Volume 3, No. 4

Ned K. Johnson (Author)

BREEDING DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT PREFERENCE OF THE GRAY VIREO IN NEVADA

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In the northern portion of the breeding range of the Gray Vireo (Vireo vicinior) in Nevada, published records of occurrence are based on seven specimens from four localities and sight records from an additional five stations scattered over southern Nye, southern Lincoln, and Clark counties (Linsdale, 1936; Miller, 1946; Gullion et al., 1959; Hayward et al., 1963; and Johnson, 1965). The present note summarizes the aforementioned records and adds new information on occurrence at five localities, one of which extends the known breeding distribution of the species approximately 50 miles to the north (Fig. 1). These data document the occurrence of the Gray Vireo to the northern limits of the Mohave Desert in Nevada. All but two of the specimens (number shown within parentheses) in the following tabulation are stored in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology where their identifications have been verified. Dates and initials of observer are indicated after sight records. Gullion et al. (1959) provided no dates or supplementary detail for their sight records; therefore these places of supposed occurrence may not be breeding localities and they are queried on the map.

Gary Page, Barbara Fearis, Ronald M. Jurek (Author)

AGE AND SEX COMPOSITION OF WESTERN SANDPIPERS ON BOLINAS LAGOON

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There is limited information on the age and sex composition of shorebirds (Charadrii) at migratory stopover points between the breeding and wintering grounds (Jehl, 1963; Mascher, 1966; Page and Bradstreet, 1968) and on the wintering grounds (Holmes, 1966). There are few comparable data for the Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri). We have been collecting data on the age and sex composition of this species at different times of the year on Bolinas Lagoon, Marin County, California. Our data show that adult and immature birds migrate at different times in the fall and that males and females migrate at different times in the spring. Further, we found that male and female Western Sandpipers have somewhat different wintering areas; to our knowledge, this is the only sandpiper for which such evidence currently exists.

The Western Sandpiper breeds chiefly in Alaska and winters from California and the southern United States to Venezuela and Peru. Details of the distribution can be found in Bent, 1927; Palmer, 1967; and Holmes, 1971.

NOTES: AMERICAN REDSTART BREEDING IN CALIFORNIA

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McCaskie (1970) has summarized the status of the American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla) in California. He considers it a normal fall migrant and a late spring vagrant, occurring regularly in small numbers throughout much of the state, and a rare, local winter resident in the south. He treats June and July birds as vagrants that have become hopelessly lost. The breeding range according to the American Ornithologists’ Union (1957) extends west and south to southwestern British Columbia, central northern Washington, eastern Oregon, and northern Utah. However, the closest definite breeding locality that we can find is in southwestern Oregon 15 miles north of Medford, Jackson Co., and 210 km northeast of Arcata, California (Crowell and Nehls, 1970); this nest contained four young when discovered on 2 July 1970 among willows along the Rogue River (John Butler, fide Guy McCaskie). Other summer records from farther northeast in Oregon (Gabrielson and Jewett, 1940; Quaintance, 1942) suggest breeding on a somewhat regular basis.

NOTES: PAINTED BUNTING RECORD FOR NORTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA

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On the morning of 17 April 1972 an adult male Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris) was observed on a feeder at the University of California’s Sagehen Creek Field Station, approximately 8 miles northwest of Truckee, California. The bird was seen on the feeder or in nearby trees several times during the day. It was collected on 18 April and stored in a freezer at the research station pending preparation as a specimen. The Painted Bunting was rather wary and flew out of sight into nearby pine trees several times when I attempted to approach within collecting range. After a brief period, approximately 30 minutes, the bird would return to the feeder or vicinity. On the fourth attempt I was able to approach close enough to collect the Painted Bunting. The bird was associating with Mountain Chickadees (Parus gambeli) that were using the feeder. To my knowledge this is the first record of a Painted Bunting occurring in northeastern California. The Painted Bunting is listed as irregular, accidental, or casual in California (McCaskie et al., 1970).

NOTES: OBSERVATIONS ON THE NEST BEHAVIOR OF THE CALIFORNIA SCRUB JAY

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To our knowledge no one has reported sustained observations of the nest behavior of the California Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens). Incomplete observations of one nest were reported by Michener and Michener (1945). On 28 March 1972 we found a completed nest on a steep ravine about five feet from the ground in a Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) on the Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin Co., California. We watched the nest from a blind 30 feet away for 61 hours and 53 minutes on the 2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, and 17th days after the first egg hatched and once during the incubation period. Since the parents had been color banded previously we knew that the female was 4 years old and the male at least 3.