Volume 24, No. 2

ALLAN R. PHILLIPS, ROBERTO PHILLIPS FARFAN (Author)

DISTRIBUTION, MIGRATION, ECOLOGY, AND RELATIONSHIPS OF THE FIVE-STRIPED SPARROW, AIMOPHILA QUINQUESTRIATA

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The Five-striped Sparrow, Aimophila quinquestriata (Sclater and Salvin), consists of two subspecies locally distributed in two parts of western Mexico. Until recently the paler northern subspecies, A. q. septentrionalis van Rossem, was largely restricted (in summer) to Sonora, while the darker A. q. quinquestriata was known only from northern Jalisco and vicinity. Like all little-known tropical or semi-tropical birds, the Five-striped Sparrow has generally been assumed to be sedentary (Wolf 1977, A.O.U. 1983).

STEVE N. G. HOWELL, PETER PYLE, LARRY B. SPEAR, ROBERT L. PITMAN (Author)

NORTH AMERICAN MIGRANT BIRDS ON CLIPPERTON ATOLL

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Clipperton Atoll lies in the eastern Pacific Ocean about 1000 km southwest of Guerrero, Mexico, at 10°18'N, 109°13'W, and, like many remote islands, is visited rarely by biologists. Although known mostly as a major breeding ground for seabirds, 29 species of northern migrant birds have been reported from the island (Beck 1907, Ehrhardt 1971, Gifford 1913, Haeze et al. 1967, Howell 1959, Niaussat et al. 1968, Stager 1964).

RONALD E. FLORES, WILLIAM R. EDDLEMAN (Author)

NESTING BIOLOGY OF THE CALIFORNIA BLACK RAIL IN SOUTHWESTERN ARIZONA

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The nesting requirements and reproductive biology of the California Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis coturniculus) are poorly known. The main reasons for this are that Black Rails inhabit dense marshes and their small size and secretive nature have made them difficult birds to study (Todd 1977). Additionally, inland breeding populations are sparsely distributed, relatively inaccessible, and declining (Snider 1969, Rosenberg et al. 1991, Evens et al. 1991). As a result, California and Arizona list the California Black Rail as threatened and endangered, respectively (California Department of Fish and Game 1988, Arizona Game and Fish Department 1988). Information on reproduction is essential to management and protection of this threatened subspecies.

MICHAEL A. PATTEN, KURT RADAMAKER, THOMAS E. WURSTER (Author)

NOTEWORTHY OBSERVATIONS FROM NORTHEASTERN BAJA CALIFORNIA

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Despite increased observer awareness of the Salton Sea and the United States portion of the lower Colorado River, coverage of adjacent areas in extreme northeastern Baja California remains low and our knowledge of the avifauna of that region remains slight. The Mexicali Valley contains a substantial amount of agricultural habitat resembling that found just north of the international border in the Imperial Valley. Because of the habitat similarity, the status of many species in northeastern Baja California should be very similar to that known for the Salton Sea or the lower Colorado River. Here we report on a number of species, in hopes that we may help fill some gaps in knowledge of the Baja California avifauna.

GUY McCASKIE (Author)

NOTES: A LITTLE BUNTING REACHES CALIFORNIA

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At mid-morning on 21 October 1991 I visited Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery on Point Loma in San Diego, California. While searching for a reported Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea), I stopped to look through a small flock of Chipping Sparrows (Spizella passerina) feeding in the short grass. I was immediately attracted to a rusty-colored bird with prominent chestnut cheek patches that was about the size of the Chipping Sparrows. The flock was alarmed by my presence and flew up into the trees. As the bird flew I saw white on the outer tail feathers and heard a junco-like “tick” note, and when it landed I saw black streaks on the underparts. I felt the bird was one of the Asiatic buntings, and suspected it was probably a Rustic Bunting (Emberiza rustica), but had no books to consult for verification. Realizing I needed confirmation, I rushed to the nearest telephone and told Richard E. Webster of the bird’s presence. Webster alerted birders in southern California before leaving his office for the cemetery.

HECTOR DOUGLAS, KRISTINE SOWL (Author)

NOTES: NORTHEASTERN EXTENSION OF THE BREEDING RANGE OF THE ARCTIC LOON IN NORTHWESTERN ALASKA

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With the publication of the fourth edition of the AOU Check-list (AOU 1931), the Pacific Loon, Gavia pacifica, was submerged as a subspecies of the Arctic Loon, Gavia arctica. For the next 54 years little attention was given to distinction of the two in the field. In 1985, G. arctica and G. pacifica were again recognized as separate species with the publication of the sixth edition of the AOU Checklist (AOU 1983). Hence the recent upsurge of interest in G. arctica.

CARLA CICERO (Author)

NOTES: VULNERABILITY OF PREY STIMULATES ATTACKS BY JAYS AND SHRIKES ON ADULT BIRDS

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The ability of predators to kill prey depends on the ease of capture and handling, and therefore the issue of prey vulnerability becomes paramount. Temple (1987) revealed a direct relationship between the difficulty of prey capture and the proportion of “substandard individuals” in the predator’s diet. Ullrich (1971) found that such individuals were more common in the diet when shrikes fed on birds than when they ate mice. Small avian predators such as jays and shrikes tend to ignore healthy adult birds under ordinary conditions because of the challenge of capture. However, predatory behavior appears to be stimulated by circumstances that render such birds vulnerable to attack (e.g., Balda 1965). A recent field incident I witnessed, in conjunction with a survey of similar published observations, shed further light on predation by jays and shrikes on adult birds.

STEPHEN J. MYERS (Author)

NOTES: MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES NEST IN DESERT RIPARIAN FOREST

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The breeding habitat of the Mountain Chickadee (Parus gambeli) throughout its range is coniferous forest at middle to high elevations (Grinnell and Miller 1944, Bent 1946, Behle 1956, Dixon 1961, Laudenslayer and Balda 1976, Garrett and Dunn 1981, Unitt 1984). This species is most typically associated with coniferous forests but can also occur in mixed stands of conifers and hardwoods, including Black Oak (Quercus kelloggii), Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides), and cottonwoods (Populus spp.) (Linsdale 1938, Grinnell and Miller 1944). At their lower elevational limit and in the mountain ranges of the Great Basin and eastern Mojave Desert, Mountain Chickadees nest in pinyon–juniper woodland (van Rossem 1936, Linsdale 1938, Johnson 1965, Cardiff and Remsen 1981, Garrett and Dunn 1981). Pinyon Pine (Pinus monophylla, P. edulis), Utah Juniper (Juniperus osteosperma), and White Fir (Abies concolor) are the dominant conifers of these ranges.

KATHY MERRIFIELD (Author)

NOTES: EURASIAN × AMERICAN WIGEONS IN WESTERN OREGON

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In February and March 1991, while censusing American Wigeons (Anas americana) at Alsea Bay in Lincoln County along the coast of central Oregon and at McFadden’s Marsh in Finley National Wildlife Refuge, Benton County, in the central Willamette Valley of western Oregon, I observed three Eurasian (A. penelope) × American Wigeons. I sketched each hybrid and noted its colors in detail. The birds were too distant for vermiculation, details of mottling, and axillars to be visible.

The first hybrid was at Alsea Bay on 3 and 10 February (Figure 1A). Its forehead and crown were bright cream. The bright iridescent rufous postocular band faded into the noniridescent cream of the cheek. The pinkish brown of the breast extended farther back along the sides than on a typical male Eurasian Wigeon. The back and sides were a homogeneous blend of gray and pinkish brown.

PETER PYLE (Author)

NOTES: A MARKHAM’S STORM-PETREL IN THE NORTHEASTERN PACIFIC

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On 27 July 1991 I observed a Markham’s Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma markhami) at 29°59'N, 123°43'W, 293 nautical miles west-southwest of San Nicolas Island, California, and 416 nautical miles due west of Punta Baja, Baja California. I made the sighting at 1245 PST, while censusing birds and marine mammals from a research vessel, as part of a California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) cruise. The wind was light and high clouds were overhead, resulting in excellent observation conditions. From the bridge of the northbound vessel, about 15 meters above the water surface, I watched the storm-petrel fly toward the bow of the ship from the northeast, zigzag back and forth across the path of the ship 3–5 meters in front of the bow, then fly down the west side of the ship. I had excellent views as the bird banked two or three times in front of me. I then went up to the flying bridge where I resumed watching it for 6–8 minutes as it glided back and forth over the wake, at times tending to follow the ship, until I lost sight of it far to the south. I wrote a complete description of the bird an hour after the observation.

PETER PYLE, LARRY B. SPEAR, LARRY B. SPEAR, DAVID G. AINLEY (Author)

NOTES: OBSERVATIONS OF DARK-RUMPED PETRELS OFF OREGON AND CALIFORNIA

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We report two observations of the Dark-rumped Petrel (Pterodroma phaeopygia) off Oregon and California. Spear and Ainley made the first observation on 19 October 1986 at 0830 PST, while censusing birds from a southbound research vessel, at 44° 10' N, 130° 34' W, 500 km (270 nautical miles) off Cape Arago, Oregon. They watched the bird from the flying bridge as it flew west for about 45 seconds, as close as 150 meters, in good lighting. Pyle made the second observation on 2 August 1991 from a vessel conducting research as part of the California Cooperative Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) program, at 31° 55' N, 124° 11' W, 419 km (226 nautical miles) west-southwest of San Miguel Island, California, or 710 km (383 nautical miles) due west of Ensenada, Baja California. The bird was studied from the stern of the vessel, as close as 15 meters distance, at 0700 PST while the ship was collecting oceanographic data at CalCOFI station 83 110. The bird was attracted to a slick created behind the ship, over which it sallied for several minutes before departing.