Western Birds Journal

About

Western Birds is the quarterly Journal of Western Field Ornithologists, which solicits papers that contribute significantly to the scientific literature and that are useful and accessible to professional and amateur field ornithologists. The journal welcomes contributions from professional and amateur scientists alike. 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 Hawai'i, western Texas, northwestern Mexico, and the northeastern Pacific Ocean.

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Current Issue

Volume 57, No. 2Western Birds

Published April 30, 2026

Front cover photo by © Chezy Yusuf of Torrance, California: Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) at Castaic Lagoon, Los Angeles Co., California, 6 January 2024.

Full Issue

Articles

  1. Cover Image

    Martin Freeland, Ethan Monk, Peter Pyle (Author)

    AN ANALYSIS OF PLUMAGE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WINTER AND PACIFIC WRENS

    The Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis Vieillot, 1819) and Pacific Wren (T. pacificus Baird, 1864) are closely related species occurring primarily in eastern and western North America, respectively. Recent literature on the identification of these cryptic species has focused on vocal cues, but subtle differences in plumage have also been proposed since Spencer F. Baird’s original description of the Pacific Wren in 1864. The nature and consistency of these differences need quantification for plumage to be useful in identification. We analyzed 11 prospective characters, finding strong differentiation in 6: Winter Wrens show stronger pale markings on the chest, neck, mantle, and alula, and feature a paler throat and supercilium, on average, than Pacific Wrens. Two variables, relative width of pale and dark bars on the primaries and number of pale tips on the upperwing coverts, are moderately informative, whereas we found three variables—relative tone of pale barring on primaries and on secondaries, relative throat color, and crown color—to show no consistent differences. Although differences in plumage between Winter and Pacific wrens are subtle, consideration of the six informative characters should be of material use in identifying many individuals to species

  2. Cover Image

    Ethan Monk, Martin Freeland (Author)

    VARIABILITY IN COMMON CALL NOTES OF THE WINTER AND PACIFIC WRENS

    We analyzed 175 calls of 91 individual Winter (Troglodytes hiemalis) and Pacific (Troglodytes pacificus) wrens by measuring characteristics such as peak frequency, frequency range, and complexity. We found considerable overlap in most measurements, but metrics such as peak frequency and trace shape are useful for distinguishing the two species. With these results, we recommend a standard for acceptance of extralimital Winter and Pacific wrens through evaluation of spectrograms quantifying the call’s peak frequency (higher in the Pacific, lower in the Winter), the shape and symmetry of the trace at the lowest frequency (more symmetrical in the Winter), and whether the lowest-frequency trace is tightly coupled with a second trace (favoring the Pacific).

  3. Cover Image

    Paul E. Lehman (Author)

    THE BIRDS OF GAMBELL AND ST. LAWRENCE ISLAND, ALASKA: NEW RECORDS AND OTHER UPDATES, 2019–2025

    Much noteworthy avian information has accrued since the publication of The Birds of Gambell and St. Lawrence Island, Alaska (Lehman 2019). These include first-time records as well as many new early arrival and late departure dates, high counts, and additional records of rare and casual species. From 2019 to 2025, 14 new species were recorded on St. Lawrence Island. Two, Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler (Helopsaltes certhiola) and the Icterine Warbler (Hippolais icterina), were also firsts for North America. Another two species were new at the village of Gambell but had previously been recorded elsewhere on the island. In addition, the taxonomic splits of the Vega Gull (Larus vegae) and American Herring Gull (L. smithsonianus) from the Herring Gull (L. argentatus) and of the Siberian Pipit (Anthus japonicus) from the American Pipit (A. rubescens) were accompanied by the merging of Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea) and Hoary Redpoll (A. hornemanni) into a single species. These discoveries and reclassifications bring the species total at Gambell to 303 and on St. Lawrence Island to 307.

  4. Cover Image

    Pedro Martins, Luiza Figueira, Jaime L. Stephens, C. John Ralph (Author)

    SITE USE AND SITE FIDELITY OF POST-BREEDING SWAINSON’S THRUSHES IN SOUTHERN OREGON

    Because the relative threats to survival during each stage of the life cycle remain uncertain, understanding all aspects of the full annual cycle has become a priority for bird conservation. The time between the end of breeding and the onset of fall migration is poorly known in most neotropical migrants and may be fraught with peril as birds move away from accustomed breeding areas to find food sufficient to prepare for migration. Therefore, we explored the use by post-breeding adult Swainson’s Thrushes (Catharus ustulatus) of two bird-banding stations in southwestern Oregon over a combined total of 31 years. Though the stations are within the species’ breeding range it nests at neither. Of 547 nonbreeding adults captured, 15.5% (85) were molting flight feathers during at least one capture. On average, these molters arrived and left earlier (2 August–29 September) and stayed longer (18.5 days) than nonmolters (30 August–21 October; 7 days). Molters’ probability of being recaptured at the same site in subsequent years was higher. The estimated fidelity of molters was 0.35; that of nonmolters was 0.15. We infer that both categories represent short-distance movements of birds nesting nearby.

  5. Cover Image

    Richard Littauer (Author)

    THE OREGON DARK-EYED JUNCO SHOULD BE CALLED JUNCO HYEMALIS OREGANA

    John Kirk Townsend introduced the Oregon Junco to science as 
    Fringilla oregana, but since 1856 it has been classified in the genus Junco as Junco oreganus, Junco oregonus, Junco hyemalis oreganus or Junco hyemalis oregonus. The change of spelling to oregonus is not justified under the current International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, and since 1901 oreganus has been used universally. Under the code’s articles 31 and 34 adjectival species-group names (both species and subspecies) must agree in grammatical gender with the genus with which they are combined. Under Article 30, Junco is masculine, whereas Fringilla is feminine. If oregana is an adjective, as it has generally been construed, it needed to be changed to oreganus to agree with Junco. But the termination “-a” is ambiguous, and in ambiguous cases the code prescribes that the word be construed as a noun in apposition that remains unchanged regardless of the gender of the genus in which the species or subspecies is classified. This case parallels other similar examples that have been treated inconsistently in recent literature. A comprehensive review of such cases at the level of both species and subspecies is needed.