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Molt, Age, and Identification of Masked and Nazca Boobies in California

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Molt, Age, and Identification of Masked and Nazca Boobies in California MOLT, AGE, AND IDENTIFICATION OF MASKED AND NAZCA BOOBIES IN CALIFORNIA PETER PYLE, Institute for Bird Populations, P.O. Box 518, Petaluma, California 94953; [email protected] Metadata for Appendix 1 Appendix 1 includes records of Masked Booby, Nazca Booby, and Masked/Nazca Booby submitted to the California Bird Records Committee (CBRC) through 2019 (three additional records from 2019, submitted in 2020, are not included). Records lacking photographs or with extremely poor photographs were omitted. The appendix includes 147 records that treat 134 individual birds. The additional 13 entries account for 11 records of birds that were considered the same as other birds and two birds that were scored twice for central rectrix pattern (see below). This file contains explanation and notes for each field of entry. CBRC Record Number—Format YYYY-XXX as used by the CBRC (e.g., 1990-052). Five records represent multiple individuals, and for these records each bird is numbered (e.g., 2017-155-1) and was analyzed separately. Repeat—A record of the same bird that is repeated in the database. S = considered the same bird as another record; R = repeated the two central rectrices represent two generations of plumage; s = considered the same bird as another record by the CBRC but I have analyzed the two records separately (because of differing final species designations based on bill color). Records marked “S” were not used in analyses of bill and plumage features. Records marked “R” were used only in analyses of central rectrices. The record marked "s" was analyzed separately. CBRC Same Bird—Other record(s) considered to represent the same bird as the present one. An “S” in the column “Repeat” indicates records with photographs poorer than those marked without an “S” and that the latter was used in analyses. CBRC Final—Final CBRC decision as of March 2020. An “r-“ preceding the entry indicates that the record was still in circulation (as the indicated taxon) and that a final decision had not been made as of March 2020. Provisional ID—Provisional identification from evaluation of bill color (primarily) and central rectrix pattern (secondarily). Initial Date of Obs.—The first date of observation for the record. In some cases photographs evaluated for this analysis were obtained on following days. County—The county of observation. For definition of abbreviations, see http://www.wfopublications.org/Rare_Birds/MAPS/Map1.html. Active Molt?—Was the bird actively molting primaries? A = active molt confirmed; N = no, lack of active molt confirmed; X = molt status could not be determined from photographs. P Molt Score—Primary molt score. When active molt could be determined, this score is the number of the primary that was last dropped or growing, numbered distally in molt sequence from p1 (innermost primary) to p10 (outermost primary). 00 = second prebasic molt not started yet; XX = number of primary could not be determined from photographs. Some adult birds were undergoing two waves of active molt, in which case the outermost molting primary is listed. P10 Gen.—The generation of the outermost primary, p10, whether growing or not. JU = juvenile; B2 = second basic; DB = definitive basic; XX = generation of the outer primary could not be determined. P Category—Molt-progression (hence age) category used for analysis: 0 = P molt score 00; 1 = score p1–p4; 2 = score p5–p6; 3 = score p7; 4 = score p8; 5 = score p9–p10; 6 = p10 completed growth during the second prebasic molt and bird not yet in definitive basic plumage; 7 = bird in definitive basic plumage. When molt of the primaries could not be scored, this value was estimated from progression of body feather molt and generation(s) of visible flight feathers. Age (mo)—Age of the bird in months, estimated from primary-molt score (see text). Hatched (mo)—Month of hatching, estimated from date of observation and estimated age of bird. Hatched (yr)—Year of hatching, estimated from date of observation and estimated age of bird. Plumage Scores—Scores are given for Head, Nape, Back, Upperwing Coverts, Uppertail Coverts, Underwing Coverts, and Central Rectrices. Scores 1–5 represent a succession from all-dark plumage (1) to all-white plumage (5). For the underwing coverts, birds with score 1 are darkest individuals in the sample but have some white underwing coverts. For the central rectrices, score 5 could include dark markings near the tips of the rectrices. 9 = plumage area could not be scored in available photographs. Central Rectrix Gen.—The generation of the central rectrices, whether growing or not. JU = Juvenile; B2 = Second Basic; DB = Definitive Basic. Two birds had central rectrices of differing generations (marked "R" under Repeat); for these, rectrix score analyses were performed separately for each generation. XX = Generation of the central rectrices could not be determined. Bill Base and Bill Tip—Score for brightness and coloration of the bill base (proximal ~65%) and tip (distal ~35%). Brightness abbreviation precedes color abbreviation. Brightness abbreviations: DU = dull; MD = medium dull; ME = medium (in brightness); MB = medium bright; BR = bright. Color codes: D = dusky (dark grayish to blackish); B = dark blue; H = horn (medium-pale brownish, often tinged mustard or olive); G = green; Y = yellow; O = orange; and P = pink. Two color scores are given, ordered as secondary then primary color (e.g., GY indicates greenish yellow or yellow washed green). The same letter twice (e.g., YY) indicates no secondary color was present or scored. XX-XX = bill could not be scored for brightness and coloration. .
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