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First United States Record of Crowned Slaty-Flycatcher from Louisiana

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First United States Record of Crowned Slaty-Flycatcher from Louisiana FFiirrssttUUnniitteeddSSttaatteessrreeccoorrddooffCCrroowwnneedd SSllaattyy--FFllyyccaattcchheerr ((EEmmppiiddoonnoommuuss aauurraannttiiooaattrrooccrriissttaattuuss ))ffrroommLLoouuiissiiaannaa PAUL E. CONOVER • 501 ADRIENNE STREET, LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA 70506 • AZOISEAUX?COX.NETB BUFORD MAC. MYERS • 641 SOUTH 5TH STREET, EUNICE, LOUISIANA 70535 • ABMYERS990?EARTHLINK.NETB Figures 1, 2. These images of the Crowned Slaty-Flycatcher at Peveto Beach Woods, Cameron Parish, Louisiana 3 June 2008 were taken just prior to its collection. The blackish crown and auriculars, con - trasting against the gray supercilium and underparts, are features typical of no other North American flycatcher. Photographs by Paul Conover. Abstract Field encounter This paper documents a record of Crowned On 3 June 2008, the authors were surveying tuary property. Almost immediately, we ob - Slaty-Flycatcher ( Empidonomus aurantioatro - birds in Cameron Parish in southwestern served a small bird fly up and perch on a bare cristatus ) from Cameron Parish, Louisiana on Louisiana. Shortly before noon we entered an limb of a Hackberry ( Celtis laevigata ), about 25 3 June 2008. The record, documented with area east of Johnsons Bayou known as Peveto m distant and about 2.5 m above ground. From photographs and a specimen, is the first for Beach Woods, a once extensive coastal chenier its flight, we suspected that it was a tyrant fly - the United States and second for North that is now much degraded, except for catcher, although it appeared to be smaller than America. the nearby Baton Rouge Audubon Society sanc - a Great Crested Flycatcher ( Myiarchus crini - 638 NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS FIRST UNITED STATES RECORD OF CROWNED SLATY-FLYCATCHER FROM LOUISIANA tus ), the smallest summer resident flycatcher ed as having heavy fat (thus suggesting that Given the early June date of our record of E. au - expected in the immediate area. Upon observ - the bird was in migratory condition and per - rantioatrocristatus , perhaps it also pertains to ing the bird perched, we were initially per - haps about to undertake a major flight). The such an instance of an overshoot. plexed, because its plumage did not match that outer primaries were fully notched, and no The genus Empidonomus is otherwise rep - of any expected species. The bird was about the wing, tail, or body molt was noted; the resented on the United States checklist by a size of an Eastern Phoebe ( Sayornis phoebe ). It plumage was very worn. There were no obvi - handful of records of another South American was a light or medium gray beneath, with a ous abnormalities. Soft part colors were austral migrant Variegated Flycatcher, ( Empi - slight yellowish wash to the vent and undertail recorded as: iris dark brown; maxilla, tarsi, feet donomus varius ). The most widely accepted coverts, and slightly darker gray-brown back black; mandible horn at base blending to black United States records for Variegated Flycatch - and wing coverts. The face was the same gray distally. The specimen matches in size and col - er are a November 1977 record from Maine, a as the underparts, with a dusky blackish patch or the LSUMNS series of >50 study skins of the May 1983 record from Tennessee (A.O.U. from the lores through the eye and back to the nominate subspecies, although no specimens 1998), and a recent extraordinary record from auriculars. This was bordered above by a gray of E. a. pallidiventris , the presumably sedentary the state of Washington in September 2008 superciliary. The crown appeared to be black or subspecies of eastern Brazil (Fitzpatrick 2004), (Mlodinow and Irons 2009). blackish. The bill and legs appeared dark, as were available for direct comparison. Tissue At the November 2008 annual meeting of did the eye. Myers suspected that the bird was samples were deposited in the LSUMNS Col - the Louisiana Bird Records Committee, the an austral migrant Neotropical tyrannid, and lection of Genetic Resources (catalog No. B- specimen and written reports associated with his suspicion was enhanced by brief glimpses 62424), and stomach contents (insect parts) the present record were examined and evalu - of what appeared to be yellow in the center of were saved, as was a partial skeleton. ated, and Crowned Slaty-Flycatcher was the bird’s crown. added to the official Louisiana state list Although we were uncertain of the identifi - Discussion (Dittmann 2008). cation, we realized the importance of the The breeding range of Crowned Slaty-Fly - record. Possessing the necessary permits, we catcher extends from northern and eastern Bo - decided to collect the bird. Conover pho - livia to interior Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Acknowledgments tographed the bird while Myers prepared to col - northern and central Argentina; some popula - We thank Steven W. Cardiff and Donna L. lect it. The bird flew closer to us and sally-hov - tions migrate northward for the austral winter Dittmann for their indispensable advice and ered near a branch of Live Oak ( Quercus virgini - to Amazonia, as far north as eastern Ecuador, assistance in every aspect of this record. J. V. ana ). We could not determine if the foraging southeastern Colombia, and western Amazon - Remsen, Jr. provided invaluable suggestions flight was successful. The bird returned to its ian Brazil (Ridgely and Tudor 1994). It is acci - and critically reviewed the manuscript as original perch. As Myers moved into position to dental north of the Orinoco River, with the well. We are grateful to the above individuals collect the bird, it flew out of sight into nearby previous northernmost record a February for allowing us full access to the resources of trees, but Conover soon relocated the bird and 1950 specimen from the coastal state of the LSUMNS. We also thank John Conover, collected it. With specimen in hand, Myers be - Aragua in Venezuela (Hilty 2003). The De - Steven Mlodinow, and David P. Muth for in - came more confident of the specimen’s identity cember 2007 record from Cerro Azul, Pana - formation they provided us. but could not recall the entire proper name. ma, although from a more southerly latitude Conover telephoned the Louisiana State Uni - than the Aragua record, represents the only Literature cited versity Museum of Natural Science (LSUMNS) other record from outside of South America American Ornithologists’ Union. [A.O.U.] and spoke with Bird Collection Manager Steven (Jones and Komar 2008). There are no prior 1998. Check-list of North American Birds . W. Cardiff. Conover described the specimen records from the United States (A.O.U. 1998). Seventh edition. American Ornithologists’ meticulously and conveyed our suspicions Vagrant austral migrants provide a small but Union, Washington, D.C. about its identity. Cardiff, with specimens to remarkable addition to the avifauna of the Unit - Dittmann, D. L. 2008. First circulation records compare to our descriptions, confirmed that it ed States. Probably the best-known example is accepted at the Annual Meeting 2008. sounded like a Crowned Slaty-Flycatcher ( Em - the Fork-tailed Flycatcher ( Tyrannus savana ), Newsletter of the Louisiana Bird Records pidonomus aurantioatrocristatus ; sometimes which strays annually to the United States. Al - Committee. <http://losbird.org/lbrc/LBRC placed in the monotypic genus Griseotyrannus ). though North American sightings of Fork-tailed Newsletter.pdf>. We arranged to deliver the specimen to the Flycatcher from the United States and Canada Fitzpatrick, J. W. 2004. Family Tyrannidae LSUMNS later that afternoon. have been reported across the continent, the (tyrant-flycatchers). Pp. 170-462 in: Hand - While en route to the LSUMNS, Conover majority of records have come from states and book of the Birds of the World , Volume 9. telephoned David P. Muth and John Conover. provinces along the Atlantic coast. This is not Cotingas to pipits and wagtails. (J. del Hoyo According to their Internet searches, a photo - surprising, because central Vene zuela, for ex - et al., eds.). Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. graphically documented Crowned Slaty-Fly - ample, is roughly on the same longitude as east - Hilty, S. L. 2003. Birds of Venezuela . Princeton catcher in central Panama in December 2007 ern Maine. Vagrant austral migrants are thought University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. represented the sole record outside South to be either overshoots or wrong-way migrants, Jones, H. L., and O. Komar. 2008. The winter America (Jones and Komar 2008). and Lockwood (1999) described two seasonal season: Central America. North American Upon our arrival at the LSUMNS in Baton peaks for the occurrence of Fork-tailed Fly - Birds 62: 314-318. Rouge, our specimen was examined and its catcher in the United States and Canada, with Lockwood, M. W. 1999. Possible anywhere. identification confirmed. Donna L. Dittmann peaks mirroring the typical migration periods of Fork-tailed Flycatcher. Birding 31: 126-139. immediately prepared the specimen as a study the migratory South American subspecies. For Mlodinow, S. G., and D. S. Irons. 2009. First skin (LSUMNS catalog No. 180361) and inter - the southeastern and south-central United Record of the Variegated Flycatcher for west - nally sexed the bird as a male (left testis 2 x 1 States, the spring peak (mid-April to mid-July) ern North America. Western Birds (in press). mm), and aged the bird as an adult (skull com - is slightly higher than the fall peak and is Ridgely, R. S., and G. Tudor. 1994. The Birds of pletely ossified, Bursa of Fabricius absent). thought by Lockwood to represent austral mi - South America . Volume 2. University of The bird weighed 31.8 grams and was record - grants overshooting their wintering grounds. Texas Press, Austin. VOLUME 62 (2009) • NUMBER 4 639.
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