The Loggerhead Kingbird in Florida: The Evidence Revisited P. William Smith PO. Box 1992 OceanShores, Washington 98569 ([email protected]) Glen E. Woolfenden ArchboldBiological Station Venus,Florida 33960 (gwoolfenden@archbold-stat[on.org) AlexanderSprunt IV 102 lqohawkStreet Tavern•er,Florida 33070 ABSTRACT LoggerheadKingbird, the illustration was merely a linedrawing of a ' theheLoggerheadWest Indies, Kingbirdhas been reported (Tyrannus in caudifasciatus),Floridaon at leastendemicsix occa- to bird's head. sions,with threesupported by archivedphotographs. These reports The report evidentlywas submittedas a LoggerheadKingbird formthe basis for thespecies' inclusion on thelists of birdsknown to bothfor the Christmas Bird Count itself (Sprunt 1972) and to Henry occurin North Americanorth of Mexico.However, after reviewing Stevenson,that season'sRegional Editor for AmericanBirds. Two all the evidence we could locate, we concluded that none of the photographs(TTRS P25 and P26),both appearing to be differently recordsclaimed can be verifiedind, ependently as definitely pertain- magnifiedenlargements cropped from one of thosetaken by Sprunt lng to a LoggerheadKingbird. Depending upon the evidenceavail- 31 December1971 (now TTRS P708, Fig. 1), werearchived at Tall able, the Giant Kingbird (T. cubensis),endemic to Cuba, Gray TimbersResearch Station, where Stevenson kept an office.At least •ngblrd (T. dominicensis),or Eastern Kingbird (T. tyrannus)appear onephoto of the bird was sent to James Bond at the Academy of to be amonglikely alternatives. We suggest,therefore, that the NaturalSciences, Philadelphia. Bond must have conveyed his opin- LoggerheadKingbird be removed from formal lists of birdsrecorded ion about it both to Stevensonand to others;he alsoexpressed it from North America north of Mexico. directlyin print severalyears later without details(Bond 1978:3). INTRODUCTION AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Bondclearly considered the photo(s)he sawto pertainto a Giant During the Upper Florida Keys ChristmasBird Count on 29 Kingbird(T. cubensis),a Cuban endemic even less well-known than December1971, FrancesHames and Mary Crane (both now the Loggerheadand also rather poorly illustrated in Bond(1971). deceased)observed an unexpectedkingbird in Islamorada,"first Bond'sopinion apparentlywas not well-receivedby some taken to be an EasternKingbird" (Tyrannus tyrannus; Stevenson observerswho sawthe bird andwho agreedwith the identification 1972),among a winteringflock of WesternKingbirds (T. verticalis) thenwidely held by Florida birders. Edscorn (1972) wrote, for exam- and Scissor-tailedFlycatchers (T. forficatus).Two dayslater, the ple, "Somequestion has arisenthat the [first-everLoggerhead count'scompiler (Sprunt) took a seriesof colorphotos of thisbird. Kingbird]was a GiantKingbird (Cuban) based on photos. .. but Althoughno longerrecalling details, Sprunt may have suggested its those of us who saw the bird have no doubt." Stevenson(1972) identificationas a LoggerheadKingbird (T. caudifasciatus),a wide- referredto the bird as"Tyrannus dubius" [sic], however, and after spreadGreater Antillean species never before reported in theUnited summarizingthe controversy,concluded that "neitherof thesetwo States,with which he had some limited prior field experience (Sprunt potentiallynew species for Floridacan claim an unequivocal place on 1972)We knowof no contemporarywritten field notes or analysis. the state list." At that time, photographsof endemicWest Indian birdswere not The followingwinter, presumablythe same bird reportedly widely available;the principalillustrations were thosein Bond returnedto Islamorada.The timing and durationof its secondstay (1971),many of whichwere simplified, even misleading. For the werenot publishedand a statementthat it wasphotographed again NORTHAMERICAN BIRDS 54 235-Z40• ZOO0 Loggerhead Kingbird, reached the hands of active North Americanfield birders.Because of the uncertaintysurrounding previousevents, primarily in the 1970s,that led to the Loggerhead Kingbird'saddition to the state and national avifaunas,we believedit appropriateto reviewcarefully some of the original photosin the contextof modernknowledge about that species andto publishour results. THE LOGGERHEAD KINGBIRD Greater Antilles, east to Puerto Rico, west to Cuba and the CaymanIslands, and north to the northern BahamaIslands east of thesouthern end of theFlorida peninsula. Historically, because of inter-islandvariation, each population was considered a sepa- rate species.During the 19th centurythe group,then generally known in Englishas petcharies, was usually placed in the genus Pitangus(now restricted to kiskadees)because of similarityin size and structure.Ridgway (1905) createda genusTolmarchus for Figure1. Kingbirdphotographed at Islamorada,Florida, 31 December them, mostlybecause of differencesin colorationand a broader, 1971(TTRS P708). This photograph and others were the primarybasis more depressedbill structure.He did not considerthem members for inclusionof loggerheadKingbird on the UnitedStates list, and of Tyrannus(kingbirds) primarily because of their bill structure later on the Floridalist, despite the fact that JamesBond believed it and becausetheir primariesare shortand roundedcompared to a GiantKingbird. Photograph by Alexander Sprunt IV. kingbirds'relatively long, attenuated primaries (Ridgway 1907). Combiningall the petchariesinto a singlepolytypic species by Sprunt(Woolfenden 1973) is untrue.Further details pertaining to was done with one simpleelegant sentence by Hellmayr (1927): thislater appearance seem unavailable. By now it had become"The "Accordingto my conceptionof specificunits, the representativesof LoggerheadKingbird" (italics ours), althoughWoolfenden (1973) Tolmarchuson the variousislands should be classedas subspecies, referredreaders back to the controversymentioned by Stevenson their charactersbeing only differencesof degreein size and col- (1972). No furtherclaims of this specieswere made before the American BirdingAssociation published its first checklist(ABA 1975a).That list failedto includeeither the Loggerheador the Giant Kingbird. Perhapsspurred by commentsfrom Floridians,the ABA did place the LoggerheadKingbird on its first checklistsupplement (ABA 1975b).Guy McCaskie, a memberof theABA ChecklistCommittee at that time, recalls(in litt.) no discussionof the merits of the addi- tionof thatspecies to thelist or anyreview of thephotos by the com- mittee. With the LoggerheadKingbird established in the lore of Florida and Americanbirding, there sooncame subsequent reports. Two later observationsare supportedby photographsthat are still archived: Miami 7-14 March 1976 (Stevenson 1976, TTRS Pl13 [Fig. 2] and Pl14), and lslamorada25 November-17December 1976(Edscorn 1977, Stevenson 1977, TTRS P136).The two photos of the Miami bird werestated (Stevenson 1976, paraphrased) to be clear enough to allow removal of LoggerheadKingbird from Florida'shypothetical list, an unofficialcompilation that Stevenson apparentlymaintained. Additional daims were made in lateryears. At leastone, "in the opinionof the observers,definitely not a Gray Kingbird (T. dominicends);was reportedlyphotographed (Kale 1977).The photosof the 1977bird, apparently now lost, were stated by Kale(1977, paraphrased) "to illustratethe difficultyin determi- nation... [for] it isnot possibleto easilyseparate [Loggerhead from Gray] in the field."None of the birdsphotographed in the 1970s apparentlywere described by written details.Of the handfulof later sightingsthat reachedprint, none apparentlywere photographed Figure2. Kingbirdphotographed at Miami,Florida, 8 March1976 and only one wassubmitted to the FloridaOrnithological Society (TTRSPl13), saidby Stevenson(1976), without stating a reason, RecordsCommittee. That reportwas not accepted. to furnishevidence for removingloggerhead Kingbird from EasternKingbird, Gray Kingbird,Loggerhead Kingbird, Giant Florida's(unofficial) hypothetical list. That statement may have Kingbird:confusion seems to havereigned during the periodbefore reflectedmisunderstanding of its field characters.Photograph by good quality photos of some West Indian species,particularly W. J. Bolte. 236 NORTH AIdERICAN BIRDS oration." Bond (1936) supportedthis treatment but called the species "LoggerheadFlycatcher" (as did some others of the era, including Barbour 1923), assertingthat the name 'petchary' was an onomatopoeticrendering of Gray Kingbird calls. After laying the ground- work in a footnote by assertingthat Tolmarchus resembledTyrannus more than Pitangus(Bond 1950: 97), Tolmarchuswas com- bined into Tyrannusby Bond (1956:105). Figure3. LoggerheadKingbird (jamaicensis), St. JamesParish, Jamaica, mid-February 1991. This figure, Presumablythis union was togetherwith Figs.4 and 5, illustratemost of the majorfield marksof the LoggerheadKingbird from the based on his philosophy westernpart of its range(Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Caymans): Long bill not especiallydeep; short round- (e.g., Bond 1971:13)that ed primaries;squarish head often showinga smallposterior crest; variably blackish cap and napecon- taxonomyand nomencla- trastingwith grayishback; prominently whitish-edged wing coverts;whitish tail outline(most prominent ture should emphasize on undersideof tip);Myiarchus-like "jizz". Photograph by M. C Wheeler. similarities between birds rather than differences. LaterBond (1958:7) claimed support for his treatmentof Tolmarchus membersof strict Tyrannus(sensu Ridgway 1907). Most people from an obscureearlier paper by a Germantaxonomist.