Search

The literature on breeding of Pine Grosbeaks (Pinicola enucleator) is scant, probably because the birds are seldom common even in their known breeding range. The writer was afforded an unusual opportunity in the summer of 1953 to witness the activities of these birds in the breeding season in the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah, and from June 10 until July 30, 1953, observations were made almost daily at 10,500 feet elevation approximately 20 miles east of Kamas, Summit County, Utah, and in adjoining portions of Duchesne and Wasatch counties. Rocky Mountain Pine Grosbeaks (P. e. montana) were regularly seen and twelve specimens were collected during this period. The two dominant trees in the region are Engelmann spruce, Picea engelmanni, and alpine fir, A bies lasiocarpa. In an extensive wet meadow Carex was dominant. Upon first arrival at the area on June 10 there was a uniform cover of snow at least three feet deep. Local drifts were, of course, many times this depth. The first Pine Grosbeaks were seen on June 11 when a red male and a typical female were seen feeding with a mixed flock of birds composed of at least a dozen Red Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra), two Pine Siskins (Spinus pinus), a single Gray-headed Junco (Junco caniceps), and a single male Black Rosy Finch (Leucosticte atrata). These birds were feeding on the snow among scattered debris of the spruce trees. On June 15 a male grosbeak was collected and found to have enlarged testes (11 mm.). On June 20 another male had testes measuring 12 mm. On July 4 a nest was found containing two young. The young were last seen in the nest on July 14. Juveniles accompanied by adults were collected on June 30 and July 13. The bird taken on the former date was still being fed by a parent. After the latter date young birds were frequently seen. From these records it appears that the breeding of Pine Grosbeaks in this region begins, on the average, by the end of the first week in June and the young are out of the nest after the first week in July. There is considerable variation, however, some individuals beginning prior to this time and some carrying over to a later date. Twomey (Ann. Carnegie Mus., 28, 1942:461) recorded Pine Grosbeaks in this area as being in postnuptial molt when he was there July 17 to 20, 1937. In two instances he saw adults feeding fully developed young. The seeds of the Engelmann spruce seemed to be the main food for adult Pine Grosbeaks. In all specimens examined except one, spruce seeds were present. In one exception the esophagus was filled with tender new growth from the tips of spruce branches. Of three filled gular sacs examined, one contained 100 per cent spruce seeds, the second contained primarily spruce seeds with some new growth, and the third contained primarily seeds of Silene acaulis with some spruce seeds and insect parts. The young birds are probably on a diet of seeds by the middle of their nest life. On one occasion a pair of birds was seen eating the ovaries of glacier lilies, Erythronium grandiflorum. Gular sacs in small passerine birds have been reported previously for only one species, Leucosticte tephrocotis (see Miller, Condor, 43, 1941:72-73). It was no surprise, then, when s-imilar structures were found in the Black Rosy Finch. However, it was found that the Pine Grosbeak also makes use of such a special food-carrying device. This first came to my attention on June 30 when a male was collected. This bird had the throat very much distended with food. When skinning the specimen it was found that the structure was the same as that in the Leucosticte. Comparison of sketches from my field notes and of preserved material with Miller's figure (op. cit.) show that the structure is identical in the two genera. When fully distended in the Pine Grosbeak the sacs extend far

O CCASIONAL finches, in which yellow is present or even predominant over the red, must come to the notice of every field ornithologist of the west; in fact we may Icok for some yellow feathers in about one-half the males of this group. Loxia, Pinicola and probably other genera have a yellow phase of regular occurrence in the immature plumage. It is this dichromatism which led me to make a few remarks before the Club-not

Recent specimen acquisitions and numerous recordsmade available to the author prompt this note on some fringillid species. The specimens are deposited in a small collection of birds at the University of Dallas unless otherwise indicated. Evening Grosbeak. Hesperiphona vespertina. The Audubon Field Notes (1969:494, 498) and Wolfe (1970) cite accounts of this species invading Texas during the winter of 1968-1969. The reports indicate that the birds invaded east Texas proper, and on reaching the southern part of this area they then moved westerly across to the Edwards Plateau. In the northern part of the state the species barely reached the Dallas-Fort Worth area. There are only two reports: one is for Dallas, Dallas County, when a lone female visited the feeder of Mrs. Virginia Daggett 13-15 January 1969; the other is for Denton, Denton County, when two females and several males were observed by Mrs. J. R. Kilpatrick on 25 January 1969. There is little doubt that the invading birds were from the east. Five specimens which I acquired at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ross DeLay of Gladewater (approximately 125 mi. E of Dallas-Ft. Worth), Gregg County, on 4 February-3 March 1969 (three females and two males with ossified skulls) proved to belong to the nominate race vespertina. Also recovered at the same location on 27 January was a banded male over eight years old. It was at least a year old when banded by Miss F. Brierly on 18 April 1962 near Savey, Massachusetts. The only previous records of Evening Grosbeaks for the area are three from Fort Worth, Tarrant County: a lone bird observed by Mr. Charles F. Crabtree et al. on 1 December 1962; a specimen taken in April 1963; and a single bird seen on 13 September 1964 by Mmes. Wade Smith and Robert Hardwicke. Dr. Kenneth C. Parkes of the Carnegie Museum identified the specimen as "an intermediate between vespertina and brooksi." This specimen is in the Fort Worth Science and History Museum. Cassin's Finch. Carpodacus cassinii. On 8 April 1961, while leaving a cedar brake on the E. S. Dorman ranch 7 mi. E of Cayote, Bosque County, my son and I noticed an unusual looking finch perched high in an elm (Ulmus sp.) in the vicinity of a cattle feeding corral. We collected the bird which proved to be an adult female Cassin's Finch. Wolfe (1956: 79) indicates that the species is a migrant and a rare winter resident in the western part of the state. This bird was approximately 250 miles from where the species was recorded previously, and represents the only record for the north-central part of the state, as well as one of the few specimens for Texas. It apparently pushed its way into Texas during the species' invasion into western Oklahoma (Sutton 1967:269) and westcentral Kansas (Ely 1961). House Finch. Carpodacus mexicanus. On 9 January 1960 my son and I collected a lone male as it fed on ragweed (Ambrosia sp.) on the University of Dallas property in Irving, along the Elm Fork of the Trinity River. The species normally ranges 100 miles to the west. The specimen was identified as belonging to the race frontalis and represents the first record for Dallas County. Pine Grosbeak. Pinicola enucleator. Mrs. Phil Huey found a dead adult male Pine Grosbeak in Dallas, Dallas County on 24 November 1969. The bird was given to Mrs. Tie Davis who in turn gave the bird to me for confirmation. The bird, in excellent condition, was prepared as a study skin. Dr. Richard C. Banks of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife identified it as belonging to the race montana. Observers in Amarillo reported Pine Grosbeaks in the panhandle January-March 1970. Wolfe (1956:75) cites a specimen from Pampa, Gray County, in the Panhandle in December 1933; thus, the Pine Grosbeak from Dallas represents the second specimen record for Texas. Pine Siskin. Spinus pinus. An immature Pine Siskin given to the daughter of C. F. Crabtree to care for during a vacation period was brought to me on 31 July 1969 for identification. The bird was extremely tame. It had been found with two dead nest males on the grounds of the Amarillo City Hall in Potter County by Kathy Crane after a severe hail storm on 17 June 1969. From its sparsely feathered body the surviving siskin was estimated to be only a few days old at the time. The bird died on 5 January 1970 and was prepared as a study skin. Wolfe (1956:75) records the species as resident in southwest Texas. Sutton (1967:592) cites one nesting record in 1911 for the panhandle of Oklahoma near Kenton, Cimmaron County. Although local bird enthusiasts indicate that the species may have nested previously in the panhandle of Texas this is the first authentic nesting record for the area.