New records and important range extensions of Colorado birds

180

^Cart,

^New

^Records ofColorado Birds. |"AriiLApril

NEW RECORDS AND IMPORTANT RANGE EXTEN- SIONS OF COLORADO BIRDS.

BY MERRITT CARY,

U. S.

BIOLOGICAL SURVEY.

The

notes relative to distribution of

Colorado

birds gathered for the Biological

Survey during

the field seasons of

1905-06-07,

in connection with

work on

the life zones of that State, contain

important

geographical orvertical extensions of the

known ranges

of at least

34

species

and

subspecies.

Moreover, two

other species

have been found

forthefirsttime within theState.

At

the request of

Dr.

C.

Hart Merriam,

chief of the Biological Survey, these are

now

placed

on

record.

Mergus

^serrator.

Red-breasted Merganser.— A mounted

specimen

was

seen in the Estes drugstore at

La

Veta in

May,

1907. Mr. E.

W.

Scott, theowner, stated thatithad beenshoton areservoirnear thetown.

Egretta candidissima.

Snowy Heron. —

Although occasionally re- ported from both sides of the mountains, the following

two

specimens

seem

worthrecording. Whileinthe

White

Riverregionin 1906Ilearned

on

reliable authority that a

Snowy Heron

had been killed near

White

River P.O. the previoussummer, being afterward

mounted

at Meeker.

A mounted

specimen seen inthe Estes drugstore at

La

Veta in

May,

1907,issaid tohave beenkilledinthatvicinity.

The

altitude of

La

Veta, 7000feet,isexceptionallyhighfor this species.

Helodromassolitariuscinnamomeus.

Western

Solitary Sandpiper.

—

A

^pairseen on Deer Creek, 10 miles north of Kremmling, Middle Park, July13,1905,

may

have been ontheirbreeding grounds.

Bartramia longicauda.

Bartramian

Sandpiper.

—

This ploveris pos- siblyof

more

general occurrence inwesternColorado thanhas beensup- posed. Migrating birdswere heard at our

camp

on Bear River,south ofLay, Routt County,thenightofAugust 6, 1905,

and

otherswereheard in migration at Meeker on several occasions between

August

9

and

14, usually after nightfall.

Two

were also seen on a

meadow

near Meeker, August 12.

A

loneBartramian SandpiperseenAugust9, 1907,onatimothystubble at the head of Smith Fork, in the

West

Elk Mountains, apparently had

become

separatedfromaflock ofmigratingbirds,asit

was

bewildered,

and

remarkably tame.

The

altitude

was

unusual for Bartramia, being over 7000feet,while the recordisthe

most

southwesternfortheState.

Lophortyx californicus. California Partridge.

— From Grand

Junc- tion, wherefirstintroduced, this quail hasspread

up

theGunnison Valley at least toHotchkiss, where itwas foundinabundanceinAugust, 1907.

VOl 1909"VI

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Recor(ls °f Colorado Birds.

181

Also introducedsuccessfullyatMancos,

and

spreadingto quiteanextent in

Montezuma

County.

One was

seen

among

thepifionstwo milessouth ofDolores,June25, 1907,

by

Mr.Ress Philips ofthe U.S. Forest Service.

Tympanuchus

pallidicinctus.

Lesser

Prairie

Hen. — The

few Prairie Chickensreportedin thesandhills ofsoutheastern

Baca

County, between Springfield and the Cimarron River, should be pallidicinctus. Unfortu- nately, while in this region in November, 1907, I

was

unable to secure specimens.

Pedioecetes phasianellus columbianus.

Columbian

Sharp-tailed

Grouse. — A

specimenofcolumbianustaken nearHahn's

Peak

inAugust, 1906, proves quite conclusively the identityofthe Sharp-tailed Grouseof northwestern Colorado,

and

suggests also the probability that all the grousewestoftheContinental Divideare tinsformratherthancampestris.

These grouse were tolerably

common

in the sage parksbetween Hahn's

Peak

andSlater, inbothCanadian

and

Transitionzones. Severalfamily parties were encountered, the

young

being nearly two-thirds

grown

on August 15.

In 1907, Sharp-tailed Grouse were reported tolerably

common

on both thenorthernandsouthernslopes ofthe

San

MiguelMountains, andinthe

Lone Mesa

region of Dolores County, chiefly above the piiion belt. I flushedoneat9000feetintheopen,park-likecountrythree milessoutheast of

Lone

Mesa, June27,

and

anotherin theoak country eightmilessouth ofNorwood, SanMiguelCounty,July27.

On

theslopes of

Lone Cone

the breeding range ^is in the partially open oak

and

aspen country between 8000

and

9500feet. AccordingtoMr.C. H. SmithofCoventry, it isonly during theseverest winter

months

that Sharp-tailed Grouse occur aslow as 6500 feet. These grouse were also reported the

same

year from the upperpart of the yellow pine belt nearPagosa Springs,

and

a very few fromthe scattered sage parks lyingbetweenthe

McElmo

Canon, Monte-

zuma

County, and^theAbajo Mountains, Utah.

The known

southwestern range of columbianus is thus considerably extended.

Otus flammeola.

Flammulated Screech Owl. — A mounted

speci-

men

of tins rare little owl

was

seen in a taxidermist's establishment at

Glenwood

SpringsinAugust,1905,butitssource couldnotbe ascertained.

Geococcyx californianus.

Road-runner. — Abundant

in the cedar country of northwestern

Baca

County, a male specimen being collected at

Gaume's Ranch

in November, 1907.

The

northeastern limit of range

isattheRhinehartStage Station,22 miles southof

Lamar

onthe

Lamar-

Springfield stage line, at winch pointRoad-runners are said tobe seen occasionally.

Aeronautesmelanoleucus.

White-throated

Swift.

—

Henderson

men-

tionstheoccurrenceof tinsspeciesat

Pawnee

Buttes,innortheastern

Weld

County, which is the

most

northeastern record for Colorado. I have, however,founditinabundanceatSheep Mountain, Big

Bad

Lands,South Dakota,September2, 1905, apparently at thelimit ofitsdispersiontothe northeast.

182

^Cary,

New

Records of Colorado Birds.

[\pril

Tyrannus tyrannus. Kingbird.

— Not uncommon

in northwestern Colorado, at least during migration.

Noted

as follows: Meeker, early August, 1905; Dixon,

Wyoming, August

22, 1906; Snake River, 20 miles westofBaggsCrossing,August22to 27,1906; 7 mileswestofRifle,

August

14, 1907;

Edwards

Sheep

Camp,

east of

Sunny

Peak, Routt County, August28, 1906. Thislastisthe

most

westernrecordinColorado.

Aphelocoma

woodhousei.

Woodhouse

Jay.

—

Troops of

Woodhouse

Jays were often encountered in the dense growthof cedars (Juniperus monosperma)near

Gaume's

Ranch,inextreme northwestern

Baca

County,

November

26 to 29, 1907,

and

^it seems likely that they winter in that region. This isthe

most

eastern Colorado record.

Cyanocephalus cyanocephalus.

Pinon

Jay.

—

Tolerably

common

in the rough cedar country of northwestern

Baca

County,

November

26 to 29, 1907.

Not known

to breed,

and

probably present only as a winter resident.

Astragalinuspsaltria.

Arkansas

Goldfinch.

—

Northin westernColo- radotoMeeker

and

SteamboatSprings, atwhichlocalitiesit

was common

earlyinAugust, 1905.

Junco aikeni.

White-winged

Junco.

—

Although the

commonest

junco inthe mountains inwinter, aikenihas notbeenfound inColorado, heretofore, inthebreeding season. Duringthefirstfew daysofJune, 1905, I

saw

several ofthese juncos in thefoothills afewmileswestofBoulder, at altitudes varying from 6000 to 7000 feet.

On

June 11, Mr. Walter BlanchardofBoulder

showed me

a nest containingyoung, from whichthe femalewas flushed

and

satisfactorily identified, thoughunfortunatelynot secured. This

was

intheupperpartoftheyellow pinebelta mile north- eastofMagnolia, atanelevationofapproximately 7000feet.

In fallmigration aikeniextendseastwardintheroughcedarcountryof southeasternColorado nearlytothe Kansas line,a large flockbeing seen

November

27, 1907, at

Gaume's

Ranch,inShell

Rock

Canon, northwestern

Baca

County.

Junco hyemalismontanus.

Montana

Junco.

—

In Coloradothis is one ofthe

most

widely distributed juncosin winter.

An

extreme easternrec- ord is

Gaume's

Ranch, northwestern

Baca

County, where several were seen

and

onecollectedon

November

27, 1907.

Melospiza georgiana.

Swamp Sparrow. — One

taken October23, 1907, onthe

Medano

SpringsRanch, intheSanLuis Valley, 15 milesnortheast ofMosca,isthefirstrecordwestofthemountains,

and

the second timethe

Swamp

SparrowhasbeenfoundintheState.

The

specimen

was

caughtin a trapsetformiceontheedgeofatulemarsh.

Pipilo fuscus mesoleucus.

Canon Towhee. —

Occurs

commonly

in

Upper

Sonoran zoneinallofthe region lyingsouthoftheArkansas River

and

east of the Sangre de Cristo Range, excepton the treeless plains of southern Prowers

and

eastern

Baca

counties. Very abundant in Shell

Rock

Canon, northwestern

Baca

County,

November

26 to 29, 1907,

two

specimensbeingcollectedat

Gaume

'sRanch; alsonotedat

Caddoa

Station,

Vol 'l909'

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New R

^ecords °f Colorado ^Birds.

183

intheArkansas Valley westofLamar,

November

30.

Gaume's Ranch

is

very near the eastern limit of its dispersion in Colorado, while

Caddoa

represents the extreme northeastern limit of mesoleucus in the United States.

Calamospiza melanocorys.

Lark

Bunting.

— A

^belated migrant

was

notedafewmileseast ofSaguache, inthe SanLuis Valley,

November

7, 1907.

Progne subis.

Purple

Martin.

—

Unusually high records for the martinare:

White

RiverPlateau (25 milessoutheastofMeeker) between 8000

and

9000 feet

—

several seen the middle of August, 1905;

and Uncompahgre

Butte,

on

the

Uncompahgre

Plateau

—

one noted at 9000

feet,July 16, 1907.

Lanius borealis.

Northern

Shrike.

— One

seen from a Santa

Fe

train at Earl, Las

Animas

County,

November

25, 1907,

and

severalafew days later at

Gaume's

Ranch, in the northwest corner of

Baca

County.

These localities indicate a southward dispersion in winter nearly if not quitetothe southernlineoftheState.

Lanivireosolitariuscassini. Cassin Vireo.

— A

^specimen

was

collected September4, 1906, at DouglasSpring,in thecedarbeltatthenorth base of the Escalante Hills,western Routt County,

and

two

more

were heard at the

same

localityon September6.

A

large vireo,presumablycassini,

was

alsoseen

among

^{the pinons at} Coventry, Montrose County, in July, 1907.

Dendroica gracise.

Grace Warbler. —

Tolerably

common

in the yellow pine forests of Archuleta County, on the headwaters of the

San Juan

^{River,atabout 7000feet,aspecimenbeingtakenatPagosaSprings,}

May

28, 1907.

A

very active warbler, almost continually in motion, appearing in nervous haste to catch the small insects which infest the terminal bunches of pine needles.

Dendroica nigrescens.

Black-throated Gray Warbler. —

This war- blerextends northin the cedarand pinon countryofwesternColorado to the Escalante Hills, western Routt County, where several were seen at DouglasSpring, September4 to8, 1906. In 1907

— Mesa

Verde, Monte-

zuma County

(7000feet),

common

June 14; Sinbad Valley,southwestern

Mesa

County,

common

inJuly; Coventry, afewduringJuly

and

an im- mature specimencollectedJuly25.

Dendroicatownsendi.

Townsend Warbler. — A

maleshotAugust24, 1906, on Snake River, 20 mileswest ofBaggs Crossing,

was

onits south-

ward

migrationwithalarge

company

ofPileolated

and

YellowWarblers.

Geothlypis trichas occidentalis.

Western Yellow-throat. — One

wasseenJuly12,1905, ina willow copse along

Grand

River,5mileseast of SulphurSprings, MiddlePark.

The

elevation,nearly8000 feet, isexcep- tionallyhighfor the Yellow-throat.

Setophaga ruticilla. Redstart.

— A

few migrating individuals were notedinalarge

company

ofPileolatedWarblersonthelowerSnakeRiver, 20mileswestofBaggsCrossing,August 25to 27, 1906.

184

^Cary,

^New

Records of Colorado Birds.

[April

Catherpes mexicanus conspersus.

Canon Wren.— Noted

at various points in western Coloradoin 1906-07, chieflysouthof the

Grand

River Valley. North (sparingly) to the lower

White

River Valley, indicated

by

onewhich

was

heard

among

the rock ledges 20 miles eastof Rangely, September 12, 1906.

The most

eastern Colorado record for the canon

wren

^is

Gaume's

Ranch, northwest

Baca

County,where a specimen

was

collected in Shell

Rock

Canon,

November

27, 1907. Mr. E. J.

Gaume

statesthatthiswrenisa regular breederin thecliffsnearhisranch.

The

abovelocalityisalsoimportantasmarkingtheeasternlimit ofconspersus northofTexas.

Thryomanes

bewickibairdi.

Baird Wren. — A

not

uncommon summer

resident inthepinon

and

cedarcountryofwesternColorado.

The

north- ernmostrecordforthe StateisElkSprings,onthepinondivideeightmiles south of Lily, Routt County, where one

was

seen September 11, 1906.

Two

otherswere noted

and

onecollectedsouthwestofRangely,Rio Blanco County, on September17.

Thryomanes

bewicki cryptus.

Texan Wren. — A Bewick Wren was

seen

among

thecedarsonthe southrimofShell

Rock

Canon, near

Gaume's

Ranch,

Baca

County,

November

27, 1907.

Though

thespecimenwas not secured, itundoubtedly belonged to this recently separated plains race, ratherthanto bairdi ofthemountainregion,

and

isthus thefirstColorado record for cryptus.

Cistothorusstellaris. Short-billed

Marsh Wren. — One

shotOctober 23, 1907, inarankgrowthof

marsh

grassonthe

Medano

Springs Ranch, 15 miles northeastof Mosca, isnotonlythefirstrecordforstellarisinthe

San

LuisValley,

and

westofthe mountains,but also forthe;State.

An-

other individual

was

seenin a neighboringtule

marsh

the following day, in

company

with alarge

number

of tule wrens. Although the

San

Luis Valley^is far

removed

fromthe

known

rangeof stellaris, itseems not un- likelythatthorough

work

inthetulemarsheslyingalong thewestbaseof theSangredeCristo

Range may

revealitasanoccasional

summer

resident.

Sitta pygmaea.

Pygmy Nuthatch. — Noted

July 14, 1907,

among

the yellow pines at theheadof

Dominguez

Creek, onthenorthernend ofthe

Uncompahgre

Plateau,

—

^{altitudeabout 8000feet.}

^The

^first

Mesa County

recordforpygmcea.

Bseolophus inornatusgriseus.

Gray

Titmouse.

— At

a

number

ofpoints inthe

Upper

Sonoran zoneof westernColoradoin 1906-07, chiefly below 7000feet. NorthtotheEscalanteHillsofRoutt County, where

common

September4to8, 1906

—

aspecimenbeingtakenSeptember4.

Psaltriparus plumbeus.

Lead-colored

Bush-Tit.

— The

following lo- calities indicate a wide distribution in the cedar

and

pinon country of western

and

southwestern Colorado: Escalante Hills, flock of 30 near Douglas Spring, September 4, 1906, twocollected; Coventry, small flock, July, 1907;

Mesa

Verde, 25milessouthwestof Mancos,small flock, June

14,1907, at7000feet; Arboles,smallflock,June_8,1907.

Polioptila caerulea obscura.

Western Gnatcatcher. —

^'

_{Not known}

Vol

iS

^VI] General Notes

185

from north of

Grand

Junction, and breeding onlyin the hottest desert valleys. Tolerably

common and

one taken

among

the cedars in dry gulches along the

McElmo

Canon,

Montezuma

County,inJune, 1907,

and

againinJuly

among

oakthickets inSinbadValleyandalong Dolores River, insouthwestern

Mesa

County.

One

alsoseen

May

21, 1907, at Walsen- burg, east ofthemountains.

Myadestestownsendi.

Townsend

Solitaire.

— A

nest containing four partiallyincubatedeggs, foundJuly27, 1906, at 6200feetinthefoothills a few miles southwest of Arkins, Larimer County,

was

nearly 2000 feet lower thanthe normal breeding range of theSolitaire inColorado.

The

writer has, however, found this species breeding at considerably below 5000feetinthePineRidgeregionofnorthwest Nebraska.¹

Solitaireswere abundantinthecedarcountryofnorthwest

Baca

County,

November

26to 29, 1907,where they doubtlesswinter.

Sialia mexicana bairdi.

Chestnut-backed

Bluebird.

— One

seen in July, 1907, near

Uncompahgre

Butte, on the

Uncompahgre

Plateau, at 9000feet,isthefirstrecordof bairdi in

Mesa

County.

Sialiacurrucoides.

Mountain

Bluebird.

— Common

atSpringfield

and Gaume's

Ranch,

Baca

County,

November

25to 29, 1907, where reported wintering.

A

Recent Instance of the Occurrence of the White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) inMassachusetts.

—

I have an ^adult male

White

^Pelican,

in full nuptial plumage with well-developed 'centre-board,' which Dr.

Lombard

C. Jones of Maiden, Massachusetts,

was

kind enough tosecure for

me some

four yearsago,soonafterit

had

beenskinned

and mounted by

RobertBazin, a

Maiden

taxidermist. It

was

takenat Sandwich, Massa- chusetts,possiblyonthe 12th,but almost certainly on the 13th, of

May,

1905,

by

George

W. Kuntz

(orKounze) ofSandwich.

He

gave^itto

Eugene

Haines (also ofSandwich andfamiliarly

known

toDr. Jones)

who

^sentit

inthefleshtoDr.Jones

by whom

^it

was

receivedon

May

17and immediately placedinthehandsofthe taxidermist already mentioned. Ibought ita

week

ortwolaterfromMr. Haines,throughDr. Jones,

and

it

was

deposited in

my

collectionon

May

31,while the skin

was

^still'green'

and

^enshrouded

in its windingof cotton thread. Mr. Hainesreported that Mr.

Kuntz

(or Kounze)

had

found the birdlying dead

among some

beach grass

whence

he traced its large footprints

backward

across the beach to the water's edge^; hereit

must

eitherhavealightedor

—

asisperhaps

more

probable

—

iSee Proc. Nebr. Ornith. Union, II, 1901, 79; alsoibid., Ill, 1902,73.