Volume 40, No. 2

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

BIRDS OF THE KETCHIKAN AREA, SOUTHEAST ALASKA

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Historically, the Ketchikan area was visited by ornithologists only briefly in the early 1900s, and there has been no formally published, comprehensive treatment of the avifauna of southeast Alaska. Here we outline the status of 260 species of birds that have been recorded in the Ketchikan area, southeast Alaska, including 70 confirmed or probable breeders and 10 possible breeders, largely on the basis of our personal observations from 1990 to 2008. The avifauna of the Ketchikan area is typical of the coastal temperate rainforest but also, as a result of its location on the inner islands of the Alexander Archipelago, includes elements of both the open marine environment along the outer coast to the west and mainland river habitats to the east.

PAUL HESS (Author)

BOOK REVIEW: California Bird Species of Special Concern

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It is hard to imagine a more important inaugural publication for a series titled Studies of Western Birds. As a contribution to conservation of one huge state’s avian diversity, it contributes to the future of a substantial portion of western North America’s avian heritage. Western Field Ornithologists and the California Department of Fish and Game can take pride in an obviously immense effort. It is light-years beyond what J. V. Remsen Jr. could have envisioned at the time of his seminal monograph, “Bird Species of Special Concern in California,” published by the Department of Fish and Game in 1978.

EUGENE S. HUNN (Author)

BOOK REVIEW: Wings in the Desert: A Folk Ornithology of the Northern Pimas

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Wings in the Desert is a most impressive example of what ethno-ornithology can teach us. Amadeo Rea celebrates here the traditional environmental knowledge and wisdom of the Piman peoples of the Sonoran Desert and adjacent Sierra Madre Occidental from Arizona’s Gila River Pimas (the Akimel O’odham or “river people”) and “Papago” (the Tohono O’odham or “desert people”) south to the Pima Bajo along the Yaqui River in southern Sonora and the Pima Alta of the adjacent Sierra.

JOHN THOMAS (Author)

BOOK REVIEW: Birds of the Inland Northwest and Northern Rockies

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This book is the latest in a series of small pocketable guidebooks that focus on the west coast of North America. (Others include Birds of Southwestern British Columbia, Birds of the Puget Sound Region, Birds of the Willamette Valley Region, and Birds of the Los Angeles Region.) Birds of the Inland Northwest and Northern Rockies covers the identification of the common species of eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, Idaho, and western Montana. The book contains a “quick guide to local birds” (with useful small photographs) at the front and a very helpful “short index” and a longer “index/checklist of birds” in the back. Other introductory sections include a map, information on birding in general, identifying birds, attracting yard birds, bird habitats in the area, where to go to find birds in the field, and a useful list of resources such as journals, books, websites, stores, and nature centers in the area covered.

MICHAEL A. SCHROEDER, STEVEN C. HEINL, ANDREW W. PISTON, FRED C. ZWICKEL (Author)

FEATURED PHOTO - REGIONAL PHENOTYPIC VARIATION IN THE SOOTY GROUSE

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Long united as a single species under the name Blue Grouse, the more coastal Sooty Goose (Dendragapus fuliginosus) and the more inland Dusky Goose (D. obscurus) have received substantial attention in recent years. Zwikel and Bendell (2004) addressed the biology and natural history of these birds, specifying their regional variation. Coastal males have yellow cervical apteria (unfeathered skin on sides of the neck; see this issue’s inside front cover) and a black tail with a contrasting gray terminal band, while most interior males have red cervical apteria (see this issue’s back cover) and the tail band, if any, much less distinct. In addition, the song of male Sooty Goose is much louder than that of the Dusky Grouse. Barrowclough et al. (2004) concluded from a molecular study that two species exist. Subsequently, “on the basis of genetic evidence (Barrowclough et al. 2004) and differences in voice (hooting), behavior, and plumage (Brooks 1929)” Banks et al. (2006:929) accepted reclassification of these birds as two species. Through history, the birds’ classification, as followed by the American Ornithologists’ Union, has oscillated from a single species (1886, 1895, 1910) to two species (1931), back to one species (1944, 1957, 1983, 1998), and back to two species (Banks et al. 2006).

WESTERN FIELD ORNITHOLOGISTS 34TH ANNUAL MEETING

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Join us for WFO’s 34th annual meeting at the Oxford Suites of Boise, phone 208-322-8000, website www.oxfordsuitesboise.com. Hotel reservations are by phone only for the rooms discounted for WFO. Rooms are limited, so make your reservation quickly. Information on presenting a paper submission, registration, and the hotel are at www.westernfieldornithologists.org. If you are without a computer, request a registration form and details from Ed Pandolfino, 55350 Del Rose Court, Carmichael, CA 95608.