Vol. 30 No. 2 (1999)

This report covers 232 records of 95 species submitted to the California Bird Records Committee (hereafter the CBRC or the Committee). Although most records pertain to birds found in 1996, the period covered by this report spans 18 years, from 1978 to 1996.

Our understanding of the status of vagrant hummingbirds across eastern North America has changed dramatically over the past three decades (Conway and Drennan 1979; see fall and winter seasonal reports in American Birds/Field Notes). Although an increase in hummingbird feeders and observers’ expertise has undoubtedly contributed to our knowledge of extralimital hummingbirds, Hill et al. (1998) hypothesized that the significant increase in transient and wintering Rufous Hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) in the East is primarily a result of a relatively recent change in this hummingbird’s innate migratory behavior.

This report covers the passerines during the period from 1974 through 1996 (Part 1; the non-passerines have been published separately—see Western Birds 29:199–224). Two previous reports by the Arizona Bird Committee (ABC)have also been published (Speich and Parker 1973; Speich and Witzeman 1975).

During regular surveys of tern colonies at the Western Salt Works in southern San Diego Bay, John Konecny and I discovered a single Sooty Tern (Sterna fuscata) nest with one egg on or like on 3 June 1997. This constitutes the first nesting record of this species for California and for the mainland western United States. The nest was preceded by a spate of sightings at this location starting in 1996.

This volume is one of a series of five gap-analysis volumes for Washington State; the others cover the distribution of mammals, amphibians and reptiles, land cover, and a summary of the gap analyses.

The Birds of Sonora (hereafter Sonora) is an impressive work that covers the status and distribution of the avifauna of the Mexican state of Sonora, immediately south of Arizona. It provides an overview of the transition between temperate and tropical habitats on the Pacific slope of the Americas and will be of interest and value to all interested in North American bird distribution.

This volume in the Helm series (published in the U.K. by Pica Press) might seem of little direct relevance to North American field ornithology, but bear in mind that 63 species of parrots have been recorded free-flying in Florida(Stevenson and Anderson 1994, The Birdlife of Florida) and 33 in California (Garrett 1997, Western Birds 28:181–195).

Shrikes follows the familiar format of the Pica/Yale family guides, with brief introductory sections (discussing taxonomy and an overview of genera covered), color plates with short facing-page texts, and species accounts (which include range maps).

Why should you buy a guide that you’ll probably never carry in the field, for a group of birds that you hardly ever see? The author’s stated purpose was to bring together illustrations of all the nightjars and their relatives—many painted for the first time—and to summarize “much of what is currently known about these fascinating birds.”

The pale irides of the Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus) have often been cited as a useful feature for distinguishing this species from the female Brewer’s Blackbird (E. cyanocephalus). However, recent scrutiny of the latter species in central California has shown that females regularly show pale irides, often indistinguishable from those of the Rusty Blackbird.

Quarterly Journal of Western Field Ornithologists