MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN NO. 164 A Distributional Checklist of the Birds of Michigan Robert B. Payne Museum of Zoology and Division of Biological Sciences The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 Ann Arbor MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN March 28, 1983 MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN NO. 164 The publications of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan consist of two series-the Occasional Papers and the Miscellaneous Publications. Both series were founded by Dr. Bryant Walker, Mr. Bradshaw H. Swales, and Dr. W. W. Newcomb. The Occasional Papers, publication of which was begun in 1913, serve as a medium for original studies based principally upon the collections in the Museum. They are issued separately. When a sufficient number of pages has been printed to make a volume, a title page, table of contents, and an index are supplied to libraries and individuals on the mailing list for the series. The Miscellaneous Publications, which include papers on field and museum techniques, monographic studies, and other contributions not within the scope of the Occasional Papers, are separately. It is not intended that they be grouped into volumes. Each number has a title page and, when necessary, a table of contents. A complete list of publications on Birds, Fishes, Insects, Mammals, Mollusks, and Reptiles and ~rn~hibiansis available. Address inquiries to the Director, Museum of Zoology, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48 109. MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN NO. 164 A Distributional Checklist of the Birds of Michigan Robert B. Payne Museum of Zoology and Division of Biological Sciences The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 Ann Arbor MUSEUM OF ZOOL,OGY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN March 28, 1983 PAGE 1N'I'IZOI)UCI'ION ............................................................... I NAMES ......................................................................... 1 1)EI;INITIONS OF TERMS ....................................................... I SOURCES OF INFORMATION ...................................................2 SUMMARY OF THE BIRDS ...................................................... 3 A<:KNOWLEL)GMENTS .......................................................... 3 CIIECKI.IST .................................................................... 4 RE.JE:C'I'EI) SPE(:IES ............................................................. 62 L.II'EIRt\ fURK (:I ['EL) ........................................................... 63 INDEX .......................................................................... 65 89 87 85 83 ONTARIO WISCONSIN Map of Michigan inclicatirlg the couritics IN'I'KODUCTION 'I'his checklist is a summary of the occurrence, breeding status, migra- tion, and distribution of birds in Michigan. Used with one of the popular field guides to North American birds, the checklist should be helpful in identifying birds in the Geld most likely to be seen in Michigan. All species known to occur in the state and docurnented with speci- mens, photographs, or tape recordings are included in the checklist. I have accepted only the birds known in the past or at the present time from these permanent reference sources. Museum specimens are the primary sources of information about bird species, and they are the original reference mater-ial used in distributional works and field guides.- In recent years the biology and distribution of birds have increasingly been determined with field observations, and museum collecting is done only under special cir- cumstances. Most recent infhrmation on birds in Michigan is from field observations. NAMES The common names follow the American Ornithologists' Union Committee on Classifica- tion and Nomenclature (AOU, 1982). For scientific names and sequence I follow the AOU (1982) cxcept Sor the herons where I follow the rlarnes and sequence in Payne (1979). Sub- species names are included only whcrc thcy differ from those in Zirnmerman and Van Tyne (19.50) (referred to here as ZVT) or where recent changcs in the recognized species call for further comment. DEFINITIONS 01;TERMS The list includes the migratory and breeding status of Michigan birds and the seasons of occurrence and their regularity and abundance. Introduced birds and exotics are included only if they have established breeding populations in the wild in Michigan. An asterisk (*) indicates a known breeding record in Michigan. Those birds not represented by specimens, recognizable photographs, tape recordings, or verified banding recoveries are included in brackets and are regarded as hypothetical. The categories used to describe status are: (1) vagrant, one to four records for the state; (2) occasional, 540 records; (3) uncommon, sparse population but usually seen in every year; (4) common, regularly occurring in the state in numbers in every year in suitable habitat. Estimates of population numbers of breeding birds are included where available, as are the migration routes and wintering areas determined from recovcrics of banded birds. "Tran- sient" indicates that the species occurs in migration, but unless noted otherwise it does not nest in tllc state. "Summer resident" indicates that the species occurs in Michigan during the brecding season and that most or all individuals migrate out of the state during the colder timc of year. "Regular" birds are seen every year or nearly every year. "Irregular" birds are seen in some years but not in others. "Irruptive" birds occur in large numbers in some years and usually few or none in other years; these are mainly wintering visitors from the northern coniferous forests. "Hypotheticals" are those species reported only as sight records but not documented with specimens or photographs. Several of these are reasonable identifications and are supported by detailed written field descriptions. Further field work likely will confirm their occurrence with good photographs or museum specimens. I have not included in the checklist the species whose occurrence was doubted by Barrows (ISI'L), Swales (1!)13), Wood (1951), or %vr- whoever reviewed the species most I-ecently-unless more recent observations were available. Other lists also were consulted (Gibbs, 1879; Tordoff, 1966, 1'973;.lanson and Ryel, 1975). At rhe end of the list are a few "rejected" species whose occurrence is doubtful. "Northern Michigan" refers to the country north of a line from the Grand Valley to Saginaw Bay and includes both the Upper Peninsula and the nol-thern 1.ower Peninsula. "Southern Michigan" includes the area to the south. This division marks the northern or southern ranges of breeding populations ofsevel-al birds, and it corresponds approximately to rhe southel-n limit of extensive tracts of coniferous forests in the 01-iginal natural vegetation of Michigan (Kiichler, 1964). SOURCES OF INFOKMATION Information on the occurrence and status 01' Michigan birds was gathered ftom museurn collections, photographs, and both published and unpublished tield observations. The docu- mentation for species is given mainly where few records are known or where recent observa- tions show a change in the range or status Unless noted otherwise at least 5 specimens of each species are known from Michigan. Most are in the collections of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ). Included are the rnuseum specimen numbers, localities, and dates for those species with only 1-5 specimens. Details are given for species known frorn photographs, tape recordings, or only 1-2 specimens in addition to the photographs or tape recordings. Photographs and tape recordings are generally suitable as pet-rnanent records of the oc-currence of a species. But the qu;~lityof photos and tapes varies, and usr~allywe cannot use them to determine the bird's subspecific identity or otherwise examine them in detail. In preparing the checklist I have used Barrow's "Michigan Bird Life" (1912), Wood's "Birds of Michigan" (1951). and Zimmerman and Van I'yne's "Check-list of the birds of. Michigan" (195'9) as a guide to specirnena, though except where noted 1 examined all speci- mens myself. Birds in private collections and in high school collections years ago in some cases have disappeared. The local collection of Miller Ernpey is now in the Freeland <:ommunity Schools. Remnants of the historically importarit Clarence K. Uarron collec:tion in Niles remain in the Fort St. Joseph Museum and in Niles Senior High School, but most of these early specimens have been discarded. Bird collections of the Sault Ste. Marie Public Schools and of Olivet College, described in part by Barrows (1912) and Wood (lglil), have since been dis- carded (J. F. Ingold, in litt., L. <:. Holcornb, in litt., UMMZ). Kal-e or noteworthy specirrierls and documents should be placed in a permanent university museum c-ollection. The list also includes intbrmation from bird specimens in Andrews University at Berrien Springs (AU), Central Michigan University (CMU), Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago (FMNH), the Empey collection (Freeland Community Schools), Grand Rapids Public Museum (including Kent Scientific Museum) (GKPM), Hope College Museum of Zoology (MCMZ), Kalamazoo Nature Center (KNC) (Pettingill collection, Kalama~ooCollege (KCS) collection, and the Michigan Audubon Society (MAS) collection), Michigan State University (MSU), Fort St. Joseph Museum (Niles), Niles Public Schools, Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), the University of Michigan Biological