Vol.•94• 60] Ra•Da•D Rm•, Breeding Notes on Phainopepla 333

SCOTT,E. D. 1888. On the avifauna of Pinal County with remarks on some of Pima and Gila counties, . Auk, 5: 31. STeVeNSON,J. 1935. notes from Mount Pinos, . Condor, 35: 79. Sw.•Rrl•, H. S. 1914. A distributional list of the birds of Arizona. Pacif. Coast Avifauna, No. 10: 64. 1920. Birds of the PapagoSaguaro National Monument and neighboringregion of Arizona U.S. Dept. Interior, Nat. Park Service: 55-58. T,•R, V. M. 1927. Notes on birds collected in the Virgin River Valley of Utah. Condor, 29: 196. TOWnSeND, C. H. 1887. Field-notes on the mammals, birds, and reptiles of northern California. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 10: 222. VAN ROSSEM, A. 1911. Winter birds of the Salton Sea region. Condor, 13: 129. 1936. Birds of the Charleston Mountains, Nevada. Pacif. Coast Avifauna, No. 24: 44. WOODS, R. S. 1932. Acquired food habits of somenative birds. Condor, 34: 238. WYse, L. E. 1919. Notes from southern California. Condor, 21: 172. SanDiego StateCollege SanDiego, California

BREEDING NOTES ON THE PHAINOPEPLAX

BY A. L. AND R. M. RAND

Is Mrs. Bailey's('Birds of New ,'p. 595, 1928)sketch of the breedinghabits of Phainopeplanitens, she commentson the varietyof its notes,and impliesthat its melodioussong is a con- spicuousfeature of the bird. Shegoes on to saythat the male often assumesthe dutiesof the female,building the nest and brooding the eggs,while the femaleflies about with her sistersawaiting the time to care for their young. Crouch (Abstractsof Dissertations,University Chronicles Series, Universityof SouthernCalifornia Press, Los Angeles, 1939), in a sum- maryof hiswork on the Phainopeplain California,says that the song of the male is somewhatsubdued and is heard chieflyduring the establishmentof territory,acquisition of a mate,and nestbuilding. z Contributionfrom the ArchboldExpeditions of the AmericanMuseum of Natural History, New York Cit},. 334 RA•DA•D I•ND, BreedingNotes on Phainopcpla I.['Auk July

He also saysthat the male may start severalfalse or 'dummy' nests and that these are torn down and used in the construction of the real nest, built largely by the male. Later he saysthat male and female sharethe dutiesof incubationbut that after the younghatch the male shows less interest in the nest. Our observationson this species,made during the courseof other work, near Tucson, Arizona, during the period February to June, 1940, indicated a somewhatdifferent pattern of behavior than that presentedin these two somewhatcontradictory accounts. Part of thesedifferences may perhapsbe due to geographicalvariation in habits. SomePhainopeplas apparently spend the winter in the Tucson area (Swarth,Pacific CoastAvifauna, no. 10: 64, 1914). The first we saw, shortly after our arrival, was a male on February 8; the next recordwas of a party of four'males and two femaleson February 12. By February16, the birdsWere fairly common,and ten or twelve dayslater the malesappeared to have establishedterritories. About March 12, there was another influx of birds into the area, and twelve days or so later these, too, had spread out over the country and occupiedterritories. The first nest was found in constructionon February 27, the first egg was laid in it on March 3; nestsin constructionwere found through March, April and May, with concentrationabout the first part and the end of March. The last occupiednest seenwas one which the youngbirds left on June 12. Perhapssome of the later nestswere secondnests. By the latter part of May, bandsof adult and young birds were moving about over the country. Male birds appearedto predominategreatly until late May, when the young birds, resemblingfemales, appeared. Some observationsrecorded below indicatethat the femalesare more retiring than the malesand the discrepancyin the sexratio may be more apparentthan real. The cottonwoodgroves along the washes,and the mesquitethickets were favoritehabitats, the former being preferred. Here the Phain- opepla'sfavorite food, mistletoeberries, occurred in abundance,and here they nested. The nestsin mesquiteand cottonwood,varying from five to fifty feet above the ground, were typical structures (seeCrouch, 1939). Most of the following observationswere made at about fifteen ter- ritories; casual observations were made at a number more. As Crouchhas recorded,the Phainopeplaestablishes a territory. It may be small, as somenests were no more than 25 yardsapart. Vol.•943 60'] .• RANDAND RAND, Breeding Notes on Phainopepla 335

The Phainopeplagets much food outsideof its territory, even when there is abundant food within it. Our observations indicate that the male advertiseshimself by making himself conspicuousto the eye rather than by singing. From birds that quickly securedmates we heard no singing,and it wasonly from malesthat for someweeks had failed to secure mates that we heard the rather forced, deliber- ately phrasedsong, and then only occasionally.The unmatedmales spent much time on conspicuousperches in their territories,fre- quently flying sharply upward, swingingabout, and flying back to their perches,displaying their white wing-patches,which contrast with their black plumage. Someof theseflights may have been to catchinsects, as they have been frequentlyinterpreted, and sometimes thesebirds do take insectson the wing, but mostof the flightsat this time appearedto be for display. Females flying over an occupied territory were frequently pur- sued by the male. Crouch intimates that the male is defendinghis territory againstthese females. It seemedto us that the male, on these occasions,was attempting to induce the female to take part in a courtshipflight. Sometimesthe femalejoined the male in such a courtshipflight; togetherthey rosesharply, the male followingthe female,in a patternof circlesover the territorywhich lastedfor a half-minuteor more. There wasno quality of actual hurried chase; it looked more like an a•rial dance. These display flights were continuedbetween mated pairs until incubation started, but the female did not necessarilyaccept the male or the territory after havingjoined the male in sucha flight. At one territorythe female flew directly away after sucha flight, and though the male stayed in the vicinityfor the restof the dayand evenworked at a nestthere, this territory was abandoned. The males started nest building before they securedmates. Fre- quently a building male made high circular flightsto the nest with material, apparently to advertisehimself. On severaloccasions we saw a female follow such a building male to his nest. On one oc- casionthe femalewas driven away from the nestby anotherfemale, presumablythe male'smate. A male often made rapid trips to the nest while without a mate; one suchmale made thirty trips in an hour and could have made more, for the material he was using, the silk of tent caterpillars, wasabundant and closeat hand, and the male frequentlypaused and sat quietly for a few momentsnearby. Sometimesa male made cir- cular flightsout from the nest. The amountof materialcarried each 336 •,ND AND10•D, Breeding Notes on Phainopepla L[Auk July time by building birds was usually very small, often only a few strandsof tent-caterpillarsilk, and it was usuallydifficult to be sure they were carrying anything. Sometimesa female was in the terri- tory unobserveduntil the male flew to her. Once we saw a male, building alone,fly to a femalewe had not observed,and apparently offer her the building material he had in his bill. She openedher bill and quivered her wings; the male then carried the material to the nest. The femalepaid him no further attentionand shortlyflew away. One other time we saw a male, building alone, interrupt his building to fly to a female which we had not observedperched low in denseshrubbery, and feed her by regurgitation. The femaletook no interest in the subsequentnest building of the male and soon leftl This maledefinitely remained unmated for someweeks. When a female joined a male on his territory, there were some- timesmany flights in which both took part; sometimesthere were few. The nestwas built chieflyby the male, but the female aided in its completion. Sometimesshe made trips independentof the male; sometimeshe flew to the nest from a nearbyperch as shecame to it. Once, at least,we saw a female carry material to the nest. At one nest, between9:20 and 10:20 A.M., the day before the first egg was laid, the male made ten trips to the nest, sometimeswith material we could see,and each trip he sat in the nest,moulding it and work- ing at the rim. During this time the female made but one trip to the nest; whether or not she carried material we could not see, but shesat on the nest,moulding it and working at it with her bill. Sometimesduring this period the male flew to the female,which was sitting quietly on a conspicuousperch, and fed her berriesby regurgitation. Once a male fed a female in such a situation three berriesin succession,the femaleholding her mouth open for the last two, but not quiveringher Wings;both birds were silent and then sat quietly. Another time, two days before the first egg was laid by the female of a pair, the male flew to,her and perchedon her back, attemptingcopulation while he flutteredhis wings. The fe- male did not respond,remaining quiet. The male then perched besideher, and three timesregurgitated a berry, each of which he placedin her openbill; sheheld her bill openfor the last two. The femaleremained silent, while the male soonflew awayto the nest. The previousday the malewas seen twice to fly to the female,alight on her back,and attemptcopulation, without offeringher berries. Lack (Auk, 57: 169-178,1940) does not mentioncourtship feeding in the Ptilogonatidae,though Crouch has recordedit. VoL6o' I RA•D• R•, BreedingNotes on Phainopepla 337 •945 a

Frequently a male, perchingsilently in conspicuousplaces, nest building and giving display flights,did not securea mate, though passingfemales were pursued,sometimes stopped and indulged in a displayflight with him, visitedhis nest,and werefed by him. Some- times he then forsook the territory or he then built another nest in it. One male, identifiedby a patch of dull featherson his flank, built three nestsin March without securinga mate; the nestswere ten and twenty-fiveyards apart. It was only during the latter part of this period that this male beganto sing occasionally;and it was only in late March that we heard the songof this species,so it seems probablethat this is the customarything here. This is contrary to Crouch'sfindings, who reported that songwas used in establish- ing territory. Crouch also saysthat the malesbuild false or dummy nestsbefore they build the real one. In our experiencea second nest was built only when the male was unsuccessfulin securinga mate while building the first nest. Crouch also recordsthat the 'false' nests are torn down and the material used in the real nest. We saw this twice, but on someother territoriesit definitelydid not happen. During this period before incubationstarted, the birds were con- spicuousin their territory,especially the male. We sawno fighting, but when a strangemale appeared,the residentmale flew at him and the strangerretired. When other males flew over the territory the resident bird flew up and pursued them for a distance. The females sometimes drove off other females. The birds sometimes flew at Verdins,House Finches,and Gila Woodpeckers,causing them to move away. During this pre-incubationperiod, even in the few days before egg laying, the male did not stay all the time on his territory, but occasionallymade flightsof severalhundred yards,high in the air, to other localities. Sometimes he fed there, but this behavior had nothing to do with availablefood, of which there was an abundance near the nest. It wasrather characteristicthat thesebirds, especially the males,flew high, fifty feet or more abovethe ground,even when startingfrom a low perch,going but a shortdistance and descending to a low perch. The femaleappeared to feed in the territorymore than did the male, but shealso left it, thoughher actionswere more secretiveand her activity was more difficult to follow. Incubation started with the first egg; both male and female incu- bated,but at one nestin the early part of incubationthe male incu- batedmore of the time than the female. However,the femalespent 338 RANDaND RAND, Breeding Notes on Phainopepla ['AukL July the night on the nest,as we found the femaleincubating at 9:30 P.M. at one nest the night after the first egg was laid. Once, when the femalewas laying, the malefed her. During a periodof 1 hour and 37 minutes of watching a nest containing only the first egg (March 23, 1940) the male incubatedfor three periodsof 1, 6 and 20 minutes; the femalewas on the nestfor one period of 50 minutes,during which shelaid the secondegg and wasfed four timesby the male; the male also once chaseda Gila Woodpeckerfrom the vicinity of the nest during this time. One nest was watchedfor a period of 1 hour and 20 minutes the day after the third eggwas laid. The male alone incubated,though the female was about part of the time. During this time the male incubatedfor five periodsof 5, 13, 17, 18 and 20 minutes,and wasoff, leaving the eggsuncovered, for four periodsof 1, 2, 2 and 2 minutes respectively. The next day both male and female incubated;during a period of 1 hour and 2 minutesthe male incubatedfor two periods of 12 and 5 minutes;the femalefor two periodsof 24 and 10 minutes, and the nest was left uncoveredfor three periodsof 2 to 5 minutes each. At anothernest, four daysafter the clutch of three eggswas complete,a watch of 48 minutes showedthe male and female incu- bating in a quicker rhythm; the female incubatedfor six periodsof 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 7 minutesand wasoff for six periodsof 1, 2, 2, 3, 7 and 8 minutes,while the male incubatedfor four periodsof 1, 1, 4 and 6 minutes,and wasoff for four.periodsof 1, 8, 13 and 14 minutes, leaving the nest uncoveredfor six periodsof 1 to 3 minutes. Thus, differentbirds spentvarying timeson and off the eggs. For instance, at one nest both male and female spentvery short periodson the eggs-from 1 to 7 minutes;while at another nest the male incubated for as long as 20 minutesat a time. The male and female frequently gave a little kuk-kuk call as one bird returned to brood, and the other often respondedas it left the nest. Sometimesthe call was given from as far as ten yards away from the nest and continuedas the bird approachedto take its turn at incubation. Sometimes one bird waited at some distance from the nest,where its mate joined it; sometimesboth sat side by side for a time, before the incomingbird went to the nest. Softer cru-ee noteswere alsogiven when the birds changedplaces, as they passed each other near the nest itself. No other ceremonyof alternation was observed. Usually there were mistletoeberries growing on the tree contain- ing the nest, and during incubation the female sometimesfed on Vol.•045 6o'[ .s R^NDAND RA•D, Breeding Notes on Phainopepla 339 them there,only rarely flying a distanceto feed. On the other hand the male still often flew of[ to some distanceto feed, though oc- casionallyhe fed in the nest tree. Crouch mentionsthat when the birds are awayfrom the nestthey spendtheir time feeding. Perhaps food wasmore abundantin the localitywhere we studiedthese birds, for often we sawbirds sitting quietly, sunningthemselves, or preen- ing, beforecoming back to the nest. There was little active displayingduring this period. No records were made of the high, circular flights so conspicuousduring the nest-buildingtime. Nor did the bird sing during this time, though both male and female often sat on high conspicuousperches, the male doing so more often than the female. Neither male nor female paid much attention to Verdinsgleaning through the branchesnear the nests at this time. On one occasiona female Phainopepla left the nest where she was incubatingand chaseda male English Sparrowfrom the nest tree. At another nest the male left the nest to chasea Gila Woodpeckerfrom the nest tree. Territory defenseevidently weakens during this period as at one nest containingthree eggswe saw two malesaccompanying the fe- male back to the nest from somedistance away; a third male soon followed. The female paid no attention to them and went on her nest immediately. The males soon left of their own accord, to fly of[ toward the cottonwoods200-300 yardsaway. In five nests on which observations were made on the share oœ the sexesin careof the young,male and femaletook an equal part in the feeding,sanitation, and brooding. At one other nest, however,dis- coveredwhen the young were a day or so old, the male alone cared for the young and there was no female about. The food given the young was berries,and thesethe adult carried in its throat and regurgitated. One bird fed the youngseven berries at one feeding. Both male and female were seento wait at the nest and, when the young voided, to eat the excrement. At one nest,when the youngwere a few daysold, in one hour of watchingthe male fed three times,staying to brood each time periodsof 11, 6, and 13 minutes,respectively; the female also fed three times, stayingto brood for 4, 5, and 5 minutes; the nest was uncoveredfor five periods of 1 to 6 minutes each; at another nest with smallyoung, in 1 hour and 50 minutesthe femalefed five times, and settledto brood each time for periodsranging from 5 to 12 minutes in length, while in the same period the male fed three times, stayingeach time to brood for 4 to 8 minutes; the nest was 3'•0 Rntqontqo Rntqo, Breeding Notes on Phainopepla I.[Auk July left unbroodedfor six periodsof 6 to 17 minutes duration. The same huk-kuk calls were used to signal to each other, as the birds changedplaces at the nest,as were observed with incubatingbirds. At the nestwith onlythe malein attendance,when the youngwere one day old, he fed in one hour six times, and on five of theseocca- sionsafter feeding, brooded for periodsof 6 to 11 minutes,leaving the nestuncovered for periodsof 1 to 10 minutes;five days later, in an hour he came to the nest and fed five times, and brooded three of thesetimes for periodsof 3 to 5 minutes,leaving the nest un- coveredfor periodsof 3 to 15 minutes. On severalother shortvisits to this nest no female was seen near it. There wasa decideddifference in the generalbehavior of the birds with youngand thosethat wereincubating. While the birdsat nests containingeggs did no displaying,these birds were conspicuous about thenest. The maleand the female gave display flights in thevicinity of the nest and territory defensebecame prominent again; when a strangemale appeared in the nestneighborhood, he waschased away at once by the residentmale. The general behaviorwas similar to that of birdsconstructing nests. The birdsdid not customarilysing duringthe careof theyoung, any more than theydid whenincubating. Crouch found that the male loses interest in the nest after the youngare hatched,but this differsfrom what we saw. The male and femalestill sharedequally in caringfor the young,and in somecases the male was activelydefending his territory. In the nest where the male alone was caringfor the young,he paid little if any attention to intrudersof his own or other species,though he occasionallysat up quietlyon someconspicuous perch for minutesat a time.

SUMMARY Near Tucsonthere were two influxesof mostof the breedingbirds, one in Februaryand another in March. The first eggswere seen March 3; the last young in a nest, on June 12. The male Phain- opeplasestablished territories and advertisedthemselves visually, by conspicuousperching and displayflights instead of singing. Nest building was startedby the malesbefore they were mated. Male and femaleindulged in courtshipflights, and there was courtship feedingduring pair formation. The femaleaided in completingthe nest. When the male had finished a nest, and still had not secured a mate, he built anothernest. Only after a period of displaying and nest building, during which he was unable to securea mate, did a male sing. Usuallymale and femaleshared nest duties, but at Vol.60'] WILL•,MS.•a•o NEmON, Canada Goose Nests and Eggs 1 •945 a one nestthe male alonefed the young. During incubation,territory defenseand displayflights were lacking,but appearedagain after the young were hatched. AmericanMuseum of Natural History New York City

CANADA GOOSE NESTS AND EGGS

BY CECIL S. WILLIAMS AND MARCUS C. NELSON AsmEfrom Bent's (1925) summarization,few comparativerecords of Canada Goosenest and egg sizesare found in the literature. It is felt, therefore,that the measurementsof 174 eggsand more than 100 nestsof geesebreeding in northern Utah, and the commentson them, will be of interest. Approximately 1100 pairs of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) breedin Box Elder County,which is one of the northernmostin Utah. Two of the more productivebreeding localitiesin the county are the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the Bear River Silts lying betweenBrigham City and the Refuge. It was from nestson these two areasthat the data herein presentedwere obtained. Although they constitutebut a very smallpart of the availablebreeding grounds in the county,they are quite similar to the others,and it is unlikely that the factorsinfluencing the goosepopulation on the variousareas differ markedly. Studieson and in the vicinity of the Bear River Refugeduring recentyears have indicatedsome of the major attributesof good goose-breedingareas. Although these are of little concern to the presentdiscussion, they are briefly enumeratedfor completeness: (1) a browsingarea availableto nestingbirds and to paired adults prior to the nestingseason; (2) an aquaticfeeding area during the brooding period; (3) a brooding environmentof open water and restingbanks; (4) molting cover (emergents);(5) a browsingarea for broodsafter they are on the wing (thismay be the sameas 1); (6) nest- ing sitesisolated from interference;(7) nestingsites providing firm foundations;(8) nestingsites with goodto excellentvisibility. All theseitems seem to be essential,or at leastvery important,in deter- mining breeding populations. Nesting sites are also selectedfor their proximity to channelsand to open pondsthat provideavenues to the brooding areas. Muskrat lodges are influential ecological factors,adding considerably to the nestingvalue of certainemergent environments,notably cat-tail and alkali bulrush.