SCIENCE stripe(streaked mostly on the s•des with grayand fine black)extended fromthe upperforehead to the back of the head. A blackish line bordered the cap below. Below it a rusty brownsupercilium extended rear- PINEBUNTING wards well onto the sides of the neck.A prominentwhite patch ex- tendedbelow the eye,rearward and down over the cheek, which itself wasbordered on theoutside by dark ONATTU ISLAND, brown. The chin and throat were alsoclearly rusty brown. The breast and flankswere buffy brown and ALASKA streakedbroadly with dark brown; the bellywas white, The bird'sback byGeorge E V&gner wasbrownish gray with prominent blackstreaking. The rumpand up- pertail covertsdisplayed a bright rustybrown color. The wingsap- pearedas brown with somerust. ON NOVEMBER 19, 1985, I OB- the buildingsand construction rub- The tailwas fairly long, notched and servedand photographeda male ble.On thefollowing day, I observeddark brown (upperside) with white Pine Buntingat the United States the bird with 10x40 binoculars at a outertail feathers. The legsappeared Coast Guard Station on Attu Island distanceof 10-20m (30-60 ft) as it aspale. The bird'scall sounded like •n thewestern Aleutians. This repre- foragedon the snow-freeground tsikor reek.I thoughtit wassharper, sents the first known occurrence of nextto the foundationof a portable louder,and more prolongedthan thisspecies in theAleutians as well constructioncamp. that of a RusticBunting. The head as in Alaska and North America. It Of North Americanspecies, this marking'sof the bird areunique to becomesthe seventhspecies of the bird resembleda Lapland Longspur onespecies -- thePine Bunting and genusEmberiza that is sofar repre- ( Calcariusla??onicus) in structure, a male at that. No other identifica- sented in the A.O.U. Check-list area but differedin beingchunkier, hav- tionis possible. only as a vagrantby way of the inga longertail, a moreerect stance, The birdwas photographed under Alaskan connection. difficultlighting conditions and at In the Aleutians, the winter snow considerable distance on November coverdoes not arriveabruptly with a 19. Thoseimages are not of publish- s•ngleweather system as it doesin This PineBunting able quality but do documentthe manyparts of ourcontinent. There, on Attu was subjected record.Copies are on depositat the the processis moregradual; snow Universityof AlaskaMuseum at Fair- first accumulates on the mountain to rain, sleet, snow, banks and at VIREO. peaksand, with decliningtempera- and constant winds of The PineBunting is a commonor ture, it daily progresseslower. By sometimes abundant bird found in mid-November 1985, the snow blan- 30-60 mph, and the hardwood forests of the eastern ket had crept down to the ocean had no place to hide Palearctic(Dement'ev and Gladkov beaches.On November 18 and 19, 1970). It breeds from the Ural onlya fewpatches of bareground re- in this hostile; Mountains east to the shores of the mained.Several of thesepatches were treeless habitat. Sea of Okhotsk, north to the Arctic around the construction site Circleand southto the 48th paral- at the Coast Guard Station. There, lel. In the Far East, it alsobreeds on on November18, my unaidedeye a smaller bill and a fuller crown, as Shantar, Sakhalin and the Kuril Is- ghmpseda bird whose call was sug- wellas appearing slightly larger. The lands (Dement'ev and Gladkov gestiveof a RusticBunting (E. rus- bird'smost striking features were the 1970; Flint et al. 1984). Johansen twa), yet somewhatdifferent. The markingson its rusty brown head. A (1961) doesnot mention any re- birdimmediately disappeared among prominent, broad, white crown portsfrom the CommanderIslands. Volume 44, Number 5 ß 10•9 Bald Eaglesof Alaska's CoastalRain Forest A dynamicdistance delivered course for bird enthusiasts,teachers, collegestudents, and those interestedin the environment. With theincluded color video,explore Alaska's pristine rain forest and one of its mostmajestic inhabitants. To registeror for informationcall Toll Free:1-800-421-3768. •,• UniversityofAlaska Southeast It wintersthroughout central Asia freshedges on the newlymolted ping activitybetween Japan, Korea, (Flint et al. 1984) and northern feathersobscure the nuptialplum- and North America. However, this Japan(Wild Bird Societyof Japan agebeneath. With time, the edges considerationshould not be given 1985).It is a migratoryspecies, but wear awayto revealthe splendid greaterweight in this casethan in somebirds are presentduring the plumageof spring.Pine Buntings, the case of the hundreds of other winter in the southernmost breed- like many other species,acquire migrantpassetines sofar accepted as •ng areas(D6ment'ev and Gladkov theirnuptial plumage as a resultof vagrantsto theNear Islands. 1970).As the namesuggests, it is wear.As featherwear is affectedby Even if assistancewas a factor •n most often found in coniferous for- manyfactors, including habitat, it thisbird reachingAttu, it wasmost ests or mixed hardwoods. Its diet neednot progress at the same rate in probablyin the form of a weather consistsmostly of seedsas well as all individuals under different con- systemor storm, rather than of someinsects during the summer ditions.This PineBunting on Attu humans.Fall in thisregion is typi- (Dement'evand Gladkov 1970). wassubjected to rain, sleet,snow, fiedby frequentviolent storms that The bird presenton Attu wasa and constantwinds of 50-100kph moveup the coastof Japantoward male in winter plumage,but dis- (30-60 mph), and had no placeto the Near Islands.They begin •n playeda prominentwhite crown hide in this hostile, treelesshabitat. Augustand increase in intensityand stripeand rusty brown throat. Such Featherwear might have advanced frequency through November headmarkings do not appearto be at a faster rate on this bird than on Wind speedsof 50-70 kph (30-40 typicalof the winterplumage. De- the typicalPine Buntingsheltered mph)were the normon the nicest ment'ev and Gladkov (1970) indi- by an AsianPine forest and not ex- daysin November1985. Several catethat thewhite crown cap after posedto the hardshipsof theAleu- stormsproduced winds in excessof the fall molt is mostlyobscured by tians. Besides,on a bird that molted 160 kph (100 mph). Weatheris a fresholive-gray feather edgings; as is in July,four monthsof wear un- majorfactor in divertingvagrants to the chestnutthroat camouflaged by derany conditions may reveal some the Near Islandsand perhapsthe freshlight edgings. The stereotypicalmarkings of spring. mostsignificant consideration in the wintermale plumage is portrayed in As with all extralimital records, arrivalof thisPine Bunting on Attu A FieldGuide to theBirds of Japan this bird's manner of arrival on Attu In manycases, vagrants can be d•- (Wild BirdSociety of Japan1985). mustbe considered. It is a migratory rectlylinked to a particularweather In late November,the Attu bird dis- speciesthat breedsas close as Sak- event. In the case of the Pine playeda headpattern more sugges- halin and the Kural Islands. It is in a Buntingthat is not possible.Th•s tive of transitionalspring plumage genuswhose members are regular bird's time of arrival on Attu re- rather than of fall. vagrantsto the Near Islandsfrom mainsopen to conjecture.It ispossi- Lest anyonesuggest that this the sameregion. It is alsoa rare blethat the Pine Bunting arrived on plumagecondition at that time of autumnvisitor to westernEurope, the island on November 18. How- the yearis somehowan obstacleto includingBritain (Bruun 1979). ever,it seemsmuch more plausi- thisrecord, I feelobliged to discussCertainly, the potentialexists for ble that it arrived much earlier and the matterfurther. Pine Buntings this bird to have reached Attu Island was not observed until that date. At undergoa singleannual molt in late on its own. about this time, increasingsnow summer,some as early as July, and Ship-assistedpassage remains an cover forced the bird to the island's othersas late as late August(De- unlikelybut reasonableconsidera- few patchesof bareground around ment'ev and Gladkov 1970). The tion due to the nearbyheavy ship- the construction site at the Coast American B•rds,W•nter 1990 0 Dialyt: West Germany ?x42B THEBEST WAY TO IDENTIFY BIRDS ISTO LOOK FOR THESE MARKINGS. • x. Zeiss7 x 42 binocularsare specially andsharper images under a widerange of lighting • z designedtosolve one of birding's most conditions.From early dawn to twilight. • commonproblems: locating birds Zeiss7 x 42'sare definitely ' obscuredby dense foliage. a binocular for the serious birder. ._- Avery largefield of viewand And on that, youcan mark balanceddesign are combined with our words. For information call our superiorZeiss optics to createbrighter, clearer, toll-freenumber, 1-800-338- 2984. Guard station. Dement'ev and doakedthe remaining bare ground at Fred Zeillemaker of the Aleutian Islands Gladkov (1970) indicate that this the construction site. The Pine NationalWildlife Refuge and to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Without species'fall migrationcommences Bunting was not seen on November theirsupport and cooperation my trips duringthe lastdays of Augustand 20 or thereafter.How longthe Pine to A•u and this record would not have concludesin early November.By Buntingmight have remained on the beenpossible. November,the vastmajority are on islandor survivedis open to specula- theirwintering grounds. To suggesttion. However, its return to Asia Literature Cited that this bird arrived on Attu on seemsunlikely in viewof the fierce BRUUN, B. 1979. The LarousseGuide to Birdsof Britainand Europe.La- November18