Western Birds Journal

Volume 37, No. 2

Published April 1, 2006

Issue description

Volume 37, number 2 of Western Birds, published 2006

Articles

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    LUKE W. COLE, KRISTIE N. NELSON, JOHN C. STERLING (Author)

    THE 30TH REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE: 2004 RECORDS

    The California Bird Records Committee reached decisions on 220 records involving 87 species and one species pair reported in 2004, endorsing 161 of them. New to California were the Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) and Stonechat (Saxicola torquatus). Adjusted for these additions and the species-level merger of the White and Black-backed Wagtails within Motacilla alba, California’s bird list stands at 629 species, ten of which are nonnative. A potential first state record of the Hawaiian Goose (Branta sandvicensis) was not accepted on grounds of questionable natural occurrence, and potential first state records of Parkinson’s Petrel (Procellaria parkinsoni) and Flame-colored Tanager (Piranga bidentata) were not accepted on grounds of identification. Other significant records reported here include the state’s second accepted records of the Oriental Turtle-Dove (Streptopelia orientalis) and Magnificent Hummingbird (Eugenes fulgens), third of the Common Black-Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus) and Red-legged Kittiwake (Rissa brevirostris), fifth of the Greater Shearwater (Puffinus gravis), fifth and sixth of the Crested Caracara (Caracara cheriway), a returning fifth Anhinga (Anhinga anhinga), and the sixth Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris). This report also includes an appendix reporting the results of the committee’s review of historical records accepted for statistical purposes, previously unpublished committee decisions, and resolution of contentious records from earlier periods.

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    GEORGE N. STEGER, LORI R. WERNER, THOMAS E. MUNTON (Author)

    NOTES: FIRST DOCUMENTED RECORD OF THE BARRED OWL IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA

    The range expansion of the Barred Owl (Strix varia) into California is being documented incidentally during the annual monitoring of the Northern Spotted Owl (S. occidentalis caurina) and the California Spotted Owl (S. o. occidentalis) at sites of timber sales and demographic studies in northern California and along the Sierra Nevada. Barred Owls were first recorded in northwestern California in 1981 and have subsequently been observed over much of the northern third of the state, as far south as Nevada County in the Sierra Nevada (Dark et al. 1998) and Marin County along the Coast Range (D. Adams, Point Reyes National Seashore, pers. comm.) (Figure 1).

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    ANDREW W. PISTON, STEVEN C. HEINL (Author)

    NOTES: CONFIRMED BREEDING OF THE GREATER YELLOWLEGS IN SOUTHERN SOUTHEAST ALASKA

    The known breeding range of the Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) extends from Newfoundland, Labrador, and Nova Scotia west to east-central British Columbia and southern Alaska (AOU 1998). In Alaska, this species nests from Etolin and Kupreanof islands in southeast Alaska north and west to Kodiak Island, the Alaska Peninsula, and the western Yukon River valley (Elphick and Tibbitts 1998). The breeding status of this species along the coast of northern British Columbia (Campbell et al. 1990) and southern southeast Alaska has not been determined (Elphick and Tibbitts 1998), primarily due to a lack of observers. In June 1909, Swarth (1911) reported seeing birds which he thought might be nesting on Duke Island, one of the southernmost islands in southeast Alaska, but he provided few details.

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    Gary H. Rosenberg (Author)

    BOOK REVIEWS: Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas: by Troy E. Corman and Cathryn Wise-Gervais (editors). 2005. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. 645 pages, 270 maps, over 320 color photos, 455 charts. Hardback $45 (ISBN 0-8263-3379-6).

    Arizona, although not bordering any large body of water, can boast one of the largest cumulative species lists of any North American state or province, some 535 species (as of December 2005). Until the recent publication of the Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas (hereafter ABBA), few publications had dealt specifically with breeding birds in the state. Apart from a few regional bird-finding guides (e.g. southeastern Arizona, Maricopa County, Grand Canyon, Navajo Indian Reservation), the main bodies of work covering Arizona’s breeding birds were the monumental Birds of Arizona by Phillips, Monson, and Marshall (published 1964) and the more regional Birds of the Lower Colorado River by Rosenberg, Ohmart, Hunter, and Anderson (published 1991). Therefore, the time was ripe for a comprehensive treatment of Arizona’s breeding birds. The stated goal of the ABBA is to provide a “snapshot” of the distribution of breeding birds in Arizona at the end of the 20th century. This very attractive publication thus provides a visual presentation of a wealth of data collected during the atlas’ study period (1993–2000) and is an extremely useful tool for researchers and birders alike.

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    Steve N. G. Howell (Author)

    BOOK REVIEWS: National Geographic Society Complete Birds of North America: edited by Jonathan Alderfer. 2005. National Geographic Society. 664 pages, 150 color photos, numerous color illustrations, maps. Hardback, $35 (ISBN 0-7922-4175-4).

    Another book on North American birds, I hear you ask. Do we really need this, and how is it complete? The unfortunate marketing-oriented title immediately dates the book—at least two species recorded from California in fall 2005 (Hornby’s Storm-Petrel and Parkinson’s Petrel) are missing from this Complete Birds of North America (hereafter CBNA), which is intended as a handbook-style companion to the National Geographic Society’s (NGS) Field Guide to the Birds of North America. It’s a great idea, going beyond the field guides with more information on the identification of all birds recorded in North America: a book to be consulted when the conventional field guides just don’t give you enough information. The experience of numerous field observers was drawn upon to write the text, which was reviewed and edited by Jonathan Alderfer, with help from Jon Dunn. Most of the illustrations are recycled from the NGS Field Guide, but numerous new paintings are also included, and 150 color photos are scattered through the text.

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    JIM GREAVES, LARK CHADWICK, JOSEPH MORLAN (Author)

    FEATURED PHOTO: APPARENT EASTERN BELL’S VIREO IN SAN FRANCISCO

    Bell’s Vireo (Vireo bellii) has four recognized subspecies: V. b. bellii, which breeds from eastern Colorado east to the Mississippi River and south to central Texas and Tamaulipas; V. b. medius, which breeds from southwestern Texas south to Durango and Coahuila; V. b. arizonae, which breeds from the Colorado River east through Arizona and south to Sonora; and V. b. pusillus, the Least Bell’s Vireo, which breeds in California and northwestern Baja California (AOU 1957, Brown 1993, Unitt 1985, Pyle 1997).

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    John S. Luther, Phil E. Gordon (Author)

    IN MEMORIAM: HOWARD L. COGSWELL, 1915–2006

    Dr. Howard L. Cogswell, distinguished field ornithologist, ecologist, author, mentor, teacher, friend of the environment, and long-time member of Western Field Ornithologists, died on 8 June 2006 at the age of 91. Born on a farm in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, in 1915, Howard began his passion for birds as a child when he read books by Thornton W. Burgess, especially his Bird Book for Children. When he was about ten he discovered birds as a hobby in the Handbook of Birds by Frank M. Chapman and The Book of Bird Life by Arthur A. Allen.