Western Birds Journal

Volume 40, No. 1

Published January 1, 2009

Issue description

Volume 40, number 1 of Western Birds, published 2009

Articles

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    KATHY C. MOLINA , KIMBALL L. GARRETT, KEITH W. LARSON, DAVID P. CRAIG (Author)

    THE WINTER DISTRIBUTION OF THE WESTERN GULL-BILLED TERN (GELOCHELIDON NILOTICA VANROSSEM)

    We surveyed 73 sites along the Gulf of California and Pacific coasts of mainland Mexico during five nonbreeding seasons from December 1999 to January 2007 to clarify the winter status and distribution of the western North American subspecies of the Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica vanrossem), a taxon of conservation concern. We located birds at 44 of the 73 sites, (60%) with the largest numbers found around coastal lagoons with extensive tidal flats in southern Sonora, Sinaloa, and extreme northern Nayarit. Local concentrations were also noted at other sites from the Colorado River delta of extreme northwestern Sonora south to Guerrero. Resightings of birds banded as chicks at California breeding colonies establish the first evidence of connectivity to specific wintering sites in Mexico as far south as southern Sonora and possibly into Nayarit.

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    PHILIP UNITT, MERYL A. FAULKNER, CHARLES SWANSON (Author)

    FIRST RECORD OF NEWELL’S SHEARWATER FROM THE MAINLAND OF NORTH AMERICA

    A Newell’s Shearwater (Puffinus [auricularis] newelli) captured alive on land at Del Mar, California, on 1 August 2007 was the first of its species to reach the continent of North America or a latitude so far north. The bird was distinguished from the similar Marian (P. puffinus) and Townsend’s (P. [a.] auricularis) shearwaters by the pattern of its undertail coverts, white basally and black distally, as well as tail length and weight. An attempt to rehabilitate it was unsuccessful, and it died after 10 months in captivity.

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    MARY F. WILLSON, KATHERINE M. HOCKER (Author)

    NESTLING PROVISIONING BY AMERICAN DIPPERS NEAR JUNEAU, ALASKA

    The rate of food delivery by male American Dippers (Cinclus mexicanus) increased as the female spent more time brooding young chicks, although the delivery rate by male parents varied greatly when the female was not brooding. Males commonly delivered food more often than females when females were brooding, but nonbrooding females sometimes made more deliveries than their mates. Pairs differed in the relative numbers of food-delivery trips by male and female. Juvenile salmon, and salmon eggs in season, were often delivered to chicks on streams with salmon spawning runs, by both parents. Single parents raised chicks successfully in three cases. One male mated bigamously, but only one of his females was successful in rearing chicks, probably because of a severe infestation of bird-blowflies.

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    BREND J. ZAUN (Author)

    FIRST MODERN RECORD OF THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE IN HAWAII

    The White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) is distributed widely in northern Europe and Asia (Forsman 1999), where it breeds from western Greenland, Iceland, and Scandinavia to the Russian Far East and Attu in the Aleutian Islands (AOU 1998); the members of this genus are commonly called sea-eagles. During the 1950 and 1960s, the White-tailed Eagle declined dramatically in many regions of Europe because of environmental contaminants, habitat loss, persecution, and human disturbance, and the species was eventually listed as threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN 2006). After intensive conservation actions and successful reintroductions in its historic range, the White-tailed Eagle was downlisted to a species of least concern (IUCN 2006). It is a year-round resident in most portions of its range, but seasonal movements are evident in fringe populations (Forsman 1999). Mullarnery et al. (1999) reported that most adults are resident except in far northern Eurasia, while juveniles are more migratory. Here I report the first White-tailed Eagle observed in the Hawaiian Islands, describe its prey selections, and briefly review the fossil record of the genus Haliaeetus in Hawaii.

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    BREND J. ZAUN, WESLEY W. WEATHER (Author)

    EGG RETRIEVAL BY THE HAWAIIAN GOOSE AFTER ATTEMPTED PREDATION BY A CAT

    The Hawaiian Goose or Nēnē (Branta sandvicensis), Hawaii’s only extant endemic goose, was nearly extirpated by hunting, habitat loss, and depredation by introduced predators and is among the most threatened of waterfowl. By the 1950s, the wild population was estimated at only about 30 individuals (Smith 1952). Captive propagation programs, reintroductions, and continuing predator control have resulted in increased populations, particularly on Kauai. Currently, populations of the Hawaiian Goose exist on the islands of Kauai, Maui, Hawaii, and Molokai. Listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 1967 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1967), Hawaii’s wild population is currently estimated to be around 2000 individuals (Ann Marshall pers. comm.). Predator control is essential for the recovery of this species. Here we report an attack by a feral cat on a Hawaiian Goose nest and the first documented egg retrieval by the Hawaiian Goose.

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    ALAN CONTRERAS (Author)

    BOOK REVIEW: Identification Guide to North American Birds, Part 2

    Prior to writing this review, I asked a number of active banders whether they would be willing to review Part 2 of Peter Pyle’s vast ornithological fact-swamp. Each of them scuttled rapidly away muttering about being asked to review the Bible. A technical review of Part 2 from a bander’s perspective is neither appropriate nor feasible for Western Birds. Most of our readers are more interested in what aspects of the book are likely to be of use to them in the field, rather than for examining birds in the hand.

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    ALAN CONTRERAS (Author)

    BOOK REVIEW: Field Guide to Owls of California and the West

    This fat little guide is one of the finest works of natural history that I have read in years. I can say “read,” not merely referred to (or worse: utilized), because it is not only as fact-laden as most utilizer might want, it is written almost as a work of literature and can be read for pleasure. Before all of you hard-science types creep off to digest the molt limits in Peter Pyle’s new guide rather than risk the shoal waters of “readable” bird books, note that Peeters’ new owl guide is exceptionally well-referenced  (the citation list takes 24 pages) and can serve as a resource as well as a read.

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    STEVEN G. MLODINOW, DAVID S. IRONS (Author)

    FEATURED PHOTO - FIRST RECORD OF THE VARIEGATED FLYCATCHER FOR WESTERN NORTH AMERICA

    Late in the afternoon of 6 September 2008, Mike and MerrlyLynn Denny found and photographed a bird in southeastern Washington that they suspected was a Sulphur-bellied Flycatcher (Myiodynes luteiventris). The bird was along the Snake River at Windust Park, Franklin County, close to where we happened to be spending the night. The Dennys quickly posted news of their discovery to birding list-servers for Washington and Oregon, including links to photographs of the bird. We were able to view those photos from our hotel as well as to receive an e-mail from Charlie Wright outlining why the photographed bird was a Variegated Flycatcher (Empidonomus varius), not a Sulphur-bellied or a Piratic Flycatcher (Legatus leucophaeus).