, 8 Fregata magnificens, 4 Frigatebird, Magnificent, 4 Fringilla montifringilla, 2, 14, 50, 51, 71 Fufica americana, 6, 184 Fulmar, Northern, 3 Fulmarus glacialis, 3 Gadwall, 4, 184 Gallinago gallinago, 1, 120, 173, 174, 177, 184 Gallinula chloropus, 6, 176, 184 199 Galiinule, Purple, 6, 50 Garganey, 4, 50, 58 Garrison, Barrett A., Observation of copulation between a non-nesting adult and subadult Bald Eagle in California, 85-86 Gatz, Thomas A., and Paul L. Hegdal, Local winter movements of four raptor species in central Co- lorado, 107-114 Gauia adamsii, 3, 50, 54, 55 arctica, 2 immer, 3, 183 pacifica, 2, 3, 175, 183 stellata, 3 Geococcyx californianus, 8, 184 Geothlypis trichas, 13, 124, 186 Glaucidium gnoma, 8, 98, 185 Gnatcatcher, Black-tailed, 11 Blue-gray, 11, 185 Godwit, Bar-tailed, 6, 50 Hudsonian, 6, 50 Marbled, 7, 184 Golden-Plover, Lesser, 6, 176 Goldeneye, Barrow’s, 5 Common, 5, 184 Goldfinch, American, 14, 126, 175, 187 Lawrence’s, 14 Lesser, 14, 126, 187 Goose, Barnacle, 2 Canada, 4, 184 Emperor, 4, 50, 51, 58 Greater White -fronted, 4, 175, 184 Ross’, 4, 93, 94, 184 Snow, 4, 93, 94, 184 Goshawk, Northern, 5, 184 Grackle, Common, 14, 51, 71 Great-tailed, 14, 126, 187 Grebe, Clark’s, 2, 3, 175, 183 Eared, 3, 183 Horned, 3, 175, 183 Least, 3, 50 Pied-billed, 3, 183 Red-necked, 3 Western, 3, 183 Grosbeak, Black-headed, 13, 125, 186 Blue, 13, 125, 186 Evening, 14, 187 Pine, 14, 175, 187 Rose-breasted, 13, 186 Ground-Dove, Common, 8 Ruddy, 2, 15 Grouse, Blue, 6, 174, 184 Ruffed, 6 Sage, 6 Sharp-tailed, 6, 50 Grubb, Teryl G., see Eakle, W. Grus canadensis 6, 120, 176, 184, 192-193 Guillemot, Pigeon, 8 Guiraca caerulea, 13, 125, 186 Gull, Black-tailed, 2, 74 Bonaparte’s, 7, 65 California, 7, 133, 134, 136, 184, 189 Common Black-headed, 7, 16, 50, 61, 65, 73 Franklin’s, 7, 184 Glaucous, 7 Glaucous-winged, 7 Heermann’s, 7 Herring, 7 Iceland, 2, 15 Laughing, 7 Lesser Black-backed, 7, 50 Little, 7, 50, 61 Mew, 7, 141-142 Ring-billed, 7, 117, 120, 141, 184, 189-190 Sabine’s, 7, 177, 184 Swallow-tailed, 2 Thayer’s, 7 Western, 7 Yellow-footed, 7 Gymnogyps californianus, 5 Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus, 10, 185 Gyrfalcon, 5, 50, 60 Haematopus bachmani , 6 palliatus, 6, 50, 60, 73 Haemig, Paul D,, Nesting of the Phainopepla on Santa Cruz Island, California, 48 Haliaeetus leucocephalus, 5, 85-86, 87, 119, 184 Harrier, Northern, 5, 117, 119, 184 Hawk, Broad-winged, 5 Cooper’s, 5, 119, 184 Ferruginous, 5, 184 Gray, 72 Harris’, 5, 50, 52, 59 Red-shouldered, 5 Red-tailed, 5, 88, 107-114, 117, 120, 184 Rough-legged, 5, 107-114, 184 Sharp-shinned, 5, 119, 184 Swainson’s, 5, 184 Zone-tailed, 5, 50, 59 Hegdal, Paul L., see Gatz, T. Helmitheros vermiuorus, 12, 51, 68, 172, 181, 186 200 Heron, Great Blue, 4, 118, 119, 136, 183 Green-backed, 4, 183 Little Blue, 4 Tricolored, 4 Heteroscelus brevipes, 2, 6, 33-36, 50 irtcanus, 6, 33-36 Himantopus mexicanus 6, 176, 184 Hirundo pyrrhonota, 10, 118, 122, 129, 185 rustica, 10, 185 Histrionieus histrionicus , 5 Hummingbird, Allen’s, 9 Anna's, 9 Black-chinned, 9, 121, 185 Blue-throated, 9, 50 Broad-billed, 9, 50, 62 Broad-tailed, 9, 41, 118, 121, 185 Calliope, 9, 41, 185 Costa’s, 9 Magnificent, 2, 178, 185 Ruby-throated, 2, 9, 41-42, 50, 62, 74 Rufous, 9, 185 Violet-crowned, 9, 50 Hylocichla mustelina, 11, 50, 64, 179, 185 Ibis, White, 4 White-faced, 4, 50, 183 Icteria virens, 13, 125, 186 Icterus cucullatus, 14, 187 galbula, 14, 126, 187 parisorum, 14, 187 pustu/a/us, 14, 51 spurius, 14, 187 Ictinia mississippiensis, 5, 50, 58, 72 Ixobrychus exilis, 4 Ixoreus naeuius, 11 Jaeger, Long tailed, 7 Parasitic, 7 Pomarine, 7, 177, 184 Jay, Blue, 10, 50, 178, 185 Gray, 10, 174, 185 Pinyon, 10, 185 Scrub, 10, 185 Steller’s, 10, 39, 98, 185 Jehl, Joseph R., Jr., Caspian Tern at Mono Lake, The, 133-135 Junco, Dark-eyed, 13, 117, 126, 186 Junco hyemalis, 13, 117, 126, 186 Kestrel, American, 5, 32, 120, 184 Killdeer, 6, 120, 184 Kingbird, Cassin’s, 10, 122, 185 Eastern, 10, 178, 185 Thick-billed, 10, 50 Tropical, 10 Western, 10, 122, 185 Kingfisher, Belted, 9, 121, 185 Kinglet, Golden-crowned, 11, 185 Ruby-crowned, 11, 117, 123, 185 Kite, Black-shouldered, 5 Mississippi, 5, 50, 58, 72 Kittiwake, Black-legged, 7 Knot, Red, 7, 176, 184 Lagopus leucurus, 2 Lampornis clemenciae, 9, 50 Lanius cristatus, 2, 12 excubitor, 12, 186 ludovicianus, 12, 118, 123, 186 Lark, Horned, 10 Larus argentatus, 7 atricilla, 7 californicus, 7, 133, 134, 136, 184, 189 canus, 7, 141-142 crassirostris, 2, 74 delawarensis, 7, 117, 120, 141, 184, 189-190 fuscus, 7, 50 glaucescens, 1 glaucoides, 2, 15 heermanni, 1 hyperboreus, 7 tivens, 7 minutus, 7, 50, 61 occidentalis, 7 philadlephia, 7, 65 pipixcan, 7, 184 ridibundus, 7, 16, 50, 61, 65, 73 thayeri, 7 Laterallus jamaicensis , 6 Leucosticte arctoa, 14 Limnodromus griseus, 7, 184 scoiopaceus, 7, 184 Limnothlypis swainsonii, 172, 181, 186 Limosa fedoa, 7, 184 haemastica, 6, 50 lapponica , 6, 50 Longspur, Chestnut-collared, 14, 187 Lapland, 14, 182, 187 McCown’s, 14, 182, 186 Smith’s, 182, 187 Loon, Arctic, 2 Common, 3, 183 Pacific, 2, 3, 175, 183 Red-throated, 3 201 Yellow -billed, 3, 50, 54, 55 Lophodytes cucullatus, 5, 176, 184 Loxia curvirostra, 14, 187 leucoptera, 14, 51 Lymnocryptes minimus, 7, 50, 61 Magpie, Black-billed, 10, 174, 178, 185 Yellow-billed, 10 Mallard, 4, 118, 119, 184 Martin, Purple, 10, 185 Meadowlark, Eastern, 187 Western, 14, 118, 126, 187 Melanerpes erythrocephalus, 9, 50 formiciuorus, 9, 121, 185 leivis, 9, 174, 185 uropygialis, 9, 121, 139-140, 178, 185 Melanitta fusca, 5, 176, 184 nigra, 5 perspicillata, 5, 176, 184 Meleagris gallopavo, 6, 184 Melospiza georgiana, 13, 125, 186 lincolnii, 13, 117, 125, 186 melodia, 13, 117, 125, 186 Merganser, Common, 5, 118, 119, 184 Hooded, 5, 176, 184 Red-breasted, 5, 176, 184 Mergellus albellus, 2, 5, 50, 58 Mergus merganser, 5, 118, 119, 184 senator, 5, 176, 184 Merlin, 5, 184 Micrathene whitneyi, 8 Mimus polyglottos, 11, 185 Mniotilta varia, 12, 186 Mockingbird, Northern, 11, 185 Molothrus aeneus, 14 ater, 14, 126, 187 Moorhen, Common, 6, 176, 184 Motacilla alba, 1, 2, 11, 50, 51, 52, 64, 67 flava, 2, 11, 51 lugens, 1,2, 11, 51, 52, 64 Murre, Common, 8 Thick-billed, 8, 50, 73 Murrelet, Ancient, 8 Craveri’s, 8 Kittlitz’s, 2, 8, 50 Marbled, 8 Xantus’, 8 Myadestes townsendi, 11, 175, 185 Mycteria americana , 4, 175, 183 Myiarchus cinerascens, 10, 122, 185 crinitus, 10, 50, 63 tuberculifer, 10, 50, 62, 74 tyrannulus, 10 Myioborus pictus, 13, 118, 125, 175, 186 202 Myiodynastes luteiuentris, 10, 50, 63 Night-Heron, Black-crowned, 4, 183, 189 Yellow-crowned, 4, 50, 57, 72 Nighthawk, Common, 9, 185 Lesser, 9 Norris, Larry L., Nesting of Plumbeous Solitary Vireo in the southern Sierra Nevada, 37-39 Nucifraga columbiana, 10, 185 Numenius americanus, 6, 184 minutus, 2, 6, 50, 60 phaeopus, 6 Nutcracker, Clark’s, 10, 185 Nuthatch, Pygmy, 10, 185 Red-breasted, 10, 185 White-breasted, 10, 123, 125 Nyctea scandiaca, 8, 50, 52, 62 Nycticorax nycticorax, 4, 183, 189 violaceus, 4, 50, 57, 72 Oceanites oceanicus, 3, 50, 56 Oceanodroma castro, 3, 50 furcata, 3 homochroa, 3 leucorhoa , 3 melania, 3 microsoma, 3 tethys, 3, 50, 56, 72 Oenanthe oenanthe, 11, 50 Oldsquaw, 5 Oporornis agilis, 12, 51, 68 formosus, 12, 51, 68, 172, 181, 186 Philadelphia, 13, 51, 70, 181, 186 tolmiei, 13, 175, 186 Oreortyx pictus, 6 Oreoscoptes montanus, 11, 175, 185 Oriole, Hooded, 14, 187 Northern, 14, 126, 187 Orchard, 14, 187 Scott’s, 14, 187 Streak-backed, 14, 51 Osprey, 5, 184 Otus flammeolus, 8, 21-31, 184 kennicottii, 8, 22 Ovenbird, 12, 181, 186 Owl, Barred, 2, 8, 50 Boreal, 2 Burrowing, 8, 22, 185 Elf, 8 Flammulated, 8, 21-31, 184 Great Gray, 8 Great Horned, 8, 88, 107, 114, 121, 134, 184 Long-eared, 8, 185 Northern Saw-whet, 8, 185 Short-eared, 8, 185 Snowy, 8, 50, 52, 62 Spotted, 8, 185 Oxyura jamiacensis, 5, 184 Oystercatcher, American, 6, 50, 60, 73 Black, 6 Page, Gary W., Frances C. Bidstrup, Robert J. Ramer, and Lynn E. Stenzel, Distribution of wintering Snowy Plovers in California and ad- jacent states, 145-170 Pandion haliaetus, 5, 184 Parabuteo unicinctus, 5, 50, 52, 59 Parula, Northern, 12, 180, 186 Parula americana, 12, 180, 186 Parus atricapillus, 10, 178, 185 gambeli, 10, 185 inornatus, 10, 185 rufescens, 10, 98 wollweberi, 123 Passer domesticus, 14, 187 Passerculus sandwichensis, 13, 186 Passerella iliaca, 13, 186 Passerina amoena, 13, 125, 186 ciris, 13, 51, 70, 75, 181, 186 cyanea, 13, 186 versicolor, 13, 51 Paulson, Dennis R., Identification of juvenile tattlers and a Gray-tailed Tattler record from Washington, 33-36 Pelican, American White, 3, 136-138, 183 Brown, 4 Pelecanus erythrorhynchos, 3, 136-138, 183 occidentals , 4 Perisoreus canadensis, 10, 174, 185 Petrel, Cape, 2 Cook’s, 2, 3, 50, 51, 54, 55, 79-84 Mottled, 3, 50 Solander’s, 2 Stejneger’s, 4, 50 Peucedramus taeniatus, 175 Pewee, Greater, 9, 50, 62, 175, 185 Phaethon aethereus, 3 lepturus, 3 , 50, 56 rubricauda, 3, 50 Phainopepla, 11, 48, 175, 186 Phainopepla nitens, 11, 48, 175, 186 Phalacrocorax auritus, 4, 136, 183 olivaceus, 4, 50, 56 pelagicus, 4 penicillatus, 4 Phalaenoptilus nuttallii, 9, 185 Phalarope, Red, 7, 184 Red-necked, 7, 177, 184 Wilson’s 7, 173, 174, 177, 184 Phalaropus fulicaria, 7, 184 lobatus, 7, 177, 184 tricolor, 7, 184 Phasianus colchicus, 6, 120 Pheasant, Ring-necked, 6, 120 Pheucticus ludovicianus, 13, 186 melanocephalus, 13, 125, 186 Philomachus pugnax, 1 Phoebe, Black, 10, 122, 185 Eastern, 10, 122, 178, 185 Say’s, 10, 118, 122, 185 Phylloscopus fuscatus, 11, 50, 63, 65 Pica nuttalli, 10 pica, 10, 174, 178, 185 Picoides albolarvatus, 9 arcticus, 9 nuttallii, 9, 43-44 puhescens, 9, 43-44, 175, 185 scalaris, 9, 118, 121 tridactylus, 2, 15, 174, 185 villosus, 9, 98, 121, 185 Pigeon, Band-tailed, 8, 177, 184 Pinicola enucleator, 14, 175, 187 Pintail, Northern, 4, 117, 119, 184 Pipilo aberti, 13, 125 chlorurus, 13, 118, 125, 175, 186 erythrophthalmus 13, 117, 125, 186 fuscus, 13, 118, 125, 186 Pipit, Red-throated, 11, 51, 66 Sprague’s, 11, 51, 66, 179, 186 Water, 11, 123, 175, 179, 186 Piranga flava, 13, 186 ludoviciana, 118, 125, 186 oliuacea, 13, 51, 70, 74, 181, 186 rubra, 13, 125, 186 Plectrophenax nivalis, 14, 51, 71 Plegadis chihi, 4, 50, 183 Plover, Black-bellied, 6, 184 Common Ringed, 2 Mongolian, 6, 50, 60 Mountain, 6, 174, 176, 184 Piping, 6, 50 Semipalmated, 6, 184 Snowy, 6, 145-170, 184 Wilson’s, 6, 50 Pluuialis dominica, 6, 176 squatarola, 6, 184 Podiceps auritus, 3, 175, 183 grisegena, 3 nigricollis, 3, 183 Podilymbus podiceps, 3 Polioptila caerulea, 11, 185 melanura, 11 203 Polysticta stelleri, 2, 5, 50 Pooecetes gramineus, 13, 175, 186 Poorwill, Common, 9, 185 Porphyrula martinica, 6, 50 Porzana Carolina, 6, 184 Progne subis, 10, 185 Protonotaria citrea, 12, 51, 68, 181, 186 Psaltriparus minimus, 10, 117, 123, 185 Ptarmigan, White-tailed, 2 Pterodroma cookii, 2, 3, 50, 51, 54, 55, 79-84 inexpectata, 3, 50 longirostris, 3, 50 solandri, 2 Ptychoramphus aleuticus, 8 Puffin, Horned, 8 Tufted, 8 Puffinus auricularis, 2 bulled , 3, 45-47 carneipes, 3, 45 creatopus, 3, 45 gravis, 3, 50 griseus, 3, 45, 46, 83 leucomelas, 3, 46, 50 opisthomelas, 3 pacificus, 45 puffinus, 72 tenuirostris, 3 Pygmy-Owl, Northern, 8, 98, 185 Pyrocephaius, rubinus, 10, 122, 178, 185 Pyrrhuloxia, 13, 51 Quail, California, 6, 184 Gambel’s, 6, 120 Montezuma, 175, 184 Mountain, 6 Scaled, 184 Quiscalus mexicanus, 14, 126, 187 quiscula, 14, 51, 71 Radke, Marcia F. and William R. Radke, Breeding by a two-year old Sandhill Crane, 192-193 Radke, William R., see Radke, M. Rail, Black, 6 Clapper, 6 Virginia, 6, 184 Yellow, 6, 50, 60, 72 Raltus limicola, 6, 184 longirostris , 6 Ramer, Robert J., see Page, G. Raven, Chihuahuan, 118, 122 Common, 10, 88, 118, 123, 185 Recuruirostra americana, 6, 173, 176, 184 Redhead, 5, 184 Redpoll, Common, 14, 51, 71 Redshank, Spotted, 2, 6, 50 Redstart, American, 12, 124, 172, 180, 186 Painted, 13, 118, 125, 175, 186 Regulus calendula, 11, 117, 123, 185 satrapa, 11, 185 Riparia riparia, 10, 185 Rissa tridactyla, 1 Roadrunner, Greater, 8, 184 Roberson, Don, Ninth report of the California Bird Records Committee, 49-77 Robin, American, 11, 123, 185 Rufous-backed, 11, 50, 64 Rosenberg, Gary H. and Scott B. Terrill, Avifauna of Apache County, Arizona, 171-187 Ruff, 7 Rynchops niger, 8 Salpinctes obsoletus, 11, 185 Sanderling, 7, 176, 184 Sandpiper, Baird’s, 7, 184 Buff-breasted, 7, 50, 61 Curlew, 7, 50 Least, 7, 120, 184 Pectoral, 7, 184 Rock, 7 Semipalmated, 7, 176, 184 Sharp-tailed, 7 Solitary, 6, 120 Spotted, 6, 118, 120, 184 Stilt, 7, 184 Upland, 6, 50 Western, 7, 184 White-rumped, 7, 50 Sapsucker, Red-breasted, 9, 97-105 Red-naped, 2, 9, 121, 174, 185 Williamson’s, 9, 174, 185 Yellow-bellied, 9, 185 Sayorn/s nigricans, 10, 122, 185 phoebe, 10, 122, 178, 185 saya, 10, 118, 122, 185 Scaup, Greater, 5 Lesser, 5, 184 Scoter, Black, 5 Surf, 5, 176, 184 White-winged, 5, 176, 184 Screech-Owl, Western, 8, 22 Seiurus aurocapillus, 12, 181, 186 motacilla, 12, 51, 68 noveboracenis, 12, 124, 186 204 Selasphorus platycercus, 9, 41, 118, 121, 185 rufus, 9, 185 sasin, 9 Setophaga ruticilla, 12, 124, 172, 180, 186 Shearwater, Black-vented, 3 Bullet’s, 3, 45-47 Flesh-footed, 3, 45 Greater, 3, 50 Manx, 72 Pink-footed, 3, 45 Short-tailed, 3 Sooty, 3, 45, 46, 83 Streaked, 3, 46, 50 Townsend’s, 2 Wedge-tailed, 45 Shoveler, Northern, 4, 184 Shrike, Brown, 2, 12 Loggerhead, 12, 188, 123, 186 Northern, 12, 186 Shuford, W David, Have ornithologists or breeding Red-breasted Sapsuckers extended their range in coastal California?, 97-105 Sialia currucoides, 11, 174, 185 mexicana, 11, 118, 123, 185 Siskin, Pine, 14, 126, 187 S/tta canadensis, 10, 185 carolinensis, 10, 123, 185 pygmaea, 10, 185 Skimmer, Black, 8 Skua, South Polar, 7 Skylark, Eurasian, 10, 50 Smew, 2, 5, 50, 58 Snipe, Common, 7, 120, 173, 174, 177, 184 Jack, 7, 50, 61 Solitaire, Townsend’s, 11, 175, 185 Somateria spectabiiis, 5, 50 Sora, 6, 184 Sparrow, American Tree, 13, 186 Baird’s, 13, 70, 181, 186 Black-chinned, 13 Black-throated, 13, 186 Brewer’s, 13, 186 Cassin’s, 13, 51, 70, 181, 186 Chipping, 13, 118, 125, 186 Clay-colored, 13, 181, 186 Field, 13, 51, 70, 181, 186 Fox, 13, 186 Golden-crowned, 13, 182, 186 Grasshopper, 13, 182, 186 Harris’, 13, 186 House, 14, 187 Lark, 13, 186 Le Conte’s, 13, 51, 69, 71 Lincoln’s, 13, 117, 125, 186 Rufous-crowned, 13, 186 Sage, 13, 186 Savannah, 13, 186 Sharp-tailed, 13, 51, 71 Song, 13, 117, 125, 186 Swamp, 13, 125, 186 Vesper, 13, 175, 186 White-crowned, 13, 117, 126, 175, 186 White -throated, 13, 126, 186 Sphyrapicus nuchalis, 2, 9, 121, 174, 185 ruber, 9, 97-105 thyroideus, 9, 174, 185 uarius, 9, 185 Spiza americana, 13, 181, 186 Spizella arborea, 13, 186 atrogularis, 13 brewed, 13, 186 pallida, 13, 118, 125, 186 passerina, 13, 118, 125, 186 pusilla, 13, 51, 70, 181, 186 Spoonbill, Roseate, 4 Starling, European, 12, 124, 129, 139, 186 Stelgidopteryx serripennis, 10, 122, 185 Stellula calliope, 9, 41, 185 Stenzel, Lynne E., see Page, G. Stercorarius longicaudus, 1 parasiticus, 7 pomarinus, 7, 177, 184 Sterna antillarum, 8 caspia, 8, 133-135, 136, 177, 184, 189 elegans, 8 forsteri, 8, 184 fuscata, 2, 8, 50 hirundo, 8, 177, 184 maxima, 1 nilotica, 1 paradisaea, 8 sandvicensis, 8, 50 Stilt, Black-necked, 6, 176, 184 Stint, Little, 2, 7, 50, 61 Rufous-necked, 7, 50, 73 Temrmnck’s, 73 Stork, Wood, 4, 175, 183 Storm-Petrel, Ashy, 3 Band-rumped, 3, 50 Black, 3 Fork-tailed, 3 Leach’s, 3 205 Least, 3 Wedge-rumped, 3, 50, 56, 72 Wilson’s, 3, 50, 56 Streptopelia chinensis, 8 risoria, 2 Streptoprocne zonaris, 2, 9, 50 Strix nebulosa, 8 occidentals, 8, 185 varia, 2, 8, 50 Sturnella magna, 187 neglecta, 14, 118, 126, 187 Sturnus vulgaris, 12, 124, 129, 139, 186 Sula dactyiatra, 3, 50 leucogaster, 3, 50, 56 nebouxii, 3 sula, 3, 50 Surfbird, 7 Swallow, Bank, 10, 185 Barn, 10, 185 Cliff, 10, 118, 122, 129, 185 Northern Rough-winged, 10, 122, 185 Tree, 10, 40, 174, 178, 185 Violet-green, 10, 122, 185 Swan, Trumpeter, 4, 50, 72 Tundra, 4, 184 Whooper, 2, 4, 50, 57 Swift, Black, 9 Chimney, 9 Vaux’s, 9, 177, 185 White-collared, 2, 9, 50 White-throated, 9, 121, 185 Synthliboramphus antiquus, 8 craueri, 8 hypoleucus, 8 Tachybaptus dominicus, 3, 50 Tachycineta bicolor, 10, 40, 174, 178, 185 thalassina, 10, 122, 185 Tanager, Hepatic, 13, 186 Scarlet, 13, 51, 70, 74, 181, 186 Summer, 13, 125, 186 Western, 13, 118, 125, 186 Tattler, Gray-tailed, 2, 6, 33-36, 50 Wandering, 6, 33-36 Teal, Baikal, 4, 50 Blue- winged, 4, 184 Cinnamon, 4, 119, 184 Green-winged, 4. 117, 119, 184 Tern, Arctic, 8 Black, 8 Caspian, 7, 133-135, 136, 177, 184. 189 Common, 7, 177, 184 Elegant, 7 Forster’s, 7, 184 Gull-billed, 7 Least, 8 Royal, 7 Sandwich, 8, 50 Sooty, 2, 8, 50 Terrill, Scott B., see Rosenberg, G. Thrasher, Bendire’s, 11, 186 Brown, 11, 179 California, 11 Crissal, 11 Curve-billed, 11, 50 Le Conte’s, 11 Sage, 11, 175, 185 Thrush, Gray-cheeked, 11, 50 Hermit, 11, 188, 123, 185 Swainson’s, 11, 123, 175, 179, 185 Varied, 11 Wood, 11, 50, 64, 179, 185 Thryomanes bewickii, 11, 123, 129, 185 Titmouse, Bridled, 123 Plain, 10, 185 Towhee, Abert’s, 13, 125 Brown, 13, 118, 125, 186 Green-tailed, 13, 118, 125, 175, 186 Rufous-sided, 13, 117, 125, 186 Toxostoma bendirei, 11, 186 crissale, 11 curvirostre, 11, 50 lecontei, 11 redivivum, 11 rufum, 11, 179 Tringa erythropus, 2, 6, 50 flavipes, 6, 184 melanoleuca, 6, 184 solitaria, 6, 120 Troglodytes aedon, 11, 118, 123, 185 troglodytes, 11, 17-20, 118, 123, 185 Tropicbird, Red-billed, 3 Red-tailed, 3, 50 White-tailed, 3, 50, 56 Tryngites subruficollis, 7, 50, 61 Turdus migratorius, 11, 123, 185 rufopalliatus, 11, 50. 64 Turkey, Wild, 6, 184 Turnstone, Black, 7 Ruddy, 7, 176, 184 Turtle-Dove, Ringed. 2 Tyler, Wm. Breck and Kenneth Burton. Cook’s Petrel specimen from California. A, 79-84 Tympanuchus phasianellus, 6. 50 Tyrannus crassirostris, 10, 50 forficatus, 10. 50, 63, 74, 178. 185 melancholicus, 10 206 tyrannus, 10, 178, 185 uerticalis, 10, 122, 185 vociferans, 10, 122, 185 Tyto alba, 8, 184 Unitt, Philip, Another hybrid Downy x Nuttall’s Woodpecker from San Diego County, 43-44 Uria aalge, 8 lomvia, 8, 50, 73 Veery, 11, 50, 172, 175, 178, 185 Verdin, 10 Vermivora celata, 12, 186 chrysoptera, 1, 12, 51, 66, 179, 186 luciae , 12, 124, 186 peregrina, 12, 179, 186 pinus, 12, 51, 66, 179, 186 ruficapilla , 12, 186 uirginiae , 12, 124, 186 Violet-ear, Green, 73 Vireo, Bell’s, 12 Gray, 12, 39 Hutton’s, 12 Philadelphia, 12, 51, 66, 69, 179, 186 Red-eyed, 1, 12, 51, 186 Solitary, 12, 37-39, 124, 186 Warbling, 12, 124, 186 White-eyed, 12, 51, 179, 186 Yellow-throated, 12, 51, 124 Vireo bellii, 12 flavifrons, 12, 51, 124 gilvus, 12, 124, 186 griseus, 12, 51, 179, 186 huttoni, 12 oliuaceus, 1, 12, 51, 186 philadelphicus, 12, 51, 66, 69, 179, 186 solitarius, 12, 37-39, 124, 186 vicinior, 12, 39 Vulture, Black, 2, 74 Turkey, 5, 88, 118, 119, 184 Wagtail, Black-backed, 1, 2, 11, 51, 52, 64 White, 1, 2, 11, 50, 51, 52, 64, 67 Yellow, 2, 11, 51 Wahl, Terence R., Notes on the feeding behaivor of Buller’s Shearwater, 45-47 Warbler, Bay-breasted, 12, 180, 186 Black-and-white, 12, 186 Black-throated Blue, 12, 180, 186 Black-throated Gray, 12, 124, 186 Black-throated Green, 12, 180, 186 Blackburnian, 12, 180, 186 Blackpoll, 12, 180, 186 Blue-winged, 1, 12, 51, 66, 179, 186 Canada, 13 Cape May, 12 Cerulean, 12, 51 Chestnut-sided, 12, 180, 186 Connecticut, 12, 51, 68 Dusky, 11, 50, 63, 65 Golden-cheeked, 12, 51, 66 Golden-winged, 1, 12, 51, 66, 179, 186 Grace’s, 12, 51, 67, 186 Hermit, 12, 186 Hooded, 13 Kentucky, 12, 51, 68, 172, 181, 186 Lucy’s, 12, 124, 186 MacGillivray’s, 13, 175, 186 Magnolia, 12, 180, 186 Mourning, 13, 51, 70, 181, 186 Nashville, 12, 186 Olive, 175 Orange-crowned, 12, 186 Palm, 12, 180, 186 Pine, 12, 51, 67 Prairie, 12 Prothonotary, 12, 51, 68, 181, 186 Red-faced, 13, 51, 70, 175, 186 Swainson’s, 172, 181, 186 Tennessee, 12, 179, 186 Townsend’s, 12, 124, 186 Virginia’s, 12, 124, 186 Wilson’s, 12, 118, 124, 175, 186 Worm-eating, 12, 51, 68, 172, 181, 186 Yellow, 12, 124, 129, 186 Yellow-rumped, 12, 117, 124, 186 Yellow-throated, 12, 51, 66, 172, 180, 186 Waterthrush, Louisiana, 12, 51, 68 Northern, 12, 124, 186 Waxwing, Bohemian, 11, 179, 186 Cedar, 11, 186 Weber, John W., First verified record of the Mew Gull for Idaho, 141-142 Wheatear, Northern, 11, 50 Whimbrel, 6 Whip-poor-will, 9, 175, 185 Whistling- Duck, Black-bellied, 4, 50 Fulvous, 4 Wigeon, American, 5, 184 Eurasian, 4, 176, 184 Willet, 6 Wilsonia canadensis, 13 citrina, 13 pusilla, 13, 118, 124, 175, 186 207 Wood-Pewee, Eastern, 9, 50, 74, 185 Western, 9, 121, 185 Woodpecker, Acorn, 9, 121, 185 Black-backed, 9 Downy, 9, 43-44, 175, 185 Gila, 9, 121, 139-140, 178, 185 Hairy, 9, 98, 121, 185 Ladder-backed, 9, 118, 121 Lewis’, 9, 174, 185 Nuttall’s, 9, 43-44 Pileated, 9 Red-headed, 9, 50 Three-toed, 2, 15, 174, 185 White-headed, 9 Wren, Bewick’s, 11, 123, 129, 185 Cactus, 11 Canyon, 11, 185 House, 11, 123, 185 Marsh, 11, 123, 185 Rock, 11, 185 Sedge, 11, 50 Winter, 11, 17-20, 118, 123, 185 Wrentit, 11 Xema sabini, 7, 177, 184 Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus, 14, 187 Yellowlegs, Greater, 6, 184 Lesser, 6, 184 Yellowthroat, Common, 13, 124, 186 Zenaida asiatica, 8, 121 macroura, 8, 88, 121, 129, 184 Zonotrichia albicollis, 13, 126, 186 atricapilla, 13, 182, 186 leucophrys, 13, 117, 126, 175, 186 querula, 13, 186 208 Volume 17, Number 4, 1986 Distribution of Wintering Snowy Plovers in California and Adjacent States Gary W, Page, Frances C. Bidstrup, Robert J. Ramer, and Lynne E. Stenzel 145 The Avifauna of Apache County, Arizona Gary H. Rosenberg and Scott B. Terrill 171 NOTES The Ring-billed Gull: A Rediscovered Nesting Species in Wyoming Scott L. Findholt 189 Breeding by a Two-year Old Sandhill Crane Marcia F. Radke and William R. Radke 192 BULLETIN BOARD 194 INDEX Mildred Comar 196 Cover photo by Bruce Maxwell: Horned Puffins (Fratercula comiculata), Pribilof Islands, Alaska, June 1983 Western Birds solicits papers that are both useful to and understandable by amateur field ornithologists and also contribute significantly to scientific litera- ture. The journal welcomes contributions from both professionals and amateurs. Appropriate topics include distribution, migration, status, identifi- cation, geographic variation, conservation, behavior, ecology, population dynamics, habitat requirements, the effects of pollution, and techniques for censusing, sound recording, and photographing birds in the field. Papers of general interest will be considered regardless of their geographic origin, but particularly desired are reports of studies done in or bearing on the Rocky Mountain and Pacific states and provinces, including Alaska and Hawaii, western Texas, northwestern Mexico, and the northeastern Pacific Ocean, Send manuscripts to Philip Unitt, 3411 Felton Street, San Diego, CA 92104. For matter of style consult the Suggestions to Contributors to Western Birds (8 pages available at no cost from the editor) and the Council of Biology Editors Style Manual {available for $24 from the Council of Biology Editors, Inc., 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814. Reprints can be ordered at author’s expense from the Editor when proof is returned or earlier. Good photographs of rare and unusual birds, unaccompanied by an article but with caption including species, date, locality and other pertinent informa- tion, are wanted for publication in Western Birds. Submit photos arid captions to Photo Editor.