Vol. 29 No. 3 (1998)

This report covers 136 records of 73 species submitted to the California Bird Records Committee (hereafter the CBRC or the Committee). Although most records pertain to birds found in 1995, the period covered by this report extends from 1970 (and 1918 for one specimen record) to 1996.

Our knowledge of the birds on Mitlenatch Island, British Columbia, is largely confined to a list of species seen by many naturalists and visitors, recently compiled by Sirk et al. (1993). Sirk et al. mixed information on the status of birds on Mitlenatch with that from nearby Cortes Island, but this leads to erroneous results for Mitlenatch.

The Pygmy Nuthatch (Sitta pygmaea) is a permanent resident of montane habitats in the Rocky Mountain region, occurring most commonly in forests of Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa). In Colorado, the center of its distribution is in the lower montane region (1,660 to 2,425 m) (Bailey and Niedrach 1965, Andrews and Righter 1992).

Reports of the frequency of Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) parasitism on the Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena) vary greatly. The bunting has often been described as an uncommon host (Friedmann et al. 1977, Friedmann and Kiff 1985), though King (1954) found two of three nests parasitized and four family groups of fledglings with a juvenile cowbird.

The breeding range of the White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) circles much of the Northern Hemisphere, extending from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east across Eurasia to Siberia and westernmost Alaska. Through this broad range, there is extensive subspecific variation, with a total of ten subspecies recognized (Mayr and Greenway 1960, Cramp 1988); the form nesting in western Alaska and northeastern Siberia is M. a. ocularis (Swinhoe's White Wagtail).

The Arizona Bird Committee (ABC hereafter) was organized by Steven M. Speich in 1972, with the original members being Russell P. Balda, Bill Harrison, Gale Monson, Stephen M. Russell, Steven M. Speich, and Robert A. Witzeman. Through the 1980s, as original members retired from the committee, new members were elected; these included Doug Danforth, Kenn Kaufman, G. Scott Mills, Gary H. Rosenberg, Will Russell, David Stejskal, Scott B. Terrill, and Carl Tomoff.

The Barred Owl (Strix varia) has rapidly expanded its range into the western United States in the past century, moving westward across the northern Rocky Mountains and then southward from the Pacific Northwest into California (Dark et al. 1998).

The Black Swift, Cypseloides niger, is the single North American breeding species in the Cypseloidinae, a mostly tropical New World subfamily of swifts (Apodidae). Members of this subfamily have the well-known habit of nesting on damp, dark rock surfaces near or behind waterfalls (Knorr 1961, Collins 1968, Marin and Stiles 1992).

From a well-attended meeting in the Imperial Valley in August 1997, the Western Field Ornithologists will shift gears climatically and biogeographically to meet 1–4 October 1998 in Arcata, Humboldt County, California.

Any puzzlement readers might feel over the identity of the bird on the back cover only serves to strengthen the point I have chosen to illustrate. This species' nondescript, sparrow-like appearance has caused field identification problems throughout much of California in recent years. Its unfamiliarity stems from its absence from North American field guides and avifaunal works, and it is symbolic of the increasing naturalized populations of non-native bird species that now thrive in many human-altered habitats in California.

Human knowledge becomes ever more specialized, a trend reflected among ornithological field guides by numerous recent publications treating families or similar taxa rather than all birds of a given region.

It is in the species accounts, comprising nearly 500 pages, that the knowledge and background of the authors become evident. Each account has a brief summary and description characterizing the species, followed by sections covering similar species, voice, behavior, habitat, distribution, status and conservation, subspecies, taxonomic relationships, plumages and molts, and references listed by subject.