Western Birds Journal

Volume 8, No. 3

Published July 1, 1977

Issue description

Volume 8, number 3 of Western Birds, published 1977

Articles

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    C. S. LAWSON (Author)

    NONPASSERINE SPECIES NEW OR UNUSUAL TO NEVADA

    During the past several years observers in Nevada have discovered many nonpasserine species not previously known to occur in the state. Many species unusual to Nevada have also been reported. A few records have been reported in ornithological journals. Most, however, have been reported as sightings in Audubon Field Notes/American Birds with the comment “details to be published elsewhere.” This note presents the details and any documentation obtained for those sightings.

    Unless otherwise indicated, all records are from Clark County, Nevada. All photographs were taken by the author unless otherwise credited. Species identification of all photographic records has been verified by Joseph Jehl, Jr. and/or Guy McCaskie of the San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, California. Unless otherwise stated, specimens, original color transparencies and/or black and white negatives and prints of all photographic records are deposited in the University Museum of Biology (UNMB), University of Nevada, Reno, in Reno, Nevada. Reference will also be made to specimens housed in the Nevada State Museum (NSM), Carson City, Nevada, the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ), University of California, Berkeley and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV-B). Personal observations are indicated by initials CSL.

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    JOSEPH R. JEHL, JR. (Author)

    AN ANNOTATED LIST OF BIRDS OF ISLAS LOS CORONADOS, BAJA CALIFORNIA, AND ADJACENT WATERS

    Los Coronados consist of four rugged islands that lie 15 miles south of Point Loma, San Diego, and 8 miles west of the Mexican mainland opposite Tijuana. South Island, the largest, is 2 miles long and 0.4 miles wide, with a maximum elevation of 672 feet. North Island, approximately 2 miles distant, is 1 mile long, 0.12 miles wide, and 467 feet high. Middle Island and Middle Rock are much smaller and lie close to the northern tip of South Island. All of the islands have steep slopes (often precipitous on the western, or windward, sides) and are sparsely vegetated (Figure 1). There are no permanent sources of fresh water. General descriptions of the islands, and their vegetation may be found in Osburn (1909) and Nelson (1921). The history of the islands has been reviewed by Ellsberg (1970).

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    GRACE G. GREGG (Author)

    NOTES: ROBINS EXTENDING BREEDING RANGE INTO TUCSON

    American Robins (Turdus migratorius) have not been reported nesting in the hot desert areas of the southwest. On 18 June 1965 I found a pair nesting in a White Mulberry (Morus alba) near the University of Arizona in central Tucson, Pima County, Arizona (Snider 1965). The resident of the property told me a pair had successively bred there for 2 or 3 years. In 1966 a pair nested in the same tree and in the late spring of 1967 I saw a pair in the vicinity but a nest was not located. 

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    PHILIP ASHMAN (Author)

    NOTES: NORTHERN (BULLOCK’S) ORIOLE EATS HUMMINGBIRD

    On 1 August 1976 at 1245 on South Farallon Island, California, Steve Morrell and I observed an immature or adult female Northern (Bullock’s) Oriole (Icterus galbula) eating a hummingbird (Selasphorus sp.). The oriole was perched on a dead branch near the top of an 8 m high Monterey Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa). It held the hummingbird with one foot and tore off and swallowed pieces of muscle, about 2 cm long, from the hummingbird’s back. After watching the oriole feeding for several minutes we left the area, and when I returned 15 minutes later the oriole was gone; I found no remains of the hummingbird. It is not known whether the oriole was a predator or a scavenger since we did not see how it obtained the hummingbird.

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    STEPHEN B. VANDER WALL, KELLY SULLIVAN (Author)

    NOTES: OLIVE WARBLERS IN THE SAN FRANCISCO MOUNTAINS, ARIZONA

    On 19 March 1972 we saw three Olive Warblers (Peucedramus taeniatus) on the southeastern slope of the San Francisco Mountains, Coconino County, Arizona. The three warblers included one male in breeding plumage and two individuals in female or juvenile plumage. We saw these birds foraging together in Ponderosa Pines (Pinus ponderosa) on a steep south facing slope at the upper edge of the Transition Zone (2640 m). The exact location was 35° 18' 30" N, 111° 36' 40" W.

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    CHARLES L. ELLIOTT (Author)

    NOTES: EASTERNMOST RECORD OF THE BAND-TAILED PIGEON IN IDAHO

    During June 1976 a Band-tailed Pigeon (Columba fasciata) was sighted at the University of Idaho’s Taylor Ranch Field Station (46°6' N, 114°51' W). The research station is located in the Big Creek drainage of the Idaho Primitive Area. The Primitive Area is an expanse of 5200 km² of wilderness located contiguous to and south of the Salmon River Mountains. This sighting is noteworthy because Idaho is not listed in the winter or summer range of either the coastal race or interior race of the Band-tailed Pigeon (Braun et al. 1975).

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    R. L. KNIGHT, A. W. ERICKSON (Author)

    NOTES: OBJECTS INCORPORATED WITHIN CLUTCHES OF THE CANADA GOOSE

    While conducting studies of nesting Canada Geese (Branta canadensis moffitti) during 1975 and 1976 along the Columbia River in Okanogan and Douglas counties, Washington, we located six nests in which stones or pine cones (Pinus ponderosa) had been incorporated within the clutches. During a 20-year study along the Columbia River, Hanson and Eberhardt (Wildl. Mon. No. 28, 1971) located two Canada Goose nests which consisted entirely of rocks and reported that geese incubated these objects. We have been unable to find any literature reference reporting rocks or other objects incorporated within clutches of Canada Geese.

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    SALLY HOYT SPOFFORD, LANNY H. FISK (Author)

    NOTES: ADDITIONS TO THE LIST OF NECTAR FEEDING BIRDS

    The list of partially nectarivorous birds reported by Fisk and Steen (Condor 78:269-271, 1976) is increased substantially by including some more recent observations and some species included in papers that have appeared since the original list was accepted for publication.

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    J. MICHAEL SCOTT, JOHN L. SINCOCK (Author)

    NOTES: RECENT OBSERVATIONS ON THE BIRDS OF THE KOOLAU FOREST RESERVE, MAUI

    There are few published records on the occurrence and abundance of birds on the island of Maui, Hawaii. Most recent reviews (Banko 1971, Berger 1972) indicated statuses for several species different from those we observed during a two-day visit to the rain forests of Koolau Forest Reserve. The study area extends from 1.2 km northeast to 2 km northwest of Puu Alaea. Elevations range from 1860 m to 2010–2200 m at the upper edge of the forest.

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    TOM SEGERSTROM (Author)

    NOTES: A SEPTEMBER RECORD OF THE BOREAL OWL IN MONTANA

    The status of the Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus) in the western United States has been summarized by Kuchel and Garrott (Western Birds 6:21-23, 1975) and Johnson and Hudson (Auk 93:195-196, 1976). Summer month sightings in Montana consist solely of a family group observed by David Shea at Waterton Lake, near the Canadian border in July 1973 (Skaar, Montana bird distribution, Bozeman, Montana, 1975), and there is only one early fall record, a specimen collected near Bozeman in September 1964 (Skaar, Birds of the Bozeman latilong, 1969).

    It was of interest therefore to find a Boreal Owl on 12 September 1976 while I was working on a wildlife inventory and habitat typing project for the Deerlodge National Forest. The site was in a dense stand of Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii) surrounding Albicaulis Lake, Powell County, in the Flint Creek Range about 27 km west of Deerlodge, Montana, and about 320 km south of Waterton Lake. The elevation is 2440 m.

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    REVIEW: BIRDWATCHER'S GUIDE TO WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES: Jessie Kitching. 1976. Arco Publishing Company, New York. xv + 233 p., 20 black and white photos. $8.95.

    This interesting little volume describes 295 wildlife sanctuaries in the United States and Canada. The author's aim is to present useful information about "...most of the major and many of the smaller sanctuaries that will admit the public..."

    The sanctuaries and refuges are listed alphabetically by state. Address and directions for reaching each sanctuary are given first, followed by a brief list of rare or endangered species that occur, and an equally brief list of common species. A brief description of the refuge is then given, usually including other biological, historical or geological points of interest, activities allowed and precautions that should be taken. Also included are the dates and authors of refuge checklists.