Western Birds Journal

Volume 6, No. 2

Published April 1, 1975

Issue description

Volume 6, number 2 of Western Birds, published 1975

Articles

  1. Cover image V6(2)

    LAWRENCE T. HIRAI (Author)

    THE NESTING BIOLOGY OF THE HOUSE FINCH IN HONOLULU, HAWAII

    The House Finch, Carpodacus mexicanus frontalis (Say), is a small seed-eating passerine found throughout western North America. It was introduced to Hawaii, probably from San Francisco as an escaped cage-bird, prior to 1870 (Grinnell 1911). Today it is found on all the main Hawaiian islands. This was a field study of the nesting biology of the House Finch from January 1972 through July 1974, covering three nesting seasons. Some of the findings are discussed in relation to what is known about House Finch populations in North America.

  2. Cover image V6(2)

    TIM MANOLIS, GERALD V. TANGREN (Author)

    SHOREBIRDS OF THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY, CALIFORNIA

    Shorebird studies in the Central Valley of California have been limited even though the status and ecology of shorebirds along the coast of central California have been well studied (Storer 1951, Recher 1966, Page 1973). Consequently, many of the conclusions regarding shorebirds in central California have been based on information from coastal localities (Grinnell et al. 1918, Grinnell and Miller 1944, McCaskie and DeBenedictis 1966). In recent years, however, shorebird migration in the Sacramento Valley (Figure 1) has come under increased observation. Censuses at the Spreckles Sugar Company settling ponds near Woodland, Yolo County, and at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, Glenn County, have been included in statewide shorebird surveys of the California Department of Fish and Game (Jurek 1973).

  3. Cover image V6(2)

    NORMAN LAVERS (Author)

    STATUS OF THE HARLAN’S HAWK IN WASHINGTON, AND NOTES ON ITS IDENTIFICATION IN THE FIELD

    The “Harlan’s Hawk” (Buteo jamaicensis harlani) was first reported in Washington in 1968. Since then it has been recorded in the state with increasing regularity, and in increasing numbers. The records fall between 26 September and 28 March, and come mainly from three areas: the region surrounding Spokane in eastern Washington, and small areas of western Skagit and Whatcom counties in western Washington.

  4. Cover image V6(2)

    CHARLES T. COLLINS (Author)

    NOTES: A FURTHER RECORD OF THE WESTERN WHIP-POOR-WILL IN CALIFORNIA

    On 26 September 1973 I flushed a bird from an ornamental shrub in the courtyard of the apartment complex where I live in the Belmont Shore area of Long Beach, California. Originally thinking it to be a Poor-will (Phalaenoptilus nuttallii), a regular migrant in coastal southern California, I flushed the bird several times in attempts to get a better look at it. The correct identity of the bird as a Whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferus) was only apparent when it crashed into a window after flying through the open door of an apartment. It was preserved as a specimen.

  5. Cover image V6(2)

    GUY McCASKIE (Author)

    NOTES: LE CONTE’S SPARROW IN CALIFORNIA AND THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

    The LeConte’s Sparrow (Ammospiza leconteii) nests throughout most of the central portions of southern Canada into the north central United States (Godfrey 1966). In the fall the species moves southward to winter in the southeastern United States (American Ornithologists’ Union 1957). Records from the western United States are few indeed, thus all occurrences there are worthy of note.

  6. Cover image V6(2)

    WAYNE C. WEBER, BRIAN KAUTESK (Author)

    NOTES: A SIGHT RECORD OF THE PAINTED REDSTART NEAR VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA

    On 4 November 1973 a Painted Redstart (Setophaga picta) was discovered at about 0900 by Brian Kautesk in Ambleside Park, West Vancouver, just north of Vancouver, British Columbia. During the course of the day, the bird was also seen by Wayne C. Weber and a number of other local observers including Kelly E. Allies, Wilson F. Allies, Bruce A. Macdonald, Roy W. Phillips, G. Allen Poynter, Helen Poynter, Edward C. Sing, and Wendy J. Weber. At least three of the observers (Allen Poynter and the authors) made detailed notes on the bird in the field, upon which the description below is based, but no photographs could be obtained. Although the area was searched intensively by birders during the next week, the redstart could not be found on subsequent dates.