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Western Meadowlark B168 (Sturnella Neglecter)

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Western Meadowlark B168 (Sturnella Neglecter) Western Meadowlark B168 (Sturnella neglecter) STATUS: No official listed status. Common resident at low elevations; late summer and fall transient at higher elevations. DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Breeds in grasslands and pastureland from annual grass- land up to chaparral zone, with or without moderate shrub cover, and generally in drier sites. Some upslope movement in late summer and fall. SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: Open terrain. BREEDING: Breeds from early February to late July, with peak from late April to late June. Nests in depression on ground, among grasses or other low vegetation. Clutch size from 3 to 7, with mode of 5. TERRITORY/HOME RANGE: Home range same as territory. In Wisconsin, breeding territories ranged from 3 to 15 acres (1.2 to 6.1 ha), with mean of about 7.5 acres (3 ha) (Lanyon 1956). FOOD HABITS: Insects and seeds, gleaned from grasses and live or dead annuals, or from the ground, make up the majority of the diet. Turns over clods and digs in soft earth. OTHER: REFERENCES: Bryant 1914, Grinnell and Miller 1944, Lanyon 1957. 260 Yellow-headed Blackbird B169 (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) STATUS: No official listed status. Rare spring and fall migrant. DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Prefers large, marshy areas with water of considerable depth and patches of open water. Forages in moist, open areas and in marshes; requires marshes only during breeding season. SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: Marshes for nesting; open terrain. BREEDING: Possibly breeds in the western Sierran zone at low elevations from mid-April to late July, with peak from late May to mid-July. Nests in emergent vegetation, usually cattails or bulrush, from 0.5 to 3 ft (0.2 to 0.9 m) above water, usually near edge of vegetation farthest from shore. Clutch size from 2 to 5, with mode of 4. TERRITORY/HOME RANGE: Near Westmoreland, Imperial County, Willson (1966) reported 24 territories averaging 1250 ft2 (116 m2) in scattered cattail and 75 territories averaging about 350 ft2 (33 m2) (actually reported as 300 to 400 ft2). In Washington, she found territories much larger, ranging from average of 4900 ft2 (455 m2) in bulrush to 43,830 ft2 (4072m2) in scattered cattail. Breeding birds foraged at least up to 1 mi (1.6 km) from their territories (Willson 1966). FOOD HABITS: Seeds, insects, and gastropods comprise bulk of diet; newly emer- gent dragonflies and damselflies the predominant food for nestlings. Food gleaned or hawked from emergent vegetation, wet meadows or grassland, moist earth, or air. OTHER: REFERENCES: Bent 1958, Willson and Orians 1963, Willson 1966. 261 Red-winged Blackbird B170 (Agelaius phoeniceus) STATUS: No official listed status. Probably permanent resident at lower elevations; summer resident and breeder at higher elevations, usually below 6000 ft (1830 m) but rarely to as high as 8600 ft (2620 m). DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Breeds preferentially in marsh habitat, but also in grass- lands, agricultural fields, low shrubs, and small trees. Most common as breeders at lower elevations (annual grasslands up to digger pine-oak type); less common with increasing elevation. SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: Marshes or shrubs near water for nesting; open terrain. BREEDING: Breeds from mid-March to late July, with peak from early May to late June. Nests usually in marsh vegetation, especially cattails; also in low tufts of grass around ponds, in shrubs, or small trees, most often near water. Nest height varies from 0.5 to 6 ft (0.2 to 1.8 m) above water or ground. Clutch size from 2 to 6, with mean of 3.6. TERRITORY/HOME RANGE: Home range large. For example, in Texas, Meanly (1965) reported nonbreeding birds foraging up to 52 mi (83 km) from roosts. In northern California, 69 breeding territories averaged 0.16 acre (0.06 ha) (Orians 1961). FOOD HABITS: Seeds, insects, and other arthropods comprise most of diet. Usually feeds in moist places, on ground or in low marsh vegetation, but sometimes in shrubs and trees. Turns over objects in search of food, gleans items from ground or foliage, picks seeds, and hawks aerial insects. OTHER: REFERENCES: Orians 1961, Payne 1969, Holm 1973. 262 Tricolored Blackbird B171 (Agelaius tricolor) STATUS: No official listed status. Uncommon to rare as breeding species in the western Sierran zone, though breeds regularly in large colonies in the Central Valley. Probably found only as rare vagrant in fall and winter in the western Sierra Nevada. DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Breeds usually in marsh vegetation, sometimes in other very wet situations, such as irrigated fields. Confined to low elevation sites in the western Sierra Nevada. Although fall breeding common in the Central Valley, no such records from west slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Most flocks move toward Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta region in fall and winter. SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: Typically marshes for nesting; open terrain. BREEDING: Breeds from early April to mid-July, with peak from early May to late June. May breed from late September to late November, depending upon weather conditions conducive to abundant insect production. Nests usually in dense growths of cattails or other emergent vegetation, sometimes in other low vegeta- tion (willows, blackberries, grain fields, and thistles) in wet areas. Nest height from 1 to 12 ft (0.3 to 3.7 m) over water or ground. Clutch size from 2 to 6, with mean of 3.2. TERRITORY/HOME RANGE: Orians (1961) reported territory confined to about 35 ft2 (3.3 m2) around nest. Individual birds studied by Orians in Colusa and Yuba Counties traveled as far as 4 mi (6.4 km) from nest sites to foraging areas; colony as a whole ranged for foraging over about 30 mi2 (78 km2). FOOD HABITS: Insects and seeds comprise diet. Feeds in large flocks, gleaning food from ground and low vegetation in flooded lands, pond margins, or grasslands. OTHER: Highly gregarious year-round and nests synchronously in large colonies near abundant insect supply. REFERENCES: Orians 1961, Payne 1969, Dehaven et al. 1975. 263 Northern Oriole B172 (Icterus galbula) STATUS: No official listed status. Fairly common summer resident and breeder. DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Breeds from blue oak savannahs up to ponderosa pine and black oak types, generally in stands with low percent canopy coverage. Prefers breeding habitat in riparian deciduous sites, generally below 5000 ft (1520 m). SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: BREEDING: Breeds from early April to late July, with peak from mid-May to early July. Builds hanging nest attached to terminal twigs of riparian deciduous trees and deciduous oaks (occasionally live oaks, orchard trees, or even conifers), from 6 to 50 ft (1.8 to 15 m) up. Clutch size from 3 to 6, with 4 or 5 most common. TERRITORY/HOME RANGE: In Kansas, for the Baltimore race of species, Fitch (1958) reported a single territory of 10.5 acres (4.3 ha). In a Montana riparian cottonwood stand, Walcheck (1970) reported a breeding density of 13 pairs per 100 acres (40 ha). FOOD HABITS: Insects comprise bulk of diet, though some fruit also eaten. Gleans insects from foliage of trees, shrubs, grasses, and forbs; also hawks aerial insects. OTHER: Water preferred, but nor required, in breeding habitat. REFERENCES: Grinnell and Storer 1924, Grinnell and Miller 1944, Bent 1958. 264 Brewer's Blackbird B173 (Euphagus cyanocephalus) STATUS: No official listed status. Common resident; leaves higher mountains in fall and winter. DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Breeds in all habitat types in the western Sierran zone, except alpine meadow; prefers early successional stages and avoids stands with moderate to high percent canopy cover. Adults and young move upslope in summer, after breeding, but leave higher mountains by late September. Less common at high elevations except around campgrounds, picnic areas, stables, and other areas of human disturbance. In winter, generally remain below ponderosa pine belt. SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: BREEDING: Breeds from mid-March to early August, with peak from early May to early July. Nest sites highly varied. Prefers dense foliage, especially of conifers, but also of other trees, bushes, herbs, and grasses. Also nests in crevices in stumps and occasionally on ground. Nest height ranges from 0 to as high as 150 ft (46 m), though most not above 40 ft (12 m). Clutch size from 3 to 7, with mode of 5. TERRITORY/HOME RANGE: During breeding season, in eastern Washington, ranged up to 1 mi (1.6 km) from nest (Horn 1968), and Williams (1952) found banded birds up to 6 mi (9.6 km) from nests in Monterey County. Defended territory includes only the nest site (Horn 1968, eastern Washington; Williams 1952, Monterey County). FOOD HABITS: Food consists mainly of insects, though seeds also eaten, particularly in winter. Usually feeds on ground, digging, turning over objects, and gleaning food uncovered. Gleans from foliage of conifers, shrubs, and emergent vegetation in shallow water. Also hawks aerial insects. OTHER: Uses drier sites than red-winged blackbirds. REFERENCES: Williams 1952, Hansen and Carter 1963, Orians and Horn 1969. 265 Brown-headed Cowbird B174 (Molothrus ater) STATUS: No official listed status. Common to abundant resident. Irrigation of farmland, mosaic logging, livestock grazing, and urban development contributed to dramatic increase in distribution and abundance of cowbirds into the high Sierra Nevada (Gaines 1977). DISTRIBUTION/HABITAT: Breeds in all habitat types. Lays its eggs in nests of other species; flexible regarding habitats in which it breeds. Forages most often in open areas, prefers moist sites with short grass. Found most often in and near riparian deciduous woodland or in vicinity of stables, livestock, campgrounds, or picnic areas. In fall and winter, generally found below ponderosa pine belt. SPECIAL HABITAT REQUIREMENTS: Openings for feeding; trees for roosting. BREEDING: Breeds from early April to late July, with peak in June.
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