FIRST CALIFORNIA RECORDS OF THE LITTLE STINT AND NAZCA BOOBY CONFIRMED THROUGH MOLECULAR ANALYSIS

Abstract

We used molecular genetic analysis to assess the identification of two bird specimens otherwise difficult to identify with certainty. A Calidris sandpiper collected in 1974 had been identified at various times as the Little Stint (C. minuta) or as the Red-necked Stint (C. ruficollis). The remains of a booby salvaged in 2013 were identified as either the Nazca (Sula granti) or the Masked (S. dactylatra). We were able to identify the first as C. minuta and the second as S. granti, providing the first California records of each species.