A total of 56 species of landbirds has been recorded breeding on the eight Channel Islands off the coast of southern California (Diamond and Jones 1980). Many are permanent resident species breeding every year, while others are migrants or immigrants that only infrequently or briefly establish breeding populations.
This dynamic equilibrium of the breeding birds of the Channel Islands has been addressed by several authors (Lynch and Johnson 1974; Jones 1975; Jones and Diamond 1976; Diamond and Jones 1980), and predicts that from time to time, additions will be made to the list of breeding species (see Haemig 1986).