Western Birds Journal

Volume 14, No. 3

Published July 1, 1983

Issue description

Volume 14, number 3 of Western Birds, published 1983

Articles

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    JOSEPH MORLAN, RICHARD A. ERICKSON (Author)

    A EURASIAN SKYLARK AT POINT REYES, CALIFORNIA, WITH NOTES ON SKYLARK IDENTIFICATION AND SYSTEMATICS

    “... perhaps the most controversial bird in California’s birding history ... the bird in question was identified for several days by a legion of birders as a Smith’s Longspur. Eventually, it proved to be a species of lark!”
    —Shuford and DeSante 1979

    We report here on a Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis) wintering at Point Reyes, Marin County, California, from 1978 to 1983, which showed characteristics of northeast Asiatic/Alaskan populations. It represents the first record of a naturally occurring Eurasian Skylark in North America outside of Alaska and the first North American mainland record. Morlan (1979) and McCaskie (1979) discussed the bird’s initial visit, and the record has been reviewed briefly by Roberson (1980).

    From the beginning this bird posed an identification problem which seemed insurmountable. Intense controversy developed over whether the bird should be collected, some of which appeared in print (Duncan 1979, Bourne 1980, Garrett 1980, Gibson 1981b). Ultimately this record was reviewed and accepted by the California Bird Records Committee (Luther 1980). We present here details of how the identification problem was finally resolved in the hope that it may serve as a guide for such difficult cases in the future.

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    LAURENCE C. BINFORD (Author)

    SIXTH REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE

    This is the sixth report of the Western Field Ornithologists’ California Bird Records Committee. It contains 165 records divided as follows: 138 records (of 47 species) accepted; 25 (19) unaccepted, identification questionable; 1 unaccepted, origin questionable (i.e., possible escapee; identification accepted); and 1 unresolved. These figures represent a rejection rate of only 15.9%.

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    LYMAN V. RITTER (Author)

    NESTING ECOLOGY OF SCRUB JAYS IN CHICO, CALIFORNIA

    Twelve races of the Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) occupy a geographic range extending from southern Mexico northward over most of western North America to southern Washington and Idaho. Another race is isolated in central Florida (American Ornithologists’ Union 1957). Good quantitative information on nesting ecology is available only for the Florida race (A. c. coerulescens; Woolfenden 1973, 1975, Stallcup and Woolfenden 1978). Atwood (1978, 1980b) described the breeding biology of the Santa Cruz Island Scrub Jay (A. c. insularis), an insular population, but presented few quantitative data on nesting success. Anecdotal information on nesting by other races can be found in Bent (1946), Hardy (1961), Brown (1963), Stewart et al. (1972) and Verbeek (1973). This paper documents basic reproductive parameters of Scrub Jays (A. c. superciliosa) in the Sacramento Valley of northern California.

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    GARY RITCHISON (Author)

    BREEDING BIOLOGY OF THE BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK IN NORTHERN UTAH

    Although the Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus) is a common breeding bird in many parts of western North America, little is known about its breeding biology. Apart from a few anecdotal reports (Bent 1968), information on the breeding biology of this species comes from a single study performed in California (Weston 1947). The objective of the present study was to examine the breeding biology of a population of Black-headed Grosbeaks in northern Utah.

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    ROGER D. HARRIS (Author)

    NOTE: ALBINISTIC RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER

    On 5 July 1982 I photographed and observed an albinistic Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus ruber) for 20 min, 200 m east of the dam on Lake Almanor, Plumas County, California, elevation 1380 m. Gross (Bird-banding 36:67–71, 1965) reported 48 records of albinism among 10 species (and subspecies) in the family Picidae, although he did not indicate whether any were Sphyrapicus. I am not aware of any previous records of albinism for this species.

    The bird was a juvenile with all-white plumage except for a faint red-orange cap. Carotenoid pigments, which produce reds, oranges and yellows, are resistant to albinism (Sage, Brit. Birds 55:201–225, 1962). Typical of albino birds, legs and bill were ivory-colored, and eyes were bright pink.

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    TERENCE WAHL (Author)

    REPORT TO MEMBERS

    WFO’s annual meeting was held in Santa Cruz, California, 29 September–2 October 1983. The meeting was co-hosted by the Santa Cruz Bird Club, whose members assisted the local committee. Debi Love Shearwater was convention organizer and did an outstanding job. Jerry Langham ably introduced speakers at the papers presentation which included Birding Santa Cruz County, Aging Jaegers, The Manx Shearwater Group, UCSC Predatory Bird Project, Farallon Islands Birds, and the Survey of Central and Northern California Seabirds: 1980–1983. The banquet speaker, Bruce Eilliott, brought home the need for people like WFO members to assist with management of nongame species by providing good and otherwise unavailable information.

    To the many people who made the meeting and field trips so successful and enjoyable, I’m sure over 100 persons who attended will add thanks to mine. Field outings included pelagic trips which featured the impressive flocks of storm-petrels and other birds and many marine mammals on Monterey Bay, land and water birds of the Santa Cruz area, and a cooperative Sharp-tailed Sandpiper hung-out long enough to allow meeting attendees to see it during off-hours excursions. The weather saved northern resident WFO members from suffering heat-stroke and there was even enough rain to bring a touch of nostalgia.