Western Birds Journal

Volume 3, No. 3

Published July 1, 1972

Issue description

Volume 3, number 3 of Western Birds, published 1972

Articles

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    Deane K. Swickard (Author)

    STATUS OF THE LEAST TERN AT CAMP PENDLETON, CALIFORNIA

    The California Least Tern (Sterna albifrons browni) is on the Department of the Interior’s endangered species list. The survival of this tern is in jeopardy due to intensive urban development of its nesting sites and nearly constant human disturbance during nesting. Except for two remnant colonies, the only natural nesting sites remaining in the state of California are located at the mouth of the Santa Margarita River on Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton, in San Diego County (Craig, pers. comm.).

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    NOTES: NESTLING MORTALITY IN SWALLOWS DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER

    For two consecutive years 24 hours or more of continuous precipitation during early June resulted in mortality in nestling Tree Swallows (Iridoprocne bicolor) and Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) in Marin County, California. There have been few reports of swallow nestling mortality caused by inclement weather in North America. Chapman (1955) reported abandoned eggs and death of nestling Tree Swallows at Princeton, Massachusetts in 1940. Paynter (1954) reported Tree Swallow nests with abandoned eggs due to a storm on 8-9 June at Kent Island, Wisconsin. Drury (1959) reported mass nestling mortality due to continuous rain from 12-20 June in Massachusetts.

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    NOTES: A MARIN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, BREEDING SITE FOR ASHY PETRELS

    On 3 July 1972 an Ashy Petrel (Oceanodroma homochroa) was found incubating an egg in a rock crevice on Bird Rock, Tomales Point, Marin County, California. In addition, a petrel egg, the size, color and shape of an Ashy Petrel’s, was found cracked and deserted in a second crevice. This was donated to the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco.

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    NOTES: RECORDS OF COMMON GALLINULES AT HONEY LAKE, CALIFORNIA

    On 23 May 1971 with R. LeValley and T. Manolis, I saw a single Common Gallinule (Gallinula chloropus) feeding with American Coots (Fulica americana) in shallow water near the headquarters of the Honey Lake Wildlife Area, Lassen Co., California. At the same locality on 24 June 1972, D. Erickson, G. Hunn, R. Stallcup, and I observed the same or another gallinule resting in a diked pond with coots and several species of ducks. The yellow-tipped bill, dark brown back, and white side stripes were noted on each occasion.

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    David G. Ainley (Author)

    BROWN PELICANS IN NORTH-CENTRAL COASTAL CALIFORNIA

    Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) have recently been the subject of much concern among biologists, particularly over their disappearance from the Gulf Coast and breeding failures on the West Coast of North America (see reviews in Keith, Woods and Hunt, 1970; Schreiber and Risebrough, 1972). These reports deal primarily with breeding status, but it is important to analyze their status elsewhere during the winter. McCaskie (1970) described the status of this species in the southwestern United States. This paper presents the results of censuses of Brown Pelicans for several years and for several locations on the northern California coast. Interesting parallels become apparent between inland occurrences of pelicans in the southwest and coastal occurrences farther north.

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    Steven Speich (Author)

    FLOATING AND SWIMMING IN PASSERINES

    A recent controversy induced us to submit our observations and experiments on the survival value and mode of swimming by small passerine birds. Scherner (1969) observed a Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) spreading its wings and tail when floating in water and concluded that the behavior enabled the bird to stay afloat. However, Jackson (1970) questioned whether this behavior was not “... merely part of the swimming movement ...” and correctly pointed out that air trapped in the feathers was sufficient to keep a bird afloat without the spreading of the wings and tail. Our observations of floating Cliff Swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota), Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica), and House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) suggest that even the passive spreading of the wings and tail aids in survival.