FEATURED PHOTO

PARAPATRY IN WOODHOUSE'S AND SCRUB-JAYS REVISITED

JON L. DUNN, RR2, Box 52R, Bishop,California 93514 KIMBALL L. GARRE'I-r, Sectionof Vertebrates,Natural History Museumof Los AngelesCounty, 900 ExpositionBlvd., Los Angeles,California 90007

Geographicalvariation in the scrub-jays(the Aphelocoraa coerulescens species group)has intriguedand confoundedornithologists both beforeand sincePitelka's (1951) extensivereview. In part on the basisof the work of Peterson(1990, 1992), the AmericanOrnithologists' Union (1995) elevatedthe widespreadcontinental scrub-jays(A. californica, the "WesternScrub-") and the endemicjay of Santa Cruz Island(A. insularis,the "IslandScrub-Jay") to full speciesrank, restrictingthe nameAphelocoraa coerulescens to the isolatedFlorida Scrub-Jay. Components of the WesternScrub-Jay have at timesbeen givenfull speciesrank, in the form of a divisionbetween of the Pacificcoast (the A. [c.]californica group of subspecies, hereafter"California Scrub-Jay") and birds of interiorwestern (the A. [c.] woodhouseiigroup, "Woodhouse'sScrub-Jay"); an additionalgroup of subspe- cies (the "Sumichrast'sScrub-Jay," A. [c.] sumichrasti)occurs on the southern Mexicanplateau. Woodhouse's and CaliforniaScrub-Jays were treatedas separate speciesmost recently by Swarth(1918). Minor variationin plumageand measurements,differing identifications of type specimens,and vague type localitiesfor old nameshave sparked taxonomic disagree- mentsand, indeed,markedly conflicting nomenclature (e.g., Phillips1986). Pitelka's landmarkstudy (1951) did establishlimited intergradation between the two groupsin a zone of parapatryaround the Nut Mountainsof DouglasCo., ,with intergradesencountered north to the VirginiaMountains and southto the California borderarea of northernmostMono Co. Pitelkaalso documented intergradation in the OwensValley region, Inyo Co., California. LarrySansone took the photoson the backcover west of Wellington,Nevada, in the southernmostPine Nut Mountains.The upper photo (taken7 December1996) showsa birdapparenfiy typical of Woodhouse'sScrub Jay in the westernGreat Basin, A. c. nevadaeaccording to Pitelka's(1951) nomenclature.The brighterbird in the lowerphoto (15 December1996) showscharacters of PacificCoast birds (the nearest subspeciesof the CaliforniaScrub-Jay being A. c. superciliosaof the 5th editionof the A.O.U. Check-List)but couldrepresent an intergrade. Woodhouse'sScrub-Jays of the westernGreat Basin are readilytold from Califor- nia Scrub-Jaysby severalplumage and structural characters. The head,rump, andtail of nevadaeare pale blue washed with gray, recalling a PinyonJay, and the underparts are graywith a bluewash on the undertailcoverts; as a result,nevadae shows only a weak contrastbetween the bluishhead and gray-brownback and betweenthe dull bluishcollar and the blendedgray underparts. California Scrub-Jays are deeperblue dorsally,with strongcontrast between the bluehead and gray-brownback; they are mainly whitishbelow with a deep blue collarthat is interruptedmedially, and the undertailcoverts only occasionally show a paleblue wash. California Scrub-Jays also showa blackerauricular patch with a morecontrasting white supercilium (again, these areas appear more blendedin nevadae).Structurally, the bill of nevadaehas a distinctlythinner base and lessalecurved culmen than the stouterbill of coastalbirds; nevadaehas relatively longer wings than California Scrub-Jays. We cautionhere that more easterlyWoodhouse's Scrub-Jays of the subspecieswoodhouseii and texana are somewhatbrighter blue above than nevadae,though the otherdistinctions from

186 Western Birds 32:186-187, 2001 FEATURED PHOTO the California group still hold; southwardthrough , culminatingin the Sumichrast'sScrub-Jays, the plumagebecomes even more "California-like." We have found Woodhouse'sScrub-Jays to be consistenfiymuch shyer than Californiabirds; more easterlyWoodhouse's may tame down in a few picnicareas (e.g., in the DavisMtns. of ),but typicallynevadae is quiteskittish. Vocally, at least within the core range of nevadae, the common upslurred"jrr-eee?" call is relativelyhigh pitchedand almosttwo parted,so that the firstsyllable is leveland the secondrises abruptly. California Scrub-Jays have a somewhatlower, harsherand monosyllabic"shhrreee?" call. The rapid "shreek shreek shreek..." series of Woodhouse'sis, to our ears,higher pitched and squeakier. Woodhouse'sScrub-Jays wander erratically away from their breedingrange in fall andwinter, with notablemovements occurring every several years (most recenfiy during the fall and winter of 2000-2001). In invasionyears they may move as far as the southernMojave Desert, the ImperialValley, and the lowlandsof southeasternArizona. Exceptionallybirds may wanderwest over the crestof the ,e.g., in YosemiteNational Park at TuolumneMeadows (Gaines 1988) and McGurk Meadow, where Dunn observedone on 15 September 1996. There may be even more movementinto the Pacificcoast region, but vagrantsthere would be moredifficult to detectthan in areaswhere any scrub-jay is unusual.Eastward movements of California Scrub-Jaysare far morelimited, but birds of thisgroup have occurred, for example,on the northernMojave Desert at GalileoHill, Kern Co., California(M. T. Heindelin litt.), and R. Higsoncollected one of the subspeciesobscura in E1Centro, ImperialCo., California10 August1989 (SDNHM 45999). The Californiaand Woodhouse'sgroups of scrub-jayswere lumped(American Ornithologists'Union 1931) in an era whenthe polytypicspecies concept first gained wideacceptance. Given the recognition of speciesstatus for the isolated Island and scrub-jays,similar status for the Woodhouse'sand Californiagroups is perhapsnot unwarranted.Indeed, Woodhouse's and California Scrub-Jays seem to usmore distinct fromone another than do the Islandand California Scrub-Jays. Such a revision,however, requiresfurther elucidation of thestatus of thesurnich rasti group in south-centralMexico. Additionalfield studies of the behavior,vocalizations, ecology, and breedingbiology of scrub-jaysin the regionof parapatryin westernNevada will also be enlightening. We thankLarry Sansone for obtainingthese instructive photos, and Ed Harperfor sharingsome of hisphotos of Woodhouse'sScrub-jays from Idaho. Philip Unitt made a numberof very helpfuleditorial suggestions.

LITERATURE CITED AmericanOrnithologists' Union. 1931. Check-listof North AmericanBirds, 4th ed. Am. Ornithol. Union, Lancaster,PA. AmericanOrnithologists' Union. 1995. Fortiethsupplement to the AmericanOrni- thologists'Union Check-listof North American Birds. Auk 112:819-830. Gaines, D. A. 1988. Birds of Yosemiteand the east slope. Artemisia Press,Lee Vining, CA. Peterson,A. T. 1990. Evolutionaryrelationships of the jays. Ph.D. dissertation,Univ. of Chicago. Peterson,A. T. 1992. Phylogenyand rates of molecularevolution in theAphelocorna jays ().Auk 109:133-147. Phillips,A. R. 1986. KnownBirds of North and MiddleAmerica, part I. DenverMus. Nat. Hist. Denver. Pitelka,F. A. 1951. Speciationand ecologic distribution in Americanjays of the genus Aphelocorna.Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool. 50:195-464. Swarth, H. S. 1918. The PacificCoast jays of the genusAphelocorna. Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool. 17:405-422.

187 WFO PUBLICATIONS-- FUNDRAISING APPEAL

Dear WFO members, We recentlyestablished a publication fund to enableus to increasethe size of WesternBirds, includemore color photographsin its pages,and to initiate a new monographseries. Although the WFO board has already contributedto this funddirectly and via variousfundraising efforts (trip to Vera Cruz, raffleof spottingscope), we will not be successfulwithout your support.We hope you all appreciatethe high standardsthe journalhas set andnew additions, such as the regularbook review section and the featured photo on eachback cover. To furtherincrease the qualityof WesternBirds, we ask you to considera generousdonation to the publicationfund. Just think,if eachmember gave only $25 we couldraise close to $25,000 in a shortperiod! To supportand improve the West'sfinest journal of descriptive fieldornithology, please consider contributing at least $25. Please send donations,payable to Western Field Ornithologists,and earmarked "PublicationFund," to Dori Meyers, WFO Treasurer,6011 SaddletreeLane, Yorba Linda, CA 92886. Contributionsare tax deductible. Thanksvery much for yourongoing support of WFO andits contributions to fieldornithology and conservation!

Dave Shuford Chair, WFO Publications Committee Mike San Miguel President, WFO

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