Western Birds Journal

Volume 3, No. 2

Published April 1, 1972

Issue description

Volume 3, number 2 of Western Birds, published 1972

Articles

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    John Smail, David G. Ainley, Helen Strong (Author)

    NOTES ON BIRDS KILLED IN THE 1971 SAN FRANCISCO OIL SPILL

    On 18 January 1971 two tankers collided in the mouth of San Francisco Bay and 840,000 gallons of bunker C fuel oil were spilled. Tides and currents quickly moved most of the oil out of the Bay, and in the following several days it spread 17 km out into the Pacific Ocean and along the coast from Drake’s Bay on the Point Reyes National Seashore southward almost to Point Año Nuevo. The oil thus covered a sizable portion of one of the most important wintering areas for aquatic birds on the west coast of North America.

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    Pierre Devillers (Author)

    THE JUVENAL PLUMAGE OF KITTLITZ'S MURRELET

    On 16 August 1969 Harold Beecher found a presumed juvenile Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratum) alive, but in a weakened condition, on the beach at La Jolla, San Diego County, California. Attempts to revive the bird failed and it died the next day. The specimen was donated to the San Diego Natural History Museum (SDNHM No. 37215) and the occurrence was reported in Audubon Field Notes (McCaskie, 1970) as there are very few records of the Marbled Murrelet in southern California. In reexamining the specimen in comparison with juvenile Marbled Murrelets, several points of difference were noted – grayish cast, short bill, whitish tips to secondaries, and whitish rectrices. These points are characteristic of Kittlitz’s Murrelet (Brachyramphus brevirostre). As there appears to be no description of juvenile brevirostre – except for the brief characterization of Kozlova (1957) – the following notes are presented. Capitalized names of colors follow Ridgway (1912).

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    Frederick T. Crase, Richard W. DeHaven (Author)

    CURRENT BREEDING STATUS OF THE YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD IN CALIFORNIA

    While surveying the breeding distribution and abundance of Tricolored Blackbirds (Agelaius tricolor) in California during the spring of 1971, we also recorded observations on Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus). These observations are reported here and compared with published information on the historical breeding status of Yellow-headed Blackbirds in California.

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    NOTES: NEW ARIZONA BIRD RECORDS

    Collections of birds in Arizona, since the publication of Phillips et al. (1964), The Birds of Arizona, have provided several records of species heretofore unknown or of rare occurrence in the state. Enough of these are now available to warrant publication. Four species reported here have not previously been collected in Arizona.

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    NOTES: A WINTER RECORD FOR THE ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW IN MONTEREY COUNTY, CALIFORNIA

    On 9 January 1972, while studying a concentration of shorebirds at the mouth of the Salinas River, Monterey County, my attention was attracted by a flock of approximately 30 swallows feeding over the water well offshore. At first glance these appeared to be Tree Swallows (Iridoprocne bicolor) and Violet-green Swallows (Tachycineta thalassina) in equal number, but as I watched them, a Rough-winged Swallow (Stelgidopteryx ruficollis) suddenly appeared. In characteristic fashion it enabled me to watch it, approaching within 50 feet of me, then temporarily going out of sight as it mingled with the other swallows, only to reappear again from the middle of the river. Under these circumstances there was no question as to its identity, but had it been possible I would have collected it in order to determine the race. I spent the better part of an hour hoping it would feed, even briefly, over the marsh in which I was standing, but it never did.