The Project Gutenberg eBook of Additions to the List of the Birds of Louisiana, by George H. Lowery, Jr.

Oberholser's "Bird Life of Louisiana" (La. Dept. Conserv. Bull. 28, 1938), was a notable contribution to the ornithology of the Gulf Coast region and the lower Mississippi Valley, for it gave not only a complete distributional synopsis of every species and subspecies of bird then known to occur in Louisiana but also nearly every record of a Louisiana bird up to 1938. However, at the time of the appearance of this publication, one of the most active periods in Louisiana ornithology was just then beginning. The bird collection in the Louisiana State University Museum of Zoölogy had been started only the year before, and the first comprehensive field work since the time of Beyer, Kohn, Kopman, and Allison, two decades before, was still in its initial stage. Since 1938 the Museum of Zoölogy has acquired more specimens of birds from Louisiana than were collected there in all of the years prior to that time. Many parts of the state have been studied where no previous work at all had been done. Also in the last eight years some capable ornithologists have visited the state as students at Louisiana State University, and each has contributed greatly to the mass of new data now available. Despite the excellence of Oberholser's compilation of records, it is, therefore, not surprising that even at this early date twenty-four additions can be made to the list of birds known from Louisiana. Furthermore, this recently acquired information permits the emendation of the recorded status of scores of species, each previously ascribed to the state on the basis of comparatively meager data.

The plan is to publish eventually a revision of the birds of Louisiana which will incorporate all of the new information, but the projected scope of this work is such that many years may elapse before it is finished. The present paper is intended to record only the more pertinent additions, particularly records that may be significant in connection with the preparation of the fifth edition of the American Ornithologists' Union's "Check-list of North American Birds." There are numerous species for which Oberholser cited only a few records, but of which we now have many records and [Pg 180] large series of specimens. If, in such instances, the treatment given in the fourth edition of the American Ornithologists' Union's Check-list would not be materially affected, I have omitted mention of the new material in this paper.

I am indebted to a number of ornithologists who have presented their notes on Louisiana birds to the Museum of Zoölogy and who have done much to supplement its collections. Outstanding among these are Thomas R. Howell, Robert J. Newman, Sam M. Ray, Robert E. Tucker, Harold E. Wallace, and the late Austin W. Burdick. Their efforts in behalf of the Museum have been untiring. I am grateful also to Thomas D. Burleigh and Jas. Hy. Bruns, both of whom have played an integral part in our field activities in recent years and without whose help much less would have been accomplished. John S. Campbell, Ambrose Daigre, James Nelson Gowanloch, Sara Elizabeth Hewes, E. A. McIlhenny, Edouard Morgan, and George L. Tiebout, Jr., have generously contributed notes and specimens which are duly attributed in the following text. For assistance in taxonomic problems, or for the loan of comparative material, I wish to thank John W. Aldrich, Herbert Friedmann, Howard K. Gloyd, Alden H. Miller, Harry C. Oberholser, James L. Peters, Karl P. Schmidt, George M. Sutton, J. Van Tyne, and Alexander Wetmore.

An immature individual of this species came aboard a boat of the Louisiana Department of Conservation near the mouth of Bayou Scofield, 7 miles below Buras, Plaquemines Parish, on November 1, 1940. It was captured by J. N. McConnell, who delivered it to James Nelson Gowanloch of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The bird was then turned over to me in the flesh for preparation and deposit in the Louisiana State University Museum of Zoölogy. It has since been examined by James L. Peters and Alexander Wetmore, who confirmed the identification. This is the first specimen of the species obtained in the United States. The only other record of its occurrence in this country is that of individuals observed near Micco, Brevard County, Florida, on February 12, 1895 (Bangs, Auk, 19, 1902: 395-396). To eliminate possible confusion in the literature, attention is called here to the fact that the above-listed specimen was erroneously recorded by an anonymous writer (La. Conserv. Rev., 10, Fall Issue, 1940: 12) as a Gannet, Morus bassanus (Linnaeus).

No winter records for the occurrence of this species were available to Oberholser in 1938, the latest date cited by him being October 27. Recently, however, it has been noted several times in winter on the coast of Louisiana. Kilby and Croker (Aud. Mag., 42, 1940: 117) observed it at the mouth of [Pg 181] the Mississippi River, near Pilot Town, on December 25, 1939, and Burleigh and I each obtained a specimen at Cameron on December 13, 1940. Another was shot by me at the same place on February 2, 1946. The species is therefore of casual occurrence in the state in winter.

Although previously reported only as a casual summer visitor along the coast, the Reddish Egret is known now to occur regularly in small numbers during the winter. Since Oberholser (op. cit., 56) cited only one specific record of occurrence in the state, all additional records are listed here. On East Timbalier Island, one to three were seen daily, August 16-19, 1940, and two to five were seen daily, November 15-17, 1940. In Cameron Parish, the species has been noted as follows (Lowery, et al.): two on December 14, 1940; one on January 3, 1943; three on September 3 and two on November 4, 1944; one on April 29, 1945. Several specimens were collected.

Considerable confusion exists concerning the specific identity of the glossy ibises inhabiting Louisiana. The fourth edition of the A. O. U. Check-list (1931: 33) stated that falcinellus "breeds rarely and locally in central Florida and probably in Louisiana." In 1932, Holt visited the marshes of Cameron Parish in southwestern Louisiana where he studied the ibises nesting in a large rookery. Later he definitely stated (Auk, 50, 1933: 351-352) that the birds seen by him were Eastern Glossy Ibises (Plegadis falcinellus). It was doubtless Holt's identification that influenced Oberholser to list falcinellus as a fairly common local resident in the state (op. cit., 78). This, however, is contrary to the evidence at my disposal. My associates and I have studied thousands of glossy ibises in the marshes of southwestern Louisiana in the past ten years. These observations include numerous field trips into the region where ibises are plentiful throughout the year, especially during the breeding season. I have also visited a large nesting rookery in Cameron Parish, the only one in the state known to me, and the one which I have every reason to believe is the same colony visited by Holt in 1932. Although Holt identified as falcinellus the birds seen by him at a nesting rookery in Cameron Parish, I have never seen that species anywhere in Louisiana except at Grand Isle, 150 miles east of Cameron, as henceforth noted.

In winter when the White-faced Glossy Ibis lacks the white on its face, some difficulty might be encountered in differentiating that species from the Eastern Glossy Ibis. The perplexing thing, however, is that Holt made his observations in the nesting season when no possible confusion should exist; also he was in the middle of a nesting rookery with birds close at hand on all sides. This fact notwithstanding, the ibis nesting in the Cameron Parish rookery (known locally as "The Burn") on May 28, 1942, was the white-faced species (Plegadis mexicana), as evidenced by moving pictures taken by J. Harvey Roberts and by specimens of varying ages collected at the same time by me. In all, the Louisiana State University Museum of Zoölogy has 19 specimens of mexicana taken in Cameron Parish in April, May, November, December, and January. Field records are available also for the months of February, March, July, and September.

[Pg 182]Aside from Holt's statement, Oberholser had only five other records for falcinellus in Louisiana, one being a market specimen with incomplete data and therefore of questionable scientific value. The remaining four specimens were taken by E. R. Pike near the mouth of the Mississippi River on November 13 and 17, 1930, and are now on deposit in the Chicago Academy of Sciences. Recently I borrowed these specimens for reëxamination with the following results. The three taken on November 17, 1930, are mexicana and not falcinellus as labeled and so reported by Oberholser. The single specimen taken on November 13 is, however, correctly identified as falcinellus. Alexander Wetmore kindly examined the material for me and confirmed my identifications. The occurrence of falcinellus in Louisiana thus hinged on Holt's statement and one preserved specimen. However, on July 23, 1944, in the marshes on Grand Isle, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, I encountered a flock of 12 immature ibises that impressed me by their blackness in contrast to the color of glossy ibises with which I was familiar in Cameron Parish. Two specimens were collected and both proved to be falcinellus.

Holt's published observations cannot be positively refuted, for we cannot be sure that a colony of falcinellus did not exist in Cameron Parish in 1932, nor that the portion of the rookery under his observation did not consist of a segregated population of that species. However, ten years of field observations by other ornithologists have failed to disclose the species which Holt considered a common nesting bird in an area where we now know that only the White-faced Glossy Ibis occurs. The fact that Holt specifically stated that he failed to find the white-faced bird at any time in his stay in Cameron Parish is difficult to explain, but this much is certain—the present known status of falcinellus in Louisiana is that of only a rare and casual visitor.

Oberholser (op. cit., 89) cited only one Louisiana record for this goose. The bird in question was shot but apparently not preserved. Consequently, the status of the race on the Louisiana list was subject to question. Recently, however, two typical specimens of hutchinsii were obtained in the state, one by Edouard Morgan, near Lake Catherine, on November 7, 1942, and the other by Herman Deutsch, four miles above the mouth of the Mermentau River, on November 2, 1944. The former is displayed in the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Exhibit in the Louisiana State Museum, and the latter is now in the Louisiana State University Museum of Zoölogy.

A mounted specimen of this species was found by T. D. Burleigh and myself in a sporting goods store in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Through the kindness of Mr. Jack Gunn, owner, it was donated to the Louisiana State University Museum Collection. The bird was shot approximately 25 miles southeast of Lake Charles at Sweet Lake, Cameron Parish, on December 23, 1933, by R. T. Newton. This is the first recorded occurrence of the species in Louisiana, as well as one of the very few instances of its appearance anywhere in the United States.

Although this race has been recorded previously only from Texas and northeastern Mexico, it appears to be of regular occurrence in southern Louisiana in the fall and winter. The six specimens in the Louisiana State University Collection, identified by Herbert Friedmann as texanus, are as follows: Westover, November 25, 1937; Baton Rouge, October 20, 1936, November 1, 1938, and September 3, 1940; University, November 14, 1942; Hoo-shoo-too, October 12, 1941 (Lowery, Tiebout, and Wallace). Another specimen, taken at Baton Rouge on September 17, 1940 (Ray), was acquired by Louis B. Bishop, who identified it as texanus.

Thirteen specimens of this species in the Louisiana State University Museum have been identified subspecifically (in part by J. Van Tyne) as follows: N. a. americanus—4 ♀, Cameron, November 21 and 22, 1940, and December 5, 1942. N. a. parvus—4 ♂, 1 ♀, Cameron, November 21 and 23, 1940, and April 11 and October 31, 1942; 1 ♀, East Timbalier Island, August 18, 1940. Three are intermediate in size and therefore not identifiable with certainty. Contrary to published accounts, the Long-billed Curlew is a fairly common migrant in certain parts of southern Louisiana. About seventy-five were counted on the beach near Cameron on November 1, 1941, and twenty-five were noted at the same place on December 6, 1942. Almost invariably a few are present there during every month of the year.

Oberholser (op. cit., 216-217) listed the Cuban Snowy Plover as a rare transient in Louisiana, and cited only four definite records based on three specimens. Our recent studies, however, have yielded twelve additional specimens and a number of sight records, all of which indicate that the species is a regular and sometimes common migrant in spring and fall. Eleven specimens in the series are identifiable with certainty as examples of nivosus and therefore constitute an addition to the state list. They were taken at East Timbalier Island on November 15 and 16, 1940 (Burleigh, Lowery, and Ray), at Grand Isle on March 27, 1943 (Burleigh), and near Cameron on November 20 and 21, 1941, April 3 and October 17, 1942, and September 3, 1944 (Burdick, Howell, and Lowery). On April 29, 1945, Tucker saw twenty on the beach near Cameron, but he did not obtain a specimen. A single adult male in our series, taken on East Timbalier Island, on November 15, 1940 (Ray), is referable to tenuirostris.

Oberholser (op. cit., 218) made special mention of the absence of definite winter records for this species, but, in recent years, it has been noted on numerous occasions in Louisiana in that season. For example, ten were seen at Cameron on December 13, 1940, and the same number was noted there on January 22 and 23, 1941 (Lowery, et al.). A specimen was shot at Cameron on December 5, 1942 (Lowery).

Oberholser's single winter record for this species (op. cit., 220) has now been supplemented by two others—fifteen birds seen and three collected at Cameron on January 22, 1941 (Burleigh, Wallace, and Ray); one taken at the same place on December 5, 1942 (Burdick).

The presence of the Golden Plover on the northern Gulf coast in winter already has been reported by Burleigh ("Bird Life of the Gulf Coast Region of Mississippi," Occas. Papers Mus. Zoöl. La. State Univ., 20, 1944: 367), but since there are no published instances of its occurrence in Louisiana at that season, the following four specimens are noteworthy: two collected near Creole by Lowery and Ray on November 21, 1940; two others shot at the same place by Burdick and Tucker on December 6, 1942; and one seen, but not taken, near Cameron on November 22, 1941 (Lowery, et al.).

Since there is only one previous definite record of the occurrence of this species in the state, the following records are significant. A male was obtained by Burdick at University, 3 miles south, on October 25, 1942. I saw three at the same place on October 29 and shot a male there on November 9. The only spring record is that of a bird seen by me at University, 1 mile south, on May 16, 1945.

Apparently the first definite record of this species in the state is that of an adult female, in breeding plumage, shot by E. A. McIlhenny at Avery Island, Louisiana, on May 10, 1939, and later sent to the Louisiana State University Museum of Zoölogy. A second specimen, a male in winter plumage, was taken by Burdick 5 miles south of the University on September 12, 1943.

This species was listed by Oberholser (op. cit., 271) as a very rare winter resident along the Gulf coast region of southern Louisiana and he cited only two records of occurrence in the state. The following additional records should clarify its present-day status. In 1940 two were seen on East Timbalier Island on August 19, eight on November 15, and seventy-five on both November 16 and 17. Three were seen near Cameron on November 21, 1941. In 1942, two were seen near Cameron on April 4, five on April 5, three on April 11, two on April 22, and one on April 23. Another was noted near Cameron on October 7, 1943 (Lowery, et al.). A small series of specimens was taken from the birds mentioned above. In connection with this species, it may be of interest to note that the Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica) has not been observed in Louisiana by me or my associates.

The Road-runner inhabits the northwestern part of the state where it has been reported for many years by local residents. However, since confirmation of its occurrence was lacking, previous publications on the birds of the [Pg 185] state have not listed, it. The first definite record is that of a bird killed near Shreveport, on May 1, 1938, by an unspecified collector. Another was shot four miles north of Keatchie, De Soto Parish, on July 9, 1943, by Delmer B. Johnson, at that time field biologist with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Both specimens are in the Louisiana State University Museum. Johnson states that he has seen the species on a number of occasions, specific records being in April and May, 1943, twelve miles east of Mansfield, and two miles east of Logansport. Various reports of nests have been received, but as yet no completely satisfactory breeding record for the state has been obtained.

The Louisiana State University Museum of Zoölogy now has a series of 21 specimens of Columbigallina passerina collected in Louisiana since the publication of Oberholser's book, in which only a few records for C. p. passerina alone are cited. Examination of the new material reveals that eleven specimens are clearly referable to pallescens, providing, therefore, an addition to the avifauna of the state. As might be expected, pallescens prevails in the western part of the state, although, at least occasionally, it migrates farther east. The specimens identifiable as pallescens are as follows: 7 ♂, 1 ♀, Cameron, April 3, 1938 (Lowery); December 15, 1940 (Wallace); November 1 and 20, 1941 (Burdick and Lowery); October 31, 1942 (Burdick and Tucker). Two females were taken at White Castle on January 18, 1938 (Hewes), and another was shot at Carville on January 15, 1941 (Lowery). No Louisiana breeding record for the species is yet available, but in 1939 I saw a pair in the last week of May at Baton Rouge, another near Plaquemine on May 17, 1946, and George M. Sutton and I noted a pair almost daily at Cameron between April 22 and 30, 1942. If the bird breeds in Cameron Parish, the nesting race may prove to be pallescens, since a bird taken there on April 3, as listed above, belongs to that subspecies.

Since the one previous record (Oberholser, op. cit., 348) of the occurrence of this subspecies in the state now proves to be an example of C. m. howelli, the following specimens, all taken after the publication of Oberholser's book, constitute the only Louisiana records: 4 ♂, 1 ♀, University, October 3, 5, 12, 23, 1941 (Burdick, Howell, Ray, and Lowery); 4 ♂, 1 ♀, University, May 15, 18, 22, 30, 1942 (Burdick and Lowery); 1 ♂, Creole, September 2, 1944 (Burdick).

The only state records known, all previously unpublished, are as follows: 1 ♀, Colfax, May 15, 1937 (Lowery); 2 ♂, 1 ♀, University, May 23 and 24 and October 3, 1941 (Ray and Lowery); 3 ♂, University, May 22 and 25, 1942 (Burdick); 1 ♂, Chloe, 10 miles south, April 28, 1945; 1 ♂, Creole, 2 miles west, April 30, 1945 (Tucker).

Three specimens, one male and two females, taken from flocks of migrating nighthawks at University on September 29 and October 3 and 9, 1941 (Ray and Lowery), are the only records of the occurrence of this race in the state.

A female taken at University on September 29, 1941 (Burdick), and a male shot at the same place on May 22, 1942 (Lowery), constitute the basis for the addition of this subspecies to the Louisiana list.

At dusk on April 10, 1942, in company with Burdick and Ray, I encountered a small flock of nighthawks feeding over the marsh near the beach a few miles from Cameron. Darkness came before more than two could be collected, but both of these proved to be the Texas Nighthawk, a species not heretofore recorded from Louisiana. On the following day a nighthawk was found perched in a tree near the marsh where the birds had been seen the previous evening. It was collected and likewise proved to be texensis.

The nesting of this species in northwestern Louisiana has been indicated for some time, especially after Wallace noted it at Lucas, in Caddo Parish, on June 16 and July 21, 1942. However, the first authentic breeding record for the state was furnished by a freshly built nest found by Edgar W. Fullilove and myself several miles below Bossier, on July 3, 1945. At least two pairs were found there in a large cotton field in which an occasional pecan tree had been left standing. The nest was in one of these trees, about 25 feet from the ground and far out on the end of a limb. Fullilove informed me that to his knowledge the species had nested in this field for at least ten years and that on numerous previous occasions he had seen both nests and young.

The first record of the occurrence of this species in Louisiana is that of a male collected by Howell at University, on March 20, 1943. On December 23, 1945, I shot a second specimen, a female, on the bank of False River opposite New Roads. When found, both birds were actively pursuing insects and on being skinned, both were found to be very fat.

Oberholser (op. cit., 394) listed this species as a rare autumn transient, citing one definite Louisiana record for that season. On the contrary, the species is quite regular in fall. Six specimens have been collected at University, one each on September 12, 17, 18, and 28, 1940, October 22, 1942, and September 26, 1943 (Lowery and Wallace). Two others have been taken at Cameron, on October 7, 1943 (Burleigh), and September 2, 1944 (Lowery). There are numerous sight records, but since the species cannot be distinguished with certainty in the field from extremely yellow-plumaged Acadian Flycatchers, none of these is recorded.

This species long has been regarded as an uncommon transient in Louisiana in both spring and fall. However, recent field work has shown the bird to occur regularly and sometimes abundantly in autumnal migration. Forty-one specimens have been collected at University on dates ranging from August 17 to October 5 (Lowery, et al.). Specimens taken by Burleigh at New Orleans on September 27, 1941, and August 23, 1943, are in the Louisiana State University Museum.

Oberholser (op. cit., 397) listed this species as an uncommon transient since he had only a few sight records at hand. Since field identification of all eastern empidonaces in fall is open to question, our recent data, based on collected material, are significant. Six specimens have been taken at University on dates ranging from September 15 to October 5, and five at Cameron between July 25 and October 17 inclusive (Lowery, et al.). Another specimen in the collection is that of a bird taken by Burleigh at New Orleans on October 1, 1942. There is, as yet, no unquestionable spring record for Louisiana.

Oberholser (op. cit., 401) listed only one record for this species, a male observed by H. E. Wallace at University, on February 6, 1938, and shot the next day by me. Since 1938, however, it has been found regularly and frequently at numerous localities in southern Louisiana in winter. At Baton Rouge, for example, an adult male was noted almost daily between October 19, 1941, and January 7, 1942, at a small pond on the University campus. An immature male was seen there also on November 25, 1941, but not thereafter. In the following autumn another adult male appeared at the same place on October 23, and was observed regularly until January 15, 1943. Again, an adult male returned to the same area on November 10, 1943, and remained until the middle of January, 1944. W. C. Abbott informs me that for several years one or two individuals have spent the winter at a small willow-bordered pond at his home near Hopevilla, Iberville Parish. Like the individuals noted at Baton Rouge, Abbott's birds arrived in October or November and remained until the following January or February. H. B. Chase, Jr., noted two individuals at City Park Lake in New Orleans in the winter of 1944-45, and three at the same place in the winter of 1945-46. I have seen the species frequently in Cameron Parish, in southwestern Louisiana, where six specimens have been collected on dates ranging from November 4 to January 22. Atwood (Auk, 60, 1943: 453) has also recorded its presence near the Laccasine Refuge in Cameron Parish. An immature male was obtained at False River, near Lakeland, in Pointe Coupee Parish, on November 8, 1942 (Burdick). E. A. McIlhenny writes me that he has seen the species many times at Avery Island and recently he sent me a skin of an adult female which he collected there on October 25, 1945 (also cf. McIlhenny, Auk, 52, 1935: 187). From these data it is evident that the Vermilion Flycatcher is now a regular winter visitor to southern Louisiana.

A rather large series of Winter Wrens, all taken later than the date of publication of Oberholser's book, includes three specimens of this race and provides an addition to the state list. Two of the specimens are males collected at Baton Rouge on November 23 and December 21, 1943 (Burleigh), and the other is a male shot at the same place on January 23, 1944 (Burdick). Several additional specimens in the series are noticeably darker than the average hiemalis and may have migrated from a zone of intergradation.

The only two records for the occurrence of this race in Louisiana are those of specimens taken at Baton Rouge on February 1, 1937, and February 9, 1946 (Lowery).

Only four Louisiana specimens of the Olive-backed Thrush were available to Oberholser in 1938. He identified two as swainsoni and two as almae. We have since collected twenty-five specimens in the state, seven of which are definitely almae. Of the remaining, all are clearly swainsoni with the exception of a few that appear intermediate in color. The specimens of almae were collected at Cameron, Baton Rouge, and Baines on dates ranging from April 26 to May 16 and from September 29 to October 6. The specimens of swainsoni were taken at New Orleans, Port Hudson, Baton Rouge, and Baines between April 20 and May 16 and between September 12 and October 28.

Oberholser (op. cit., 474) recorded this race as a rare spring transient on the basis of two records. However, eleven out of twenty-three recently taken specimens are referable to salicicola, indicating that salicicola and fuscescens possibly occur in approximately equal numbers, in both spring and fall. The dates on which salicicola have been collected range from April 22 to May 16, and from September 14 to 27. They were taken at Cameron, Port Hudson, Baton Rouge, University, and Baines.

The only Louisiana record for this far western race is that of a female taken by me at Jennings, on January 3, 1943. The specimen was sent to Alden H. Miller, who compared it with material in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoölogy and verified the identification. As a rule, I scrutinize closely with binoculars all flocks of pipits, and as a result, on several occasions have detected pale individuals that stood out from the remainder of the flock. However, the above-mentioned specimen is the only individual so detected that I succeeded in shooting.

Four specimens out of a series of twenty-eight Blue-headed Vireos taken in Louisiana since 1938 are referable to this race. It has not been recorded previously from the state. The specimens consist of a male and a female collected [Pg 189] at Bogalusa on February 9, 1939, a male taken at Tunica on March 30, 1939, and a female at Erwinville on March 11, 1941 (Lowery).

Although there are no published nesting records of this species in Louisiana, it is now known to be a common summer resident in the beech-magnolia forests of the Bayou Sara-Tunica Hills section north of St. Francisville. Jas. Hy. Bruns has supplied me with copious data on the birds seen in the nesting season at Baines, and the two of us have spent a great deal of time searching for a nest, without success. However, Bruns obtained a juvenile female, just out of a nest, on June 28, 1942.

Four specimens in our series of Oven-birds are identifiable without question as examples of furvior. Two were collected by me at University on September 15 and 25, 1940, and Tucker shot one there on September 27, 1942, and another at Cameron on April 29, 1945. There are also two specimens in the series referable to cinereus, as well as several that are intermediate between cinereus and S. a. aurocapillus. Burdick shot one of the typical examples of cinereus at University on September 24, 1942, and I shot the other at the same place on May 16, 1945.

Seiurus noveboracensis limnaeus McCabe and Miller, British Columbia Water-thrush

A. H. Miller has recently examined our large series of migrant Water-thrushes and identified three as good examples of limnaeus, and six as noveboracensis, neither one of which has been recorded previously from the state. The specimens of limnaeus were taken at or near University on October 2, 1942 (Howell), October 12, 1943, and May 11, 1945 (Burleigh). The specimens of noveboracensis were collected at University on September 14, 1941 (Lowery); at Baines on September 4, 1943, August 20, 1944, and May 6, 1945 (Bruns); at New Orleans on October 20, 1941 (Burleigh); and at Cameron on April 26, 1942 (Lowery).

I have found it impracticable to determine subspecifically every specimen in our series of 104 Yellow-throats from Louisiana. However, two female specimens taken by me, one at Cameron on December 4, 1938, and the other on False River at Lakeland on February 11, 1941, are without doubt representatives of the race now known as occidentalis, a subspecies not previously recorded from this state. Several additional specimens in the series are probably also of that race, but I am deferring, for the time, recording them as such.

The only winter record for Louisiana is that of a female taken by me at Hackberry on January 24, 1941.

The only winter record for the state is that of a female shot by T. D. Burleigh on December 20, 1944, in a thicket along the Mississippi River at University. He first found the bird at this place in November, and he saw it several times in December before he succeeded in obtaining it. Since Oberholser cited so few Louisiana records, it might be well to mention in this connection that the species is after all a fairly common fall migrant in southern Louisiana. At Baton Rouge it occurs regularly between September 11 and October 24, and at Cameron it has been noted between October 17 and November 21. There are still no spring records for southern Louisiana.

In 1938 Oberholser cited only two Louisiana records, both from the northwestern part of the state. However, recently the species has been found in the south-central region. Two were collected at Churchill on February 11, 1941 (Lowery and Wallace), and another was shot at University on December 9, 1942 (Burdick). There are in addition several sight records, all of birds in song.

I am indebted to E. A. McIlhenny for material that now permits the definite recording of this subspecies from Louisiana. On occasions during the winters of 1938, 1939, and 1940, McIlhenny sent me specimens of grackles in the flesh which he had removed from his bird-banding traps at Avery Island. Selection was based primarily on eye-color; individuals with clear yellow irises proved invariably to be examples of prosopidicola, whereas those with brown or yellow-brown irises were always major. The final basis for sub-specific identification was, however, size and plumage color. The series provided by McIlhenny consists of six females taken on November 24 and December 20, 1938, December 18, 1939, January 22 and March 5, 1940. Since the range in Texas of typical prosopidicola extends eastward to within thirty miles of the Louisiana line, it is not surprising that occasional individuals or flocks wander into Louisiana in winter.

Passerculus sandwichensis mediogriseus Aldrich, Southeastern Savannah Sparrow

Our series of 107 Savannah Sparrows, collected in Louisiana almost entirely since the publication of Oberholser's book, includes representatives of five geographical races, as follows: 37 savanna, 24 oblitus, 12 mediogriseus, 8 labradorius, and 7 nevadensis. The remaining 19 specimens show various combinations of characters and appear to be intergrades, and so have not been assigned definitely to any one race. I am indebted to James L. Peters for the identification of most of our specimens. Since mediogriseus and labradorius have not been reported previously from Louisiana, and since there is only one Louisiana record of nevadensis (Miles, Auk, 60, 1943: 606-607), actual dates and localities of occurrence for these races are listed here. P. s. [Pg 191] mediogriseus (specimens by Burdick, Howell, Lowery, Ray, Tucker, and Wallace)—University, January 31, 1939; February 11 and 29, April 29, November 28, and December 16, 1940; December 6 and 7, 1941; October 10 and 25, 1942; April 14, 1943. Erwinville, March 11, 1941. P. s. labradorius (specimens by Burleigh, Lowery, McIlhenny, Ray and Wallace)—University, February 15 and November 8, 1940; January 1, 1941; December 11, 1943. 2 mi. NE Baton Rouge, January 1, 1941. Burtville, December 8, 1939. Avery Island, May 3, 1939. Lake Charles, November 20, 1940. P. s. nevadensis (specimens by Burdick, Lowery, and Wallace)—Iowa Station, January 23 and 24, 1940. University, February 10 and March 10, 1940. University, December 7, 1941, and November 15, 1942. Cameron, December 6, 1942. There are at present no bona fide records of P. s. anthinus in Louisiana, since the one recorded example of that race (Oberholser, op. cit., 647) appears, on reëxamination, to be referable to savanna (fide J. L. Peters).

Eight specimens of the Grasshopper Sparrow taken recently in Louisiana are without exception referable to pratensis. Our one remaining specimen, a male collected at Pride on December 19, 1937, is an example of perpallidus as recorded by Oberholser (op. cit., 648). Although the present series is inadequate for determining the prevailing form in the state in the winter, it would appear that pratensis is more common, rather than perpallidus as indicated by Oberholser.

Oberholser cited only one Louisiana record for this race. The following additional records are now available: a specimen was taken by Howell at Cameron on October 31, 1942, and one was obtained by me at University on April 13, 1945. The species is a transient in both localities. A supplementary winter record for the Lark Sparrow in Louisiana is that of an individual seen at Port Hudson on December 23, 1945, by Howell and Newman. The bird was shot, but unfortunately, it was not retrieved.

The only specimen in our series of Slate-colored Juncos that is a clear-cut example of this race is a male taken by Ambrose Daigre at Catahoula Lake on November 29, 1939. A. H. Miller has confirmed the identification.

Oberholser listed this species as a casual winter visitor in northern Louisiana, which was possibly no more than was indicated by records then available to him. Since 1938, however, the species has been observed in large flocks at various localities in the southern part of the state, notably in January, 1941, when the whole state was blanketed with snow. Nevertheless, snow is apparently not prerequisite to the appearance of the species this far south, for on January 1 and 3, 1943, a flock of approximately a thousand individuals was seen a few miles north of Jennings. Again, on February 14, 1943, about half of what may have been the original flock was observed there. In neither instance was there snow anywhere in Louisiana. Of the thirty specimens in [Pg 192] the Louisiana State University Collection, eleven have been identified by Alexander Wetmore as somewhat intermediate between alascensis and lapponicus, but closer to the former. Only lapponicus has been previously recorded from Louisiana. The specimens of alascensis were taken at Baton Rouge on January 25 and 28, 1940; Cornor, January 27, 1940; Lottie, January 27, 1940; and 10 miles north of Jennings, January 1 and February 14, 1943 (Burdick, Campbell, Hewes, Lowery, and Wallace).

21-6959

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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Additions to the List of the Birds of Louisiana

Additions to the List of the Birds
of Louisiana

BY

GEORGE H. LOWERY, JR.

University of Kansas Publications
Museum of Natural History

Volume 1, No. 9, pp. 177-192
November 7, 1947

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
LAWRENCE
1947

University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History

Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, H. H. Lane,
Edward H. Taylor

Volume 1, No. 9, pp. 177-192
Published November 7, 1947

University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas

PRINTED BY
FERD VOILAND, JR., STATE PRINTER
TOPEKA, KANSAS
1947

21-6959

Additions to the List of the Birds of Louisiana

By

GEORGE H. LOWERY, JR.

21-6959

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Additions to the List of the Birds of Louisiana

Additions to the List of the Birds of Louisiana

BY

GEORGE H. LOWERY, JR.

University of Kansas Publications Museum of Natural History Volume 1, No. 9, pp. 177-192 November 7, 1947

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LAWRENCE 1947

University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, H. H. Lane, Edward H. Taylor Volume 1, No. 9, pp. 177-192 Published November 7, 1947 University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas

PRINTED BY FERD VOILAND, JR., STATE PRINTER TOPEKA, KANSAS 1947 21-6959

Additions to the List of the Birds of Louisiana

By

GEORGE H. LOWERY, JR.

21-6959

THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE

Additions to the List of the Birds
of Louisiana

University of Kansas Publications
Museum of Natural History

Volume 1, No. 9, pp. 177-192
November 7, 1947

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS
LAWRENCE
1947

University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History

Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, H. H. Lane,
Edward H. Taylor

Volume 1, No. 9, pp. 177-192
Published November 7, 1947

University of Kansas
Lawrence, Kansas

PRINTED BY
FERD VOILAND, JR., STATE PRINTER
TOPEKA, KANSAS
1947

21-6959