Hello, Ecologists. Here is a summary of the contents of vol. 38 no. 3 (2007) of the journal Western Birds, published by Western Field Ornithologists.
* THE 31ST REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA BIRD RECORDS COMMITTEE: 2005 RECORDS. * By MARSHALL J. ILIFF, GUY McCASKIE, and MATTHEW T. HEINDEL. * Pp. 161-205. * Analysis of 242 records evaluated during 2005, including additions to the California list of Parkinson's Petrel, Ringed Storm-Petrel, Slaty-backed Gull, and Green Violet-ear, bringing the state list to 632 species. * COLONIZATION OF THE EASTERN BLUEBIRD ALONG THE RIO GRANDE IN NEW MEXICO. * By JEAN-LUC E. CARTRON, MICHAEL D. MEANS, DAVID L. HAWKSWORTH, and DEBORAH M. FINCH. * Pp. 206-215. * Documentation of the recent and dramatic establishment of Eastern Bluebird as a breeding species along the Rio Grande in New Mexico, with 30 nesting records in 2005 and 2006 alone. * INCREASING WINTER ABUNDANCE OF THE MARBLED GODWIT IN WASHINGTON. * By JOSEPH B. BUCHANAN. * Pp. 216-218. * Documentation of the recent extension of the winter range of Marbled Godwit to Washington, and speculation about whether birds wintering in Washington are of the Alaskan subspecies beringiae or inland subspecies fedoa. * PELLET-CASTING BY A WESTERN SCRUB-JAY. * By MARY J. ELPERS and JEFF B. KNIGHT. * Pp. 219-221. * First documented instance of pellet-casting in the genus Aphelocoma; the behavior is most famously associated with owls, but has previously been documented in other taxa, including several Corvid genera. * A WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW WITH THREE LEGS. * By ANJA M. SCHILLER, KEITH W. LARSON, and JOHN D. ALEXANDER. * Pp. 222-223. * A White-crowned Sparrow mist-netted in Oregon in mid-October had a non-functional third leg originating from its cloaca, the first known instance of a bird with a third leg originating from an otherwise normal cloaca. * GREAT HORNED OWL DIURNAL RESPONSE TO A PASSERINE DISTRESS VOCALIZATION. * By ROBERT M. BOGARDUS, KENT A. HATCH, and LANDON R. JONES. * Pp. 224-226. * Evidence that Great Horned Owl hunts by day has been scant and circumstantial; thus, it is noteworthy that a Great Horned Owl in Utah responded to an alarm call given by day by a mist-netted American Robin. * A CALIFORNIA SPECIMEN OF THE WEDGE-TAILED SHEARWATER. * By STEVE N. G. HOWELL. * Pp. 227-228. * A 1915 specimen of a Wedge-tailed Shearwater from Santa Cruz County, California, until recently misidentified as a Short-tailed Shearwater, predates other North American records of Wedge-tailed by 70+ years. * A NESTING RECORD OF THE MASKED BOOBY FROM GUERRERO, SOUTHERN MEXICO. * By JOSE ALFREDO CASTILLO-GUERRERO, JUAN PABLO CEYCA, and ERIC MELLINK. * Pp. 229-231. * The nesting of two pairs of Masked Boobies at Morros del Potosi, Guerrero, Mexico, represents the first known breeding by the species in the eastern Pacific Ocean region near the shores of the continent. * PREDATION BY THE SONORAN WHIPSNAKE ON BIRDS IN SOUTHWESTERN NEW MEXICO. * By CARROLL D. LITTLEFIELD. * Pp. 232-234. * The Sonoran Whipsnake, previously characterized as a predator of nestlings, is here shown to prey upon a diverse suite of free-flying adult or juvenile birds, including hummingbirds, cardinalids, sparrows, and finches. * THE SHORT TALE OF A MELANISTIC BLACK-VENTED SHEARWATER. * By STEVE N. G. HOWELL. * Pp. 235-237. * A bird collected in Monterey Bay in December 1910 was identified tentatively as a Christmas Shearwater, then as a melanistic Black-vented Shearwater, then as a typical Short-tailed Shearwater, and then again as a melanistic Black-vented Shearwater. * BOOK REVIEW. * Reviewed by STEVE N. G. HOWELL. * Pp. 238-240. * Review of Albatrosses, Petrels, and Shearwaters of the World, by Derek Onley and Paul Scofield (Princeton University Press, 2007). * BOOK REVIEW. * Reviewed by DAVID LUKAS. * Pp. 240-241. * Review of Introduction to Birds of the Southern California Coast, by Joan Easton Lentz (University of California Press, 2006). * FEATURED PHOTO: IDENTIFICATION AT SEA OF HAWAIIAN AND GALAPAGOS PETRELS. * By MICHAEL P. FORCE, SOPHIE W. WEBB, and STEVE N. G. HOWELL. * Pp. 242-248. * A good character for field identification of Hawaiian and Galapagos Petrels is the extensive dark hood of the latter vs. the smaller dark cap of the former; other potentially distinguishing characters require additional comparative study. Please note that vols. 1-35 (1970-2004) of Western Birds are permanently archived and fully searchable online: http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/index.php. The service is free to the public, and is made available by Western Field Ornithologists (WFO) and the Searchable Ornithological Research Archive (SORA). More information about WFO is available online: http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/. More information about the journal Western Birds is also available online: http://www.wfo-cbrc.org/journal.html. Ted Floyd [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lafayette, Boulder County, Colorado _________________________________________________________________ Find a local pizza place, movie theater, and moreĀ .then map the best route! http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&ss=yp.bars~yp.pizza~yp.movie%20theater&cp=42.358996~-71.056691&style=r&lvl=13&tilt=-90&dir=0&alt=-1000&scene=950607&encType=1&FORM=MGAC01
