Vol. 28 No. 3 (1997)

This report covers 167 records of 75 species, submitted by 158 observers to the California Bird Records Committee(hereafter the CBRC or the Committee).

Empidonax traillii extimus is one of several recognized subspecies of the Willow Flycatcher (Unitt 1987; Browning 1993), a neotropical migrant that breeds across much of North America. This southwestern race is a riparian obligate, nesting in dense patches of willow (Salix spp.), willow–cottonwood(Populus spp.), or other similarly structured habitats.

There is a growing body of literature documenting large concentrations of shorebirds at wintering sites or migratory staging areas along the Pacific Coast of North America.

The Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandvicensis) is a widespread breeding species along the Atlantic coasts of Europe, North America (AOU 1983; Cramp 1985), and the Caribbean (AOU 1983).

The Pacific coast population of the Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) typically nests on sandspits, dune-backed beaches, around estuaries, and on beaches at river mouths.

Phillips (1977) described the avifauna of the Chihuahuan Desert region as ranking among the least known bird communities of North America. In the nineteen years since, little has happened to alter that assessment.