Western Birds

Home , Blue mockingbird, Camptostoma, Eared quetzal, Eyebrowed thrush, Mittry Lake, Quercus gambelii

WESTERN BIRDS

Vol. 48, No. 2, 2017 Tufted Flycatcher Western Specialty: California Gnatcatcher

Photo by © David Pereksta of Ventura, California: California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica) California State University Channel Islands, Camarillo, Ventura County, California, 16 August 2009. The site where this photo was taken is the northwesternmost known for the California Gnatcatcher in the 21st century. A few individuals were discovered on campus property in 2009, but the species has not been reliably reported there since the Spring Fire in 2013. Currently, the northernmost population of the California Gnatcatcher is isolated in a narrow band of cactus-rich scrub in Ventura County from Photo by © Jim Ripley of Mesa, Arizona Thousand Oaks northeast to Simi Valley, as described in this issue of Western Birds by Tufted Flycatcher (Mitrephanes phaeocercus) Daniel S. Cooper, Jennifer Mongolo, and Chris Dellith. In this photograph, note the Carr Canyon, Cochise County, Arizona, 6 April 2017.The Tufted Flycatcher occurs bird’s molt: most of the body is still covered in the lacy-textured pale juvenile plumage, mainly in montane forests from northern mainland Mexico south to northwestern but at least the secondary coverts are growing, and the black mark above the eye, Ecuador. In the Sierra Madre Occidental of Sonora it ranges north regularly to at least o indicating a male, has already appeared. about 30 N. Records within the United States comprise four from Texas and several from Arizona. The first three Arizona records were from Lake Mead National Recreation Area (February 2005), the Chiricahua Mountains (May 2008), and Superior (July 2011), as detailed by Gary H. Rosenberg, Kurt Radamaker, and David Vander Pluym in this issue’s report of the Arizona Bird Committee. Since 2015, the species has occurred annually in the Huachuca Mountains, with reports from Miller Canyon, Ramsey Canyon (including a pair nesting in 2015 and 2016), and, as seen in this photo, Carr Canyon in 2017. Volume 48, Number 2, 2017

Arizona Bird Committee Report, 2010–2014 Records Gary H. Rosenberg, Kurt Radamaker, and David Vander Pluym....74 Age Structure of Adult Brown-headed Cowbirds in Southwest Colorado Joseph C. Ortega and Catherine P. Ortega...... 113 Status of the California Gnatcatcher at the Northern Edge of Its Range Daniel S. Cooper, Jennifer Mongolo, and Chris Dellith...... 124 NOTES First Records of the Asian Rosy-Finch in Alaska and North America Isaac J. Helmericks...... 141 First Record of the Eastern Phoebe Breeding in Alaska: Extralimital by 2000 km Bryce W. Robinson, Lucas H. DeCicco, Aaron Bowman, Scott Hauser, and John M. Wright...... 145 Book Review Eugene Hunn ...... 148 Featured Photo: Peregrine Falcons Attack a Ross’s Gull in Central Coastal California Pete Sole...... 150 Front cover photo by © William Higgins of Springfield, Virginia: Ap- parently erythristic Short-tailed Hawk (Buteo brachyurus) at Tucson, Arizona, 20 December 2010, returning for a second winter. Since about 2006, the Short-tailed Hawk has become regular in southeastern Arizona, occurring mainly in the mountains, with 24 records endorsed by the Arizona Bird Committee through 2014. Back cover “Featured Photos” by © Donna Pomeroy of El Granada, California (upper), and Pete Sole of Soquel, California (lower): Ross’s Gull (Rhodostethia rosea) near Pillar Point, San Mateo County, Cali- fornia 12–14 January 2017, representing the second record of the species for California. The Ross’s Gull was attacked by a pair of Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) hunting cooperatively and carried off.

Western Birds solicits papers that are both useful to and understandable by amateur field ornithologists and also contribute significantly to scientific literature. The journal welcomes contributions from both professionals and amateurs. Appropriate topics include distribution, migration, status, identification, geographic variation, conservation, behavior, ecology, population dynamics, habitat requirements, the effects of pollution, and techniques for censusing, sound recording, and photographing birds in the field. Papers of general interest will be considered regardless of their geographic origin, but particularly desired are reports of studies done in or bearing on North America west of the 100th meridian, including Alaska and Hawaii, northwestern Mexico, and the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Send manuscripts to Daniel D. Gibson, P. O. Box 155, Ester, AK 99725; avesalaska@ gmail.com. For matters of style consult the Suggestions to Contributors to Western Birds (at www.westernfieldornithologists.org/docs/journal_guidelines.doc). Good photographs of rare and unusual birds, unaccompanied by an article but with caption including species, date, locality and other pertinent information, are wanted for publication in Western Birds. Submit photos and captions to Photo Editor. Also needed are black and white pen and ink drawings of western birds. Please send these, with captions, to Graphics Manager. Volume 48, Number 2, 2017

ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS GARY H. ROSENBERG, P. O. Box 91856, Tucson, Arizona, 85752-1856; [email protected] KURT RADAMAKER, 6132 E. Morning Vista Lane, Cave Creek, Arizona, 85331; [email protected] DAVID VANDER PLUYM, 2841 McCulloch Blvd N #1, Lake Havasu City, Arizona, 86403; [email protected]

ABSTRACT: In this its eighth report, the Arizona Bird Committee reviews 677 records and updates the Arizona bird list through 2014, adding seven species: the Baikal Teal (Anas formosa), Hawaiian Petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis), Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea), Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus), Rosy-faced Lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis, an introduced species now well established), Sedge Wren (Cis- tothorus platensis), and Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea). These bring the Arizona state list to 555 species.

This is the eighth published report of the Arizona Bird Committee (ABC). It covers records mainly from the period between 2010 and the end of 2014, but also includes some records from prior years that were reviewed recently. Since its last report, the ABC has reviewed a total of 677 records, of which 584 (86%) were accepted. Six native species were added to the state list, the Baikal Teal (Anas formosa), Hawaiian Petrel (Pterodroma sandwichensis), Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea), Little Gull (Hydrocoloeus minutus), Sedge Wren (Cistothorus platensis), and Common Redpoll (Acanthis flammea; two records). With the recognition of the establishment of the introduced Rosy-faced Lovebird (Agapornis roseicollis) as well, the Arizona state list now stands at 555 species. Other highlights in this report include acceptance of Arizona’s fifth Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator), seventh Yellow-billed Loon (Gavia adamsii), second Sooty Shearwater (Ardenna grisea; first found alive), eighth Red-billed Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus), second Swallow-tailed Kite (Elanoides forficatus; first photographed), third Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), fourth and fifth Sharp-tailed Sandpipers (Calidris acuminata), sixth Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis), third through

74 Western Birds 48:74–112, 2017; doi 10.21199/WB48.2.1 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS fifth Western Gulls (Larus occidentalis), sixth Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea), third Tufted Flycatcher (Mitrephanes phaeocercus), fourth Yellow- bellied Flycatcher (Empidonax flaviventris), fourth Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus), fourth Blue-headed Vireo (Vireo solitarius), third and fourth Sinaloa Wrens (Thryophilus sinaloa), second Smith’s Longspur (Calcarius pictus), ninth Fan-tailed Warbler (Basileuterus lachrymosus), and second Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte tephrocotis). Species of which the number of records is especially notable are the Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii, 4), Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster, 4), Short-tailed Hawk (Buteo brachyurus, 16), Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda, 3), and Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus, 5). We detail the first confirmed nesting in the U.S. of the Nutting’s Flycatcher (Myiarchus nuttingi), The ABC reviews all species new to Arizona, as well as species that have occurred in the state approximately 30 or fewer times. Once a species reaches 30 or more records in the state, it is generally considered regular enough to warrant removal from the review list. Some species, such as the American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica) and Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus), are retained on the review list because of their degree of difficulty in identification or confusion with other similar species. The ABC removed the following species from its review list during the period of this report: Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii), Red-necked Grebe (Podiceps grisegena), Plain-capped Starthroat (Heliomaster constantii), Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata), Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens), Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja), Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus), Winter Wren (Troglodytes hiemalis), Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus), Worm-eating Warbler (Helmitheros vermivorum), Tennessee Warbler (Oreothlypis peregrina), Magnolia Warbler (Setophaga magnolia), Palm Warbler (S. palmarum), Orchard Oriole (Icterus spurius), and Baltimore Oriole (I. galbula). The current (2017) Arizona Bird Committee consists of Andrew Core, Laurens Halsey, Lauren Harter, Eric Hough, Scott Olmstead, Kurt Rada maker (who also serves as web master), Gary H. Rosenberg (who also serves as secretary), and Magill Weber. Recent committee members who also voted on records in this report include Chris Benesh, Pierre Deviche, Paul Lehman, Michael C. Moore, Narca Moore-Craig, Molly Pollock, Dave Stejskal, David Vander Pluym, and John Yerger. Janet Witzeman serves in a nonvoting capacity as assistant secretary and has done so since the inception of the committee in 1972. The ABC’s web site (http://abc.azfo.org) includes the Arizona state list, the committee’s bylaws, a list of current committee members, a brief history of the ABC, and all past reports of the ABC (as published in Western Birds). The list of species currently reviewed is online at http://abc.azfo.org/lists/ review_list.html, and an electronic form for reporting is available online at www.azfo.org/AZFOPhotoSubmit/ABCSubmitMain.aspx. The ABC encourages observers to submit documentation for species on the review list, as well as species new for Arizona. All material should be submitted via the electronic link above or sent to Rosenberg at the address above. We emphasize the importance of submitting documentation of sightings directly to the ABC for review; the posting of reports, including those

75 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS with written descriptions, on local listserves or to www.eBird.org should not be assumed to be submitted to the ABC nor assumed to be documentation of a rarity. The ABC prefers reports submitted directly to the committee or to the regional editor for North American Birds (who forwards the material on review-list species to the secretary of the ABC). The ABC thanks the many observers (350+) who have submitted their documentation of sightings to the Arizona Field Ornithologists (AZFO) and ABC during the period covered by this report; this report would not be possible without them. Each record listed below includes a locality, county (abbreviations: see below), date (span normally as published in North American Birds), and initial observer(s) if known. Additional observers who submitted written reports (as indicated by the symbol †), photographs, video recordings, and sound recordings are listed after a semicolon. All records are of sight reports unless noted otherwise with an abbreviation (see below) for a photograph, sound recording, or specimen. Unfortunately, we have been unable to track the fate of several of the birds mentioned in this report, captured alive, and brought to rehabilitators; if the bird died, the carcass may have been discarded or left indefinitely in a freezer by persons ignorant of the scientific value of the specimen. The ABC’s current policy is to review individual birds reported over multiple years if the individual has left and then returned. Individuals that persist continuously for multiple years are reviewed once. In most cases, the total number of Arizona records for a species includes the number of records accepted by the ABC and those published in Birds of Arizona (Phillips et al. 1964) or the Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Arizona (Monson and Phillips 1981) prior to the inception of the ABC. The ABC emphasizes that the listing of a report under “records not accepted” does not necessarily mean that the members of the ABC believe that the bird was incorrectly identified, but rather that the documentation supplied to the committee was insufficiently detailed, or may not have met the rigorous standards established individually and independently by each member of the committee for the sighting to be substantiated as a formal historical record. The ABC endeavors to be fair and objective with regard to evaluation of all reports. Abbreviations for counties in Arizona are APA, Apache; COS, Cochise; COC, Coconino; GIL, Gila; GRA, Graham; GRE, Greenlee; LAP, La Paz; MAR, Maricopa; MOH, Mohave; NAV, Navajo; PIM, Pima; PIN, Pinal; SCR, Santa Cruz; YAV, Yavapai; YUM, Yuma. Other nonstandard abbreviations used within this report include: †, written description; NWR, national wildlife refuge; STP, sewage-treatment plant; ph., photograph; s.r., sound recording; v.r., video recording, *, specimen. Abbreviations for museum collections cited: DMNH, Delaware Museum of Natural History, Wilmington; SDNHM, San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego; UAZ, University of Arizona, Tucson. The three numbers appearing in parentheses after each species’ name are defined as follows: The first number is the “pre-committee total,” the total number of reports published by Phillips et al. (1964) and Monson and Phillips (1981) if the species was included on the ABC’s first checklist (compiled in 1972) and if the record specifies a date and location. A few reports from Monson and Phillips (1981) from before 1972 that were later reviewed and published by the ABC are not included in the pre-committee

76 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS total. Additionally, a few reports by Monson and Phillips (1981) of birds recorded after 1971 and not reviewed by the committee may be included in the pre-committee total. The “#” symbol in this location represents an indeterminate number because the species was either not recognized at that time or was not on the review list. The second number is the number of reports reviewed and accepted by the Arizona Bird Committee since its inception in 1972, excluding the records accepted in this report. Certain species (e. g., the Red-eyed Vireo and Bobolink) were on the ABC’s review list as originally established in 1972, removed from that list later in the 1970s, and then reinstated in the 1990s. Therefore, this second number represents only those records that the committee has accepted and does not include reports published while the species was not on the review list. The third number is the number of records of the species published in this report. Adding all three numbers yields the total number of records accepted by the ABC. All totals reflect the number of reports and not the number of individuals. For example a report of 200 Least Storm-Petrels at Lake Havasu, MOH, after Tropical Storm Nora on 26 Sep 1997 is treated as one record.

ACCEPTED RECORDS

BRANT Branta bernicla (2, 10, 4). Accepted records are of one at Lakeside Park in east Tucson, PIM, 22 Jan 2010 (†, ph. AG, JC, MMS), one at Bill Williams R. NWR, MOH, 20 Apr 2010 (ph. JWe), one in Show Low, NAV, also on 20 Apr 2010, providing a first record for northern Arizona, (†, ph. JuS), and one at Lake Havasu City, MOH, 13 Apr 2011 (†, ph. DVP). CACKLING GOOSE Branta hutchinsii (2, 12, 1). Before its removal from the ABC’s review list in 2009, an additional prior report was reviewed and accepted: one was at McCormick Ranch, Scottsdale, MAR, 17 Jan 2006 (†PL). The Cackling Goose has been confirmed as a rare but regular winter visitor in Arizona, but the ABC urges caution with regard to identification of this species because of its similarity to small races of the Canada Goose (B. canadensis). TRUMPETER SWAN Cygnus buccinator (0, 4, 1). A group of five near Willow Estates in the southern Mohave Valley, MOH, 12 Jan–26 Feb 2012 (ph. GG; †, ph. DVP, ph. JWe) provided a fifth Arizona record. As noted in previous reports (Rosenberg et al. 2007, 2011), the ABC considers Trumpeter Swans in Arizona to be from wild population unless birds are marked in a way that suggests they were relocated or in captivity. BAIKAL TEAL Anas formosa (0, 0, 1). A male (probably in its year of hatching) was well documented at Gilbert Water Ranch, Gilbert, MAR, 2–10 Dec 2010 (†, ph. GN; DVP; Figure 1); this represents a first Arizona record. This individual showed no signs of captivity and had undergone a nearly complete prealternate molt. This record fits an established pattern of fall and winter occurrences of the Baikal Teal in western North America from Alaska south through British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and California (Howell et al. 2014). EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL Anas crecca crecca (1, 1, 0). A male returned to the Phoenix area for its 4th and 5th years at Tempe Town Lake along the Salt R., Tempe, MAR, 10 Dec 2010–27 Feb 2011 (†MWe, †DVP) and 7 Jan 2012 (ph. PD). BLACK SCOTER Melanitta americana (0, 14, 14). Accepted records are of one male at the Glendale Recharge Ponds, Glendale, MAR, 14–15 Nov 2010 (ph. BWa, JRi, DVP), one below Parker Dam, LAP, 10 Dec 2010–21 Jan 2011 that moved

77 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS to the Bill Williams arm of Lake Havasu, MOH/LAP, 9 Feb–5 Apr 2011 (†, ph. RFr; DVP), a female or immature male on the Bill Williams arm of Lake Havasu, MOH, 19 Dec 2010–5 Apr 2011 (†, ph. DVP, LHa; ph. JWe), an immature male at Burro Cove, Saguaro Lake, MAR, 21 Jan 2011 (†, ph. TC), a female at Granite Reef Recreation Area, MAR, 8 Nov 2011 (ph. JMi), a female at Scotts Reservoir between Show Low and Pinetop, NAV, 17 Oct 2012 (†, ph. EHo), an immature male at Parker Dam, LAP, 26 Oct 2012 (ph. ASe, DVP), another female/immature at Thompson Bay on Lake Havasu, Lake Havasu City, MOH, 27 Nov–11 Dec 2012 (†, ph. LHa; DVP, JWe), one female/immature at Pittsburgh Point, Lake Havasu, Lake Havasu City, MOH, 30 Oct–7 Nov 2013 (ph. DJS, DVP), followed there by two females/immatures, thought to be different from those seen in November, 1–12 Dec 2013 (ph. TD, GK, LHa; †DVP), and an adult male there 10–14 Nov 2013 (ph. JMc; †DVP), up to three at Havasu Springs on Lake Havasu, MOH, 16 Nov 2013 (†LHa; †DVP), a female at Reid Park, Tucson, PIM, 22–24 Nov 2013 (ph. MMS, ACo, LM, JWl, JYo), and two female/immatures on Lake Mead, MOH, 8 Nov 2014 (†, ph. EHo). The frequency of this species along the lower Colorado R., particularly around Lake Havasu, has increased in recent years, and exact numbers were difficult to determine, as individuals may have been moving through various points between Lake Havasu City and Parker Dam. LEAST GREBE Tachybaptus dominicus (4, 12, 6). Two individuals discovered at Peña Blanca Lake, SCR, 20 Jul 2010 (ph. MSh) remained through the fall of 2010 (ph. ASc, FK), during which time they built two nests, one of which failed because of high water and the other successfully fledged four juveniles. The following spring and summer (2011), at least two pairs nested successfully at Peña Blanca Lake, remaining though the summer of 2012 and nesting again (ph. ASc); high counts of adults and immatures reached about 20 individuals! During the winter of 2012–13, only one Least Grebe was present there (AP), with the decrease in numbers thought to be due to the frequent introduction of bass into the lake by the Arizona Department of Game and Fish. An additional accepted record from Peña Blanca Lake was of one individual there 6–20 Apr 2014 (DBi; ph. ACo); another Least Grebe was located at a nearby tank on 31 Jul 2012 (ph. TRJ). Elsewhere, one was at Sun Lakes, Phoenix, MAR, 19–28 Jan 2013 (ph. TLe, BBO, CFi), and an adult with three juveniles were at a small reservoir near California Gulch, SCR, 28 Aug–17 Oct 2014 (†, ph. RF, ASc). There are now at least 22 accepted records for Arizona, many of single individuals, but with recent confirmed nesting from areas to the west of Nogales. We may be witnessing an expansion northward into Arizona, similar to that seen in other species such as the Black-capped Gnatcatcher (Polioptila nigriceps) and the Rufous-capped Warbler (Basileuterus rufifrons). RED-NECKED GREBE Podiceps grisegena (0, 14, 15). Accepted records are of one along the Colorado R. above Lee’s Ferry, COC, 5 Jan 2010 (ph. SP), an immature at Lake Pleasant near the mouth of the Castle Creek, YAV, 15 Jan 2010 (†, ph. TC), one at Lake Havasu off Windsor Beach, MOH, 22 Dec 2010 (†DVP, †LHa), one at Wahweap Marina, Lake Powell, COC, 29 Oct–13 Nov 2011 (ph. JLo), one above Davis Dam, MOH, 1–12 Nov 2011 (†, ph. DVP, LHa), one on Lake Havasu near Lake Havasu City, MOH, 30 Nov–12 Dec 2011 (†DVP, †LHa), joined by a second individual on 10 Dec 2011 (JCo; †DVP), an immature at Gillespie Dam, MAR, 29 Dec 2011–1 Jan 2013 (ph. TD), an immature at Tempe Town Lake on the Salt R., Tempe, MAR, 1–26 Mar 2012 (ph. BGc, JHo), one at Lake Havasu City, MOH, on the very early dates of 17 Aug–28 Sep 2013 (GH; †, ph. DVP, BSi), one on Lake Havasu, MOH, 8 Nov–10 Dec 2013 (†, ph. BSi, DVP), one at Alamo Lake, LAP, 3 Mar 2013 (†, ph. KR), another adult at Bill Williams NWR headquarters, LAP, 2 Mar 2014 (†R&AD), one in adult plumage at Wheatfields Lake, APA, 31 Aug 2014 (†LHa; ph. EHo, DVP), and an immature on Apache Lake, MAR, 10 Jan 2014 (†, ph. TC).

78 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

The total number of Arizona records has doubled in the past five years, resulting in the removal of the Red-necked Grebe from the ABC’s review list at the end of 2014. GROOVE-BILLED ANI Crotophaga sulcirostris (3, 15, 5). Accepted records are of one at Wenima Wildlife Area, APA, 1 Aug 2010 (ph. MCl—only the second record for northeastern Arizona), one at Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area, COS, 5–6 Nov 2010 (GL; †, ph. ACo, CVC), one in Miller Canyon, COS, 29 Oct–3 Nov 2011 (ph. VF), one at Peña Blanca Lake, SCR, 19–27 Jun 2012 (†, ph. JHr, DJS, LH), and one at Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, PIM, 19–26 Nov 2012 (†, ph. MSk, GSe, ACo). These records fit the expected pattern of occurrence in late spring (mid-June) or late fall, a pattern similar to other largely Mexican species such as the Pyrrhuloxia (Cardinalis sinuatus) (Patten 2006). BUFF-COLLARED NIGHTJAR Antrostomus ridgwayi (5, 5, 4). Accepted records are of at least two along Proctor Road below Madera Canyon, PIM, 25 May–1 Aug 2013 (JHp; †LH; ph. CWe, ACo, RB), a different individual at nearby McCleary Wash, PIM, 1 Jun 2013 (†LH), one at Montosa Canyon, SCR, 22 Aug 2013 (MLe, DT; †ACo), and at least one returning the following year to Proctor Road below Madera Canyon, PIM, 28 Apr 2014 and again 9 May 2014 (†LH). This species appears to have increased in recent years and has become almost expected (in small numbers) at the base of the Santa Rita Mts. and in canyons close to the Mexican border west of Nogales, but it remains a casual to rare summer resident in southeastern Arizona, and the ABC continues to monitor it because of its uncertain and changing status. BLACK SWIFT Cypseloides niger (3, 4, 1). An accepted sighting of one at Laguna Dam north of Yuma, YUM, 11 May 2014 (†LHa) constitutes the eighth accepted record for Arizona, although there still remains no physical documentation (photo, video recording, or specimen) for the species in the state. CHIMNEY SWIFT Chaetura pelagica (2, 0, 1). One was photographed and heard vocalizing at Willcox, COS, 10 May 2011 (†, ph. TJ). The published history of this species in Arizona includes a “non-breeding pair” on the University of Arizona campus, Tucson, from 30 May to 16 June 1952 (Monson and Phillips 1981, DMNH 18583 and 18584). Additionally, as many as eight individuals were reported (and identified as this species by vocalizations but never photographed or sound-recorded) on the campus during the summers of 1973–1977 (Monson and Phillips 1981), a period when multiple birds also summered in southern California (Hamilton et al. 2007). No other reports have been submitted to or evaluated by the ABC. The specimen cited by Monson and Phillips (1981) as from the Colorado River “above Yuma” on 6 May 1930 was actually collected on the California side of the river 1 mile north of the former settlement of Potholes near Laguna Dam (SDNHM 13055). PLAIN-CAPPED STARTHROAT Heliomaster constantii (0, 19, 15). Prior to the ABC’s discontinuing review of the Plain-capped Starthroat at the end of 2013, accepted records were of one at California Gulch, SCR, 21 May 2008 (†PW), one at feeders in Patagonia, SCR, 4–21 Sep 2010 (MMa; ph. ACo, CMe, CVC), one in lower Miller Canyon, COS, 3–11 Jul 2011 (ph. CMe), one at a residence in Harshaw Canyon, SCR, 22 Jul 2011 (ph. LRo, SWe), one in Ash Canyon, COS, 13 Aug–1 Sep 2011 (ph. RBh), up to two in Montosa Canyon, SCR, 26 May–1 Aug 2012 (†, ph. DJS, CMc, GHR, LH), one returning to a residence in Ash Canyon, COS, 13 May–19 Aug 2012 (ph. RBh), one in lower Carr Canyon, COS, 7 Jul 2012 (ph. HB), one in Portal, COS, 7–20 Jul 2012 (†, ph. REW), one in lower Miller Canyon, COS, 12 Jul–1 Aug 2012 (ph. CVC), one at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast, 18 km south of Sierra Vista, COS, 10 Aug–4 Oct 2012 (MJB; ph. RA, LM, CRo), one in Madera Canyon, PIM, 6–9 May 2013 (†, ph. JE), one in Green Valley, PIM, 10 Jun–16 Jul 2013 (ph. GWe), one in lower Carr Canyon, COS, 29 Aug–13 Sep 2013 (†, ph. HB, PB, JLn), and one in Patagonia, SCR, 24 Sep–7 Oct 2013 (ph. HR, JRz, DVP).

79 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

It is difficult to tell how many individuals were actually represented, and how many were retuning, especially on the east flank of the Huachuca Mountains, where the same individual may have frequented many feeders. Once considered a vagrant, this species has recently increased to become a casual to rare spring and summer visitor mainly to canyons in southeastern Arizona. RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD Archilochus colubris (0, 2, 1). One immature male in Portal, COS, 29 Oct 2010 (REW) represented only the third state record, following a winter record of a female from Tucson and a fall record of an adult male from Patagonia (Rosenberg et al. 2007, 2011). BERYLLINE HUMMINGBIRD Amazilia beryllina (3, 29, 1). Although this species was removed from the review list by the ABC in 2009, the committee re-evaluated and accepted an older report from Chiricahua National Monument, COS, 1 May 2005 (†LRo) previously published as not accepted (Rosenberg et.al 2011). The Berylline Hummingbird is a casual to rare spring and summer visitor to southeastern Arizona from the mountains of western Mexico. PURPLE GALLINULE Porphyrio martinicus (4, 9, 5). Accepted records are of one at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station south of Wintersburg, MAR, 8 Jul 2011 (ph. MLa), one at Rio Rico, SCR, 8–11 Jul 2011 (ph. LH, ASc, RF, RP, AR), one found dead in Marana, PIN, 29 Jul 2011 (RFe; ph. PKl; *UAZ, as yet uncatalogued), one near Maricopa, PIN, 18 Sep 2011 (†, ph. NL), and a juvenile at Gilbert Water Ranch, MAR, 25–30 Aug 2012 (ph. HCT). Most Arizona records are between July and mid-September. AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER Pluvialis dominica (21, 25, 3). All accepted records are from Willcox, COS: a juvenile 23 Oct–1 Nov 2011 (†, ph. MLe, CMc, AR, LM), another 16 May 2013 (ph. GG), and another 14–23 May 2014 (†, ph. EC; ph. KeS, GG, CLa). Although this species remains a rare but somewhat regular migrant to Arizona, the ABC prefers to keep it as a review species because of its potential confusion with the Pacific Golden-Plover (P. fulva), which has occurred in Arizona just three times. PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER Pluvialis fulva (0, 2, 1). An adult photographed at the Glendale Recharge Ponds, MAR, 11 Sep 2011 (†, ph. MH) provided a third Arizona record. Initially, this individual was submitted as an American Golden-Plover (P. dominica), but diagnostic photos showed the bird to be a molting adult Pacific. All three of Arizona’s Pacific Golden-Plovers have occurred between late June and mid-September. UPLAND SANDPIPER Bartramia longicauda (3, 4, 4). Accepted records are of one at San Bernardino NWR, COS, on 21 Aug 2010 (†REW), one on the Santa Cruz Flats southwest of Picacho, PIN, on 29 Aug 2011 (†MP, †MMS, †WS), another there on the exceptionally early dates of 5–8 Jul 2013 (†, ph. DJe), and up to five individuals near San Simon, COS, 12–19 Aug 2012 (†REW; †, ph. AR, ACo). Most of Arizona’s Upland Sandpipers have occurred between mid-August and mid-September. HUDSONIAN GODWIT Limosa haemastica (0, 5, 2). Accepted records include one older report from Palo Verde, MAR, 26 May 2003 (†PM, CDo) and one well documented at Willcox, COS, 22–27 May 2012 (†MMS, MP; ph. LH, CDB, CVC, AR, TL, GHR). All of Arizona’s previous Hudsonian Godwits have been found between 13 and 26 May (Rosenberg and Witzeman 1998). To place the scarcity of this species as a migrant through the inland western U.S. in perspective, we note that there are only three records from the Salton Sink area of California (Rottenborn et al. 2016). RUDDY TURNSTONE Arenaria interpres (2, 7, 1). One was at Willcox, COS, 11–29 Sep 2012 (BJ; ph. AR, MLe). This species was historically much more regular

80 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS in Arizona during the late summer and early fall (see Rosenberg and Witzeman 1998), but since it was added back onto the ABC’s review list in 2007, there have been only five accepted records (Rosenberg et al. 2011). RED KNOT Calidris canutus (2, 11, 3). Records accepted in this report are of one at Dateland, YUM, 13 Sep 2005 (ph. HD), one at Willcox, COS, 5 Aug 2011 (JSa; ph. ACo; †MMS, J&MH), and an adult also at Willcox, COS, 18–22 Jul 2012 (†, ph. JMo, AR, CVC). The Red Knot is another species that was reported more regularly in the past, with about 35 published reports during the 1980s and 1990s (see Rosenberg and Witzeman 1998). It was reinstated as a review species in 2002, and remains a very casual late summer and fall migrant in Arizona. RUFF Calidris pugnax (0, 9, 1). One on the Santa Cruz Flats southwest of Picacho, PIN, 8 Jan 2010 (†, ph. RF) fits a pattern of several Arizona records from mid-winter. SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER Calidris acuminata (1, 2, 2). Accepted records are of a juvenile near Cotton Center between Gila Bend and Gillespie Dam, MAR, 28 Sep 2013 (†, ph. MO, DPe) and a stunning spring adult at Rimmy Jim Tank north of Flagstaff, COC, 7–12 May 2014 (ph. JaW; BPa, BGa; Figure 2). The spring record from Arizona is particularly significant, as there are only about five previous spring records from California, and only two inland records of alternate-plumaged adults, including one at the Salton Sea 19–22 May 2005, even though the Sharp-tailed Sandpiper is a rare annual fall migrant in that state (see Hamilton et al. 2007). WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER Calidris fuscicollis (0, 11, 5). Accepted records are mostly from Willcox, COS, with one there 19–21 May 2010 (ph. BZ; †, ph. GHR), three from 1 to 3 Jun 2011 (RE; †, ph. DJS), two from 14 to 22 May 2012 (ph. RT, CDB), and three from 15 to 24 May 2013 (ph. GG, REW). Elsewhere, three were at Thatcher, GRA, 14–20 May 2013 (ph. JCk). This species has become nearly annual in Arizona (particularly at Willcox), with some recent records involving multiple individuals. Most of Arizona’s White-rumped Sandpipers have been found between 13 May and 6 June, with one as late as 23 June (Rosenberg and Witzeman 1998). BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER Calidris subruficollis (0, 5, 1). One apparent juvenile at Lake Havasu City, MOH, 3 Oct 2011 (†, ph. LHa, DVP, JWe) is the latest recorded in Arizona. All previous Buff-breasted Sandpipers were found during mid-late September (Rosenberg et al. 2011). POMARINE JAEGER Stercorarius pomarinus (2, 4, 3). Accepted records are of a juvenile at Rotary Park, Lake Havasu City, MOH, 13 Nov 2011 (†, ph. DVP, JWe), seen again at the Bill Williams delta, MOH, 14 Nov 2011 (†LHa), a different juvenile at the same locality 5 Dec 2011 (†, ph. DVP), and an immature discovered at Amado, PIM, 10 Nov 2012 (†, ph. BWa, DD). The Pomarine is the least frequent of the three jaegers in Arizona, with most records coming from November. PARASITIC JAEGER Stercorarius parasiticus (2, 7, 8). Accepted records are of one juvenile with a damaged bill at Rotary Park, Lake Havasu, MOH, 14 Sep 2010 (ph. WS; JNo), up to two juveniles on Lake Havasu near Lake Havasu City, MOH, 18–23 Sep 2010 (ph, JLo, TLi, TB), a juvenile on Lake Havasu, MOH, 6 Sep 2011 (†, ph. DVP, LHa), two juveniles also on Lake Havasu 19–20 Sep 2011 (†DVP), another juvenile there 2–3 Sep 2012 (†, ph. DVP, LHa), a juvenile on Willow Lake, YAV, 30 Aug 2013 (†, ph. DMo), a juvenile on Lake Havasu, MOH, 22–27 Sep 2014 (†, ph. LH, DVP), and another juvenile at Becker Lake, Springerville, APA, 22 Sep 2014 (ph. SF), providing a first record for Apache County. The great majority of Arizona records are from Lake Havasu in September. LONG-TAILED JAEGER Stercorarius longicaudus (0, 12, 3). All three accepted records are from Lake Havasu, MOH, of an adult 18–21 Sep 2010 (JLo, TLi; ph. TB), a juvenile 9–15 Sep 2011 (†, ph. LHa, DVP), and a juvenile 22 Sep 2014

81 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

Figure 1. This immature male Baikal Teal at Gilbert Water Ranch, Gilbert, 2–10 December 2010 represented a first Arizona record. Photo by Gary Nunn

(†DVP). As with the Parasitic Jaeger, most records are from Lake Havasu in late August and September. JAEGER sp. Stercorarius sp. (0, 0, 2). Jaegers not submitted at the species level and accepted only at the genus level included a very late bird on Lake Havasu, MOH, 9–12 Dec 2011 (†DVP, †LHa) and one there 30 Aug 2013 (DVP). BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKE Rissa tridactyla (1, 12, 4). Accepted records are of one at Site Six Launch Ramp, Lake Havasu City, MOH, 30 Jan–7 Mar 2010 (†, ph. SP; DVP, MMS), one at Saguaro Lake, MAR, 21–22 Jan 2011 (†, ph. TC), one in Casa Grande, PIN, 31 Oct–9 Nov 2011 (†, ph. CMc; JHo, ACo, JMe, HS), and one at Tempe Town Lake, MAR, 13 Dec 2013 (†, ph. MO, JMc). The 31 October record is the earliest for Arizona, most previous kittiwakes having been found between November and January. IVORY GULL Pagophila eburnea (0, 0, 1). One of the more astounding of Arizona bird records was of an injured immature Ivory Gull photographed along the lower Colorado R. near Willow Beach, MOH, 30 Dec 2012 (ph. DaS; Figure 3). This represents the second-most southerly record for North America, exceeded only by one at Doheny State Beach, Orange County, California, 5 Jan 1996 (Weintraub and San Miguel 1999). Another Ivory Gull almost as far south as the one in Arizona was at Pickwick Dam, Tennessee, February 1996 (see Natl. Audubon Soc. Field Notes 50:180). LITTLE GULL Hydrocoloeus minutus (0, 0, 2). One of the most overdue additions to the Arizona list was of the Little Gull, previously recorded in virtually every other U.S. state! One was on a sandbar just north of Lake Havasu, MOH, 23 Sep 2010 (†, ph. WS, JSa), and another was at Lake Havasu City, MOH, 10 Sep 2011 (†LHa, †DVP). LAUGHING GULL Leucophaeus atricilla (1, 19, 7). Accepted records are of one at Cibola NWR, LAP, 20 Jun 2011 (ph. TSc), immatures at Willcox, COS, 15–16 Mar

82 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

Figure 2. This stunning spring male Sharp-tailed Sandpiper was at Rimmy Jim Tank north of Flagstaff in northern Arizona 7–12 May 2014, providing a fifth (and first spring) record for the state. Photo by Bryan Patrick, 7 May 2014

Figure 3. Arizona’s first recorded Ivory Gull was this injured immature bird along the Colorado River near Willow Beach, 30 December 2012. Photo by Dale Suter

83 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

2012 (ph. DB), 15 May 2012 (JHi; ph. CVC), and 3–4 Jun 2013 (LE, DT; †, ph. ACo, CVC), an adult at Martinez Lake, YUM, 8 Jul 2013 (†, ph. BWi), an immature at Gilbert Water Ranch, MAR, 28 Oct 2013 (ph. BH), and an immature at San Carlos Reservoir, GRA, 10 Nov 2013 (†, ph. EHo, DJe). Prior to 2013 there were only two previous fall reports from Arizona. This species continues to be a casual visitor mainly during spring and summer, despite being a regular visitor and rare breeder at the Salton Sea in southeastern California (Patten et al. 2003). MEW GULL Larus canus (0, 10, 14). Accepted records are of a winter adult at Willcox, COS, 2–3 Feb 2010 (DF; ph. MMS), providing only a second Arizona record away from the Colorado R., another adult at Wahweap, Lake Powell, COC, 2 Apr 2010 (ph. SP), a first-cycle bird that moved between Bullhead City and Katherine Landing, Lake Mohave, MOH, 29 Jan–26 Feb 2011 (†, ph. LHa, DVP), an immature at Lake Havasu City, MOH, 7 Nov 2011 (ph. JWe;), likely the same bird in the Bill Williams arm of Lake Havasu, LAP/MOH, 12 Nov 2011–18 Jan 2012 (†, ph DVP; PKl), an immature at Bullhead City, MOH, 25 Nov 2011 (†, ph. LHa, DVP), likely the same individual at Katherine Landing, Lake Mohave, MOH, 15–26 Jan 2012 (†, ph. DVP, LHa), an immature at the Glendale Recharge Ponds, MAR, 17–20 Nov 2011 (†, ph. TD, PD), an adult at Windsor Beach, Lake Havasu City, MOH, 4 Jan 2012 (ph. MMS), an immature at Page, COC, 3–22 Jan 2012 (SP; †, ph. MMS), an adult at the Pima Sewage Pond, GRA, 19 Nov 2012 (†, ph. JCk), an immature at Alamo Lake, LAP, 26 Feb–3 Mar 2013 (ph. DMo, KR), an adult at Rotary Park Beach, Lake Havasu City, MOH, 24 Mar 2013 (†, ph. LHa, OJ, DVP), a first-cycle bird at Lake Pleasant, YAV, 31 Oct 2013 (†, ph. TD), an immature bird at Rotary Park Beach, Lake Havasu City, MOH, 4–11 Dec 2013 (†, ph. DVP, LHa), a different immature also at Lake Havasu City, MOH, 8 Dec 2013 (†, ph. DVP, LHa), and likely the same individual at Lake Havasu City 19 Feb–10 Apr 2014 (†, ph. DVP). The status of the Mew Gull in Arizona has clearly changed, with the number of accepted records more than doubling in the past five years. WESTERN GULL Larus occidentalis (1, 1, 3). Accepted records are of an adult at the Glendale Recharge Ponds, MAR, 26 Apr 2010 (†, ph. TD), a second-cycle bird at Rotary Park, Lake Havasu City, MOH, 4 Sep–17 Oct 2010 (JWe; †, ph. MH, MMS, DVP), and an adult at Lake Havasu City, MOH, 13 Oct 2013 (ph. BSi, HK). The Western Gull is one of the rarer gulls to occur in Arizona, which is surprising given the growing number of records from the Salton Sea (Patten et al. 2003). THAYER’S GULL Larus thayeri (3, 6, 4). Accepted records of single first-cycle birds are from Rotary Park Beach, Lake Havasu City, MOH, 22 Nov 2010 (ph. DVP; †, ph. LHa), Pittsburgh Point, Lake Havasu, MOH, 9 Nov 2011 (†, ph. DVP), and Lake Havasu City, MOH, 21 Nov 2011–6 Feb 2012 (CMc; †, ph. DVP, JWe, RT) and 5 Dec 2014 (†, ph. DVP). All accepted records of this species in Arizona have been of first-cycle birds. LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL Larus fuscus (0, 2, 6). Accepted records are of a first-cycle bird at Lake Havasu City, MOH, 26 Nov 2012 (†, ph. JWe), another in the Bill Williams arm of Lake Havasu, LAP/MOH, 30 Nov– 5 Dec 2012 (†, ph. LHa, JWe, DVP; judged to be a different individual from details of molt pattern), an apparent adult (third cycle or older) at Alamo Lake, LAP, 26 Feb–3 Mar 2013 (†, ph. DMo, KR), a first-cycle bird at Glendale, MAR, 15–18 Dec 2013 (†, ph. JNe), a first-cycle bird at Lake Havasu just north of Mesquite Bay, MOH, 9 Jan 2014 (†, ph. LHa, DVP), and a second-cycle bird at Willcox, COS, 8 Sep 2014 (†, ph. DBr). GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL Larus glaucescens (1, 5, 1). One accepted record of a first-cycle bird at the Glendale Recharge Ponds, MAR, 9–19 Nov 2011 (ph. TD; †PL, BC, KR; †, ph. PD, CMc).

84 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

GLAUCOUS GULL Larus hyperboreus (0, 3, 3). Accepted records are of a first-cycle bird at Site Six Launch Ramp and Pittsburgh Point, Lake Havasu City, MOH, 23 Dec 2011–30 Jan 2012 (†, ph. CDB, GHR, DVP, MH,), a first-cycle bird at Katherine Landing, Lake Mohave, MOH, 23–29 Jan 2014 (†, ph. DVP), and an immature at Patagonia Lake, SCR, 17 Nov 2014 (†, ph. ASc), the first recorded in southeastern Arizona. ARCTIC TERN Sterna paradisaea (2, 3, 1). A well-described individual was at San Carlos Reservoir, GRA, 2 Jun 2010 (†DJS). Arizona’s six accepted Arctic Terns are equally split between September and late May/early June. ELEGANT TERN Thalasseus elegans (0, 8, 7). Accepted records are of one at Rotary Park, Lake Havasu City, MOH, 28 May 2010 (ph. JWe), one at Patagonia Lake, SCR, 11 May 2010 (†GBi), a banded (band number illegible) individual along the Agua Fria R. in Glendale, 30–31 May 2010, (ph. MH, JHo), an amazing six seen (and voice recorded) flying at Mittry Lake north of Yuma, YUM, 14 May 2011 (†, s.r. MN; originally reported as possible Royal Terns, but recordings clearly identify them as Elegant), one at Green Valley, PIM, 18–20 Jun 2011 (C&JT; ph. ACo), one at Patagonia Lake, SCR, 23–25 May 2014 (ph. RC, JHy, ASc), and one at Reid Park, Tucson, PIM, 4 Jun–7 Jun 2014 (ph. CF; CT, MP, MMS, LM, JMe, PG). The 11 May record is the earliest for Arizona; most of the state’s Elegant Terns have been found between late May and mid-June. BLACK SKIMMER Rynchops niger (0, 9, 1). One at Rotary Park, Lake Havasu City, MOH, 28 May 2010 (ph. JWe) was photographed flying over a standing Elegant Tern (see record above). RED-BILLED TROPICBIRD Phaethon aethereus (2, 4, 2). The two records are both of juveniles picked up alive. One in northwest Tucson, PIM, 25 Apr 2012 (LB; ph. MMS) was brought to the Tucson Wildlife Center but we have been unable to ascertain its subsequent disposition. The other, from 10.5 km north of Payson, GIL, 22 Aug 2014 (ph. TSm, JMl, TC) was brought to a rehabilitation facility and later taken to San Diego for release. It established one of the northernmost records in Arizona. Amazingly, the state now has eight records of this pelagic species.

Figure 4. This Hawaiian Petrel was picked up dead and largely mummified in Yuma on 24 August 2013 providing a first Arizona, and first inland North American record. Photo by Philip Unitt

85 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

Figure 5. This apparently erythristic Short-tailed Hawk wintered in Tucson during the winters of 2008–09, 2009–10, and 2010–11. Photo by David J. Stejskal, 23 February 2010

RED-THROATED LOON Gavia stellata (3, 14, 9). One was at Bill Williams NWR, Lake Havasu, MOH, 30 Jan 2010 (ph. SP). In 2011, multiple individuals were observed at various points in the Lake Havasu to Parker Dam region, making it difficult to determine the exact number present. At Lake Havasu City, one was present 31 Oct–1 Nov 2011 (ph. JWe, DVP), one was seen flying south near there 8 Nov 2011 († LHa; ph. DVP), and one was nearby 30 Nov 2011–16 Jan 2012 († LHa; ph. DVP). During the same period, one was at Bill Williams delta, MOH, 12 Nov 2011, (ph. JWe), two were there 29 Nov 2011–26 Mar 2012 (†LHa), and a third was present 10 Dec 2011 (†DVP). Two individuals at the north end of Lake Havasu, MOH, 20 Mar 2012 (†DVP) were thought to be the same individuals wintering at the Bill Williams delta. While it is clear that at least three individuals occurred at the delta in 2011–12, whether the Lake Havasu birds farther upriver were the same or different individuals remains a question. Multiple individuals were also found during the following winter (2012–13), with one at the Bill Williams delta, LAP, 8–13 Nov 2012 (†, ph. DVP), and three birds there 13 Jan–11 Mar 2013 (ph. JaS; †LHa). One was at Lake Havasu City 27 Nov–16 Dec 2012 (ph. LHa, †DVP). The following winter (2013–14), one was at Lake Havasu City, MOH, 31 Oct–27 Dec 2013 (†, ph. DVP; DJS), then three were there 11–16 Jan 2014 († DVP, LHa), with at least one remaining until 6 Apr 2014 (ph. DVP). The ABC deleted the Red-throated Loon from its review list at the end of 2014 because it has become a rare but regular winter visitor on lakes along the lower Colorado R. and to a lesser extent on other large bodies of water in Arizona.

86 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

Figure 6. These Rosy-faced Lovebirds were photographed at Gilbert Water Ranch, Gilbert, 20 September 2008. This exotic species is now considered established in the Phoenix area and is so recognized by inclusion on the Arizona list. Photo by Pierre Deviche

YELLOW-BILLED LOON Gavia adamsii (0, 6, 1). An immature was along the Parker Strip below Parker Dam, LAP, 15 Jan–4 Aug 2011, during which time it was also reported on the Bill Williams arm of Lake Havasu, LAP/MOH, 21 Feb–19 Mar 2011 (†, ph. DVP, LHa; †MN; ph. SRe, JWe). HAWAIIAN PETREL Pterodroma sandwichensis (0, 0, 1). A Pterodroma petrel found dead and dried stiff on a street in Yuma, YUM, 24 Aug 2013 (T&LK) was sent to the San Diego Natural History Museum for preservation and identification (SDNHM 54201; Figure 4). Remarkably, the specimen was in relatively good condition, and analysis of plumage and measurements by Philip Unitt suggested that the bird was a Hawaiian Petrel, on the basis of smaller bill size, lighter sides of the neck and breast, and entirely white outer web of the outer rectrices, in direct comparison with specimens of the Galapagos Petrel (P. phaeopygia). The committee was unanimous in accepting this record as P. sandwichensis given our current knowledge of the identification of these species (Howell 2012). This represents the first inland record for the species (away from Hawaii) and the first specimen for the mainland U.S. Comments included a discussion that the likely source was the Gulf of California (see discussion below under the Sooty Shearwater regarding southerly winds), which suggests that this individual possibly went around the tip of Baja California to get into the gulf. One concern raised was that Cabo San Lucas is much farther south than previous reports of the Hawaiian Petrel in the eastern Pacific, though the species is now known to be regular east into California waters (see Rottenborn et al. 2016), and that the tip of Baja California may be closer to where the Galapagos Petrel might occur, even though it has never been reported off Baja California either (Howell 2012). A related species, the Cook’s Petrel (P. cookii) has been recorded at least three times in southeastern California at the Salton Sea (Patten et al. 2003), and a Streaked Shearwater (Calonectris leucomelas) was found dead near Medicine Bow,

87 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

Wyoming, on 13 Jun 2006 (Faulkner 2006), suggesting that “deep water” pelagic species can occasionally show up well inland, and away from large bodies of water. SOOTY SHEARWATER Ardenna grisea (1, 0, 1). A Sooty Shearwater photographed alive on Mittry Lake north of Yuma, YUM, 5 Aug 2013 (ph. BWi) provided only the second record of this pelagic species for Arizona, the first being of a dead bird picked up near Wellton on 6 Jun 1971 (UAZ 10306; Quigley 1973). This individual, as well as the Hawaiian Petrel discussed above, and several of the Brown Booby records below, apparently arrived during a period of strong southerly winds out of the Gulf of California. There have been no fewer than eight records of the Sooty Shearwater from the Salton Sea, all between mid-June and mid-August (Patten et al. 2003). MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD Fregata magnificens (4, 8, 2). An adult female found injured in Mammoth, PIN, 23 Jan 2010 (PC; ph. PKl) was brought to a rehabilitation center, where it was photographed but later died; we have been unable to ascertain the disposition of the specimen. A juvenile was seen circling over Nogales, SCR, also on 23 Jan 2010 (†PL). Three other reports of single individuals, near Parker, LAP, 10 Sep 2007 (†LaS), Buenos Aires NWR, PIM, 22 Jan 2010 (DBo), and Tucson, PIM, 22 Jan 2010 (†AM) were accepted as of a “frigatebird sp.,” but the birds were not photographed or described well enough to eliminate other species of frigatebirds, such as the Lesser (F. ariel), and Great (F. minor), both of which have occurred in California and elsewhere in the interior of the U.S. (Sullivan et al. 2007, Howell et al. 2014). It should be noted that the frigatebird reports in January 2010 were preceded by very strong southwest winds in southern Arizona. BLUE-FOOTED BOOBY Sula nebouxii (3, 4, 4). Accepted records are of one juvenile captured alive behind the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s office in Yuma, YUM, 22 Jul 2010 (ph. SH) and taken to the Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR for rehabilitation, one at Virgin Basin of Lake Mead, MOH, 21 Aug 2012 (ph. BWu), one immature on Patagonia Lake, SCR, 14–31 Aug 2013 (†, ph. RWi; ph. AC, TMi, JWo; †TLo), and up to three individuals on Lake Havasu, MOH, 26 Sep–14 Oct 2013 (†RFr; †, ph. TB, DVP), with one remaining there until at least 15 Feb 2014 (these individuals also frequented the Bill Williams arm of Lake Havasu, MOH/LAP). Although the Blue-footed Booby is resident in the nearby Sea of Cortez in Mexico south of Yuma, there have been very few records from Arizona. The 2013 records corresponded to a major influx into California, the first such invasion since the early 1970s (Rottenborn et al. 2016). BROWN BOOBY Sula leucogaster (2, 4, 5). Immatures were at Meers Point, Martinez Lake, north of Yuma, YUM, 10 Aug 2010 (†, ph. GF), near Rio Salado in Phoenix, MAR, 30 Aug 2010 (hit by a car; ph. CPa; *UAZ, as yet uncatalogued), and at Laguna Dam north of Yuma, YUM, 5 Aug 2013 (†, ph. LHa, DVP), with possibly the same individual photographed in a backyard in Yuma 8 Aug 2013 (ph. JG). An immature on Lake Havasu at Lake Havasu City, MOH, and on the Bill Williams arm of Lake Havasu, MOH/LAP, 11 Aug 2013–14 Feb 2014 (†, ph. DVP, LHa, JWe, TB), was apparently rediscovered on the Nevada side of Lake Mohave 16–17 Feb 2014 (Meyers 2016). Finally, an immature was captured alive by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent in Yuma, YUM, and taken to a rehabilitation center 11 Sep 2014 (ph. fide LPi). REDDISH EGRET Egretta rufescens (3, 27, 2). The two accepted records are of one at Painted Rock Road near Gila Bend, MAR, 16–22 Oct 2010 (†, ph. KR, CR) and another on the Paloma Ranch also near Gila Bend, MAR, 7 Nov 2011 (†BGr). There are now more than 30 accepted records for Arizona, and with the Reddish Egret now considered rare but regular in the state, the ABC removed it from the review list at the end of 2011.

88 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

Figure 7. Arizona’s third Tufted Flycatcher at Boyce Thompson Arboretum near Superior, east of Phoenix, 6 July 2011. Photo by Jack Holloway

Figure 8. Arizona’s fourth Yellow-bellied Flycatcher in Phoenix, 7 June 2013. Photo by Richard Ditch

89 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

WHITE IBIS Eudocimus albus (2, 7, 1). An immature bird was in the marshes at the Yuma East Wetlands, Yuma, YUM, 11 Dec 2013–11 May 2014 (DSu; †, ph. DVP, DB). It was also seen across the Colorado R. in California (Singer et al. 2016). GLOSSY IBIS Plegadis falcinellus (0, 10, 8). Accepted records are of single adults along Citrus Valley Road, Gila Bend, MAR, 14 Aug 2010 (†KR, TC, JWa), at Paloma Ranch, MAR, 18–22 Apr 2011 (†, ph. PL, GHR, BC), along Highway 95 south of Bullhead City, MOH, 5–9 Jul 2011 (†PL, BC; ph. DVP), at Willcox, COS, 12–19 Jun 2012 (ph. DJS; †, ph. LH , GG, MMS, AR, REW), at Cibola NWR, LAP, 20 Apr 2013 (†, ph. CMc), at Liberty, southwest of Phoenix, MAR, 23 Mar 2013 (†, ph. MH), at Lake Havasu City, MOH, 20–24 May 2013 (†, ph. DVP, OJ), and at the Glendale Recharge Ponds, MAR, 1 May 2014 (†, ph. MH). The status of the Glossy Ibis in Arizona has clearly changed during the past ten years, as this batch of records nearly doubles the number of existing records from Arizona, fitting the species’ well-established pattern of expansion throughout the West (Patten and Lasley 2000). ROSEATE SPOONBILL Platalea ajaja (2, 23, 6). Accepted records are of one at the Glendale Recharge Ponds, Glendale, MAR, 19 Nov 2010 (ph. BGr, JRi, K&LB, DVP) and seen at different locations nearby through 18 Dec, with likely the same individual at Palo Verde, MAR, 29 Jan–summer 2011 (ph. MH). Another (or the same?) individual was at the Glendale Recharge Ponds, MAR, the following year from 18 Aug to 9 Oct 2012 (†, ph. MH, JRi, GK, IC), and others were at the Santa Cruz Flats, near Eloy, PIN, 22–23 Aug 2012 (ph. CCo), Superior, PIN, 15 Jul 2013 (ph. RCl), Benson, COS, 30 Jul 2013 (†, ph. RBh), and Tres Rios, MAR, 15–17 Dec 2013 (†TC). There are now more than 30 accepted records of this distinctive species from Arizona, and the ABC removed it from the review list at the end of 2014. SWALLOW-TAILED KITE Elanoides forficatus (0, 1, 1). One along the Verde R. on the Fort McDowell Tribal Lands, MAR, 13 May 2012 (ph. RS) was the first of this species photographed in Arizona. It followed one previous sight record accepted by the ABC, a report from Dudleyville, PIN, 2–3 Aug 1980, submitted by multiple independent observers (Rosenberg and Witzeman 1998). RED-SHOULDERED HAWK Buteo lineatus (1, 30, 7). Prior to its removal from the ABC’s review list at the end of 2011, accepted records of this rare but regular visitor included one at Watson Woods Riparian Preserve, Prescott, YAV, 9 Nov 2009–5 Feb 2010 (†, ph. MN), one at Pintail Slough, Havasu NWR, MOH, 4 Feb 2010 (†, ph. TC), one at the Hassayampa R. Preserve, Wickenburg, MAR, 3 Mar–6 Nov 2010 (MH; ph. TD, BGr; †DVP) and probably the same individual 9 Nov 2011 (ph. MH), one at Pintail Slough, Havasu NWR, MOH, 25 Dec 2010–24 Jan 2011 (†, ph. JWe, DVP), one at ‘Ahakhav Tribal Preserve, LAP, 16 Jan 2011 (ph. JWe), one along the Verde R. near Highway 87, MAR, 23 Oct 2011 (†DH), and one at Tolleson, MAR, 3–5 Nov 2011 (†, ph. BGr, MH, JRi). This species has become resident since 2010, and has likely bred, at the Hassayampa R. Preserve and possibly elsewhere; it is annual in small numbers mainly in the western half of Arizona. BROAD-WINGED HAWK Buteo platypterus (2, 27, 2). Prior to removing the Broad-winged Hawk from its review list at the end of 2009, the ABC accepted two additional reports, of one at Oak Creek Canyon near Sedona, YAV, 2 May 2007 (†BPr) and another at the Tres Rios Wetlands Hayfield Site, MAR, 14 Jan 2010 (ph. JRi), the latter representing a very rare winter record for Arizona. SHORT-TAILED HAWK Buteo brachyurus (0, 24, 16). In the Chiricahua Mts., COS, where Snyder et al. (2010) described Arizona’s first nest of the Short-tailed Hawk in 2007, accepted records are of one adult at Monte Vista Peak 15 Jun 2012 (†, ph. DJS), possibly the same individual at Barfoot Park 8 Jul–23 Aug 2012 (ph. EB, MV), a clearly different (by photos) individual in Portal 10 Jul 2012 (†, ph. REW),

90 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS and single adults at Barfoot Park 3–6 May 2013 (†, ph. TD, DVP), 5–7 Aug 2013 (ph. SW, JYe, LH), and 11 Apr–9 Jun 2014 (†, ph. LH), Details of a pair at Barfoot Park and likely breeding nearby during the summer of 2010 (Snyder et al. 2010) were not submitted to the ABC. In the Huachuca Mts., COS, were one adult in upper Sawmill Canyon 7 Apr 2011 (†, ph. DGo) and one at Miller Canyon 29 Apr 2014 (†, ph. DSa). The single record from the Santa Rita Mts. was of one between Old Baldy Saddle and Florida Saddle, SCR, 22–29 Apr 2011 (†, ph. DGo). In the Santa Catalina Mts., PIM, were one at Summerhaven 24–25 Apr 2010 (†JYe), probably the same individual over Mount Bigelow 14 Jun 2010 (ph. CC), one at the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area 8 Apr 2011 (ph. NH), one along the Mt. Lemmon Highway from 24 Mar through at least 16 Jul 2011 (†, ph. MSh), one at Marshall Gulch 5 May–25 Aug 2012 (†, ph. LPt), one at Summerhaven 29 Apr–2 May 2014 (†TSp), and likely the same individual there 31 Jul–5 Sep 2014 (ph. MOB). Unusual for being in the lowlands were a juvenile at San Bernardino NWR, COS, 21 Sep 2011 (†, ph. REW), one at Carmen, SCR, 28 Sep 2012 (†, ph. DJS, MMS), and one again at Tubac, SCR, 13 Mar 2014 (ph. SHu). The previously accepted odd-plumaged Short- tailed Hawk that wintered in Tucson (Rosenberg et al. 2011) returned again 3 Dec 2009–12 Mar 2010 (ph. DJS; Figure 5) and 5 Dec 2010–26 Jan 2011 (ph. DJS). The question arose whether this individual was aberrant or a hybrid (possibly with Swainson’s Hawk, B. swainsonii), but the record (with new photos) was recirculated and accepted again as of a Short-tailed Hawk. Committee members were unanimous in their belief that this individual was erythristic in some way and showed no structural attributes suggesting hybridization. The status of this species in southeastern Arizona has changed during the past ten years, and, although very rare, it is now regular in all the major mountain ranges (except perhaps the Pinaleño Mts.) during the spring and summer, and reports of migrants in the lowlands have increased concurrently. EARED QUETZAL Euptilotis neoxenus (0, 24, 1). One was in upper Madera Canyon, SCR, 7 Nov 2013 († LH); reports of this species have declined during the past decade, with only four of the 25 accepted records being of birds found since 2005. ROSY-FACED LOVEBIRD Agapornis roseicollis (0, 0, 1). The ABC added the Rosy-faced Lovebird (Figure 6) to the Arizona checklist at its annual meeting December 2011, following a detailed analysis of the species’ status and distribution in Arizona by Radamaker and Corman (2011). The Rosy-faced Lovebird was first detected in the Phoenix area in the mid-1980s and first discovered breeding in 1987. By the end of the field work for the Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas in 2000, lovebirds were found nesting in no fewer than ten residential atlas blocks (Corman and Wise-Gervais 2005). A coordinated census by the Arizona Field Ornithologists on 27 February 2010 found no fewer than 948 individuals in the greater Phoenix area. Eight specimens collected by T. R. Jones on the southwest slope of North Mountain 14.3 km north of Phoenix in December 2014 and January 2015 are preserved as SDNHM 54470–54477. TUFTED FLYCATCHER Mitrephanes phaeocercus (0, 2, 1). An amazing find was of one at Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, PIN, 6 Jul 2011 (JSa; †, ph. JHo; Figure 7), providing a third Arizona record and only the sixth for the United States (see Rosenberg et al. 2011 for a summary of United States records). The previous two records from Arizona were of one in February 2005 along the Colorado R. and one singing in May 2008 in the Chiricahua Mountains (Rosenberg et al. 2011). EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE Contopus virens (1, 4, 2). The two accepted records are of one at San Bernardino NWR, Douglas, COS, 8–10 Jun 2011 (ph., s.r. REW) and one at Clark Crossing Rd. near Carmen, SCR, 7–8 Oct 2011 (s.r., †DJS; †MP, MMS, CMc). Both of these individuals were vocalizing (and recorded), essential to distinguishing this species from the very similar Western Wood-Pewee (C. sordidulus). YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER Empidonax flaviventris (1, 2, 1). Arizona’s

91 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS fourth accepted record was of one in Phoenix, MAR, 7 Jun 2013 (ph. RD; Figure 8); all previous reports from Arizona were either in fall or winter. The excellent photograph confirmed the identification as a Yellow-bellied, as opposed to a Western Flycatcher (E. difficilis/occidentalis), by multiple features including the spacing of the primaries, width of secondary bar, and overall coloration (see Baumann et al. 2014 for identification criteria). LEAST FLYCATCHER Empidonax minimus (3, 6, 1). One was well described and photographed at Parker, LAP, 4 May 2014 (†, ph., s.r. LHa; †, ph. DVP). Apart from the specimens listed by Phillips et al. (1964), this constitutes only the second Arizona record supported by photographs or sound recordings. NUTTING’S FLYCATCHER Myiarchus nuttingi (1, 2, 4). The occurrence of multiple Nutting’s Flycatchers along the Bill Williams R., after Arizona’s third was found there in 2008 (Rosenberg et al. 2011), is one of the more remarkable discoveries we report here. It began with one found wintering at Mosquito Flats, Bill Williams R. NWR, LAP, 18 Dec 2011–25 Mar 2012+ (†, ph., s.r. LHa; ph. DVP, JWe, CWo, PKl, BPa, TJ; †, s.r. MP), which apparently returned to the same area 30 Nov 2012–10 Feb 2013 (ph. LHa, JHo), and again 21 Oct 2013–8 Feb 2014 (†LHa). During the spring of 2013, multiple birds were found in the area and bred for the first time known in the United States! These included one at the “North Burn” site at Bill Williams R. NWR, LAP, 8 Apr–9 Jun 2013 (†LHa) and four individuals (two adults and two fledglings) discovered in a different section of the refuge 11 Apr–21 Oct 2013 (ph., s.r. OJ, DVP, LHa). In 2014, no fewer than ten reports were submitted and accepted, all from a 8-km section of the Bill Williams R. between 25 Feb and 27 Oct (†, ph., s.r. DVP, LHa, MLe, EHo). The exact number of individuals is uncertain

Figure 9. Arizona’s first documented Sedge Wren wintered at Peña Blanca Lake west of Nogales, 27 November 2010–5 April 2011. Photo by Alan Schmierer

92 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

Figure 10. This Common Redpoll with American Goldfinches (Spinus tristis) in House Rock Valley west of Fredonia in the Arizona Strip 16 February–3 March 2012 provided a first Arizona record. Photo by Shaun Putz

Figure 11. Arizona’s second ever Smith’s Longspur was in agricultural fields south of Buckeye, 1 January–11 February 2012. Photo by Harold Bond, 4 January 2012

93 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS but at least seven, of which several likely recurred in successive years, now constitute a small resident population. GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER Myiarchus crinitus (1, 2, 1). Arizona’s fourth Great Crested Flycatcher was at Cameron, COC, 19–21 Sep 2010 (CLR; ph. TLi). Three of the four accepted records have been from late September and early October (Rosenberg et al. 2007). ROSE-THROATED BECARD Pachyramphus aglaiae (#, 2, 1). An adult female was at Clark Crossing Rd. along the Santa Cruz R. near Carmen, SCR, 19 Jul 2011 (†, ph. DJS). The ABC added this species to the review list in 2008, as its last confirmed attempted nesting in Arizona along Sonoita Creek near Patagonia, SCR, was in 2006. Prior to 2000, the Rose-throated Becard was considered a rare but regular summer resident along Sonoita Creek, with additional nesting records from Guadalupe Canyon, Arivaca Creek (Corman and Wise-Gervais 2005), and lower Sycamore Canyon (D. J. Stejskal pers. comm.), but since then it has been reported only sporadically from nonbreeding locations in summer and from riparian areas along the Santa Cruz R. in winter (Rosenberg et al. 2011). WHITE-EYED VIREO Vireo griseus (1, 28, 6). The six accepted records are of one along the Anza Trail, Tubac, SCR, 2 Dec 2007–4 Jan 2008 (†TSt), one singing at Page Springs Fish Hatchery, YAV, 5 May 2010 (†MB), one near Dudleyville, PIN, 18 Jun 2010 (†, ph. JHo), one in heavy molt caught and banded at Cibola Valley Conservation and Wildlife Management Area, LAP, 10 Aug 2011 (†, ph. SMc), one in Portal, COS, 28 Jun 2012 (†, ph. REW), and one at the Madera Canyon Picnic Area, PIM, 1–18 Aug 2012 (†ED). This species has become more regular in Arizona in recent years, and the ABC removed it from the review list at the end of 2012. YELLOW-THROATED VIREO Vireo flavifrons (6, 21, 3). Older records of one at Carr Canyon, COS, 20 Jul 2005 (ph. BSu), one along Blue Haven Road, SCR, 31 Jul 2007 (s.r. CDB), and one at the South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon, COS, 12 May 2009 (†J&SS) were reviewed and accepted; this species was removed from the review list in 2009. BLUE-HEADED VIREO Vireo solitarius (0, 3, 1). The photos of a vireo along Morgan City Wash, MAR, 28 Apr 2012 (†, ph. TC) strongly suggested it was V. solitarius rather than a bright Cassin’s Vireo (V. cassinii), as it showed a sharp contrast between the dark gray hood and white throat, relatively bright yellow flanks, a relatively green back, and broad white spectacles. PHILADELPHIA VIREO Vireo philadelphicus (5, 13, 2). Two well-documented records are of one at Peña Blanca Lake near Nogales, SCR, 20–25 Oct 2012 (†, ph. MLe, ACo) and another along the Gila R. near Arlington, MAR, 26 Dec 2012 (†, ph. TC). The latter represents a first winter record for Arizona. RED-EYED VIREO Vireo olivaceus (5, 25, 12). The 12 accepted records of single individuals predictably extended from late spring through fall: Garden Canyon near Sierra Vista, COS, 24 Jun 2006 (†SS), Paradise Junction, COC, 6 Jun 2008 (†JLF), Ramsey Vista Campground, Carr Canyon, COS, 8 Aug 2006 (†JBg), Slaughter Ranch, San Bernardino NWR, COS, 6 Jul 2011 (†, ph. REW), Ft. Lowell Park, Tucson, PIM, 2 Aug 2011 (†MMS, MP), Madera Canyon Picnic Area, PIM, 10–12 Aug 2012 (†LH), Watson Woods, near Prescott, YAV, 10 Oct 2012 (†DMo), Portal, COS, 22 Jun 2013 (†REW), Holbrook, NAV, 14 Sep 2013 (†EHo), Cameron, COC, 12 Jun 2014 (CLR; †JaW), Florida Canyon, PIM, 28 Jun 2014 (†, ph, LH), and ‘Ahakhav Tribal Preserve near Parker, LAP, 5 Jul 2014 (†, ph. LHa, EHo). These bring the number of accepted Arizona records to more than 40, but the ABC retains the Red-eyed Vireo on the review list because of its similarity to the much scarcer Yellow-green Vireo.

94 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

YELLOW-GREEN VIREO Vireo flavoviridis (1, 9, 2). A singing male was along Cave Creek in Portal, COS, 2 Aug 2011 (EHv; ph., s.r., †REW), and another was in Montosa Canyon, SCR, 21–22 Aug 2013 (†LH; ph. JCf). All Arizona records are from late spring and summer, in stark contrast with California, where the vast majority of the 133 records (through 2014) are for fall (early September–late October) and along the coast (http://www.californiabirds.org/cbrc_book/update.pdf). BLUE JAY Cyanocitta cristata (0, 4, 3). One near Payson, GIL, 30 Mar 2010 (†GWa) was supported only by minimal written documentation, whereas one at Cave Creek Ranch, Portal, COS, 6–7 Nov 2011 (RPe; ph. JLe) and one in Corral Canyon, near Patagonia, SCR, 26–27 Oct 2013 (JHf, JRe; ph. LM) were well documented with photographs. CAVE SWALLOW Petrochelidon fulva (0, 8, 1). One remained at Kennedy Park, Tucson, PIM, 4 Dec 2011–30 Jan 2012 (†MP; †, ph. MMS, CDB, ACo, DJS). Four of Arizona’s nine accepted Cave Swallows have occurred between December and March, when confusion with the very similar juvenile Cliff Swallow (P. pyrrhonota) should not be a problem. BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE Poecile atricapillus (4, 7, 2). Both accepted records are from Fredonia, COC, of two individuals 27 Nov 2011–10 Jan 2012 (ph. SP; †CLR, MMS, MP) and one 2 Jan–12 Feb 2014 (ph. SP; †LH). It is not surprising that this species has been found in far northern Arizona at Fredonia and Colorado City (see Rosenberg et al. 2011), as it nests just to the northwest along the Virgin R. in southwestern Utah. There are no records of nesting in Arizona. WINTER WREN Troglodytes hiemalis (1, 2, 28). Since the split of the Pacific Wren (T. pacificus) and Winter Wren in 2010 (Chesser et al. 2010), the ABC has reviewed reports of the latter in an attempt to better understand its true status in Arizona. The 28 records accepted since 2010, all of single individuals, extend from 23 Oct to 24 Apr: Morgan City Wash, MAR, 12–14 Nov 2010 (†TC, LHa, DVP), Santa Cruz R. near Carmen, SCR, 9–16 Dec 2010 (ASc, WR; †SMl; ph., s.r. CDB), Granite Reef Recreation Area, MAR, 30 Dec 2010–26 Feb 2011 (ph. TD), Lee’s Ferry, COC, 1 Jan–5 Feb 2011 (†, ph. SP), Picture Canyon near Flagstaff, COC, 1–7 Jan 2011 (s.r. JCo, CLR), Madera Canyon, PIM, 16 Jan–23 Mar 2011 (†, ph. CMc), Hassayampa R. Preserve, MAR, 11 Feb–2 Apr 2011 (ph. TD; †LHa, DVP), Portal, COS, 12 Feb 2011 (ph., s.r. CDB), Colossal Cave Mountain Park, PIM, 9–14 Feb 2011 (JYe, KK; ph. ACo), Peña Blanca Lake, SCR, 19 Feb 2011 (ph. GG), San Bernardino NWR, COS, 5 Mar 2011 (†REW), Elden Spring, COC, 24 Apr 2011 (ph. SP), Butte Creek near Prescott, YAV, 23 Oct 2012 (ph. ZS), Hassayampa R. Preserve near Wickenburg, MAR, 8–25 Nov 2012, with likely the same individual seen again 3–17 Mar 2013 (†, ph. TD); Gilbert Water Ranch, MAR, 24 Nov 2012–16 Feb 2013 (†, ph. MWe; ph. JHo, BPa), Portal, COS, 26 Nov–12 Dec 2012 (†, ph. REW), Bill Williams R. NWR, LAP, 30 Nov 2012 (ph. LHa), Clark Crossing Rd., Santa Cruz R., SCR, 3–5 Dec 2012 (†, ph. MLe; ph. ACo), Mosquito Flats, Bill Williams R. NWR, LAP. 1–6 Dec 2012 (†, s.r. LHa), St. David Monastery, COS, 26 Dec 2012–3 Jan 2013 (AR; ph. TO, ACo), Cook’s Lake, San Pedro R. near Dudleyville, PIN, 5 Jan 2013 (†TC), Morgan City Wash, MAR, 18 Nov 2013 (†, ph. TD), Horseshoe Ford, Agua Fria R., YAV, 13 Dec 2013 (†, ph. BPa), near Willow Lake, YAV, 1 Jan 2014 (†WA), Dudleyville, PIN, 4 Jan 2014 (†TC), along the north fork of the White R., NAV, 25 Jan 2014 (ph. EHo), along the Bill Williams R., LAP, 30 Oct–2 Nov 2014 (†, s.r. DVP, LHa), and Lake Patagonia, SCR, 24–26 Nov 2014 (†, ph. LH). Monson and Phillips (1981) established that the Pacific Wren winters in Arizona in small numbers, but subsequently it has become clear that Winter Wren is also a rare but regular fall and winter visitor to the state (lingering or appearing occasionally into spring); care (including noting distinctive vocalizations) is necessary to distinguishing the two species.

95 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

Figure 12. This Mourning Warbler at Empire Gulch, Las Cienegas National Conserva- tion Area, on 1 June 2011 provided an eighth accepted record for Arizona and the first to be documented by photograph. Photo by Gary H. Rosenberg

Figure 13. This singing male Fan-tailed Warbler in Madera Canyon 23–27 May 2011, representing a ninth state record, was one of the most cooperative of its species yet to occur in Arizona. Photo by Richard Fray, 23 May 2011

96 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

SEDGE WREN Cistothorus platensis (0, 0, 1). Arizona’s first confirmed Sedge Wren was at Peña Blanca Lake west of Nogales, SCR, 27 Nov 2010–5 Apr 2011 (†, ph. ASc; †MMS; Figure 9; Schmierer 2011). This species has been found in the western U.S. less frequently than many migratory species with a similar range in eastern North America, perhaps because of its short migratory pathway oriented north–south, as well as its inconspicuous nature (Hamilton et al. 2007). SINALOA WREN Thryophilus sinaloa (0, 2, 2). Since the first two Arizona (and United States) records of the Sinaloa Wren in 2008 and 2009 (Brown and Baxter 2009, Rosenberg et al. 2011), two additional records have been accepted. One was again found in Huachuca Canyon, COS, 2 Sep 2013–18 May 2014 (ph. CMe, ASc, TP, DB, s.r. JWo, s.r. JCu, ph. RMo, ph. DBl), and again 12 Sep 2014–3 May 2015 (many observers), at the exact location of Arizona’s second record and the first of nesting. Another Sinaloa Wren was along the Santa Cruz R. near Tubac, SCR, 11 Sep 2013–21 Apr 2014 (s.r. DJS; ph. GHR, JRp) and again 12 Sep 2014–23 May 2015 (many observers). Both of these individuals disappeared and were subsequently relocated after an absence of as much as several months, suggesting that the Huachuca Canyon records may have involved the same individual lingering for multiple years. BLACK-CAPPED GNATCATCHER Polioptila nigriceps (1, 27, 2). The ABC reviewed and accepted two reports of this species before removing it from the review list at the end of 2009, of one at Peña Blanca Lake, SCR, 8 Apr 2006 (†SS) and one at the Patagonia Roadside Rest Area, SCR, 31 Jul 2007 (s.r. CDB). Since the early 2000s, the Black-capped Gnatcatcher has become a rare but established resident in desert washes, canyons, and riparian areas in southeastern Arizona east to the Sonoita Creek area. WOOD THRUSH Hylocichla mustelina (0, 17, 1). An older report of one at Madera Canyon, SCR, 1 Jun 2007 (†BTa) was reviewed and accepted. This species remains a casual visitor to Arizona. AZTEC THRUSH Ridgwayia pinicola (0, 23, 2). Up to two were in upper Madera Canyon on the Carrie Nation/Vault Mine Trail, SCR, 1–29 Aug 2011 (JRo, NA, LRy; †, ph. KRo, MLe; ph. AA, LH, CH), and one was in Garden Canyon, Fort Huachuca, COS, 20 Aug 2011 (HH; †, ph. BTo). Most Arizona records are from late July and August. GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCH Leucosticte tephrocotis (#, 1, 1). A single bird was with Horned Larks (Eremophila alpestris) north of Kayenta, NAV, 5 Jan 2013 (†, ph. TLz). The Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch had previously been documented in Arizona only once, on the basis of ten collected at the Snow Bowl near Flagstaff on 25 Feb 1967 (Monson and Phillips 1981). This old record was reviewed and accepted by the ABC (Rosenberg and Witzeman 1999). PURPLE FINCH Haemorhous purpureus (4, 3, 3). Accepted records are of a male at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast, 18 km south of Sierra Vista, COS, 29–31 Jan 2010 (MJB; ph. ACh, BSt), a female/immature at George Walker House, Paradise, COS, 22 Feb–4 Mar 2010 (ph. JLe), and a female/immature at Cibola NWR, LAP, 11 Nov 2014 (ph. JCr). There are still only 10 accepted records for Arizona, and we continue to urge caution with regard to the identification of Purple Finch and the much more common Cassin’s Finch (H. cassinii). The photos show that all three birds were of the western subspecies H. p. californicus. COMMON REDPOLL Acanthis flammea (0, 0, 2). Arizona’s first record was of one photographed in House Rock Valley, COC, 16 Feb–3 Mar 2012 (†, ph. SP; Figure 10), and another was photographed at a feeder at Grand Canyon Village, south rim of the Grand Canyon, COC, 18–24 Feb 2012 (ph. EG). These records came during an unprecedented invasion of the Common Redpoll that yielded no fewer than 12 records south into California (www.californiabirds.org/cbrc_book/update.pdf).

97 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

LAPLAND LONGSPUR Calcarius lapponicus (4, 14, 16). Accepted records are of single individuals at Rousseau Sod Farm, Scottsdale, MAR, on 28 Nov 2009 (ph. HB) and 6–15 Nov 2010 (ph. JMc), up to two individuals at Babbitt Tank east of Flagstaff, COC, 9 Dec 2010–29 Mar 2011 (ph. JaW, JCo, EHo), one at Willow Tank, near Portal, COS, 5–22 Feb 2011 (ph. REW), one at Glendale Recharge Ponds, MAR, 18 Nov 2011 (ph. SHo), one at a sod farm on the Santa Cruz Flats near southwest of Picacho, PIN, 19–30 Nov 2011 (ph. VF), two at the Avra Valley Wastewater- Treatment Plant west of Tucson, PIM, 24 Nov–4 Dec 2011 (MP; ph. MMS, ACo), two in the Mohave Valley, MOH, 27 Nov 2011 (†DVP, LHa), one (possibly two) seen sporadically at Babbitt Tank, COC, 24 Nov 2011–1 Mar 2012 (KB; ph. JaW), what may have been the same one or two at nearby Reservation Tank, COC, 1–10 Mar 2012 (ph. JaW), up to four in the Mohave Valley, MOH, 12–25 Jan 2013 (†, ph. DVP, LHa) and up to four again the following year 21–23 Jan 2014 (†, ph. DVP, LHa), one at Poston, LAP, 13 Feb 2014 (†, DVP, LHa), up to two at Babbitt Tank, COC, 21–28 Nov 2014 (†DVP, LHa), and one at Buckeye, MAR, 19 Dec 2014–19 Jan (ph. CSt). This species is clearly a rare but regular winter visitor (often occurring with Horned Larks, Eremophila alpestris), and the ABC removed it from the review list at the end of 2014. SMITH’S LONGSPUR Calcarius pictus (1, 0, 1). One individual was in agricultural fields south of Buckeye, MAR, 1 Jan–11 Feb 2012 (†, ph. KR, CR, PD, HB, BiG, BGr, CLu; Figure 11). The only other Arizona record is of a specimen from the White Mountains, APA, 24 Apr 1953 (Phillips et al. 1964). WORM-EATING WARBLER Helmitheros vermivorum (2, 32, 5). Before deleting this species from the review list in January 2014, the ABC accepted five records of single individuals: along the Agua Fria R. just downstream from its confluence with Morgan City Wash, Peoria, MAR, 20 Aug 2010 (†TC), Boyce Thompson Arboretum, PIN, 25–29 Oct 2010 (ph. JHo), Tucson Audubon’s Mason Center in northwestern Tucson, PIM, 22 May 2012 (ph. CMi, MaB), and Cameron, COC, 24–25 May 2012 (†, ph. JaW). With nearly 40 accepted Arizona records from every month of the year, we now consider the Worm-eating Warbler a rare but regular visitor, mainly in spring and fall. GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER Vermivora chrysoptera (1, 19, 1). The single accepted record is of one at Peña Blanca Lake, SCR, 17–18 Oct 2011 (ph. MSh, LH, JeS). This represents Arizona’s 21st accepted record but only the third since 2000. BLUE-WINGED WARBLER Vermivora cyanoptera (1, 10, 3). Three accepted records are of one seen along the San Pedro R. near San Manuel, PIN, 28 Jun 2011 (†SBl), another photographed at Peña Blanca Lake, SCR, 22 Oct 2011 (†, ph. ACl), and one in the South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon, COS, 11–12 May 2013 (ph. RM). The June record is the third for Arizona in summer. CRESCENT-CHESTED WARBLER Oreothlypis superciliosa (0, 11, 3). The three accepted records are of one at Arivaca Cienega, PIM, 2–3 Apr 2011 (ph. JeS), one at Stewart Campground, Cave Creek Canyon, Portal, COS, 19–24 Apr 2013 (ph. DG), and one in Miller Canyon, COS, 24–26 Apr 2013 (ph. KaS, CMe). Nine of Arizona’s 14 recorded Crescent-chested Warblers have occurred in the past ten years. TENNESSEE WARBLER Oreothlypis peregrina (3, 22, 17). The status of the Tennessee Warbler in Arizona has clearly changed, with 17 accepted records for this report, of single individuals at San Bernardino NWR, Douglas, COS, 7 May 2007 (†REW), Granite Creek, YAV, 16 May 2009 (†CTo), Sweetwater, PIM, on 17 Sep 2010 (WR; ph. MLe) and from 28 Nov to 5 Dec 2010 (†MMS; †, ph. ACo), along the Santa Cruz R. near Tumacacori, SCR, 4–7 Dec 2010 (ph. MLe, CMc), at Tempe Town Marsh, Tempe, MAR, 9 Jan 2011 (†DVP), along the Santa Cruz R. south of Cortaro Rd., Marana, PIM, 2 Mar–15 Apr 2011 (ph. ACo, MSh), at Roger Road STP,

98 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

Tucson, PIM, 3 Oct 2011 (†CMc), at Yuma, YUM, 10 Oct 2011 (†PL), at the ‘Ahakhav Tribal Preserve, Parker, LAP, 26 Oct 2011 (†DVP), at Christopher Columbus Park in Tucson, PIM, 21 Nov 2011 (ph. BPe), at Willcox, COS, 16 Dec 2011–1 Jan 2012 (ph. M&LJ, DV), at Tucson, PIM, 22 Oct 2012 (ph. KB), at Tolleson, MAR, on 12 Nov 2012 (ph. BGr) and 1 Jan 2013 (ph. BGr), at Gilbert Water Ranch, Gilbert, MAR, 20 Nov 2013 (ph. CS), and near Mt. Logan in the Arizona Strip, MOH, 13 Sep 2014 (†SLa). This species is now considered a rare but regular visitor, with most records from mid-fall through winter, and the ABC removed it from the review list at the end of 2014. In contrast, Tennessee Warbler records from coastal southern California have decreased in recent years (Patten and Marantz 1996, Unitt 2004, Lehman 2016). MOURNING WARBLER Geothlypis philadelphia (0, 7, 1). Arizona’s eighth Morn- ing Warbler was an adult male discovered at Empire Gulch, Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, PIM, 1 Jun 2011 (BA; †, ph. GHR; Figure 12; see also inside front cover of Western Birds 42[1]), providing a second spring record for the state. KENTUCKY WARBLER Geothlypis formosa (3, 26, 7). The seven accepted records include an older report of one above Maple Camp, Cave Creek Canyon, COS, 4 May 2007 (ph., †REW) as well as one caught and banded at the Hassayampa R. Preserve, Wickenburg, MAR, 14 Aug 2010 (ph. AL), one at Cameron, COC, 16–17 Sep 2010 (BGr; ph. JLo), an adult female in Portal, COS, 5–6 Jun 2011 (JSa; †, ph. REW), one in the ‘Ahakhav Tribal Preserve, Parker, LAP, 2 Sep 2011 (†DR), another adult female at Hidden Valley in Maricopa, PIN, 11 May 2012 (ph. NL), and one at Little Spring near Parks, northwest of Flagstaff, COC, 28 Jun 2014 (CLR; ph. SP). Most of Arizona’s Kentucky Warblers have been found during May and June, but late summer and fall sightings have increased in in recent years. CAPE MAY WARBLER Setophaga tigrina (1, 10, 2). Two well-documented records are of one at Peña Blanca Lake, SCR, 22–26 Sep 2011 (JE, BK, SK, JLb, SB; †, ph. JMe, ACo, MLe, LH, AS) and one at the Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, PIM, 5 Oct 2011 (†, ph. MLe; †CMc, MMS). Although there are now 13 accepted records for Arizona, these represent the first reports since 1998 (Rosenberg 2001). TROPICAL PARULA Setophaga pitiayumi (0, 6, 1). One sight record from Molino Basin Campground, Santa Catalina Mts., PIM, 31 May 2010 (†JHa, BSc). MAGNOLIA WARBLER Setophaga magnolia (4, 25, 8). Accepted records are of single individuals at the Roger Road STP, Tucson, PIM, 4–8 Oct 2010 (†MMS; ph. ACo, DJS), the Arizona–Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, PIM, 6 Jun 2011 (BB; †MMS), Twin Lakes Golf Course, Willcox, COS, 16 Sep 2011 (†LH), Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, PIN, 29 Sep–1 Oct 2011 (†, ph. CMc), the Has- sayampa R. Preserve, Wickenburg, MAR, 1–2 Oct 2011 (ph. TD), Reid Park, Tucson, PIM, 10 Oct 2013 (ph. MF), Tanque Verde Wash, Tucson, PIM, 5 Dec 2013–19 Feb 2014 (ph. JMe, RT), and a stunning adult male at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, MAR, 19–23 May 2014 (JBt; ph. DH, JRi). The Magnolia Warbler is a casual visitor Arizona, with a majority of records in fall. The ABC removed it from the review list at the end of 2014. BAY-BREASTED WARBLER Setophaga castanea (0, 16, 3). Accepted records are of one stunning male at Coon Bluff along the Salt R. east of Mesa, MAR, 6 Jun 2012 (ph. LiS), another male at Cave Creek Canyon, COS, 22–26 May 2014 (ph. J&TL), and one at Dateland, YUM, 25 Oct 2014 (†PL). These records represent three of only four records in Arizona since 1998, and the fifth and sixth accepted spring records, all of which are from mid-May to early June. BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER Setophaga fusca (0, 18, 4). The Blackburnian Warbler remains a very casual visitor to Arizona, with a majority of records in fall (especially October). Accepted records are of single individuals along Morgan City

99 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

Wash south of Lake Pleasant, MAR, 11 Sep 2010 (†, ph. TC), at Tuba City, COC, 6 Jun 2011 (†CLR), at Portal, COS, 12 Oct 2011 (†REW), and in Oak Creek Canyon, COC, 12 Dec 2014 (†, ph. J&RC), an exceptional very late fall or winter record. The June sighting is only the fourth as well as the latest for Arizona in spring. BLACKPOLL WARBLER Setophaga striata (4, 19, 7). Accepted records include four different spring males, at the Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson, PIM, 17–20 May 2011 (HW, CLi; ph. ACo, GHR, PKl, JMe, RF), at the north end of Lake Havasu north of Lake Havasu City, MOH, 18–19 May 2011 (†LHa; †, ph. DVP), south of the Hereford bridge, San Pedro R., Hereford, COS, 20 Apr 2013 (ph. TW, MWi) and along lower Morgan City Wash just south of Lake Pleasant, MAR, 30 Apr 2013 (†TC). Fall records are of one at the Sweetwater Wetlands, in Tucson, PIM, 14–17 Nov 2009 (ph., TD, RT, TLo, DJS, AC; †MMS), in tamarisks along the shore of Lake Havasu, Lake Havasu City, MOH, 13 Oct 2012 (†LHa), and a very late individual along Whitewater Draw, COS, 10–12 Nov 2013 (ph. HH). Arizona has now accepted a total of 30 state records. PALM WARBLER Setophaga palmarum (7, 23, 10). Before removing the Palm Warbler from the review list in December 2011, the ABC reviewed and accepted ten reports, of single individuals at Tempe, MAR, 24–26 Oct 2010 (MTo; ph. BGc), Gilbert Water Ranch, MAR, 26 Sep 2006 (†MMo), Flagstaff, COC, 31 Oct 2010 (ph. SP), Miller Canyon, COS, 19–23 Nov 2010 (ph. CVC, CMe), Kino Springs near Nogales, SCR, 7 Dec 2010–13 Mar 2011 (CRi; ph. RT), along the Santa Cruz R. in northwest Tucson, PIM, 12–15 Jan 2011 (ph. PKl, ACo), along the Santa Cruz R. south of Cortaro Rd., Marana, PIM, 2 Mar–13 Apr 2011 (JBo, KK; ph. ACo), Lake Cochise, Willcox, COS, 11 May 2011 (ph. TWa, RHo), Peña Blanca Lake, SCR, 24–25 Sep 2011 (ph. LH), and San Simon Cienega near Portal, COS, 10 Oct 2012 (†, ph. REW). The 40 Arizona records are about evenly split between spring and fall, with a few winter sightings as well. PINE WARBLER Setophaga pinus (0, 17, 4). Single Pine Warblers were at Ever- green Cemetery, Tucson, PIM, 5 Dec 2012–6 Jan 2013 (†MG; ph. MLe, CMc, ACo), in central Tucson, PIM, 26–31 Dec 2012 (†, ph. EHe), at Reid Park, Tucson, PIM, 8 Dec 2013–7 Feb 2014 (†MMS; ph. LH), and in Sulphur Canyon near Portal, COS, 27 Dec 2014 (†, ph. WE). Most of Arizona’s Pine Warblers have been discovered during the late fall or winter. YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER Setophaga dominica (0, 23, 9). Accepted records are of single individuals at the Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, PIM, 19 May 2010 (PT; †, ph. ACo), Fool Hollow State Park, Show Low, NAV, 11 Jun 2010 (†, ph. MSh), Tucson, PIM, 13–14 Apr 2011 (ph. MW, LPh, JCa; †, ph. PKl), Gray Hawk Nature Center near Sierra Vista, COS, 2 Jun 2011 (†WA), along the Santa Cruz R. at Santa Gertrudis Lane, SCR, 11 Nov 2011 (†PL, BC), Mather Point Visitor Center, Grand Canyon NP, COC, 23 Nov–18 Dec 2012 (DPk; ph. JaW), Roger Road STP, Tucson, PIM, 3 Dec 2012–15 Mar 2013 (MMS; ph. ACo), Huachuca Canyon, COS, 23 Apr 2014 (†LH), and Patagonia, SCR, 9 Nov 2014–12 Mar 2015 (RBa; ph. ASc, PB). It is remarkable that this species has been discovered in Arizona every month of the year, with no discernable pattern of occurrence. PRAIRIE WARBLER Setophaga discolor (3, 11, 3). The Prairie Warbler remains one of the rarer of the eastern warblers in Arizona. Three accepted records are of one very well described along the Bill Williams R., LAP, 29 Dec 2010 (†LHa), a cooperative singing male at Sabino Canyon, Tucson, PIM, 29–31 May 2012 (WR; ph. DJS, DD, LH, MSh), and another at San Simon Cienega, COS, 2 Sep 2012 (†, ph. REW). Most of the Arizona’s records are for the late fall and winter, and there are two previous May records.

100 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER Setophaga virens (7, 19, 5). Accepted records are of one netted and banded at Beal Lake Conservation Area within the Havasu NWR, MOH, 8 Oct 2010 (ph. CD, JK), one along the Santa Cruz R. near Tubac, SCR, 20–27 Nov 2010 (†, ph. CMc, MLe), an adult male netted and banded also along the Santa Cruz R. near Tumacacori, SCR, 24 May 2012 (ph. MLe), a singing male at Mount Lemmon Ski Valley, Santa Catalina Mts., PIM, 15 Jun 2012 (CC; †CLu), and another adult male at Madera Canyon, SCR, 16–18 Apr 2014 (†, ph. DaT, KKu). This warbler remains only a casual visitor to Arizona despite the 31 accepted records. FAN-TAILED WARBLER Basileuterus lachrymosus (1, 6, 2). A well-described individual was at Ramsey Canyon Preserve in the Huachuca Mountains, COS, 7–10 May 2010 (†AW), and a singing male was photographed in Madera Canyon, SCR, 23–27 May 2011 (†, ph. GHR; ph. RF, LH, JeS, CMe; s.r. RTh; Figure 13). RUFOUS-CAPPED WARBLER Basileuterus rufifrons (0, 19, 7). A few Rufous- capped Warblers have apparently been in Florida Canyon, PIM, continuously since their discovery there in December 2008, with up to five reported. The first nesting documented at this location was in May 2009, not May 2008 as misreported by Rosenberg et al. (2011). The following reports from Florida Canyon were received and accepted: one adult on 14 Jan 2010 (ph. JHy), one adult on 13 Mar 2010 (ph. TGr), one adult on 7 (ph. LH) and 9 Dec 2011 (ph. CMe), five individuals on 19 Feb 2012 (ph. KG), one on 13 Oct 2012 (ph. CMe), two on 16 (ph. BPa) and 17 Nov 2012 (ph. JHo), one on 10 Apr 2013 (ph. BSm), one on 5 Aug 2013 (ph. GWo), one on 7 Oct 2013 (ph. DVP), and a nest photographed after young had fledged but believed to be this species 18 May 2014 (ph. SL). Given the difficulty in covering rugged Florida Canyon, we infer that the Rufous-capped Warbler has been resident there since 2008, with possible nesting in 2009, 2011, 2013, and 2014. Additional accepted records elsewhere were of one in Miller Canyon, Huachuca Mts., COS, 13–22 Oct 2012 (ph. CMe), two there 17 Oct–14 Nov 2013 (ph. RBe) and 2–7 Jun 2014 (RBe), one in Humboldt Canyon, Patagonia Mts., SCR, 7 May 2013 (ph. BMa; †CLR), two in French Joe Canyon, Whetstone Mts., COS, 26 Jul–6 Aug 2013 (†RBe; ph. JN), where this species bred from 2001 to 2003 (Rosenberg et al. 2007), at least four in Hunter Canyon, Huachuca Mts., COS, 26 Aug 2013 (ph. LH), with at least two remaining until 23 Sep 2014, one in Madera Canyon, PIM, 18 May 2014 (†SLo), and one at Sunny Flat, Cave Creek Canyon, COS, 11 Jun 2014 (ph. P&KT). This neotropical species appears to be spreading in southeastern Arizona, paralleling the Black-capped Gnatcatcher, which also became established during the past decade. CANADA WARBLER Cardellina canadensis (0, 9, 3). Three accepted records are of one at the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, MAR, 23 Sep 2005 (†DH), an adult male at Willow Tank near Portal, COS, 4–5 Jun 2011 (BR; †, ph. JYe, REW, TG), and another in Maricopa, PIN, 9 Jun 2012 (ph. NL). The two June birds represent the third and fourth spring records for Arizona. SLATE-THROATED REDSTART Myioborus miniatus (0, 7, 6). Accepted records of this neotropical stray are of single individuals at the Southwestern Research Station, Cave Creek Canyon, Portal, COS, 18–21 May 2013 (PDH; ph. REW, CWe) and 13–16 May 2014 (JZ; †EW; ph. SA), Huachuca Canyon, Fort Huachuca, COS, 24–29 Jul 2013 (MK; ph. LH, ASc, MoT, GHR), Barfoot Park, Chiricahua Mts., COS, 10 Apr 2014 (ph. MDi), South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon, COS, 25 Apr 2014 (CCh; ph. DMc), and East Turkey Creek, Chiricahua Mts., COS, 27 May 2014 (ph. ASc). We believe that at least two individuals may have been in Cave Creek Canyon and the Chiricahua Mountains in 2014. AMERICAN TREE SPARROW Spizelloides arborea (#, 4, 2). Although Monson and Phillips (1981:189) considered the American Tree Sparrow a “very rare sparse

101 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS winter resident” in northern Arizona, implying some regularity, it is reported seldom enough to justify inclusion on the review list. During the period covered by this report the ABC reviewed and accepted only two reports, of one in Lower Pasture Canyon, COC, 9 Nov 2013 (CLR SP, ph. JaW) and one at Sunsites, COS, 17–18 Nov 2014 (ph. LRi), the latter the first for southeastern Arizona as well as the southernmost for the state. FIELD SPARROW Spizella pusilla (0, 7, 2). Accepted records are of one at Yuma, YUM, 29 Nov 2011 (ph. PL), and one at San Bernardino NWR and adjacent Sonora, COS, 20 Dec 2011 (†, ph. REW). All accepted records are from late fall and winter. “RED” FOX SPARROW Passerella iliaca iliaca group (#, 2, 23). The ABC added this form of Fox Sparrow to the review list in December 2008 in order to determine its status in Arizona. The committee has now reviewed and accepted 25 records, and decided in December 2014 to remove it from the review list. Accepted records are of single individuals at Clay Springs, NAV, 25 Nov 2010 († ElH), Slaughter Ranch east of Douglas, COS, 21 Dec 2010 (ph. REW), Portal, COS, 9 Mar 2011 (ph. REW), 17 Nov 2012 (ph. REW), 1 Jan 2013 (†REW), and 6–12 Jan 2013 (†, ph. REW), Tres Rios Wetlands, MAR, 2 Dec 2011–7 Jan 2012 (ph. RBo, MHe), Hassayampa R. Preserve, MAR (netted and banded), 3 Dec 2011 (ph. CKS), Flagstaff, COC, 10 Dec 2011 (ph. DPo), Tanque Verde Wash, PIM, 17 Dec 2011–24 Feb 2012 (BN; ph. MSh, JMe), Boyce Thompson Arboretum, PIN, 8–14 Jan 2012 (JKo; ph. BGr), lower Madera Canyon, PIM, 25 Jan 2012 (ph. DD), Clark’s Crossing, SCR, 1–2 Feb 2012 (ph. LH), Catalina State Park, PIM, 3 Feb 2012 (ph. PK), Peppersauce Canyon, PIN, 13 Feb 2012 (ph. MBr), West Turkey Creek in the Chiricahua Mountains, COS, 24 Nov 2012 (ph. PSu), Brown Canyon Ranch in the Huachuca Mountains, COS, 8 Dec 2012 (ph. HH), Hearst Tanks in Grand Canyon National Park 12 Dec 2012 (†BGa), lower Madera Canyon, PIM, 28 Dec 2012–27 Jan 2013 (†, ph. PSu), Bridle Creek in Bagdad, YAV, 21 Oct 2013 (ph. ZS), Madera Canyon, SCR, 25–27 Feb 2014 (LCa; ph. LH), near the San Pedro House, San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, COS, 1 Mar 2014 (†, ph. CRi), and Tanque Verde Wash, PIM, 29 Nov 2014 (ph. PSu). On the basis of these records, as well as six specimens summarized by Phillips et al. (1964) plus another collected near Roll, YUM, 5 Nov 1979 (SDNHM 40903), Passerella iliaca zaboria appears to be a regular late fall and winter visitor, primarily to southern Arizona, especially the southeast. WHITE-WINGED DARK-EYED JUNCO Junco hyemalis aikeni (3, 4, 1). One at Hearst Tanks, Grand Canyon National Park, COC, 13 Dec 2012 (†, ph. BGa) was the first accepted in Arizona since 2001 (Rosenberg et. al. 2007). SCARLET TANAGER Piranga olivacea (4, 21, 9). Accepted records are of single individuals at Portal, COS, 7 May 2011 (†, ph. REW), 8 Sep 2011 (ph. TMc), 5 Nov 2011 (male, ph. JYe), 11 Nov 2011 (likely the same bird nearby, ph. ACr, NMC), and 10 Oct 2014 (immature male, ph. REW), San Simon Cienega, San Simon, COS, 1 Oct 2011 (†, ph. REW), Cameron Trading Post, COC, 23 Oct 2011 (†, ph. DJS), Peck Canyon, SCR, 15 Nov 2011 (JSt; ph. CMc), Tucson, PIM, 1 Dec (ph. RT), and Kent Springs, Madera Canyon, SCR, 17 Jun–19 Jul 2012 (territorial adult male, ph. DQ, LH, ACo; s.r. DJS). A majority of Arizona records are from late fall. FLAME-COLORED TANAGER Piranga bidentata (0, 15, 3). The stunning male Flame-colored Tanager that returned to Madera Canyon, SCR, every year starting in 2003 returned for what was to be its last (eighth) year 27 Mar–12 Jul 2010 (ph. LH, WL). Additional accepted records are of one at the Southwest Research Station in Cave Creek Canyon 21 Jun–22 Aug 2009 (ph. RT, BPe) and a female building two different nests along the South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon 6 Jun–6 Jul 2012 (ph. DJa, REW, JCn). Several other submissions were considered to represent possible or probable hybrids (see Records Not Accepted).

102 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

YELLOW GROSBEAK Pheucticus chrysopeplus (1, 18, 6). Accepted records are of one along Stateline Road near Rodeo, NM, (see New Mexico Ornithological Society Database: http://nm-cis.unm.edu/partners/nmos/sighting.php5?id=75727) but seen flying across the fence into Arizona, COS, 5 Jun 2010 (ph. MeM), one in Patagonia, SCR, 11 Jun 2011 (ph. JSp), an immature female at Ash Canyon Bed and Breakfast 18 km south of Sierra Vista, COS, 12–14 Jun 2011 (MJB; ph. JSt, JHy, MiT, CVC, JWo), one at Rio Rico, SCR, 9 Jul 2011 (†JSt, GG), an adult male in Green Valley, PIM, 10–12 May 2013 (ph. J&JE, LH), and an immature male in Miller Canyon, COS, 16–18 Jun 2014 (ph. CVC). The majority of the accepted records for this largely Mexican species fall between May and August. BOBOLINK Dolichonyx oryzivorus (#, 5, 8). Accepted records are of a male at the Kachina Wetlands near Flagstaff, COC, 12 May 2006 (ph. GB), a male at Lonely Dell, Lee’s Ferry, COC, 23–24 May 2011 (ph. SP), a bird in fresh fall plumage at Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, PIN, 31 Aug 2011 (†CTo), a female/ immature at Lake Havasu City, MOH, 21–26 Sep 2011 (DR; †, ph. LHa, DVP), a male at a feeder (which is unusual for this species) in Flagstaff, COC, 5–7 May 2013 (ph. ZZ), an adult male at Sedona, YAV, 7 Jun 2013 (ph. SBo), another adult male at Lake Havasu City, MOH, 21 May 2014 (ph. DVP; BWi), and a female/immature at Green Valley STP, PIM, 21 Aug 2014 (†LH). The history of the Bobolink in Arizona is complicated; prior to the 1980s, there were small breeding colonies in northeastern Arizona at Show Low in 1937, Snowflake in 1968, and Eagar in 1979 and 1980 (Monson and Phillips 1981), but the species has not been found breeding in the state since. The ABC reinstated the Bobolink on the review list in 2005 after several years of virtually no records. RUSTY BLACKBIRD Euphagus carolinus (9, 14, 8). Accepted records are of a molting male along the South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon, COS, 30 Mar 2010 (ph. MBr), an immature at Kansas Settlement, COS, 27 Nov 2011 (†, ph. REW), an immature at Anthem Community Park, Anthem, MAR, 14 Dec 2011–16 Mar 2012 (PD; ph. DVP, CMe), one in Flagstaff, COC, 25 Jan–20 Mar 2012 (†, ph. PKo), one at the Patagonia–Sonoita Creek Preserve, Patagonia, SCR, 31 Jan–17 Feb 2013 (ph. MBr, ASc), one at Brookerson, GRA, 19 Nov 2013 (ph. JCk), one at San Bernardino NWR, COS, 30 Jan 2014 (†, ph. REW), and one at the Glendale Recharge Ponds, MAR, 7 Nov 2014 (ph. NK); most Arizona records are during the late fall and winter. COMMON GRACKLE Quiscalus quiscula (0, 18, 15). Accepted records are of single individuals at Bisbee, COS, 27 Nov 2009 (ph. MTu), Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, PIM, 4 Feb 2010 (ph. PKl), Cameron Trading Post, COC, 6 May 2011 (ph. BGa, CLR SP), along Big Bug Creek, Dewey–Humboldt, YAV, 14 May 2011 (†WA), east of Portal, COS, 24–27 Apr 2012 (JYe; ph. DJS), Flagstaff, COC, 10 May 2012 (ph. JaW), Cameron Trading Post, COC, 16 May 2012 (ph. JaW), Dateland, YUM, 6–8 Nov 2012 (†, ph. PL), Flagstaff, COC, 9 Nov 2012 (†, ph. DPo), Horseshoe Ranch, Agua Fria Monument, YAV, 26 Apr 2013 (ph. MSh), Kayenta, NAV, 9 Sep 2013 (†, ph. JMo), east of Portal, COS, 9 Nov 2013 (ph. NP), Cameron, COC, 14 Apr 2014 (female, †, ph. RM), Willcox, COS, 5 Nov 2014 (†, ph. M&LJ), and West Sedona, YAV, 27 Nov–1 Dec 2014 (ph. SBo, SHo). ORCHARD ORIOLE Icterus spurius (4, 26, 9). Prior to discontinuing review of the Orchard Oriole in 2011, the ABC accepted records of a male at Queen Creek, PIN, 22–26 Dec 2005 (ph. DSe), a female at Sweetwater Wetlands, Tucson, PIM, 10 Dec 2008–14 Apr 2009 (WR, ph. ACo, BSt), one along the Agua Fria R. below Lake Pleasant, MAR, 17 Oct 2009 (†TC), a male at Ahwatukee, MAR, 18 Jan–12 Mar 2010 (ph. P&GH) and again 2 Dec 2010–12 Mar 2011 (ph. P&GH), a male at Sun Lakes, MAR, 24 Jan–13 Feb 2010 (ph. VS), a male (returning a fourth year) at Surprise, MAR, 16 Feb 2010 (ph. DSh), a female at Tubac, SCR, 30 Aug 2011

103 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

(ph. DJS; MMS), a male at Goodyear, MAR, 12 Sep 2011 (ph. BMe), and one tape- recorded at Carmen, SCR, 21 Sep 2011 (†, s.r. DJS). STREAK-BACKED ORIOLE Icterus pustulatus (5, 10, 8). Accepted records include an older report from Portal, COS, 15 Jun 2005 (†L&TG) as well as others of up to two at Wellton, YUM, 27 Nov 2010–14 Feb 2011 (†, ph. PL, HD; ph. AC), one in Scottsdale, MAR, 27 Dec 2010–19 Feb 2011 (ph. MVW), one near Patagonia Lake, SCR, 11–12 Jun 2011 (†, ph. ASc), one at Tubac, SCR, 29 Jan–14 Feb 2012 (ph. RT, BPa), one in Tucson, PIM, 23 Mar 2012 (ph. RHa), one at Cibola Valley Conservation Area, LAP, 4 Nov 2013 (†, ph. DVP), and an adult male along Florida Canyon Road, PIM, 19 May 2014 (†EHo). BALTIMORE ORIOLE Icterus galbula (1, 19, 15) Accepted records include an older report from Yuma, YUM, 28 Jan 2006 (†AB), as well as more recent reports of a male at Portal, COS, 25 Apr–2 May 2011 (ph. MD; †, ph. REW, RAR), an immature male near Laguna Dam, Yuma, YUM, 12 Oct 2011 († PL), a male at the Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, MAR, 15–17 May 2012 (ph. JSt, BGc), one male near Portal, COS, 21 May 2012 (ph. DJS), an immature male at Flagstaff, COC, 21–27 May 2012 (†, ph. PKo), an adult female at Cameron Trading Post, COC, 12 Jun 2012 (†TC, CLR, JA), a male in Portal, COS, 9 Jul 2012 (ph. REW), an adult male along Proctor Road, Madera Canyon, PIM, 28 Apr 2013 (PJ; ph. BGf), an immature male at Flagstaff, COC, 12 May 2013 (†, ph. RAu), an immature male near Portal, COS, 22 May 2013 (ph. BR), a male at Cibola NWR, LAP, 29 May 2013 (†BWi), an adult male in Pasture Canyon, COC, 16 May 2014 (ph. JaW), a subadult male at Bill Williams NWR, LAP, 13 Jul 2014 (ph. TH, MLe), and a male at along the Santa Cruz R., Tucson, PIM, 19–20 Oct 2014, considered to be the same as one at the nearby Sweetwater Wetlands 2 Nov 2014–1 Apr 2015 (†MMS; ph. JWi; BWa). As there are now 35 accepted Arizona records of the Baltimore Oriole the ABC removed it from the review list at the end of 2014.

RECORDS NOT ACCEPTED

TRUMPETER SWAN Cygnus buccinator. A single Trumpeter Swan on the Wigwam Golf Resort, Litchfield Park, Phoenix, MAR, 20–21 Mar 2010, was likely to have been released or escaped from captivity because if bore a band other than one issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. LEAST GREBE Tachybaptus dominicus. Two reports lacked sufficient documentation, of one at Patagonia Lake State Park, SCR, 14 Dec 2005 and one at Phoenix MAR, 10 Feb 2010. BLACK SWIFT Cypseloides niger. Four sight reports lacked documentation sufficient for acceptance: from Portal, COS, 10 Aug 2008, Rio Rico, SCR, 12 Sep 2011 and 17 Sep 2014, and Mesa, MAR, 28 Sep 2014. There remains no specimen or photographic record for this species from Arizona. PLAIN-CAPPED STARTHROAT Heliomaster constantii. Reports insufficiently detailed for acceptance included those of one at Casa San Pedro, COS, 12 Jun 2010 and one in California Gulch, SCR, 2 Jun 2013. Committee members expressed concern that other hummingbirds, such as the Blue-throated (Lampornis clemenciae) or Broad-billed (Cynanthus latirostris), were not fully eliminated. A report from lower Ramsey Canyon, COS, 5 Sep 2011 may have represented one of the individuals present in the Huachuca Mountains during the same period but was not supported with enough detail for acceptance. RED KNOT Calidris canutus. An older report of three at Palo Verde, MAR, on 17 Feb 2005, was not supported by sufficient details, especially given the unusual winter date, unprecedented for this species in Arizona.

104 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER Calidris fuscicollis. Photos revealed that one reported at Willcox, COS, on 16 Aug 2011 was a Baird’s Sandpiper (C. bairdii). MEW GULL Larus canus. Neither the photos nor the written details supporting the report of an adult at Lake Pleasant, MAR, 17 Jan 2014 were definitive in ruling out the Ring-billed Gull (L. delawarensis). WESTERN GULL Larus occidentalis. The photos of a second supposed Western Gull with the adult at Lake Havasu City, MOH, 13 Oct 2013 showed an immature Herring Gull. THAYER’S GULL Larus thayeri. The report of one at Katherine Landing, MOH, 15 Feb 2011 was not accepted because the documentation did not rule out a hybrid gull and the observer noted a “slightly large bill with bulbous tip,” which is not typical of a Thayer’s Gull. ELEGANT TERN Thalasseus elegans. The description of a tern identified as this species at Kingfisher Pond, San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, COS, 7 May 2013 was considered insufficiently detailed by half of the committee members. BLACK SKIMMER Rynchops niger. A description of one in Parker, LAP, 4 Jun 2011 was not detailed enough for acceptance. ANHINGA Anhinga anhinga. The report of one at Safford, GRA, 23 Aug 2014 was not detailed enough for acceptance, with some on the committee worried about the possibility of one of the Old World species of darter (Anhinga spp.) escaped from captivity and the concern that at least a photo was needed to confirm such a rarity in Arizona. The best-supported Arizona record is of one “killed on Silver Lake … about two miles south of Tucson” on 12 Sep 1893 (Brown 1906), but the specimen is apparently no longer extant (Phillips et al. 1964). GLOSSY IBIS Plegadis falcinellus. Reports of the Glossy Ibis not accepted by the committee were of one at Petroglyph Park, Holbrook, 7 May 2006, three (one photographed) near Buckeye, MAR, 6 Apr 2012, likely to have been immature White-faced Ibises (P. chihi), one at Willcox, COS, 1 Jul 2012, possibly a hybrid with the White-faced Ibis (see Arterburn and Grzybowski 2003, Faulkner 2005 for a discussion on hybrid Plegadis), an immature photographed near San Tan Valley, PIN, 28 Aug 2013, and one photographed in Buckeye, MAR 12 Mar 2013; these last two could not be distinguished from a White-faced Ibis. RED-SHOULDERED HAWK Buteo lineatus. The report of one at Patagonia, SCR, 14 Jan 2005 was not detailed enough for acceptance, that of one at Vicksburg, LAP, 8 Apr 2010 did not receive any support (and was doubted even by the observer), and that of one at Black Draw, San Bernardino NWR, COS, 25 Oct 2011, was based mainly on voice recordings not provided to the committee for review. This species is no longer on the ABC’s review list. SHORT-TAILED HAWK Buteo brachyurus. The descriptions of single birds at Black Canyon City, YAV, 4 Aug 2008 and Portal, COS, 12 May 2012 were not detailed enough for acceptance. EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE Contopus virens. Photographs of a bird identified as this species at Fairbank, COS, 22 May 2012 were of a Northern Beardless Tyrannulet (Camptostoma imberbe). LEAST FLYCATCHER Empidonax minimus. One reported along the San Pedro R. near Sierra Vista, COS, 1 May 2011 was not accepted after two rounds of voting. Although the observer was experienced, the committee is cautious in accepting records of Empidonax flycatchers without photographs or sound recordings.

105 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

NUTTING’S FLYCATCHER Myiarchus nuttingi. The report of one along the San Pedro R. near San Manuel, PIN, 20 May 2011 was not accepted because of the lack of photographs and sound recordings, both of which, in the opinion of the committee, are essential for acceptance of records of Nutting’s Flycatcher because of its similarity to the Ash-throated Flycatcher (M. cinerascens). The committee was split over the acceptance of the report of one continuing at Mosquito Flats, Bill Williams R. NWR, LAP, 18 Mar 2014, 38 days past its previous confirmed presence. ROSE-THROATED BECARD Pachyramphus aglaiae. One reported from Circle Z Ranch along Sonoita Creek, Patagonia, SCR, 20 Jul 2010 lacked details sufficient to warrant acceptance. This location is the last known nesting site for this species in Arizona. BLUE-HEADED VIREO Vireo solitarius. Photographs of vireos in Flagstaff, COC, 14 Sep 2008), at Sweetwater Wetlands in Tucson, PIM, 08 Feb 2010, and at Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, PIN, 10 Apr 2011 were not conclusive in eliminat- ing a bright Cassin’s Vireo (V. cassinii), as was the report of one at San Bernardino NWR, COS, 29 Sep 2010. One reported from Christopher Columbus Park, Tucson, PIM, 18 Oct 2009 was thought by the committee to be a bright Cassin’s Vireo. It is a well-established problem in the West that multiple photos of prospective Blue-headed Vireos often elicit differing opinions. We strongly suggest trying to get a good series of photos of any potential Blue-headed Vireo in Arizona, and to supplement the photos with detailed written field notes (which were lacking in some of the reports above). PHILADELPHIA VIREO Vireo philadelphicus. Photos of a supposed Philadelphia Vireo from Peña Blanca Lake, SCR, 23 May 2014 were believed by a majority of the committee to represent a Warbling Vireo (V. gilvus) with darkish lores. RED-EYED VIREO Vireo olivaceus. A written report of one at San Simon Cienega, COS, 23 Sep 2009 was not detailed enough to rule out similar species, and another described from Pintail Slough, Havasu NWR, Topock, MOH, 18 Jul 2012, was thought by the committee to be insufficient to eliminate the similar Yellow-green Vireo (V. flavoviridis), especially as virtually all Arizona records of the Yellow-green are from mid-summer. YELLOW-GREEN VIREO Vireo flavoviridis. The report of one from Mesa, MAR, 1 Oct 2009 did not eliminate other vireo species. CAVE SWALLOW Petrochelidon fulva. Written descriptions of reported Cave Swallows from near Gila Bend, MAR, 19 Sep 2009, Phoenix, MAR, 15 Jun 2010, the Bill Williams R., LAP, 26 Aug 2011, and Willcox, COS, 26 May 2012 were not detailed enough to eliminate the very similar juvenile Cliff Swallow (P. pyrrhonota), which is common at these locations on these dates. WINTER WREN Troglodytes hiemalis. When silent, the Winter Wren and Pacific Wren (T. pacificus) are not easily distinguished in the field, and even photographed birds are not always identifiable. Reports of the Winter Wren near Patagonia, SCR, 30 Oct 2010, along the Santa Cruz R. at Tubac, SCR, 27 Nov 2010, at Seven Springs, MAR, 4 Mar 2011, and along the Santa Cruz R. at Tumacacori, SCR, 20 Nov 2012 were not accepted. In all these instances, photographs were supplied, but details did not include any description of the diagnostic calls, which are generally essential for identification. One at Butcher Jones Recreation Site, MAR, 10 Nov 2014 was heard only, which a minority of ABC members believed was inadequate for acceptance. This species is no longer on the ABC’s review list. SEDGE WREN Cistothorus platensis. The description of one reported at the San Pedro Riparian Conservation Area west of Sierra Vista, COS, 19 Apr 2011 was too brief for acceptance of a prospective second Arizona record.

106 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

BROWN-BACKED SOLITAIRE Myadestes occidentalis. The distinctive song of a Brown-backed Solitaire was reported heard along the Morse Canyon Trail in the Chiricahua Mountains, COS, 18 May 2011 by an experienced observer familiar with this species from multiple trips to Mexico. After discussing the question of the bird’s origin and the handling of reports based only on sounds heard but not recorded, the committee (divided after two rounds) decided not to accept this report without a recording of the voice. This species has been accepted onto the Arizona list on the basis of two individuals photographed, one in lower Madera Canyon, PIM, in 1996, the other in the Huachuca Mts. in 2009 (Rosenberg et al. 2011, Van Doren 2010). WOOD THRUSH Hylocichla mustelina. A supposed Wood Thrush photographed at Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, PIN, 28 Nov 2011 was in fact a Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus). AZTEC THRUSH Ridgwayia pinicola . The identification of a juvenile reported from the South Fork of Cave Creek Canyon in the Chiricahua Mts., COS, 30 Jun 2005 was possibly correct, but the description was too brief for acceptance. There are no accepted records of a juvenile Aztec Thrush from Arizona (the only one from the United States is from Texas; Wolf 1978), and the June date is much earlier than that of other accepted records of the Aztec Thrush in Arizona. BLUE MOCKINGBIRD Melanotis caerulescens. The ABC declined to accept the report without details of a second Blue Mockingbird with the one confirmed at the Slaughter Ranch east of Douglas, COS, 10 Apr 2009. PURPLE FINCH Haemorhous purpureus. Photos of a supposed Purple Finch along Box Canyon Road in the Santa Rita Mountains, PIM, 29 Dec 2014 showed a Cassin’s Finch (H. cassinii). LAPLAND LONGSPUR Calcarius lapponicus. The report of a second Lapland Longspur in addition to the one well documented at the Rousseau Sod Farm, Scotts- dale, MAR, 7 Nov 2010 lacked convincing details. Descriptions of one at Winslow, NAV, 12 Dec 2010 and another near Willow Tank, near Portal, COS, 29 Dec 2012 were too brief for acceptance. This species is no longer on the ABC review list. SNOW BUNTING Plectrophenax nivalis. A “white” bird seen and photographed on the Santa Cruz Flats, PIN, 29 Feb 2012 was reported as a Snow Bunting but was actually a leucistic American Pipit (Anthus rubescens). BLUE-WINGED WARBLER Vermivora cyanoptera. The report of one in Madera Canyon, PIM, 11 Apr 2010 lacked sufficient detail, especially given the rarity of this species in Arizona and the unusual early spring date. TENNESSEE WARBLER Oreothlypis peregrina. One reported from Gilbert Water Ranch, Gilbert, MAR, 22 Feb–31 Mar 2009 was most likely a dull Orange-crowned Warbler (O. celata), a common mistake. Another report from the same location 24 Sep 2009 received no support from the committee; the poor photographs may have shown a Lucy’s Warbler (O. luciae) with green leaves reflecting on it. This species is no longer on the ABC’s review list. CAPE MAY WARBLER Setophaga tigrina. One reported at Bill Williams R. NWR, north of Parker, MOH, 26 Oct 2012, was likely identified correctly but was not documented well enough for acceptance. BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER Setophaga fusca. One reported at Saguaro Lake Ranch, Fountain Hills, MAR, 8 Nov 2009 was seen by an experienced observer and was almost certainly identified correctly, but the plumage was at the dull extreme for the species, and critical features were lacking from the description.

107 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

BLACKPOLL WARBLER Setophaga striata. The details of one reported at Davis Camp County Park, MOH, 23 Oct 2006 were inadequate for acceptance. PALM WARBLER Setophaga palmarum. The description of a “very bright” yellow individual at a golf course in Tucson, PIM, 26 Oct 2009 perhaps suggested the eastern subspecies hypochrysea but was too brief for acceptance of such a rarity in Arizona. The Palm Warbler is no longer on the ABC’s review list. YELLOW-THROATED WARBLER Setophaga dominica. The description of one reported from Kingfisher Pond, San Pedro R. National Conservation Area, COS, 16 Apr 2014 was insufficient for acceptance; the report of one at the Patagonia–Sonoita Creek Preserve, SCR, 5 Sep 2014 lacked convincing details. FAN-TAILED WARBLER Basileuterus lachrymosus. The description of one along Blue Haven Rd., Patagonia, SCR, 16 Sep 2014, was not detailed enough for acceptance. SLATE-THROATED REDSTART Myioborus miniatus. The report of one from Cave Creek Canyon, COS, 29 Apr 2012 lacked any description and received no support. FIELD SPARROW Spizella pusilla. A report submitted 22 years after the sighting from Kino Springs, SCR, 16 Sep 1989 received little support with committee members concerned by the delay in submission, the early date, and that the Chipping Sparrow (S. passerina) was not ruled out. The reported of one near Springerville, APA, 12 Feb 2006 was considered inadequately documented by most on the committee. LARGE-BILLED SAVANNAH SPARROW Passerculus sandwichensis rostratus. The report of one from Betty’s Kitchen National Recreation Trail, YUM, 6 Oct 2013, though by an observer experienced with the taxon, was not detailed enough for acceptance. Though the Large-billed Sparrow is regular in the Salton Sink of southeastern California, there remains only one accepted record for the state, from Yuma, YUM, 15 Aug 1902 (Phillips et al. 1964). “RED” FOX SPARROW Passerella iliaca iliaca group. Intergradation between the subspecies of the Fox Sparrow can make atypical individuals difficult to identify even to one of the three major groups. Particularly confusing is the subspecies P. i. altivagans, variably intermediate between the “Slate-colored” (P. i. schistacea) and “Red” groups (Weckstein et al. 2002) and also often resembling P. i. unalaschcensis. Reports of “Red” Fox Sparrows not accepted because of lack of a clear distinction from P. i. altivagans included those from Paradise Valley, MAR, 13 Dec 2009, Arlington, MAR, 28 Dec 2011, Portal, COS, 26 Nov 2012, and Cave Creek Ranch, COS, 26 Dec 2012–16 Feb 2013. This subspecies group is no longer on the ABC’s review list. WHITE-WINGED DARK-EYED JUNCO Junco hyemalis aikeni. The report of one from Canyon de Chelly, APA, 17 May 2013, did not include a description of the wings and received no support from the committee. SCARLET TANAGER Piranga olivacea. An interesting tanager shaped like a Sum- mer Tanager (P. rubra) but with some black in the wings was photographed along the San Pedro R. at San Manuel 14 May 2009. The committee concluded it was likely an oddly colored Summer Tanager or possibly a hybrid Scarlet × Summer Tanager. FLAME-COLORED TANAGER Piranga bidentata. Several reports submitted to the ABC represented probable hybrids with the Western Tanager (P. ludoviciana), including those of ones in Portal, COS, 12–14 Jun 2010 and in Miller Canyon, COS, 7–21 Apr 2011, 27 Apr 2013, and from 16 Apr 2014 on, the last a likely returning bird. Hybridization with the Western Tanager continues to be a problem with any report of the Flame-colored Tanager from southeastern Arizona. The report of one from White Horse Ranch near Dewey, YAV, 22 Apr 2014 received no support from

108 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS the committee, as the bird may have been a Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus). BOBOLINK Dolichonyx oryzivorus. Even with a photo, the report of one at Pintail Slough, Havasu NWR, MOH, 4 Nov 2010 lacked sufficient supporting details. The incomplete description of another reported from Willcox, COS, 15 Oct 2011 did not rule out an escaped female bishop (Euplectes sp.). COMMON GRACKLE Quiscalus quiscula. A description of one reported along I-10 near Tucson, PIM, 21 Aug 2006 was not detailed enough for acceptance. The date is very early in the fall for occurrence of this species in Arizona. All committee members agreed that a report and photo of four supposed grackles near Portal, COS, 15 Apr 2014 involved Brewer’s Blackbirds (Euphagus cyanocephalus). BLACK-VENTED ORIOLE Icterus wagleri. The description of an oriole in Sonoita, SCR, 18 Apr 2012 lacked certain details needed to confirm a prospective second state record. ORCHARD ORIOLE Icterus spurius. Reports not accepted comprise those of ones at San Simon Cienega, San Simon, COS, 8 Sep 2010 and 8 Sep 2011 and of one at Kino Springs near Nogales, SCR, 31 Aug 2011. This species is no longer on the ABC’s review list. STREAK-BACKED ORIOLE Icterus pustulatus. One reported from below Pata- gonia Lake, SCR, 13 Apr 2010 was not described in detail enough for acceptance. BALTIMORE ORIOLE Icterus galbula. Photos accompanying a report from Tumacacori, SCR, 24 Apr 2012 showed a male Black-headed Grosbeak (Pheucticus melanocephalus). Reports from East Whitetail Canyon, COS, 31 Jul 2012, Prescott, YAV, 27 Aug 2013, and Keams Canyon, NAV, 10 May 2014 were not accepted because several committee members were concerned that a hybrid with Bullock’s Oriole (I. bullockii) was not ruled out, a combination that though rare, has been documented in Arizona. The Baltimore Oriole is no longer on the ABC’s review list.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank the more than 350 observers who submitted material to the AZFO and ABC; they have made an important contribution to the expanding knowledge of the status of Arizona birds. Thanks to Christian Nunes for his opinion on the White- winged Dark-eyed Junco record. Daniel S. Cooper, Oscar Johnson, David Stejskal, and Philip Unitt contributed greatly to the improvement of the manuscript. We also thank Richard Fray, Greg Gorton, Lauren Harter, Gordon Karre, Janine McCabe, Pete Moulton, Frances Oliver, Bryan Patrick, Dick Porter, Paul Suchanek, Jason Wilder, Ann Witman, and Janet Witzeman, who all contributed funds to help defray the cost of publishing this report.

CONTRIBUTORS Ryan Abe, Bill Adler, Joey Alsadi, Autumn Amici, Walt Anderson, Stuart Angerer, Nick Armstrong, Ronald Auler (RAu), Kenneth Bader, Mary Jo Ballator (MJB), Jim Bangma (JBg), Jack Bartley (JBt), Lisa Bates, Pete Baum, Robin Baxter (RBa), David Beaudette, Ron Beck (RBe), Robert Behrstock (RBh), Chris D. Benesh (CDB), Tom Benson, Michael Bernard, Barbara Bickel, Gavin Bieber (GBi), Ken and Linda Bielek (K&LB), Dick Bierman (DBi), Eric Billings, Susan Birky, Scott Blackman (SBl), David Blue (DBl), Jerry Bock (JBo), Harold Bond, David Book (DBo), Stewart Boots (SBo), Al Borgadt, Gary Botello, Rick Bowers, Robert Bowker (RBo), Daniel Brill (DBr), Henry Brodkin, Priscilla Brodkin, Matt Brooks (MaB), Kathie Brown, Matt Brown (MBr), Judy Calvert (JCa), Luis Calvo, Barbara Carlson, Richard Carlson, Eric Carpenter,

109 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

Joe Carragher, Ian Cassell, Ralph Castillo (RCl), Clifford Cathers, Chris Charlesworth (CCh), Alan Cherry (ACh), Al Clark (ACl), Philip Clark, Michael Clinton (MCl), Collins Cochran (CCo), Jonathan Coffey (JCf), Jeff Cohen (JCn), Jeff Coker (JCk), John Coons (JCo), Andrew Core (ACo), Troy Corman, Alan Craig (ACr), Judy Crawford (JCr), Joe and Ryan Crouse (J&RC), Janet Cunningham (JCu), Tommy DeBardeleben, Maya Decker, Henry Detwiler, Pierre Deviche, Mary Dineen (MDi), Dick Dionne, Richard Ditch, Chris Dodge, Cynthia Donald (CDo), Ed Dunn, Reba and Allan Dupika (R&AD), Jim and Judy Easter (J&JE), Roger Eastman, Judy Edison, Wyatt Egelhoff, Jerry Elling (JEl), Lanie Epstein, Virginia Fairchild, Randy Feriend (RFe), Dick Filby, Colleen Filippone, Sarah Fish, Craig Fischer (CFi), Matt Fraker, Richard Fray, Rick Fridell (RFr), Gary Froehlich, Anne Galli, Larry and Terrie Gates (L&TG), Brian Gatlin (BGa), Jennifer Gaure, Eric Gdula, Doug Gochfeld (DGo), Tony Godfrey, Pat Goltz, Gary Graves, Keith Graves, Tina Greenawalt (TGr), Brendon Grice (BGc), David Griffin, Bill Griffiths (BGf), Bill Grossi (BGr), Mary Gustafson, Paul and Gloria Halesworth (P&GH), Laurens Halsey, Jay Hand (JHa), Homer Hansen, John Harned (JHr), Lauren Harter (LHa), Ron Haupt (RHa), James Hays (JHy), Chris Hayward, Gjon Hazard, Eric Heisey (EHe), Susanna Henry, Melanie Herring, Diana Herron, John Higgins (JHi), John and Mary Hirth (J&MH), John Hoffman (JHf), Jack Holloway (JHo), Justin Hopkins (JHp), Steve Hosner (SHo), Eric Horvath (EHv), Elaine Hough (ElH), Eric Hough (EHo), Sam Hough (SHo), Bernard Howe, Rich Hoyer (RHo), P. D. Hulce (PDH), Sheril Huselton (SHu), Theresa Hyde, Max and Lynn Jarrett (M&LJ), Dave Jasper (DJa), Paul Jaussi, Doug Jenness (DJe), Oscar Johnson, Tom Johnson, Betty Jones, Thomas R. Jones (TRJ), Joe Kahl, Keith Kamper, Gordon Karre, Frank Kee, Melody Kehl, Howard King, Shery Kistler, Philip Kline (PKl), Thomas and Lynne Knapp (T&LK), Pam Koch (PKo), Barb Koenig, Nick Komar, Chrissy Kondrat-Smith (CKS), Jim Kopitzke (JKo), Kathy Kuyper (KKu), Jo La Fleur (JLF), Caroline Lambert (CLa), Nancy Lange, Shawn Langston (SLa), Mark Larson (MLa), Chuck LaRue (CLR), Joyce Lebowitz (JLb), Jay Lehman (JLn), Paul Lehman, Anne Leight, Timothy Lenz (TLz), Tony Leonardini, Michael Lester (MLe), Gordon Lewis, Jackie Lewis (JLe), Tom Lewis (TLe), Tom Linda (TLi), Craig Lipski (CLi), Joshua and Terry Little (J&TL), Jim Logan (JLo), Tyler Loomis (TLo), Scott Loss (SLo), Carl Lundblad (CLu), Warren Lynn, Tom MacJannet (TMc), Deanna MacPhail (DMc), Robert Maercklein, Lois Manowitz, Michael Marsden (MMa), Bryce Marshall (BMa), Chris McCreedy (CMc), James McKay (JMc), Shannon McNeil (SMc), Jeremy Medina (JMe), Barbara Meding (BMe), Charles Melton (CMe), Jan Miller (JMl), Jay Miller (JMi), Terry Minks (TMi), Chris Miracle (CMi), Steve Mlodinow (SMl), Melvin Moe (MeM), Jake Mohlmann (JMo), David Moll (DMo), Andrew Moore, Michael Moore (MMo), Narca Moore-Craig (NMC), Roy Morris, Peter Moulton, Joe Neely, Brian Nicholas, Michael Nicosia, Johan Nilsson, Jonathan Noble (JNo), Gary Nunn, Michael O’Brien (MOB), Mark Ochs, Tom Oliver, BB Oros (BBO), Nicholas Paizis, Chris Parks, Bryan Patrick (BPa), Robert Payne, David Pearson (DPe), Brandon Percival (BPe), Dave Pereksta (DPk), Reed Peters (RPe), Linda Phelan (LPh), Lin Piest (LPi), Linda Pittman (LPt), Tyler Pockette, Allen Pocock, Diane Poleyquiva (DPo), Molly Pollock, Bonnie Pranter (BPr), Shaun Putz, David Quesenberry, Cindy Radamaker, Kurt Radamaker, David Rankin, Helen Rejzek, James Rejzek (JRz), Sandy Remley, John Reuland (JRe), Laurin Richey (LRi), Carol Riddell (CRi), Arlene Ripley, James Ripley (JRp), Jeff Ritz (JRi), Bob Rodrigues, Lee Rogers (LRo), Chris Rohrer (CRo), Gary H. Rosenberg (GHR), Kerry Ross (KRo), Rose Ann Rowlett (RAR), Jim Royer (JRo), Will Russell, Leif Rydell (LRy), John Saba (JSa), Drew Sattler (DSa), Alan Schmierer (ASc), Karl Schneider (KaS), Ken Schneider (KeS), Tim Schreckengost, Scott Schuette, Bill Scott (BSc), Adam Searcy (ASe), Russell Seeley, Don Sejkora (DSe), Jan and Stan Shadick (J&SS), Mark Sharon (MSh), Dominic Sherony (DSh), Vicki Shimp, Brad Singer (BSi), Michael Skinner (MSk), Brian Small (BSm), James Smith (JaS), Jerome Smith (JeS), Thory Smith (TSm), Zach Smith, Timothy Spahr (TSp), Judith Sparhawk (JSp), Hans

110 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

Spiecker, Bob Starks (BSt), David J. Stejskal (DJS), Jeff Stemshorn (JSt), Mark M. Stevenson (MMS), Joshua Stewart (JSt), Laura Stewart (LaS), Lindsay Story (LiS), Tom Stoudt (TSt), Caleb Strand, Justin Streit (JuS), Brian Sullivan (BSu), David Sussman (DSu), Dale Suter (DaS), William Sutton, Michael Tarachow (MiT), Bill Tarbox (BTa), H. C. Taylor (HCT), Monte Taylor (MoT), Pat and Keith Taylor (P&TK), Peter Taylor, Rick Taylor, Craig Thayer, Rick Thompson (RTh), Bob Toleno (BTo), Carl Tomoff (CTo), Diane Touret, Dave Toweill (DaT), Chuck and Jody Trible (C&JT), Michael Turisk (MTu), Christie Van Cleve (CVC), David Vander Pluym (DVP), Marceline Vandewater (MVW), Matt Victoria, Deb Vogt , George Wall (GWa), Trevor Waller (TWa), Brian Walsh (BWa), Steve Walter, Josh Watson (JWa), Magill Weber (MWe), Peter Weber (PWe), Richard E. Webster (REW), Ann Weinrich, Chris West (CWe), George West (GWe), John West (JWe), Susan Wethington (SWe), Jay Wilbur (JWi), Bobby Wilcox (BWi), Jason Wilder (JaW), John Williams (JWl), Richard Wilson (RWi), Heather Wise, Mike Wittmer (MWi), Cole Wolf (CWo), Mort Womack, Tom Wood, Joe Woodley (JWo), Gary Woods, Elanor Wooten, Bryan Wueke (BWu), John Yerger (JYe), John Young (JYo), Zack Zdinak, Barry Zimmer, Joseph Zummach.

LITERATURE CITED Arterburn, J. W., and Grzybowski, J. A. 2003. Hybridization between Glossy and White-faced Ibises. N. Am. Birds 57:136–139. Baumann, M. J., Galen, S. C., Pederson, N. D., and Witt, C. C. 2014. Simple technique for distinguishing Yellow-bellied Flycatchers from Cordilleran and Pacific- slope Flycatchers. J. Field Ornithol. 85:391_396. Brown, H. 1906. The Water Turkey and tree ducks near Tucson, Arizona. Auk 23:217–218; doi 10.2307/4070755. Brown, M., C., and Baxter, R., A. 2009. First United States record of Sinaloa Wren (Thryothorus sinaloa). N. Am. Birds 63:196–201. Chesser, R. T., Banks, R. C., Barker, F. K. Cicero, C., Dunn, J. L. Kratter, A. W., Lovette, I. J., Rasmussen, P. C., Remsen, J. V. Jr., Rising, J. D., Stotz, D. F., and Winker, K. 2010. Fifty-first supplement to the American Ornithologists Union Check-list of North American Birds. Auk 127:726–744. Corman, T. E., and Wise-Gervais, C. 2005. Arizona Breeding Bird Atlas. Univ. of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque. Faulkner, D. 2005. Hybridization and nesting of Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) in Wyoming. N. Am. Birds 59: 382. Faulkner, D. 2006. A Streaked Shearwater (Calonectus leucomelas) record for Wyoming. N. Am. Birds 60:324–326. Hamilton, R. A., Patten, M. A., and Erickson, R. A. (eds.). 2007. Rare Birds of California. W. Field Ornithol., Camarillo, CA. Howell, S. N. G. 2012. Petrels, Albatrosses, and Storm-Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide. Princeton Univ. Press. Princeton, NJ.; doi 10.1515/9781400839629. Howell, S. N. G., Lewington, I., and Russell, W. 2014. Rare Birds of North America. Princeton Univ. Press. Princeton, NJ; doi 10.1515/9781400848072. Lehman, P. E. 2016. The Birds of Santa Barbara County, California, rev. ed.; https:// sites.google.com/site/lehmanbosbc/. Meyers, M. 2016. Nevada Bird Records Committee report for 2014. W. Birds 47:120–137. Monson, G., and Phillips, A. R. 1981. Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Arizona, second edition. Univ. of Ariz. Press, Tucson. Patten, M. A. 2006. Dispersal and vagrancy in the Pyrrhuloxia. W. Birds 37:37–44. Patten, M. A., and Lasley, G. W. 2000. Range expansion of the Glossy Ibis in North America. N. Am. Birds 54:241–247.

111 ARIZONA BIRD COMMITTEE REPORT, 2010–2014 RECORDS

Patten, M. A., and Marantz, C. A. 1996. Implications of vagrant southeastern vireos and warblers in California. Auk 113:911–923; doi 10.2307/4088868. Patten, M. A., McCaskie, G., and Unitt, P. 2003. Birds of the Salton Sea. Univ. of Calif. Press, Berkeley. Phillips, A., Monson, G., and Marshall, J. 1964. The Birds of Arizona. Univ. of Ariz. Press, Tucson. Quigley, R. J. 1973. First record of Sooty Shearwater for Arizona. Auk 90:677. Radamaker, K. A., and Corman, T. E. 2011. Status of the Rosy-faced Lovebird in Arizona. Arizona Birds online; http://azfo.org/journal/Rosy-facedLovebird2011. html). Rosenberg, G. H. 2001. Arizona Bird Committee report: 1996–1999 records. W. Birds 32:50–70. Rosenberg, G. H., and Witzeman, J. L. 1998. Arizona Bird Committee report, 1974–1996: Part 1 (non-passerines). W. Birds 29:199–224. Rosenberg, G. H., and Witzeman, J. L. 1999. Arizona Bird Committee report, 1974–1996: Part 2 (passerines). W. Birds 30:94–120. Rosenberg, G. H., Radamaker, K., and Stevenson, M. 2007. Arizona Bird Committee report, 2000–2004 records. W. Birds 38:74–101. Rosenberg, G. H., Radamaker, K., and Stevenson, M. 2011. Arizona Bird Committee report, 2005–2009 records. W. Birds 42:198–232. Rottenborn, S. C., McCaskie, G., Daniels, B. E., and Garrett, J. 2016. The 39th annual report of the California Bird Records Committee: 2013 records. W. Birds 47:2–26. Schmierer, A. 2011. Fist doucmented observation of Sedge Wren in Arizona. Arizona Birds Online; http://azfo.org/journal/SedgeWren2011.html. Singer, D. S., Dunn, J. L., Harter, L. B., and McCaskie, G. 2016. The 40th annual report of the California Bird Records Committee: 2014 records. W. Birds 47:291– 313; doi 10.21199/WB47.4.3. Snyder, N. F. R., Snyder, H. A., Moore-Craig, N., Flesch, A. D., Wagner, R. A., and Rowlett, R. A. 2010. Short-tailed Hawks nesting in the sky islands of the South- west. W. Birds 41:202–230. Sullivan, B. L., Iliff, M. J., Ralph, P. L., Ralph, C. J., and Kelling, S. T. 2007. A Lesser Frigatebird (Fregata ariel) in California: A first for the state and fourth for North America. N. Am. Birds 61: 540–545. Unitt, P. 2004. San Diego County bird atlas. Proc. San Diego Soc. Nat. Hist. 39. Van Doren, B. 2010. A Brown-backed Solitaire (Myadestes occidentalis) in Arizona. N. Am. Birds 64: 176–179. Weckstein, J. D., Kroodsma, D. E., and Faucett, R. C. 2002. Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca), in The Birds of North America (A. Poole, A. and F. Gill, eds.), no. 715. Birds N. Am. Philadelphia. Weintraub, J. D., and San Miguel, M. 1999. First record of the Ivory Gull in California. W. Birds 30:39–43. Wolf, D. 1978. First record of Aztec Thrush in the United States. Am. Birds 32: 156–157. Accepted 27 February 2017

112 AGE STRUCTURE OF ADULT BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS IN SOUTHWEST COLORADO JOSEPH C. ORTEGA and CATHERINE P. ORTEGA, Department of Biology, Fort Lewis College, 1000 Rim Drive, Durango, Colorado 81301-3999; ortega_j@ fortlewis.edu

ABSTRACT: We live-trapped and banded Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) in La Plata County, southwest Colorado, during the breeding seasons of 1992 to 1999. We captured a total of 1034 adult males and 386 adult females. Although we could not determine the exact ages of newly captured males older than one year (after second year; ASY) and of newly captured adult females, we identified the minimum possible age of each bird captured or recaptured each year. We found that most cowbirds of either sex were 1 or 2 years old, though we recaptured some older individuals. The percentage of recaptured females ≥2 years old increased through the study but appeared to stabilize during the last three years, implying that these older individuals constituted a quarter to a third of the population. The mean estimated minimum age of adult males was significantly greater than that of adult females in 1997 but not in 1998 or 1999. The ratio of yearling to older males varied significantly by year with yearlings becoming more common in the later years of study. Incorporating the age structure of a Brown-headed Cowbird population, especially of females, may increase the utility of various models concerning host populations subjected to cowbird brood parasitism, and this information is relevant to estimating the number of cowbird eggs expected to be laid in an area during a breeding season.

The Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater), an obligate brood parasite, has been reported attempting parasitism on some 248 species (Friedmann 1929, Friedmann and Kiff 1985, Ortega 1998, Lowther 2015). Cowbirds commonly reduce or eliminate the successful rearing of the host’s own young (Lowther 1993, 2015, Ortega 1998, Lorenzana and Sealy 1999, Goguen et al. 2009). Many factors, both biological (e.g., timing of potential hosts’ breeding season, hosts’ incubation period, hosts’ diet, hosts’ egg-ejection response, etc.) and ecological (e.g., nest height, grazing proximity, forest fragmentation, residential development, etc.), may contribute to the frequency and success of cowbirds’ brood parasitism on various hosts (Brittingham and Temple 1983, Ortega 1998, Hahn and Hatfield 2000, Thompson et al. 2000, Tewksbury et al. 2006, Borgmann and Morrison 2010). Indeed, of the 248 species reported parasitized, only 132–172 are known to have successfully raised young cowbirds to fledging (Ortega 1998, Ortega et al. 2005, Lowther 2015). Few of the many previous studies of the cowbird (see reviews in Lowther 1993, Ortega, 1998, Morrison et al. 1999, and Smith et al. 2000), have examined the species’ demography during the breeding season (Darley 1971, Woolfenden et al. 2001, Ortega and Ortega 2009, Anderson et al. 2012), except for the sex ratio (reviewed by Ortega 1998: table 7.2). Especially with respect to the age structure of adult females in a population, this lack of demographic study is surprising since female cowbirds are generally thought to lay typically from 10 to 40 eggs in a breeding season (Walkinshaw 1949, Payne 1965, 1976, Scott and Ankney 1980, Fleischer et al. 1987, Holford and Roby 1993), though Alderson et al. (1999) esti-

Western Birds 48:113–123, 2017; doi 10.21199/WB48.2.2 113 AGE STRUCTURE OF ADULT BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS IN COLORADO mated a mean (± 1 SD) of only 2.8 ± 2.7 eggs laid by a female cowbird in a breeding season. In addition, in both the wild (Fleischer et al. 1987) and in captivity (Holford and Roby 1993), yearling females, lay fewer eggs in a breeding season than do older females. In many species of birds yearling females lay fewer eggs per clutch than do older individuals (Ricklefs 1973, Sæther 1990, Forslund and Pärt 1995), so knowing the age structure of a cowbird population, especially of females, might be useful in predicting the pressure cowbird parasitism exerts on a population of hosts (McGeen 1972, Lowther 2015). Such information could contribute to various models of a host’s population responses to cowbird parasitism (for example, see May and Robinson 1985, Pease and Grzybowski 1995, Grzybowski and Pease 1999, Schmidt and Whelan 1999, Powell and Knutson 2006). In addition, the age structure of adult male cowbirds in a population might affect dominance hierarchies and hence mating behaviors and the mating system (see review in Ortega 1998, and references therein). To the best of our knowledge, such a complete description of the age structure of a population of cowbirds has not previously been reported. Therefore, the primary purpose of this paper is to present minimum age estimates and the apparent age structure of adult cowbirds in a population studied over an eight-year period from 1992 to 1999 in southwest Colorado.

METHODS Study Area From 1992 to 1999, we live-trapped cowbirds at the San Juan Basin Research Center (then run by Colorado State University; 37° 14′ N, 108° 3′ W; 2316 m elevation) in southwest Colorado. The center covers 2541 ha and consists primarily of three habitats. One, a riparian corridor where Nar- rowleaf Cottonwood (Populus angustifolia) dominates, followed by River Birch (Betula fontinalis), Thinleaf Alder (Alnus tenuifolia), and various willows (Salix spp.). Two, in uplands, woodland dominated by Gambel Oak (Quercus gambelii) with a few junipers (Juniperus spp.), Quaking Aspens (Populus tremuloides), and Ponderosa Pines (Pinus ponderosa). Because of past overgrazing, both the density and height of the understory in these two habitats was low. Three, alfalfa and hay fields, but cowbirds made little use of this habitat. Trapping Cowbirds Each year, we trapped cowbirds from mid-May (as early as 9 May 1995) to late July or early August (as late as 13 August 1994) in a cage measuring 130.2 × 121.3 × 186.4 cm and stocked with decoy cowbirds. In 1998, however, because of an outbreak of Sin Nombre hantavirus and because rodents that may spread the virus were attracted to seeds with which the traps were baited, we trapped cowbirds only from 20 May to 12 June. We placed the decoy trap on the western side of the primary stockyard and barn centrally located at our study site. In addition, we trapped cowbirds in two to four two-cell Potter traps set next to the decoy trap. Typically, the decoy trap contained at least two adult male cowbirds and one adult female cowbird. We

114 AGE STRUCTURE OF ADULT BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS IN COLORADO provided wild bird feed, along with water from a standard poultry-watering bottle, for cowbirds caught in the decoy trap; Potter traps were baited with this same wild bird feed. The decoy trap contained a platform measuring 40.3 × 120.3 cm to provide shade and a perch, and in some years bare branches as additional perches. Except the decoy cowbirds, which were typically held for only a single day of trapping, all cowbirds were released immediately after they were handled (see below). Marking and Aging Cowbirds We banded all cowbirds with uniquely numbered aluminum bands supplied by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. We sexed and estimated the minimum age of newly captured individuals by plumage characteristics (Selander and Giller 1960, Ortega et al. 1996). Adult males could be yearlings (1 year old; SY) or older (≥2 years old; ASY; Selander and Giller 1960, Ortega et al. 1996). When we recaptured ASY males originally captured in their year of hatching (HY, n = 22) or in their second year (n = 101), we recorded their actual age. We could not, however, determine the exact age of newly captured ASY males. At the time that this study was completed, we could not distinguish adult females as SY or ASY by plumage or body measurements (Selander and Giller 1960, Ortega et al. 1996). Five recaptured females could be identified as yearlings because they had been banded as juveniles the previous year. But we could not categorize an adult female an ASY female until it was recaptured in a following year. For both adult males and adult females, we emphasize that the resulting apparent age structure represents minimum ages. As individuals were retrapped in later years, we then added the appropriate number of years to the initial estimates of their minimum age, so assessing the apparent age structure (based upon minimum age) of our population of cowbirds on an annual basis. Statistical Analyses Because the proportion of known ASY females appeared to have sta- bilized during the last three years of our study (1997–1999), we tested for differences in average estimated minimum ages of adult males and females within each of these years by a two-tailed Mann–Whitney U test (Zar 1996). We used the nonparametric Mann–Whitney U test for these comparisons because our data were not normally distributed (Zar 1996). To examine potential differences in the frequencies of yearling and older males from year to year, we used the appropriate G test with Williams’ correction factor (Sokal and Rohlf 1981). To examine potential differences in the frequencies of newly captured adult females and known ASY females from year to year, we used the same procedure but did not include data from 1992 because in this initial year of the study, all adult females were newly captured. For all statistical tests, we considered a value of P ≤ 0.05 statistically significant.

RESULTS We captured a total of 1420 adult cowbirds, 386 females and 1034 males, of which 669 were SY and 365 were ASY at the time of their initial capture

115 AGE STRUCTURE OF ADULT BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS IN COLORADO

(Ortega and Ortega 2009). After 1992, when all were newly captured, the percentage of adult males recaptured each year, both age categories combined, averaged 31.2% (± 2.0, standard error). Among ASY males, an average of 33.4 ± 5.9% were newly captured each year. For adult females, the annual averages were 83.7 ± 4.6% newly captured and 16.3 ± 4.6% recaptured. Within any one year, the estimated average minimum age of adult males ranged from 1.55 ± 0.08 years (n = 208 individuals) in 1996 to 2.14 ± 0.08 years (n = 191 individuals) in 1994 (Table 1). For adult females, the estimated average minimum age increased steadily through the study to a peak of 1.63 ± 0.27 years (n = 19) in 1999 (Table 1). During the last three years of the study, the average minimum age of adult males was significantly greater than that of adult females only in 1997 (Table 1). The proportion of SY to ASY males differed significantly by year (Gadj. = 148.149, df = 7, P << 0.001), being greater later in the study (Figure 1). The proportion of newly captured adult females to recaptured females known to be ≥2 years old also differed significantly from year to year (Gadj. = 151.278, df = 6, P << 0.001). However, in contrast to the pattern in adult males, known ASY females were more common during the later years of the study (Figure 2).

DISCUSSION Age Structure We recaptured few cowbirds (male or female) older than two years, but occasional recaptured individuals were much older: two adult males at least 8 years old and one adult female at least 5 years old when last trapped (Table 1). With data from the Bird Banding Laboratory, Fankhauser (1971) found a maximum age at death of 9 years for an adult male and 6 years for an adult female. Similarly, in southern Manitoba, Woolfenden et al. (2001) observed six males that lived to at least 7 years, and three females lived to at least 5 years. Our observation that the majority of cowbirds in southwest Colorado apparently live for no more than two years is corroborated by our previous findings concerning probability of adults’ survival in this population (Ortega and Ortega 2009: table 2). That is, in the first year after their initial capture and banding the average (± 1 SE) survival probability (φ) of adult females was 0.092 ± 0.025, but in any following year, it was 0.358 ± 0.082. In comparison, in the first year after their initial capture, SY and ASY males had average survival probability values of 0.184 ± 0.050 and 0.197 ± 0.068, respectively. Males’ probability of survival also increased in the following years (for SY males, φ = 0.447 ± 0.048; for ASY males, φ = 0.461 ± 0.043). Even though the cowbird is a brood parasite, the typical observed life span of adults, two years or less, is consistent with that of many other species of temperate-zone passeriform birds, whose annual survivorship (which is not the same as survival probability) is 40–60% (see review in Ricklefs 1973). It is important to note that our estimates based on minimum apparent age are the result of randomly capturing cowbirds primarily in our decoy trap. Therefore, if cowbirds become better at obtaining natural food sources with age, if they become more reluctant to enter

116 AGE STRUCTURE OF ADULT BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS IN COLORADO

Table 1 Apparent Age Structure, by Sex, of Adult Brown-headed Cowbirds Captured at the San Juan Basin Research Center, La Plata County, Colorado, 1992–1999, Expressed as Mean Estimated Minimum Age by Year Age (years) Year Sexa Mean SE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pb 1992 Male 1.57 0.03 113 151 Female 1.00 0.00 35 1993 Male 1.98 0.05 38 94 35 Female 1.05 0.04 21 1 1994 Male 2.14 0.08 64 69 26 32 Female 1.03 0.03 67 1 1995 Male 1.78 0.07 164 49 22 14 18 Female 1.07 0.03 95 5 1 1996 Male 1.55 0.08 150 31 10 9 3 5 Female 1.13 0.04 75 9 1 1997 Male 1.81 0.09 72 52 11 3 6 1 1 0.000 Female 1.35 0.07 64 14 8 1998 Male 1.89 0.18 38 7 9 5 2 1 0.434 Female 1.57 0.17 20 5 3 2 1999 Male 1.83 0.17 53 8 4 7 4 1 1 0.625 Female 1.63 0.27 14 4 1 aExact ages of males first banded as yearlings (second year; SY) and of males (n = 22) and females (n = 5) originally banded as juveniles (year of hatching; HY) are known. However, for males first captured at an age ≥2 years (after second year; ASY) and for adult females, their ages are estimated as the minimum possible. bFrom 1997 to 1999, the mean estimated minimum age of adult males and adult females is compared with a two-tailed Mann–Whitney U test (Zar 1996).

SY Males 90 80 ASY Males 70 60 50 40 30 20

Percentage Percentage of adult males 10 0 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

Year Figure 1. Percentages of yearling (second-year; SY) and older (after-second-year; ASY) male Brown-headed Cowbirds captured each year from 1992 to 1999 at the San Juan Basin Research Center, La Plata County, Colorado. Number of adult males captured annually varied from 62 (1998) to 268 (1995).

117 AGE STRUCTURE OF ADULT BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS IN COLORADO

Newly Captured 100 Females 90 Known ASY 80 Females 70 60 50 40 30 20

Percentage Percentage of adult females 10 0 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

Year Figure 2. Percentages of newly captured female Brown-headed Cowbirds and recaptured banded females at least two years old (after-second-year; ASY) from 1992 to 1999 at the San Juan Basin Research Center, La Plata County, Colorado. Number of adult females captured annually varied from 19 (1999) to 101 (1995). traps with age, and/or if they become busier with breeding activities with age, then the likelihood of recapturing individuals might decrease as their age increases, lowering the minimum age estimate. Of the three years (1997–1999) whose results we compared statistically, only in 1997 did the average minimum age of adult males differ significantly from (being greater than) that of adult females (Table 1). Nevertheless, our minimum age estimates and our previous survival-probability estimates (Ortega and Ortega 2009) suggest that adult males often live longer than adult females. In southern Manitoba, from 1993 to 1998, Woolfenden et al. (2001: table 6) also found the survival probability of adult males greater than that of adult females. Contrasting with our results, and those of Woolfenden et al. (2001), in the eastern Sierra Nevada from 1982 to 1988, Anderson et al. (2012: figure 3A) estimated the probability of adults’ survival to be highest in ASY males (63.4%), lower in females (56.1%) and lowest in SY males (32.9%). Adult female cowbirds may often have shorter lives than adult males because, laying so many eggs in a breeding season, adult females may have difficulty obtaining enough resources to survive this large reproductive effort (Darley 1971). Also, many hosts attack adult female cowbirds, decreasing their survival probability (Ortega 1998). Second-Year Versus Older Cowbirds We observed different patterns of capture ratios in adult cowbirds. First, over the later years of the study, SY males were typically caught more than ASY males. Second, although newly captured adult females outnumbered recaptured females within any year, the frequency of capture of known ASY females generally increased as the study progressed.

118 AGE STRUCTURE OF ADULT BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS IN COLORADO

Since mate acquisition, at least for male cowbirds, is a function of dominance and age (see Ortega 1998 and references therein), this apparent increase in the proportion of SY males may have allowed a greater proportion of them to obtain mates during the later years of study. We are not sure why SY males became more numerous during most of the later years of the 1990s (Figure 1). Two potential explanations are cowbird control elsewhere and production of cowbirds in preceding years. In the early to mid-1990s, some large-scale efforts at cowbird trapping were underway in both California (from 15 March to 15 July each year [Griffith and Griffith 2000]) and Texas (from March to June each year [Kostecke et al. 2005]). Such cowbird-removal programs have helped decrease the frequencies of brood parasitism on several endangered species, or subspecies, of cowbird hosts, and in some cases, targeted host populations increased as a result of cowbird removal (Decapita 2000, Griffith and Griffith 2000, Hayden et al. 2000, Whitfield 2000, Kostecke et al. 2005). Also, we do not know to where our population of cowbirds migrated for the winter. On the basis of trapping, however, most juvenile cowbirds left our study site in mid to late July and early August, after most adults had already left to begin their southward migration. Therefore, if juvenile and older males migrated to different locations, perhaps one age class would not have been trapped as readily in any large-scale cowbird-removal efforts. A second possible explanation for the increased proportion of SY males during most of the later years of our study (Figure 1) is that in the years preceding the peaks, production of cowbirds (including males) was exceptionally high. For comparison, in southern Manitoba, during some of the same years from 1993 to 1998, Woolfenden et al. (2001) found an increased ratio of ASY males to SY males in the resident population, and, except in 1993 and 1997, they also found that ASY males outnumbered SY males in the nonresident population (Woolfenden et al. 2001: table 3). In the Sierra Nevada of California from 1978 to 1991, however, Anderson et al. (2005) caught more SY males than ASY males. In our study, the increase in captures of known ASY females as the study progressed was the result of the accumulation of recaptures, allowing us to identify more females as being older. By the later years of our study (1997–1999), however, the frequency of captures of known ASY females appeared to have approached a plateau of about 26–33% of captures of all adult females within a year (Figure 2).

Age Structure of Female Brood Parasites and Host-Population Models We suggest that knowledge of the age structure of a population of cowbirds, especially of adult females, might allow for better modeling of such attributes of a host’s population as population dynamics (May and Robin- son 1985), seasonal fecundity (Pease and Grzybowski 1995, Schmidt and Whelan 1999), and productivity (Powell and Knutson 2006). However, none of these proposed, and/or modified, models for describing host populations, both with and without cowbird parasitism, incorporated the age structure of the brood-parasitic females. For example, in their model of a population of adult female hosts, May and Robinson (1985: equation 2) incorporated,

119 AGE STRUCTURE OF ADULT BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS IN COLORADO

“parasitism probability,” p. The “simple” and “more complex” models of Pease and Grzybowski (1995) included the parameter of brood-parasitism rate, ρ. Grzybowski and Pease (1999: table 1 and equations 1a and 1b) incorporated into their suggested models cowbird abundance, C, and a cowbird auto-interference coefficient, m (representing a decrease in cowbirds’ success in nests parasitized more than once). In other models, Schmidt and Whelan (1999: equation 1) included the probability of parasitism, N, and Powell and Knutson (2006: figure 1) included a “randomly selected” probability of parasitism, θ (evaluated on the basis of data recorded in the field and/or available in the literature). Because younger (one-year-old) females lay on average fewer eggs than do older females in many species of birds (Ricklefs 1973, Sæther 1990, Forslund and Pärt 1995), including the cowbird (Fleischer et al. 1987, Holford and Roby 1993), it could be useful to include the parameter of age structure of the population of brood-parasitic females into these various models.

SUMMARY The importance of the age structure of the cowbird population, especially of females, will clearly vary with the host population targeted for modeling or management. Although the apparent age structure of a population of cowbirds, both males and females, can vary through time, we suggest that developing models for describing host populations that incorporate an age- structure parameter for the parasite can only increase our understanding of avian host–parasite interactions. However, we make this suggestion recog- nizing that incorporating into these models the parameter of age structure within a population of female cowbirds, which affects the cowbirds’ egg production, will be difficult to accomplish until the discovery of criteria— plumage or other morphological differences—for distinguishing yearling and older female cowbirds in the field. Better estimates of the maximum lifespan of females will result in more accurate population models and better management decisions.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research could not have been completed without the fine effort of our field assistants: Susan Allerton, John Arnett, Stacia Backensto, Florence Bliss, Jessica Cable, Thomas Kreykes, Becky Merris, Jonathan Nardelli, Donald Palmer, Cristin Salaz, Dawn Sekayumptewa, Diana Selby, Sarah Shelton, and Shaw-chyi Vorisek. The majority of funding (from 1992–1997) for this research was provided by a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Grant to the Departments of Biology and Chemistry, Fort Lewis College. In addition, Joseph C. Ortega was supported by a Ford Foundation Fellowship (administered by the National Research Council). In 1998, Catherine P. Ortega was supported by grants from the National Geographic Society and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Grants from the Colorado Alliance for Minority Participation (National Science Foundation) Program were also awarded to Catherine P. Ortega, John Arnett, and Diana Selby. Access to the San Juan Basin Research Center was kindly allowed by Al Denham, David Schafer, and Douglas Zalesky. Reviews by Larkin Powell, Dan Reinking, Philip Unitt, and an anonymous individual helped to clarify presentation of information in this paper.

120 AGE STRUCTURE OF ADULT BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS IN COLORADO

LITERATURE CITED Alderson, G. W., Gibbs, H. L., and Sealy, S. G. 1999. Determining the reproductive behavior of individual Brown-headed Cowbirds using microsatellite DNA markers. Anim. Behav. 58:895–905; doi 10.1006/anbe.1999.1220. Anderson, K. E., Rothstein, S. I., Fleischer, R. C., and O’Loghlen, A. L. 2005. Large- scale movement patterns between song dialects in Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molo- thrus ater). Auk 122:803–818; doi 10.1642/0004-8038(2005)122[0803:LMP BSD]2.0.CO;2. Anderson, K. E., Fujiwara, M., and Rothstein, S. I. 2012. Demography and dispersal of juvenile and adult Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California, estimated using multistate models. Auk 129:307–318; 10.1525/auk.2012.11164. Borgmann, K. L., and Morrison, M. L. 2010. Factors influencing the frequency of nest parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds in the northern Sierra Nevada. W. N. Am. Nat. 70:137–143; doi 10.3398/064.070.0201. Brittingham, M. C., and Temple, S. A. 1983. Have cowbirds caused forest songbirds to decline? BioScience 33:31–35; doi 10.2307/1309241. Darley, J. A. 1971. Sex ratio and mortality in the Brown-headed Cowbird. Auk 88:560–566. Decapita, M. E. 2000. Brown-headed Cowbird control on Kirtland’s Warbler nesting areas in Michigan, 1972–1995, in Ecology and Management of Cowbirds and Their Hosts (J. N. M. Smith, T. L. Cook, S. I. Rothstein, S. K. Robinson, and S. G. Sealy, eds.), pp. 333–341. Univ. Tex. Press, Austin. Fankhauser, D. P. 1971. Annual adult survival rates of blackbirds and starlings. Bird- Banding 42:36–42; doi 10.2307/4511715. Fleischer, R. C., Smyth, A. P, and Rothstein, S. I. 1987. Temporal and age-related variation in the laying rate of the parasitic Brown-headed Cowbird in the eastern Sierra Nevada, California. Can. J. Zool. 65:2724–2730; doi 10.1139/z87-413. Forslund, P., and Pärt, T. 1995. Age and reproduction in birds—hypotheses and tests. Trends Ecol. Evol. 10:374–378; doi 10.1016/S0169-5347(00)89141-7. Friedmann, H. 1929. The Cowbirds: A Study in the Biology of Social Parasitism. C. C. Thomas, Springfield, IL. Friedmann, H., and Kiff, L. F. 1985. The parasitic cowbirds and their hosts. Proc. W. Found. Vert. Zool. 2:225–302. Goguen, C. B., Curson, D. R., and Matthews, N. E. 2009. Effects of parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) on reproductive success of three frequent hosts in New Mexico. Southwest. Nat. 54:58–67; doi 10.1894/MH-44.1. Griffith, J. T., and Griffith, J. C. 2000. Cowbird control and the endangered Least Bell’s Vireo: A management success story, in Ecology and Management of Cow- birds and Their Hosts (J. N. M. Smith, T. L. Cook, S. I. Rothstein, S. K. Robinson, and S. G. Sealy, eds.), pp. 342–356. Univ. Tex. Press, Austin. Grzybowski, J. A., and Pease, C. M. 1999. A model of the dynamics of cowbirds and their host communities. Auk 116:209–222; doi 10.2307/4089467. Hahn, C. D., and Hatfield, J. S. 2000. Host selection in the forest interior: Cowbirds target ground-nesting species, in Ecology and Management of Cowbirds and Their Hosts (J. N. M. Smith, T. L. Cook, S. I. Rothstein, S. K. Robinson, and S. G. Sealy, eds.), pp. 120–127. Univ. Tex. Press, Austin. Hayden, T. J., Tazik, D. J., Melton, R. H., and Cornelius, J. D. 2000. Cowbird control program at Fort Hood, Texas: Lessons for mitigation of cowbird parasitism on a landscape scale, in Ecology and Management of Cowbirds and Their Hosts (J. N. M. Smith, T. L. Cook, S. I. Rothstein, S. K. Robinson, and S. G. Sealy, eds.), pp. 357–370. Univ. Tex. Press, Austin.

121 AGE STRUCTURE OF ADULT BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS IN COLORADO

Holford, K. C., and Roby, D. D. 1993. Factors limiting fecundity of captive Brown- headed Cowbirds. Condor 95:536–545; doi 10.2307/1369597. Kostecke, R. M., Summers, S. G., Eckrich, G. H., and Cimprich, D. A. 2005. Effects of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) removal on Black-capped Vireo (Vireo atricapilla) nest success and population growth at Fort Hood, Texas. Ornithol. Monogr. 57:28–37; doi 10.2307/40166812. Lorenzana, J. C., and Sealy, S. G. 1999. A meta-analysis of the impact of parasitism by the Brown-headed Cowbird on its hosts. Studies Avian Biol. 18:241–253. Lowther, P. E. 1993. Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater), in The Birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.), no. 47. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia; doi 10.2173/bna.47. Lowther, P. E. 2015. Lists of victims and hosts of the parasitic cowbirds (Molo- thrus); http://fieldmuseum.org/sites/default/files/plowther/2015/06/02/ cowbird_hosts-02jun2015.pdf. May, R. C., and Robinson, S. K. 1985. Population dynamics of avian brood parasitism. Am. Nat.126:475–494; doi 10.1086/284433. McGeen, D. S. 1972. Cowbird–host relationships. Auk 89:360–380; doi 10.2307/4084212. Morrison, M. L., Hall, L. S., Robinson, S. K., Rothstein, S. I., Hahn, D. C., and Rich, T. D. (eds.). 1999. Research and management of the Brown-headed Cowbird in western landscapes. Studies Avian Biol. 18. Ortega, C. P. 1998. Cowbirds and Other Brood Parasites. Univ. Ariz. Press, Tucson. Ortega, C. P., Cruz, A., and Mermoz, M. E. 2005. Issues and controversies of cowbird (Molothrus spp.) management. Ornithol. Monogr. 57:6–15; doi 10.2307/40166810. Ortega, C. P., Ortega, J. C., Backensto, S. A., and Rapp, C. A. 1996. Improved methods for aging second-year and after-second-year male Brown-headed Cow- birds. J. Field Ornithol. 67:542–548. Ortega, J. C., and Ortega, C. P. 2009. Sex ratios and survival probabilities of Brown- headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater) in southwest Colorado. Auk 126:268–277; doi 10.1525/auk.2009.07147. Payne, R. B. 1965. Clutch size and number of eggs laid by Brown-headed Cowbirds. Condor 67:44–60; doi 10.2307/1365379. Payne, R. B. 1976. The clutch size and numbers of eggs of Brown-headed Cowbirds: Effects of latitude and breeding season. Condor 78:337–342; doi 10.2307/1367693. Pease, C. M., and Grzybowski, J. A. 1995. Assessing the consequences of brood parasitism and nest predation on seasonal fecundity in passerine birds. Auk 112:343–363; doi 10.2307/4088722. Powell, L. A., and Knutson, M. G. 2006. A productivity model for parasitized, mul- tibrooded songbirds. Condor 108:292–300; doi 10.1650/0010-5422(2006)108 [292:APMFPM]2.0.CO;2. Ricklefs, R. E. 1973. Fecundity, mortality, and avian demography, in Breeding Biology of Birds: Proceedings of a Symposium on Breeding Behavior and Repro- ductive Physiology in Birds (D. S. Farner, ed.), pp. 366–435. Natl. Acad. Sci., Washington, DC. Sæther, B.-E. 1990. Age-specific variation in reproductive performance of birds. Current Ornithol. 7:251–283. Schmidt, K. A., and Whelan, C. J. 1999. The relative impacts of nest predation and brood parasitism on seasonal fecundity in songbirds. Conserv. Biol. 13:46–57; doi 10.1046/j.1523-1739.1999.97065.x. Scott, D. M., and Ankney, C. D. 1980. Fecundity of the Brown-headed Cowbird in southern Ontario. Auk 97:677–683.

122 AGE STRUCTURE OF ADULT BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS IN COLORADO

Selander, R. K., and Giller, D. R. 1960. First-year plumages of the Brown-headed Cow- bird and Red-winged Blackbird. Condor 62:202–214; doi 10.2307/1365603. Smith, J. N. M., Cook, T. L., Rothstein, S. I., Robinson, S. K., and Sealy, S. G. (eds.). 2000. Ecology and Management of Cowbirds and Their Hosts. Univ. Tex. Press, Austin. Sokal, R. R., and Rohlf, F. J. 1981. Biometry, 2nd ed. W. H. Freeman, San Francisco. Tewksbury, J. J., Garner, L., Garner, S., Lloyd, J. D., Saab, V., and Martin, T. E. 2006. Tests of landscape influence: Nest predation and brood parasitism in fragmented ecosystems. Ecology 87:759–768; doi 10.1890/04-1790. Thompson, F. R. III, Robinson, S. K., Donovan, T. M., Faaborg, J. R., Whitehead, D. R., and Larsen, D. R. 2000. Biogeographic, landscape, and local factors affect- ing cowbird abundance and host parasitism levels, in Ecology and Management of Cowbirds and Their Hosts (J. N. M. Smith, T. L. Cook, S. I. Rothstein, S. K. Robinson, and S. G. Sealy, eds.), pp. 271–279. Univ. Tex. Press, Austin. Walkinshaw, L. H. 1949. Twenty-five eggs apparently laid by a cowbird. Wilson Bull. 61:82–85. Whitfield, M. J. 2000. Results of a Brown-headed Cowbird control program for the Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, in Ecology and Management of Cowbirds and Their Hosts (J. N. M. Smith, T. L. Cook, S. I. Rothstein, S. K. Robinson, and S. G. Sealy, eds.), pp. 371–377. Univ. Tex. Press, Austin. Woolfenden, B. E., Gibbs, H. L., and Sealy, S. G. 2001. Demography of Brown-headed Cowbirds at Delta Marsh, Manitoba. Auk 118:156–166; doi 10.1642/0004-8038(2001)118[0156:DOBHCA]2.0.CO;2. Zar, J. H. 1996. Biostatistical Analysis, 3rd ed. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Accepted 10 January 2017

Brewer's Blackbirds chasing a female Brown-headed Cowbird from their nest Sketch by Tim Manolis

123 STATUS OF THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE Daniel S. Cooper, Cooper Ecological Monitoring, Inc., 255 Satinwood Ave., Oak Park, California 91377; [email protected] Jennifer Mongolo, Streamscape Environmental, 5042 Wilshire Blvd. #33273, Los Angeles, California 90036; [email protected] Chris Dellith, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Road Suite B, Ventura, California 93003; [email protected]

ABSTRACT: At the northern edge of its range, the California Gnatcatcher has long been known to occur from eastern Ventura County east into northwestern Los Angeles County, but the current status of birds in these areas is not well understood. We review historical and recent sources of information and draw two main conclusions: first, that the California Gnatcatcher population that once existed from the lower Santa Clara River Valley in Ventura County east/upstream to Santa Paula and Simi Valley has likely contracted to the southeast. Second, that the current, consistent range of the species in Los Angeles County does not extend north of the San Gabriel Valley. The California Gnatcatcher is evidently extirpated from the San Fernando Valley and never occurred regularly in the Santa Clarita area to the northwest. Dispersing and even occasionally nesting birds in northwestern Los Angeles County have not resulted in a stable, consistent population there. Misinterpretation of seasonal movements and isolated sightings of the California Gnatcatcher here may have led to a misunderstand- ing of the boundaries of its normal range, as well as the misapplication of critical habitat as defined under the Endangered Species Act. As a result, we recommend that immediate conservation efforts be focused in areas where birds are conclusively known to occur, namely, the Thousand Oaks/Moorpark area of Ventura County, and that coastal sage scrub at low elevations in the Santa Clarita and especially the northeastern San Fernando Valley areas of Los Angeles County be systematically searched to locate any remaining populations.

The California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica), resident from southwestern California to Baja California Sur, Mexico, has been the subject of research and conservation efforts for more than 35 years (e.g., Rotenberry and Scott 1998). It occurs consistently in larger patches of low-elevation (<1500 feet) coastal sage scrub along the immediate coast and in coastal valleys south of the Los Angeles area into Baja California (Atwood and Bon- trager 2001). However, at more interior (eastern) sites and at the northern end of its range, its distribution becomes patchy and appears limited, at least in part, by low winter temperatures at higher elevations inland (Mock 1998). At the northern edge of its range the California Gnatcatcher formerly occurred north to the Los Angeles River watershed (including its major tributary, Tujunga Wash) in Los Angeles County and along the Santa Clara River, which flows southwest from Los Angeles County into Ventura County (Garrett and Dunn 1981). By the time of the listing of subspecies P. c. californica as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in 1993, it was considered extirpated from Ventura County and most of Los Angeles County (USFWS 1993). However, research on the gnatcatcher increased through the 1990s, and the mobilization of agencies, academic institutions, nonprofit groups, birders, and private consultants has clarified its actual range and promoted its conservation since then. With the adoption of Natural Com-

124 Western Birds 48:124–140, 2017; doi 10.21199/WB48.2.3 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE munity Conservation Plans (www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Planning/ NCCP) and similar large-scale, habitat-based planning efforts, over the past 20 years thousands of acres of coastal sage scrub have been preserved as open space throughout southwestern California, and new information on the species continues to be generated through nest monitoring, color banding/ resighting, and hundreds of protocol-level “presence/absence” surveys by USFWS-permitted biologists (“protocol surveys”). Still, considerable confusion exists regarding the historical and current status of the California Gnatcatcher at the northern edge of its range, as attested by inconsistent and sometimes contradictory descriptions of its occurrence there. Away from a “core population” well documented since the mid-1990s in southeastern Ventura County, the situation elsewhere in Ventura County and in neighboring northern Los Angeles County is far less clear. Here we critically evaluate a large number of reports of the California Gnatcatcher from various sources to summarize its historical and current distribution in Ventura and northern Los Angeles County, and offer recom- mendations for future conservation efforts to protect this vulnerable species at the northern edge of its range.

METHODS We defined our study area as including all of Ventura County and the portion of Los Angeles County lying west of Pasadena and north of Santa Monica (California Gnatcatcher populations have been well documented south and east of here for many years; e.g., Cooper 2000, Atwood and Bontrager 2001, www.ebird.org). To identify credible records of the species from this study area, we reviewed museum specimen and egg records (available via www.vertnet.org), published and unpublished studies and checklists, citizen-science efforts including sightings entered at www.ebird. org, and data from local Breeding Bird Surveys (Pardieck et al. 2016) and Christmas Bird Counts (http://netapp.audubon.org/CBCObservation/ Historical/ResultsByCount.aspx#). We requested and reviewed nearly 250 protocol surveys for the California Gnatcatcher from locations within the study area from the Ventura field office of the USFWS. These surveys involve morning visits, and often broadcast of recordings of calls, to up to 80 acres of suitable habitat per day, repeated at regular intervals over 6 to 18 weeks, depending on the season (USFWS 1997). We also reviewed reports of the species to the California Natural Diversity Database (CNDDB) and all related correspondence obtained via a request to the Ventura field office. Since the quality of data from these sources varied greatly, critical evaluation was necessary to separate “reports” from “credible records.” We accepted all specimen and egg records from museum collections as valid (109 skin/egg specimens; Table 2), as well as any report with an observer and a date accompanied by a photograph, video, sound recording, or a written description that we judged to be credible. In some cases where descriptive details were not included in a report, we attempted to contact the original reporter and obtain details directly. We generally considered positive detections on protocol-level surveys to be valid records; they usually had supporting details, or at least an observer and a date. Since there are no objective,

125 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE universal guidelines for determining the credibility of bird reports (but see Hamilton et al. 2007:39–41), we relied on the experience of the two authors (Cooper and Dellith) who have multiple decades of experience evaluating species reports and conducting field work in the study area. Accounting for duplicate reports, we compiled a list of 243 protocol surveys and 57 incidental reports from the study area that had been submitted to the USFWS, and reviewed 13 additional reports that had been submitted to the CNDDB. We omitted two CNDDB reports submitted from opposite ends of Santa Clarita on the same date, since the original observer could not remember any details (T. Garrison pers. comm.). We depict results from these protocol surveys and the (valid) CNDDB reports in Figure 1. We also evaluated more than 200 reports of the California Gnatcatcher from the study area submitted to www.eBird.org through early 2016, finding credible 199 from southeastern Ventura County within areas known to support a consistent population and six from the Los Angeles County portion of the study area. We discounted eBird reports without details that had been submitted from five Ventura County locations (north to Ojai; away from known populations) and from eight Los Angeles County locations (including residential areas). Some of these deleted reports may have been valid, but there was no way of supporting these claims with the available data. We depict all locations of credible eBird records (some with multiple reports) in Figure 2, along with all reports of the similar Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Poli- optila caerulea) from the same area, to illustrate the high level of observer coverage across the study area. As a rough comparison of survey effort in different portions of the study area, we calculated a single metric, called “survey years,” based on the number of protocol surveys for the California Gnatcatcher within a given subregion (Table 1). In addition to specimen/egg records, we ultimately identified 23 credible reports (as of mid-2016) of the California Gnatcatcher from the Los Angeles County portion of the study area and list these in Table 3. We did not find any credible report of the species in Ventura County away from its known core population (see below). To respect the privacy of both the consultants who submitted the survey data and the clients who paid for these surveys, we do not reference protocol reports by the observer’s name or the client company but simply specify the source as “protocol survey” with the dates of sightings, any description, and general location.

DEFINING A NORTHERN RANGE LIMIT Ventura County The California Gnatcatcher reaches its northern limit along the Pacific coast in Ventura County, as supported by both historical literature (Brewster 1881, Evermann 1886, Cooper 1887) and specimen/egg records. The species formerly occurred north to the city of Ventura and east up the Santa Clara River valley, with collections from the early 1900s at Ventura, Saticoy, and Santa Paula (Table 2). However, following the collection of an egg set at Santa Paula in 1924, now in the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, Camarillo

126 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE

(WFVZ 92163), the California Gnatcatcher went unrecorded in Ventura County until spring 1995, when C. A. Jones discovered a small breeding population in Moorpark during surveys for the “Moorpark Specific Plan #2” development, in cactus-rich scrub on low hills at the northern terminus of Spring Road (CNDDB). Through the 1990s, however, the California Gnatcatcher was repeatedly referred to as extirpated in Ventura County (e.g., Zeiner et al. 1999, USFWS 2000, Atwood and Bontrager 2001), and later was thought to persist only at the point of its rediscovery in Moorpark (USFWS 2003, 2007). Subsequent protocol surveys in the area, including a directed search of the Moorpark area in 2003 (H. L. Jones unpubl. data), located additional pairs in the surrounding hills that form the border between Moorpark and Simi Valley. South of Moorpark, the species was apparently first detected along Mont- clef Ridge northwest of Thousand Oaks in 2008, and southwest to near California State University Channel Islands, on the Oxnard Plain south of Camarillo in 2009 (CNDDB). The eastern edge of the Oxnard Plain may also be considered the extreme western base of the Santa Monica Mountains (see USFWS 2010), but since the California Gnatcatcher has never been found east of there in the remainder of Santa Monica Mountains, we consider that range to still lie outside the species’ normal range. Subsequent reports continue to fill in the range, but all recent records appear to be centered in these three roughly contiguous areas: Simi Valley west to Moorpark, the Montclef Ridge area northwest of Thousand Oaks, and the extreme western base of the Santa Monica Mountains near the Oxnard Plain. The extent to which the California Gnatcatcher occurs in the gaps between these three areas is not well known, as most of the eastern edge of the Ox- nard Plain and Montclef Ridge is privately owned and gated, as is the area between Montclef Ridge and Moorpark. However, we assert that this area of southeastern Ventura County, from Simi Valley to the Oxnard Plain, may be considered the “core range” of the California Gnatcatcher in the study area, with multiple nesting birds at various locations found every year over the past decade (see Figure 3; USFWS unpubl. data; eBird). Northern Los Angeles County In neighboring Los Angeles County, the situation is far murkier. With populations historically known from the southern face of the San Gabriel Mountains, the California Gnatcatcher was long thought to reach its interior (noncoastal) northern limit in the San Fernando Valley (Grinnell 1898, Grin- nell and Miller 1944), the source of the vast majority of the 100+ specimens from the study area (Table 2). In their comprehensive review of California bird distribution, Grinnell and Miller (1944) did not mention a 1936 egg set from Mint Canyon (WFVZ 92164) or map the species’ range north of the San Fernando Valley into Santa Clarita. By the 1970s, Garrett and Dunn (1981) regarded the population in the San Gabriel foothills as “very rare, perhaps extirpated” and omitted the entire interior population from their range map. Later publications (e.g., Atwood 1980) mapped several “occurrences” within the Los Angeles Basin (including Big Tujunga Wash), but did not provide supporting details such as dates, observers, or descriptions of the birds reported. Subsequent publications and technical reports simply repeated these undocu- mented sightings, leading to the confusion over the species’ normal range.

127 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE

Table 1 Summary of Protocol-Level Survey Reports for the California Gnatcatcher Submitted to the USFWS from Northwestern Los Angeles County and Ventura County, 1999 to Mid-2016a Multiple individuals Single Multiple in one year or one individual Survey individuals in individual in multiple observed in County and subregionb yearsc multiple years years one year Los Angeles Agoura/Calabasas 7 — — — Burbank/Glendale 3 — — — Castaic 22 × — — Chatsworth 1 — — — Encino 1 — — — Malibu 1 — — — Newhall Ranch 19 — × — Placerita/Sand Canyon 23 × — — Granada Hills 11 — — × Saugus/Newhall 28 — — — Tujunga/Pacoima 2 — × — Val Verde 5 — — × Ventura Camarillo 3 — — — Grimes Canyon 5 — — — Moorpark 15 × — — Newbury Park 3 — — — Santa Paula 1 — — — Simi Valley 33 × — — Somis 1 — — — Thousand Oaks East 4 — — — Thousand Oaks West 5 × — — aIncidental observations and those submitted only to the California Natural Diversity Data Base and other sources not included. b“Subregions” refer to nearest cities, neighborhoods, or geographic landmarks. cSum of the total number of protocol-level surveys in each subregion, with multiple years counted as separate surveys.

Following intensive coverage for Los Angeles County’s breeding bird atlas in the late 1990s (Allen et al. 2016) and additional field work here through the 2000s (Cooper 2000, eBird), a population in the county’s interior was clarified as extending from San Dimas south through the Puente Hills and west to the Montebello Hills. However, no consistent population has been found in recent years in the Pasadena or San Fernando Valley areas to the northwest, nor in the Claremont area to the east, where the California Gnatcatcher also occurred formerly (multiple specimens/egg sets). North of the species’ stronghold on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, through its former range along the coast, recent scattered sightings have been noted north only to the vicinity of Marina del Rey and Culver City (eBird). Multiple birds, including an apparent pair, were photographed nearby in dune scrub at the Los Angeles International Airport in 2013 (eBird). Farther north along the coast, the species is still unknown even as a vagrant from the Los

128 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE

Figure 1. Results of protocol-level surveys and miscellaneous detections of the Cali- fornia Gnatcatcher submitted to the USFWS from Ventura and northwestern Los Angeles counties (USFWS unpubl. data).

Angeles County portion of the Santa Monica Mountains (fide K. L. Garrett). Published references to a California Gnatcatcher population in Santa Clarita (northern Los Angeles County) first appeared as early as 2000 when the area was proposed as critical habitat by the USFWS (2000): “Unit 15 … includes breeding gnatcatcher populations and sage scrub habitat in the Placerita, Box Springs Canyon, and Plum Canyon areas. This unit encompasses the northern distributional extreme of the gnatcatcher’s current range.” Later, the USFWS (2003) repeated the reference to “high-quality coastal sage scrub” in “Placerita, Box Springs Canyon, and Plum Canyon” though no indication of California Gnatcatcher nesting had been reported in these canyons, either historically or recently (note: Box Springs Canyon is actually in Riverside County). Support for the notion that a population of the California Gnatcatcher is resident in Santa Clarita was summarized in 2002 by the late Frank Hovore, a local naturalist, in a letter to the USFWS, in which he listed (without attribu- tion) three single-day sightings in the Placerita–Sand Canyon area, along with several unpublished reports with vague dates and details, presumably from other observers, spanning northwestern Los Angeles County: a “population of undetermined size and status … in Tujunga Wash,” a “single pair” at the

129 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE

Table 2 Summary of Specimens of the California Gnatcatcher Collected in Northwestern Los Angeles County and Ventura Countya Total Latest year Extant population County and site specimens/eggs collected in vicinity? Los Angeles Mint Canyon 1 1936 No San Fernando Valleyb 101 1923 No Ventura Santa Paula 2 1924 No Saticoyc 1 1872 No Simi Valley 2 1904 Yes Ventura 2 1906 No aMuseum specimen or egg sets located at the California Academy of Sciences (San Francisco), Chicago Academy of Sciences, Delaware Museum of Natural History (Wilmington), Field Muse- um of Natural History (Chicago), Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (Los Angeles), Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (University of California, Berkeley), Ohio State University (Co- lumbus), Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto), San Diego Natural History Museum, University of California (Los Angeles), National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution, Wash- ington, D.C.), Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology (Camarillo, CA), and Yale Peabody Museum (New Haven, CT). bIncludes Garnsey, Lankershim, San Fernando, Toluca, “Tejunga (sic),” (Big) Tujunga Wash, and Tujunga Valley. cListed at www.vertnet.org as “Saticon,” county unspecified.

“‘Cascades’ development site in Sylmar in 1996,” a “single male” in Placerita Canyon in 1973, one nearby at Walker Ranch in “spring in the early 1970s,” and “two males (and) one female or juvenile” at Vasquez Rocks in the “late 1970s.” While Hovore concluded “these birds must reside somewhere within the Golden Valley Ranch–Sand Canyon axis,” there is no evidence they did, at least as a stable population, and these records may just as likely represent individuals dispersing from more distant populations to the southeast. None were accompanied with supporting details or photographs. By 2007, this same area (Santa Clarita Valley) was regarded as “an essential linkage between the two isolated populations: a core population in the Moorpark area in Ventura County and the pairs documented in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County” (USFWS 2007), despite Santa Clarita being located well north of a line connecting Ventura County with the San Gabriel Valley birds, and the acknowledgment in the same document that “numerous surveys have been conducted in the Santa Clarita Valley … but no breeding pairs have been observed.” As late as the five-year review of the California Gnatcatcher’s status in 2010, the USFWS claimed that “current data indicate gnatcatchers occur in the greater Santa Clarita Valley area (i.e., in the foothills along the upper Santa Clara River)” and depicted the entire Santa Clarita area (along with the San Fernando Valley, Verdugo Hills, and Santa Monica Mountains) as within the “current range” of the species (USFWS 2010: figure 1). Most recently, Allen et al. (2016) referenced “an outlying population in the Santa Clarita River (sic) watershed” during field work for the Los Angeles County breeding bird atlas from 1995 to 2000. They provided no further details but mapped the species’ breeding in that area as “possible” rather than “confirmed.”

130 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE

Valid, though sporadic, records of California Gnatcatchers continue to accumulate along the western base of the San Gabriel Mountains, mainly from the Big Tujunga Wash and Santa Clarita areas. Most involve single birds, often seen briefly. Multiple records of birds seen for multiple days over more than one year (i.e., suggestive of a small breeding population rather than of transients) have come from two disjunct areas, both near Santa Clarita: the low hills just northwest of Castaic Lagoon (up to three breeding pairs currently, Table 3), and the vicinity of Bee Canyon, a short tributary of the upper Santa Clara River east of Santa Clarita just south of Highway 14 (south of the site of the egg set collected in Mint Canyon in 1936). The birds at Castaic Lagoon were discovered in 2014, while those at Bee Canyon were reported in 2012 as one pair building a nest and another apparent family group feeding four fledglings. The Bee Canyon population is not considered extant, as no California Gnatcatchers were found there during protocol surveys in other years (conducted at least in 2007, 2012, 2015, and 2016; USFWS unpubl. data), though a single-day sighting was made on a protocol survey in 2008, prior to the discovery of breeding (Table 3). Sightings from the Big Tujunga Wash area have involved mainly single birds, despite extensive coverage from birders (>3000 checklists submitted to eBird as of 2016), Breeding Bird Survey data (Pardieck et al. 2016), and protocol surveys (e.g., Griffith Wildlife Biology 2009). Allen et al. (2016) questioned early reports of the California Gnatcatcher from the Big Tujunga Canyon area on Breeding Bird Surveys, suggesting they pertain to misidenti- fied Blue-gray Gnatcatchers. The lone sighting of more than one bird from the Sunland/Tujunga area involved a male and two birds of unknown age and sex, seen on a single day in September, which could have been dispersing birds (see Table 3). So, while it is possible a small population may be present along Big Tujunga Wash or in the low hills to the north or south, this has never been confirmed, and the species remains unequivocally rare across northern Los Angeles County. Of ~170 protocol surveys we reviewed within the Los Angeles County portion of the study area, just 12 had yielded positive detections of the California Gnatcatcher. Of the three Christmas Bird Counts in the Los Angeles County portion of the study area, the California Gnatcatcher has been reported twice on the Malibu count (1966, 1972), once on the San Fernando Valley count (1960), and never in Santa Clarita (the counts date to 1947, 1957, and 2003, respectively). Atwood (1980) did not consider the reports from the Malibu count nor two reports from the now defunct Sespe count near Santa Paula, to be credible, and we could find no supporting details for any of these reports.

DISCUSSION After a thorough review of California Gnatcatcher records in Ventura and northern Los Angeles County, we suggest that (a) the remaining population in southeastern Ventura County should be considered a disjunct, permanent portion of the species’ core range, (b) populations that once occurred in the eastern San Fernando Valley and lower Santa Clara River valley should be considered extirpated but within the normal range of the species, and (c) the

131 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE

Figure 2. Sites of all reports to www.ebird.org (as of mid-2016) of the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (yellow) and California Gnatcatcher (blue), Ventura and northwestern Los Angeles counties. species should be considered marginal and sporadic in the Santa Clarita area until a consistent breeding population is established. We present this new range map as Figure 4. The birds may move around between these areas, but these best capture the main areas of current and historical occurrence. Notably, our proposed range differs substantially from current designations of critical habitat. This distribution conforms well to Mock’s (1998) hypothesis of a limit at an average minimum January temperature of 2.5°C, in that the Santa Clarita area has an average January low of 2.2°C (www.intellicast.com; apparently listed in error as 4°C by Mock 1998). Just south of Santa Clarita, in the northeastern San Fernando Valley where the California Gnatcatcher was once common but is now extirpated, the average minimum January temperature is 5.6°C in Sun Valley and 4.4°C in Sylmar. Near extant populations in Ventura County, average January minimum temperatures range from 4.4°C in Simi Valley to 7.2°C in both Thousand Oaks and Ventura. Our research offers no new insight on the California Gnatcatcher’s absence from the Santa Monica Mountains, which lie between two stable populations (Ventura County and Palos Verdes Peninsula) and seem to have both ample habitat and mild temperatures (average January minimum at Malibu 10.0°C).

132 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE

Figure 3. Critical habitat for the California Gnatcatcher as currently designated by the USFWS and as we propose it be modified.

Interpreting isolated records and seasonal movements of the California Gnatcatcher as evidence for extant populations has had several ramifications for the species’ conservation. First, it has led to a mismatch between the critical habitat as designated by the USFWS and the gnatcatcher’s normal range, isolated occurrences being conflated with areas the species occupies as a permanent resident. This can lead to the species being over-surveyed in habitats where it almost certainly does not occur, while allowing for more development in areas that likely support the species but where limited access has prevented adequate knowledge of its status. For example, not a single California Gnatcatcher has been detected on 28 protocol surveys in the Saugus/Newhall area of Santa Clarita, nor in the Simi Hills or Santa Monica Mountains (Table 1). At the same time, the importance of other areas may be underestimated, including those with documented populations that were affected by recent fires (e.g., Moorpark and Simi Valley), and those where the species has been considered extirpated (e.g., Oxnard Plain). These are not hypothetical concerns. The current version of critical habitat the USFWS has designated for the California Gnatcatcher within the study area (“Unit 13”) misses the majority of remaining pairs in Ventura and northern Los Angeles counties (including those west of Thousand Oaks and the newly discovered breeding birds northwest of Castaic Lagoon). Instead it

133 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE Source Protocol survey Protocol Protocol survey Protocol survey Protocol Protocol survey Protocol T. Ryan (CNDDB) T. A. Forde (CNDDB) A. Forde C. V. Grant (CNDDB) C. V. by S. Harris to CNDDB) K. L. Garrett et al. (eBird) K. L. Garrett Observer unknown (submitted Griffith Wildlife Biology (2009) Griffith M. C. Long/J. Pepin (CNDDB) 1991 to mid-2016 a Notes to tape 3 nests Single bird on three dates on three “Single juvenile” Male/female (unpaired) just north of Big Tujunga Wash just north of Big Tujunga Two “immature or female birds” “immature Two Single male through survey period Single male through Single male seen at three locations Single male seen at three “One individual calling and foraging” Single bird heard well but seen briefly heard Single bird 1 adult and 2 unknown; “Ollie Canyon” Adult female “foraging in wash”; responded Adult female “foraging in wash”; responded 2015 dates) Date(s) 5 Jun 1991 1 Sep 2009 12 Jul 2006 18 Jul 2002 25 Oct 2006 2004 (dates?) 31 Mar 1991 Apr–Jul 2009 29 Mar–26 Apr 2008 Apr–May 2014 (multiple Credible Records of the California Records Credible Gnatcatcher in Northern Los Angeles County Verdugo Mtns.) Verdugo Virgenes Rd.) Castaic (San Francisquito Canyon) Castaic (Grasshopper Canyon) Castaic (Grasshopper Canyon) Castaic (Gorman) Tujunga/Pacoima (Big Tujunga Wash) (Big Tujunga Tujunga/Pacoima Tujunga/Pacoima (Big Tujunga Wash area) Wash (Big Tujunga Tujunga/Pacoima Tujunga/Pacoima (Big Tujunga Wash) (Big Tujunga Tujunga/Pacoima Wash) (Big Tujunga Tujunga/Pacoima Granada Hills (Van Norman Res.) Granada Hills (Van Burbank/Glendale (Brace Cyn. Park, Agoura/Calabasas (north end of Las Santa Clarita area San Fernando Valley Table 3 Table Location

134 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE Source Protocol survey Protocol survey Protocol Protocol survey Protocol survey Protocol Protocol survey Protocol survey Protocol Protocol survey Protocol B. Krishnamachari (eBird) Incidental report to USFWS Incidental report F. Hovore, in litt. 2002 (to USFWS) Hovore, F. F. Hovore, in litt. 2002 (to USFWS) Hovore, F. F. Hovore, in litt. 2002 (to USFWS) Hovore, F. Notes Single juvenile Single individual Single calling bird on last survey day Single bird, mewing Single bird, Single “female type” Heard only (mewing) Heard Single on final survey “Two pairs, four fledglings” “Two “Male, female, and juvenile” (habitat subsequently disturbed) during plant surveys 13–29 Jun Single bird, not found thereafter not found thereafter Single bird, Male found 12 Jun; “pair” north along margin of chaparral” Three birds seen “moving south to birds Three dates) Date(s) Jan 2000 Jun 2012 6 May 2008 6 May 2015 11 Jun 2015 17 Jun 2015 27 Apr 2013 20 Apr 1998 19 Nov 2003 5 and 15 Aug 2008 20 Aug–19 Oct 2007 Summer 2012 (multiple Golf Course) Nature Center) Nature Ranch) Val Verde (Chiquita Canyon) Verde Val Placerita/Sand Canyon (Walker Ranch) Placerita/Sand Canyon (Walker Placerita/Sand Canyon (Robinson Ranch Placerita/Sand Canyon (Placerita Placerita/Sand Canyon (Bee Canyon) Placerita/Sand Canyon (Bee Canyon) Newhall Ranch Newhall Ranch Castaic (Valencia Commerce Center) Commerce Castaic (Valencia Newhall Ranch Castaic (San Francisquito Canyon) Placerita/Sand Canyon (Golden Valley Placerita/Sand Canyon (Golden Valley Simi Valley, Moorpark, and Thousand Oaks. Simi Valley, North of Santa Monica and Pasadena; we found no records of the California Gnatcatcher since 1930 in Ventura County away from known populations areas near known populations areas County away from of the CaliforniaNorth of Santa Monica and Pasadena; we found no records Gnatcatcher since 1930 in Ventura Location a

135 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE

Figure 4. Distribution of the California Gnatcatcher in the northern portion of the range on the basis of a critical reevaluaton of the evidence. encompasses large areas of the Santa Susana Mountains and southern Santa Clarita dominated by non-native grassland and oak savanna, with patches of chaparral and little coastal sage scrub, that are unlikely to support the species (Figure 3, reproduced from USFWS 2007). An earlier draft of the critical habitat (USFWS 2003) included a larger portion of the habitat near Moorpark, but it was subsequently removed. It is possible the boundaries of Unit 13 were based on incomplete vegetation information and on modeled “potential habitat” (USFWS 2010: figure 3), which has proven problematic here and in subsequent efforts at modeling, as existing vegetation coverage layers do not accurately differentiate between coastal sage scrub and chaparral in Ventura and northwestern Los Angeles counties (K. Preston, USGS, pers. comm.). A more accurate map of critical habitat might extend Unit 13 southwest to include the entire Montclef Ridge/Conejo Grade area from north of Simi Valley southwest through Moorpark and along the eastern edge of the Oxnard Plain (Figure 3). From our review of current and historical records, we conclude that the California Gnatcatcher has not expanded (permanently) northward or inland into the study area (contra USFWS 2007). Elsewhere in its range, such as in San Diego County, such expansions have been suggested (Vandergast et al. 2014). If anything, the species’ Ventura County range has contracted

136 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE away from its far northern edge at Ventura and the lower Santa Clara River valley, toward the southeast (vicinity of Thousand Oaks). Neither did we find evidence that the species is expanding its range in northern Los Angeles County. Instead, it has been extirpated extensively here, particularly in the San Fernando Valley. To the north and inland, the historical nesting record from Mint Canyon is probably best considered parallel to the ephemeral breeding in 2012 at nearby Bee Canyon—a rare event to be expected near the edge of the normal range of any bird species (the more recent discovery of breeding birds north of Castaic awaits analysis; it may be another ephemeral occurrence, or an actual range extension). Whether these northern Los Angeles County records should be considered indicative of the species’ “range” is open to interpretation. An analogous situation, albeit on a larger scale, occurs with many southwestern/Mexican bird species that appear rarely but regularly in southern California, and occasionally even nest, but fail to establish a stable population here, such as the Zone-tailed Hawk (Buteo albonotatus) and Curve-billed Thrasher (Toxostoma curvirostre). These species are typically treated as marginal in the state, with California not part of their normal or consistent range (see Hamilton et al. 2007). Away from the core Ventura County population, which appears to be genetically isolated from populations farther south (Vandergast et al. 2014), most recent records of the California Gnatcatcher are more consistent with dispersing birds rather than with residents. Even the one-day observation of a single bird at Gorman (Table 3), which seems to defy all patterns of known distribution, actually conforms to this trajectory of scattered birds appearing, mainly in summer and fall after breeding, along the foothills northwest of the San Gabriel Valley. Still, California Gnatcatcher populations are likely in some flux, particularly at the edges of the range. While the species has long been considered sedentary and nonmigratory (see citations in Atwood and Bontrager 2001), shifts in range have been suspected for over a century, with Willett (1912:106) observing, “it is common in certain parts of Los Angeles County at the present time where it was not noted at all a few years back.” As suggested by Bailey and Mock (1998), research into dispersal likely suffers from a bias toward underestimation, since studies tend to attempt to relocate banded birds within nearby habitat and patches, and not in “open populations” far from the site of initial banding. Bailey and Mock also noted the California Gnatcatcher’s ability to traverse urban areas (“highly man-modified landscapes”). So, although for most truly sedentary species (such as a reptile or a small mammal), a single occurrence record implies a resident population, the accumulation of extralimital sightings of the California Gnatcatcher may instead represent an underappreciated complexity involving post-breeding dispersal of both adults and juveniles (possibly as pairs or family groups), “pioneering” individuals (including pairs) appearing well away from known populations throughout the year, and sporadic, opportunistic nesting in outlying areas not known to support stable populations. Additional surveys are urgently needed throughout the study area if we are to understand the true boundaries of the northern populations of the California Gnatcatcher, and to devise conservation strategies to maintain

137 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE them. This will be a challenge, since in contrast to areas farther south where large areas of coastal sage scrub are protected in parks and reserves, suitable habitat in Ventura County and around Santa Clarita and Big Tujunga Wash lies within a patchwork of land owned mostly by private ranches, estates, and homeowners’ associations, with comparatively little managed for biodiversity as public open space (Cooper et al. 2012, 2014). Within the gnatcatcher’s historical range in the Santa Clara River valley from Ventura to Santa Paula, both north and south of Highway 126, the large fraction in private ownership (much currently being cleared for agriculture and development) also limits public knowledge of the area’s avifauna. Nevertheless, recent surveys by The Nature Conservancy at numerous sites along the Santa Clara River have not detected the species (A. Searcy, unpubl. data). Except in rare cases, the current survey protocol specified by the USFWS is designed simply to detect the gnatcatcher’s presence (or support its absence) in advance of a potentially disruptive development, rather than to ascertain its breeding status or population size. Like many surveys for sensitive species, those for the California Gnatcatcher tend to be concentrated at the “leading edge” of urban development, rather than spread comprehensively within the possible habitat. This results in the potential for both undercounting (if a larger population lies just outside a survey boundary) and overcounting (where a single record is interpreted as representing a population), rather than an accurate census from systematic rangewide surveys. To counter this, we recommend immediate surveys and, where feasible, targeted conservation of habitat in eastern Ventura County in such areas as the southwestern Santa Susana Mountains north of Simi Valley and Moorpark, the Tierra Rejada and Santa Rosa valleys, the Montclef Ridge area, and the western base Santa Monica Mountains (edge of the Oxnard Plain) to capture areas of highest usage by the California Gnatcatcher most effectively. Lower- priority areas that might support dispersing individuals, and that may support populations in the future, should be those away from core populations that are still producing scattered records, including scrub at low elevations (<1500 feet) in the southern Santa Susana Mountains, the Santa Clarita area, and around the edge of the San Fernando Valley. On the basis of our experience and recent observations, key areas for investigation here include the low hills east of Castaic Creek (e.g., Charlie and Tapia canyons), those surrounding Castaic Lagoon, lands on either side of the Santa Clara River west of Santa Clarita (e.g., Newhall Ranch, Chiquito Creek), and low hills and washes in the northeastern San Fernando Valley (e.g., Pacoima Wash, Big Tujunga Wash). To retain intact coastal sage scrub where it remains, we recommend revis- ing requirements for brush clearance, weed abatement, and other techniques for fire control within the core northern range of the California Gnatcatcher, and ending the practice of clearing 200-foot swaths around houses and out- buildings, as these simply become invaded by non-native grasses and actually increase the risk of ignition and accelerate habitat loss. Reviving a regional conservation plan for birds in southeastern Ventura County would be a logical step. An attempt at a Moorpark Habitat Conservation Plan (USFWS 2002) was abandoned in the early 2000s after a major fire and never restarted. Reinstituting this plan would encourage local municipalities such as Simi

138 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE

Valley, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, and Camarillo to prioritize coastal sage scrub conservation within an area also rich in endemic flora. If local agencies ensure that each proposal for new development in eastern Ventura County be accompanied by a protocol-level survey for the California Gnatcatcher, our knowledge of the species’ local range and needs would grow. Finally, given the number of unsubstantiated reports outside the known population in the study area, including several entered into government agencies’ records via protocol-level survey reports and the CNDDB, we urge that observers fully document any sightings and potential nesting activity in the study area through voice recordings, video, photographs, and thorough field notes, and that they make these observations public (e.g., via www.eBird.org) where possible to allow for critical evaluation of sightings (see Patten et al. 1995).

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Mike Couffer and H. Lee Jones for unpublished notes on California Gnatcatchers in Santa Clarita and Ventura County, respectively. Kimball Garrett (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County) and Jer- emiah Trimble (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachu- setts) helped clarify detail on early records, and Salvador Contreras assisted with mapping. Kristine Preston, Daniel Ruthrauff, and Philip Unitt provided detailed and extremely helpful comments on an earlier draft, which greatly improved the manuscript. The findings and conclusions in this article do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The use of trade names does not imply endorsement by the U.S. federal government.

Literature Cited Allen, L. W., Garrett, K. L., and Wimer, M. C. 2016. Los Angeles County Breeding Bird Atlas. Los Angeles Audubon Soc., Los Angeles. Atwood, J. L. 1980. The United States distribution of the California Black-tailed Gnatcatcher. W. Birds 11:65–78. Atwood, J. L., and Bontrager, D. R. 2001. California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica), in The Birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.), no. 574. Birds N. Am., Philadelphia; doi 10.2173/bna.574. Bailey, E. A., and Mock, P. J. 1998. Dispersal capability of the California Gnatcatcher: A landscape analysis of distributional data. W. Birds 29:351–360. Brewster, W. 1881. On the affinities of certain Polioptilae, with a description of a new species. Bull. Nuttall Ornithol. Club. 6:101–107. Cooper, D. S. 2000. Breeding landbirds of a highly threatened open space: The Puente–Chino Hills, California. W. Birds 31:213–234. Cooper, D. S., Hamilton, R. A., and Lucas, S. D. 2012. A population census of the Cactus Wren in coastal Los Angeles County. W. Birds 43:151–163. Cooper, D. S., Hall, L. S., and Searcy, A. J. 2014. A population census of the Cactus Wren in Ventura County, California. W. Birds 45:43–56. Cooper, J. G. 1887. Additions to the birds of Ventura County, California. Auk 4:85–94; doi 10.2307/4067105. Evermann, B. W. 1886. A list of the birds observed in Ventura County, California. Auk 3:86–94, 179–186; doi 10.2307/4625337. Garrett, K., and Dunn, J. 1981. Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution. Los Angeles Audubon Soc., Los Angeles. Griffith Wildlife Biology. 2009. The status of the Least Bell’s Vireo and Southwestern

139 THE CALIFORNIA GNATCATCHER AT THE NORTHERN EDGE OF ITS RANGE

Willow Flycatcher at Los Angeles County drainage area sites in 2009. Report to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles Operations Branch; available from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2493 Portola Rd., Suite B, Ventura, CA 93003. Grinnell, J. 1898. Birds of the Pacific slope of Los Angeles County. Pasadena Acad. Sci. Publ. 11. Grinnell, J., and Miller, A. 1944. The distribution of the birds of California. Pac. Coast Avifauna 27. Hamilton, R. A., Patten, M. A., and Erickson, R. A. (eds.). 2007. Rare Birds of California. W. Field Ornithol., Camarillo, CA. Mock, P. J. 1998. Energetic constraints to the distribution and abundance of the California Gnatcatcher. W. Birds 29:413–320. Pardieck, K. L., Ziolkowski, D. J. Jr., Hudson, M.-A. R., and Campbell, K. 2016. North American Breeding Bird Survey dataset 1966–2015, version 2015.0. U.S. Geol. Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center; www.pwrc.usgs.gov/BBS/ RawData/. Patten, M. A., Unitt, P., Erickson, R. A., and Campbell, K. F. 1995. Fifty years since Grinnell and Miller: Where is California ornithology headed? W. Birds 26:54-64. Rotenberry, J. T., and Scott, T. A. 1998. Biology of the California Gnatcatcher: Filling in the gaps. W. Birds 29:237–241. USFWS. 1993. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants; Determination of threatened status for the coastal California Gnatcatcher. Federal Register 58(59):16741–16757. USFWS. 1997. Coastal California Gnatcatcher (Poliptila californica californica) presence/absence survey guidelines; www.fws.gov/pacific/ecoservices/endangered/ recovery/documents/CCalGnatcatcher.1997.protocol.pdf USFWS. 2000. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants; proposed determination of critical habitat for the Coastal California Gnatcatcher; proposed rule. Federal Register 65(25):5946–5976. USFWS. 2002. Moorpark Highlands Habitat Conservation Plan, Ventura County, CA. Federal Register 67(17):3731. USFWS. 2003. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants; designation of critical habitat for the Coastal California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica) and determination of distinct vertebrate population segment for the California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica); proposed rule. Federal Register 68(79):20228–20312. USFWS. 2007. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants; revised designation of critical habitat for the Coastal California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica); final rule. Federal Register 72(243):72010–72213. USFWS. 2010. Coastal California gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica californica), 5-year review: Summary and evaluation; www.fws.gov/carlsbad/SpeciesStatus List/5YR/20100929_5YR_CAGN.pdf Vandergast, A. G., Kus, B. E., Barr, K. R., and Preston, K. L. 2014. Genetic structure in the California Gnatcatcher in coastal southern California and implications for monitoring and management. Report to Calif. Dept. Fish and Wildlife, Sacramento; https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=97711. Willett, G. 1912. Birds of the Pacific slope of southern California. Pac. Coast Avi- fauna. 7. Zeiner, D. C., Laudenslayer, W. F. Jr., Mayer, K. E., and White, M. (eds.). 1999. California’s Wildlife, vol. II: Birds. Calif. Dept. Fish and Game, Sacramento. Accepted 9 March 2017

140 NOTES FIRST RECORDS OF THE ASIAN ROSY-FINCH IN ALASKA AND NORTH AMERICA ISAAC J. HELMERICKS, 2074 North Rush Circle, Palmer, Alaska 99645; [email protected]

On 30 December 2011 I found and photographed an Asian Rosy-Finch (Leucost- icte arctoa) on Adak Island, in the central Aleutian Islands, Alaska. At that time and for the next five years this bird provided the only record of the species for North America. In 2016, however, a photo surfaced of a bird that had been seen in October 2008 at Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, revealing it too to have been an Asian Rosy-Finch. Thus at the close of 2016 there were two records of this species within the political limits of Alaska and North America. From the 1940s to the late 1990s, Adak Island was home to a large U.S. navy base. (If Adak Naval Station had been an incorporated town or city instead of a military installation, its peak population during the Cold War years of 6000+ residents would have qualified it as one of the half dozen largest cities in Alaska.) Adak Naval Station was demobilized in 1997, and ownership of the extensive infrastructure that remained, including a network of roads on the northeast portion of the island, was transferred to the Aleut Corporation, one of 13 Alaska Native regional corporations established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act in 1971. In 2001 the Aleut Corpora- tion incorporated the city of Adak, and at the 2010 census its population comprised 326 people. Most of Adak Island—all but the land constituting the former military base—remains a part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Reeve Aleutian Airways provided air service for almost 70 years but ended passenger service to the Aleutians in December 2000, in part a casualty of the navy’s departure. In 2007 I moved to Adak as the customer service manager for Alaska Airlines. During regular year-round transects for birds on the Adak road system from 2007 to 2012, I came across on 30 December 2011 a small flock of four Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) and a single dark finch, which I identified as an Asian Rosy-Finch by its raspberry-pink body and golden-brown nape and crown (Figures 1–3)—rather than one of the numerous resident Gray-crowned Rosy-Finches (L. tephrocotis griseonucha), which at Adak typically do not flock in winter with other species. I was able to study the bird for a half hour before the flock flew off. The golden-brown color of the nape came up to the crown, where it diffused into the black face, auriculars, lores, chin, and throat. The bird was more the size of the Snow Buntings, smaller overall—head, bill, wings, and tail—than subspecies griseonucha of the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch. Most of its breast, flanks, rump, undertail coverts, and lesser and median coverts were very pink. Five color photographs and the details of this sighting were submitted to the Alaska Checklist Committee, which unanimously accepted it as a first record for Alaska (Gibson et al. 2013). Another Asian Rosy-Finch, seen 25–26 October 2008 at Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, by Hansen Irrigoo and Gerard Koonooka, came to light in August 2016, when an archived photograph (Figure 4) was closely examined and the bird identified by the Alaska Checklist Committee (in litt., 2016) and by P. E. Lehman (in litt., 2016). To date the only St. Lawrence Island record of the Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch is of a female collected at Savoonga in June 1988 by R. L. Rausch. It is L. tephrocotis tephrocotis, the subspecies that nests in the Brooks Range and is a rare breeder as far west as the Seward Peninsula (see Kessel 1989). The Asian Rosy-Finch is a relatively large, long-winged finch of south-central Siberia, northern Mongolia, northern China, and the Russian Far East (see Vaurie

Western Birds 48:141–144, 2017; doi 10.21199/WB48.2.4 141 NOTES

Figure 1. Asian Rosy-Finch on Adak Island, Alaska, 30 December 2011. Photo by Isaac J. Helmericks

1959, Brazil 2009). In summer, the species breeds in rocky tundra and in mountains above tree line. During the cold winter months the birds retreat to grassy lowlands and snow-free coastal areas. Dickinson and Christidis (2014) and Clement and Arkhipov (2017) recognized five subspecies. Four are largely resident, making only seasonal elevational movements. Subspecies brunneonucha, the bird of the Russian Far East,

Figure 2. Asian Rosy-Finch in flight with Snow Bunting on Adak Island, Alaska, 30 December 2011. Photo by Isaac J. Helmericks 142 NOTES

Figure 3. Asian Rosy-Finch with Snow Bunting on Adak Island, Alaska, 30 December 2011. Photo by Isaac J. Helmericks nesting as far east as Kamchatka, is migratory, however, wintering south to Ussuriland, Manchuria, Sakhalin, and Honshu (Vaurie 1959, Brazil 2009). The winter of 2011–2012 turned very cold in early December; low temperatures fell as low as –20° C, whereas the average low temperature at Adak in December is –1° C. On 30 December the low was –13° C, the high –4° C. The winter produced the heaviest snow accumulation I experienced during my five years at Adak from 2007 to 2012. All fresh water was frozen, and 30–36 cm of snow covered the ground down to the high tide line, with deeper drifts in places. The roads out of town had been impassable for several weeks, and it was only on 30 December that

Figure 4. Asian Rosy-Finch at Gambell, St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, 26 October 2008. Photo by Hansen Irrigoo

143 NOTES

I was able to get out the road between town and Clam Lagoon, part of one of my standard transects. Thus I had not been in that area for some time when I located the small flock that included the Asian Rosy-Finch. The heavy snow accumulation also hampered my efforts to try to relocate the bird in the days after the sighting, and it was not seen again. Of interest in this context are Aleutian records of other vagrant passerines surfacing in the middle of hard winters with periods of heavy snow—e.g., a male Eurasian Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula cassinii) and Pine Grosbeaks (probably Pinicola enucleator flammula) photographed at Unalaska Island in January 2012 (S. Golodoff, in litt., 2012) and additional Pine Grosbeaks I photographed at Adak in December 2011. In other winters, I saw at Adak a White Wagtail (Motacilla alba lugens) in December 2008 and January 2009 and a flock of three Bramblings (Frin- gilla montifringilla) and a single Eyebrowed Thrush (Turdus obscurus) in January 2014. All of these taxa are well known in the Aleutians at other seasons (see Gibson and Byrd 2007), but their occurrences in midwinter make one wonder just how far, and from where, such birds might have flown to surface where and when they did. I recognize Daniel D. Gibson for his invaluable editorial advice and review. Addition- ally, I thank Kimball L. Garrett for his thoughtful review of this paper.

LITERATURE CITED Brazil, M. 2009. Field Guide to the Birds of East Asia. Christopher Helm, London. Clement, P., and Arkhipov, V. 2017. Asian Rosy-Finch (Leucosticte arctoa), in Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, eds.). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Dickinson, E. C., and Christidis, L. (eds.). 2014. The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World, 4th ed. Vol. 2: passerines. Aves Press, East- bourne, England. Gibson, D. D., and Byrd, G. V. 2007. Birds of the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Nuttall Ornithol. Club and Am. Ornithol. Union Series Ornithol. 1. Gibson, D. D., DeCicco, L. H., Gill, R. E. Jr., Heinl, S. C., Lang, A. J., Tobish, T. G. Jr., and Withrow, J. J. 2013. Third report of the Alaska Checklist Committee, 2008–2012. W. Birds 44:183–195. Kessel, B. 1989. Birds of the Seward Peninsula, Alaska: Their Biogeography, Sea- sonality, and Natural History. Univ. Alaska Press, Fairbanks. Vaurie, C. 1959. The Birds of the Palearctic Fauna. Passeriformes. H. F. & G. Witherby, London. Accepted 8 April 2017

144 NOTES

FIRST RECORD OF THE EASTERN PHOEBE BREEDING IN ALASKA: EXTRALIMITAL BY 2000 KM Bryce W. Robinson, 615 East Krall St., Boise, Idaho 83712; [email protected] Lucas H. DeCicco, 4826 Mills Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99508 Aaron Bowman, 1008 W 30th Ave #3, Anchorage, Alaska 99503 Scott Hauser, 12900 Saunders Road, Anchorage, Alaska 99516 John M. Wright, 1991 St Bernard Dr., Fairbanks, Alaska 99709

The Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) nests across much of North America east of the Rocky Mountains (Sinclair et al. 2003, Van Damme 2010, Weeks 2011). Although Alberta represents the western extreme of the species’ regular breeding distribution, extralimital nesting occasionally occurs west to southeastern Yukon Ter- ritory and northeastern British Columbia (Sinclair et al. 2003, Van Damme 2010). In Alaska, the Eastern Phoebe is a casual visitor with no previous nesting records (see Gibson and Withrow 2015; Table 1). Here we document the first record of the Eastern Phoebe nesting in the state of Alaska, the westernmost breeding record for the species and extralimital by 2000 km. On 5 June 2016, a University of Alaska Fairbanks Summer Session birding party led by Wright found a single Eastern Phoebe frequently flying in and out of an abandoned aluminum camper trailer west of the Hastings Creek crossing of the Nome–Council Road on the Seward Peninsula, western Alaska. Wright investigated the inside of the trailer but found no signs of nesting. On 7 June, a Wilderness Birding Adventures group led by Bowman and Hauser independently reported an Eastern Phoebe in the driftwood along Hastings Creek. At the time, Bowman noted the bird repeatedly carrying nest material into a drainage culvert running north–south under the Nome–Council road, but after investigation found no nest structure. Birders continued to report a single Eastern Phoebe until 9 June when two birds were building a nest, again in the drainage culvert (B. Benter pers. comm.). The nest was ~3 m inside the culvert (64° 27′ 21″ N, 165° 5′ 45″ W), only 0.5 km from the coast of the Bering Sea. The nest structure was built on top of piping suspended ~0.25 m from the top of the culvert, was constructed primarily of mud, grass, moss, and lichen, and was lined with grass and qiviut (wool of the muskox, Ovibos moschatus; Figure 1). It is unclear when eggs were laid or incubation began, but on 15 June Paul E. Lehman found a broken egg beneath the nest (remains to San Diego Natural History Museum). On 21 July Robinson observed and photographed nestlings (Figure 1). In late July, Robinson and DeCicco checked the nest frequently to determine its fate. Fledglings were first observed and photographed on 23 July (K. Persons in litt.), then on the 25th Robinson and DeCicco observed at least three fledged young (Figure 2) being fed by at least one adult in willows along the eastern edge of Hastings Creek. Despite searches of the area, the birds were not observed after 25 July. This, the first case of the Eastern Phoebe nesting in Alaska, is especially notable given this pair’s ability to successfully fledge young 2000 km from the species’ normal breeding range. It is unlikely that a pair of Eastern Phoebe could have nested in the coastal tundra zone of Alaska without the presence of human-made structures, such as the culvert. The Eastern Phoebe is considered hardy in general and flexible in its diet (Weeks 2011). It often returns to its breeding range as early as March (Bent 1942, Weeks 2011), and it has been documented consuming fish (Jung 1926, Binford 1957) and fruits (Bent 1942, Graber et al. 1974) when insects are scarce, unlike most other North American flycatchers, which are exclusively insectivorous during the breeding season (Murphy 1987, Teather 1992, Troy and Baccus 2009). These factors may have contributed to the pair’s ability to breed successfully at Nome. Additionally, the

Western Birds 48:145–147, 2017; doi 10.21199/WB48.2.5 145 NOTES

Figure 1. Eastern Phoebe nest in a culvert under the Nome–Council Road on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 21 July 2016. Photo by Bryce W. Robinson/USFWS

congeneric Say’s Phoebe (S. saya) also nests on the Seward Peninsula beyond the limit of boreal forest (Schukman and Wolf 1998), suggesting together with this breeding of the Eastern Phoebe, that members of this genus may occupy an ecological niche more flexible or broader than do many other tyrannids. The Eastern Phoebe is socially monogamous, with high fidelity to a nest site and mate, and it regularly rebuilds and reuses nest structures in the same territory in successive years (Greenwood and Harvey 1982, Beheler et al. 2003). Given these tendencies, it is just possible that this pair may return to Nome. Anticipating their reuse of the nest site and regularly checking for their presence may provide remarkable detail to an already remarkable nesting record. We thank everyone who submitted their Nome Eastern Phoebe sightings to www. eBird.org. Constructive reviews of the manuscript provided by Daniel D. Gibson, Steven C. Heinl, Daniel R. Ruthrauff, and Jack J. Withrow are greatly appreciated.

Table 1 Alaska Records of the Eastern Phoebe Date Observation Location; regiona Referenceb 26 Jun–6 Jul 1990 singing male Camden Bay; N AB 44:1172 21 Jun 1993 one Hyder; SE AB 47:1140 18 Jun 1995 singing male Mitkof Is.; SE FN 49:965c 11 May 2007 singing male Haines; SE NAB 61:496 13 Aug 2009 one Chitina River headwaters; S-C B. Benter pers. comm. 20 Jun 2013 singing male Yakutat; SE NAB 67:639 25 May 2015 one Utqiagvik (Barrow); N NAB 69:468 2 Jun 2015 singing male Yakutat; SE NAB 69:470 14–16 Jun 2015 singing male Nabesna Rd. ~7 km E of Glenn C. McIntyre in litt. Hwy.; S-C 5 Jun–25 Jul 2016 nesting pair 15 km ESE of Nome; W pers. obs. aAs outlined by Gibson and Withrow (2015): N, northern; S-C, south-central; SE, southeastern; W, western. bAB, American Birds; FN, National Audubon Society Field Notes; NAB, North American Birds. cSpecimen; University of Alaska Museum 6711.

146 NOTES

Figure 2. Fledgling Eastern Phoebe, one of at least three successfully fledged young present in willow thickets in the Hastings Creek area on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, on 25 July 2016. Photo by Lucas H. DeCicco/USFWS

LITERATURE CITED Beheler, A. S., Rhodes, O. E. Jr., and Weeks, H. P. Jr. 2003. Breeding site and mate fidelity in Eastern Phoebes (Sayornis phoebe) in Indiana. Auk 120:990–999. Bent, A. C. 1942. Life histories of North American flycatchers, larks, swallows, and their allies. U.S. Natl. Mus. Bull. 179. Binford, L. C. 1957. Eastern Phoebes fishing. Auk 74:264–265; doi 10.2307/4081726. Gibson, D. D., and Withrow, J. J. 2015. Inventory of the species and subspecies of Alaska birds, second edition. W. Birds 46:94–185. Graber, R. R., Graber, J. W., and Kirk, E. L. 1974. Illinois birds: Tyrannidae. Ill. Nat. Hist. Surv. Biol. Notes 86. Greenwood, P. J., and Harvey, P. H. 1982. The natal and breeding dispersal of birds. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 13:1–21; doi 10.1146/annurev.es.13.110182.000245. Jung, C. S. 1926. The season. Chicago region. Bird-Lore 28:63–64. Murphy, M. T. 1987. The impact of weather on kingbird foraging behavior. Condor 89:721–730; doi 10.2307/1368518. Schukman, J. M., and Wolf, B. O. 1998. Say’s Phoebe (Sayornis saya), in The Birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.), no. 374. Birds N. Am., Philadelphia; doi 10.2173/bna.374. Sinclair, P. H., Nixon, W. A., Eckert, C. D., and Hughes, N. L. (eds.). 2003. Birds of the Yukon Territory. Univ. Br. Columbia Press, Vancouver. Teather, K. 1992. Foraging patterns of male and female Scissor-tailed Flycatchers. J. Field Ornithol. 63:318–323. Troy, J., and Baccus, J. 2009. Effects of weather and habitat on foraging behavior of nonbreeding Eastern Phoebes. Wilson J. Ornithol. 121:97–103; doi 10.1676.07-175.1. Van Damme, L. M. 2010. Extra-limital breeding record for Eastern Phoebe in the Creston Valley, British Columbia. Wildlife Afield 7:289–291. Weeks, H. P. Jr. 2011. Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe), in The Birds of North America Online (P. G. Rodewald, ed.), no. 94. Cornell Lab Ornithol., Ithaca, NY; doi 10.2173/bna.94. Accepted 10 April 2017

147 Book Review

Birds of the Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Guide, by Tom Aversa, Richard Cannings, and Hal Opperman. 2016. Seattle Audubon Society, University of Washington Press, and Heritage House Publishing (in Canada). 458 pp., ~1000 color photographs, 420 maps. Paperback, $29.95. ISBN 978-0-295-99992-0.

This new regional guide is one of many covering all or part of the “Pacific North- west” (or “the Pacific Southwest” if you’re from north of the Canadian border). I confess to having felt inundated by the annual flood of new bird guides. So my first question was, “What’s new here?” The authors confront this issue head-on: “Our working concept was to fill a niche between, on the one hand, the scientifically intense state and provincial ‘Birds of …’ tomes, … and, on the other hand, the widely used North American field guides which … depict ranges and seasonal movements only at a broad continental scale (p. 6).” Their book also complements a plethora of guides limited to one or another local county and beginners’ guides to one section or another of the Pacific Northwest. This guide is definitely not just for beginners. It builds on three previously published more narrowly focused regional guides by these same authors (Birds of the Willamette Valley Region, R. W. Morse Co., 2004; Birds of the Puget Sound Region, R. W. Morse Co., 2004; and Birds of Southwestern British Columbia, Heritage House, 2010). Aversa and Opperman are based in western Washington, where they have devoted careful attention to the local avifauna for several decades each, while Cannings is of a family of highly accomplished British Columbia naturalists. They know the region and its bird life exceptionally well, which they define to include Oregon, Washington, Idaho, western Montana, and southern British Columbia from the continental divide to the continental shelf. To cover this broad region better, they enlisted advice from experts from Oregon, Idaho, and Montana to complement their first-hand knowledge. This is an ecologically diverse region stretching from south to north from 42° to 54° 40′ N. Three major ecoregions—forested marine, montane, and the cold desert, each divided into five subregions—are described in some detail on pages 9–24. The authors then provide an introduction to and glossary of their technical terminology. At the heart of the guide are 412 species accounts, all species judged of recent annual occurrence somewhere in the region. While it is difficult to keep pace with the AOU’s annual taxonomic revolutions and their nomenclatural fallout, the authors are quite current to 2016, though they seem to have missed that the screech-owls are now Megascops. They treat one species per page, each illustrated by one to four photographs, with a color-coded distribution map. Each species account includes summary paragraphs with the headings “Description” (including details such as length, a few words on general impression, age variation, and sexual dimorphism), “Similar Spe- cies,” “Status & Distribution” (global and regional), “Habitat Associations,” “Behavior & Feeding,” and “Vocalizations.” The photographs are, whenever possible, by regional photographers (of which there are many, each credited in the caption) and taken locally (with provenance noted by county). The images have been selected to show characteristic postures and key plumage variants. The quality of these images is very good, and so far I have been unable to spot any mislabeled photos, a favorite game of reviewers of photographic bird guides. However, I’m not entirely sure about the “Pacific-slope Flycatcher” from Harney County, Oregon, and the “Thick-billed” Fox Sparrow from Yakima County, Washington, both identifications which are difficult at best on the margins of these birds’ ranges. The range maps are highly detailed, in four colors describing seasonal occurrence. Some of these maps rival a Jackson Pollack canvas as they trace the region’s complex topography. However, they are, by and large, of a readable size. I find particularly interesting the details shown at the outer margins, where “California species” or

148 Western Birds 48:148–149, 2017 Book Review

“eastern species” just nick the edges of the regional maps. There is a great wealth of information captured in these maps, each apparently meticulously vetted by regional experts. The discussions of similar species and of subspecific variation are most helpful and well informed. For example, the Canada and Cackling goose complex is very well described, with details of the features and distributional patterns of four subspecies of the Canada and three of the Cackling. The authors wisely judge the Lesser Canada and Taverner’s Cackler to be “difficult to separate,” though they point to the Taverner’s “shorter neck and bulbous-based bill noticeable in direct comparison (p. 40).” They nicely illustrate the three forms of the Merlin. Their treatment of the sapsucker complex is well illustrated, including the distinctive brownish first-winter plumage of the Yellow-bellied. Their maps of the ranges of the three “yellow-bellied” sapsucker species show extensive areas of overlap in their breeding ranges in central British Columbia. How, one wonders, do they maintain even a modicum of genetic isolation here? The Red-naped and Red-breasted Sapsuckers are said to hybridize “extensively in WA (Puget Sound nearly to Columbia River)” (p. 272). However, that hybrid zone is restricted to the Cascade crest. The authors anticipate the more recent split of the Western Scrub-Jay into the California and Woodhouse’s scrub-jays, both of which occur in the region covered. They highlight contrasts between the Olive-backed and Russet-backed Swainson’s Thrushes, which are quite distinct in appearance and vocalizations—and which might be split in the future—and elaborate contrasts between the Audubon’s and Myrtle Yellow-rumped Warblers. They withhold judgment of the vexed Western Flycatcher problem, noting that, “Many ornithologists believe further fieldwork may prove the ‘Western’ Flycatcher split untenable” (p. 295). However, they confuse the issue by showing the Pacific-slope Flycatcher as a summer resident of northeastern Oregon and adjacent Washington, where, in my experience, locally breeding Western Flycatchers are intergrades. The accounts of the Fox Sparrows and the White-crowned Sparrows may need revision. The distribution of the “Thick-billed” and “Slate-colored” forms of the Fox Sparrow is more complex than illustrated, and the sympatric nesting of Zonotrichia leucophrys pugetensis and Z. l. gambelii in the central Cascades of Washington state (Hunn and Beaudette, Western Birds 45:132–140, 2014) might have been noted. Quibbles aside, this new regional guide fills the targeted niche very well with its comprehensive and sophisticated coverage of this key region of our continent. A close reading of the species accounts offers surprising insights and subtle identification clues not widely recognized, such as the eye-ring of the female Broad-tailed Hummingbird, which could be critical for Washington state listers attempting to distinguish this local rarity from the abundant Rufous. For the majority of serious birders in the West who tend to limit their explorations to one or another state or province, this guide should expand their horizons and encourage more cross-border birding. In sum, this guide is an essential reference for birders west of the continental divide, particularly for intermediate and advanced observers. Eugene Hunn

149 Featured Photo PEREGRINE FALCONS ATTACK A ROSS’S GULL IN CENTRAL COASTAL CALIFORNIA PETE SOLE, 3660 Crestline Way, Soquel, California; [email protected]

On 12 January 2017, Don Pendleton discovered a Ross’s Gull (Rhodostethia rosea) near Pillar Point Harbor, Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County, California. He contacted Donna Pomeroy, who joined him to help confirm the identification. They noted key identification points including the gull’s rather small size, pink blush on the breast and belly, dark spot behind the ear, small black bill, and red legs. One of Pomeroy’s photos is featured on this issue’s back cover. Over the next 3 days, hundreds of birders watched and photographed the Ross’s Gull. The gull often foraged alone in parking lots, open fields, and along California Highway 1. All reports were within a 3.5-km radius of the Half Moon Bay Airport (www.eBird.org). On 14 January 2017, at 13:51 PT, I arrived to see and photograph the Ross’s Gull at a partially flooded field of Brussels sprouts next to the Half Moon Bay Airport. Under clear skies, the gull foraged alone on the ground, brilliant white and pale gray against the dark green and brown field. During the next 9 minutes, over 20 birders and I watched and photographed the gull, which was approximately 35 meters from California Highway 1. At 14:02, the gull made a short flight, and returned to the field. When it flew a second time, two adult Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) attacked it. Repeatedly the falcons took turns diving at the gull from alternating sides. The gull made evasive aerial movements, until one of the falcons caught it midair, approximately 10 m above the ground. I photographed one of the falcons carrying the Ross’s Gull in the air (14:04), but quickly lost sight of it as it flew west into the sun (see photo on this issue’s back cover). This is the second record of a Ross’s Gull in California, accepted by the California Bird Records Committee (www.californiabirds.org/cbrc_book/update.pdf). It follows one at Red Hill along the south shore of the Salton Sea, Imperial County, 17–19 November 2006 (McCaskie 2007). The winter range of Ross’s Gull is poorly known (Blomqvist and Elander 1981). Maftei et al. (2015), however, tracked three Ross’s Gulls wintering in the Labrador Sea. The Ross’s Gull in Half Moon Bay was over 4000 km from the Labrador Sea and other suspected winter grounds. Pairs of the Peregrine Falcon are known to prey cooperatively on a range of bird species, including doves and small gulls (White et al. 2002). Peregrines’ prey range in weight from about 20 grams to 1 kg (Paine et al. 1990). Ross’s Gulls weigh 180 grams on average (Sibley 2000). The Peregrine’s cooperative hunts usually take place within 16 km of an eyrie (Ratcliffe 1993). The Ross’s Gull at Half Moon Bay foraged within 10 km of a known Peregrine nest (G. Stewart pers. comm.). In Siberia, Potapov (1990) reported finding Ross’s Gull feathers in regurgitated Peregrine Falcon pellets. The cooperative nature of this attack, and its proximity to a local eyrie, suggests that it was by the local Peregrine pair. This is the first documented Peregrine Falcon attack on an adult Ross’s Gull in North America. I’m grateful to Don Pendleton and Donna Pomeroy for graciously sharing their personal experiences and photos and reviewing early drafts. Alvaro Jaramillo provided feedback, guidance, and additional sources for research. Nancy Collins reviewed and edited multiple versions of this note. Bruce Lyon and Glenn Stewart kindly provided information on Peregrine Falcons in the San Mateo and Santa Cruz areas, and gave feedback on drafts. Todd Newberry, reviewed drafts in person with me, and provided great guidance for publication. Mark Mallory, Sven Blomqvist, and John Sterling reviewed the manuscript and provided especially relevant references. Gary Graves originally asked me to write this report. Were it not for his incredibly generous guid-

150 Western Birds 48:150–151, 2017; doi 10.21199/WB48.2.6 Featured Photo

ance, persistence, reviews, sources of information, and encouragement, this note would never have been written.

LITERATURE CITED Blomqvist, S. and Elander, M., 1981. Sabine´s Gull (Xema sabini), Ross´s Gull (Rhodostethia rosea) and Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea)—gulls in the Arctic: A review. Arctic 34:122–132; doi 10.14430/arctic2513. Maftei, M., Davis, S. E., and Mallory, M. K., 2015. Confirmation of a wintering ground of Ross’s Gull Rhodostethia rosea in the northern Labrador Sea. Ibis 157:642–647; doi 10.1111/ibi.12261. McCaskie, G. 2007. A Ross’s Gull reaches southern California. W. Birds 38:137–140. Paine, R. T., Wootton, J. T., and Boersma, P. D., 1990. Direct and indirect effects of Peregrine Falcon predation on seabird abundance. Auk 107:1–9. Potapov, E. 1990. Birds and brave men in the arctic north: Polar explorers, the Russo- Japanese war, and the ever mysterious Ross’s Gull. Birds International 2:73–83. Ratcliffe, D. 1993. The Peregrine Falcon, 2nd ed. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ. Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Knopf, New York. White, C. M., Clum, N. J., Cade, T. J., and Hunt, W. G. 2002. Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), in The Birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.), no. 660. Birds N. Am., Philadelphia; doi 10.2173/bna.660.

Wing your way to…. WFO 2017 Conference Pueblo Convention Center, Pueblo, Colorado 16–20 August 2017 Please join us for • Two afternoons of science presentations • Bird sound identification challenge with Nathan Pieplow • Bird photo identification panel with Ed Harper • Annual banquet and keynote presentation by Lauryn Benedict: “He Sings, She Sings: Female Songbirds in Your Backyard”

Workshops: • “Birds from the Inside Out” with Lauryn Benedict • “How to Make, Analyze, Edit, Share & Publish Recordings of Bird Vocalizations” with Ted Floyd • “What do Birds Eat?” with David Leatherman • “Identifying Birds by Their Sounds” with Nathan Pieplow • “The Ins and Outs of eBird: the basics to advanced use and applica- tion of eBird” with Scott Somershoe • “Identification of Shorebirds” with Jon Dunn

Field Trips & More: For more details please visit www.westernfieldornithologists.org/conference. php and click on “Schedule and Full Details.” See you in Pueblo!

151 World Wide Web site: WESTERN BIRDS www.westernfieldornithologists.org Quarterly Journal of Western Field Ornithologists

President: Thomas A. Blackman, 4470 Orchard Ave., San Diego, CA 92107; [email protected] Vice-President: Kurt Leuschner, 70065 Sonora Rd. #267, Mountain Center, CA 92561; [email protected]. Past-President: David E. Quady, 39 The Crescent, Berkeley, CA 94708; [email protected] Treasurer/Membership Secretary: Suzanne Carota, 3476 Armourdale Ave., Long Beach, CA 90808; [email protected] Recording Secretary: Liga Auzins, 12842 Safford East, Garden Grove, CA 92840; [email protected] Directors: Jon L. Dunn, John F. Garrett, Kimball L. Garrett, Daniel D. Gibson, Homer Hansen, Karen Anderson Havlena, Susan Kelly, Larry Modesitt, Frances Oliver, Diane Rose, Steve Rottenborn, W. David Shuford Editor: Philip Unitt, San Diego Natural History Museum, P. O. Box 121390, San Diego, CA 92112-1390; [email protected] Assistant Editor: Daniel D. Gibson, P. O. Box 155, Ester, AK 99725 Associate Editors: Kenneth P. Able, Matthew J. Baumann, Daniel S. Cooper, Thomas Gardali, Daniel D. Gibson, Robert E. Gill, Ronald R. LeValley, Dan Reinking, Daniel R. Ruthrauff Graphics Manager: Virginia P. Johnson, 4637 Del Mar Ave., San Diego, CA 92107; [email protected] Photo Editor: Peter LaTourrette, 1019 Loma Prieta Ct., Los Altos, CA 94024; [email protected] Featured Photo: John Sterling, 26 Palm Ave., Woodland, CA 95695; [email protected] Book Reviews: Lauren Harter, 2841 McCulloch Blvd. N. #1, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403; [email protected] WFO Website: Timothy W. Brittain; [email protected]

Membership dues, for individuals and institutions, including subscription to Western Birds: Life, $600 (payable in four equal annual installments); Family $45; Regular U.S. $40 for one year, $70 for two years, $100 for three years. Dues and contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Send membership dues, changes of address, correspondence regarding missing issues, and or- ders for back issues and special publications to the Treasurer. Make checks payable to Western Field Ornithologists. Back issues of Western Birds within U.S. $40 per volume, $10 for single issues, including shipping and handling. Outside the U.S. $55 per volume, $15 for single issues, including shipping and handling. Published 1 June 2017 ISSN 0045-3897 Tufted Flycatcher Western Specialty: California Gnatcatcher

“Featured Photos” by © Donna Pomeroy of El Granada, California (upper), and Pete Sole of Soquel, California (lower): Ross’s Gull (Rhodostethia rosea) near Pillar Point, San Mateo County, Vol. 48, No. 2, 2017 California 12–14 January 2017, representing the second record of the species for California. The Ross’s Gull was attacked by a pair of Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) hunting cooperatively and carried off.