Additions to the List of the Birds of Louisiana Part 1

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 Zoology 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 Zoology 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 ma.s.s 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 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 Zoology 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. Burd.i.c.k. 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 a.s.sistance 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.

#Sula sula sula# (Linnaeus), Red-footed b.o.o.by

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 Zoology. 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 ba.s.sa.n.u.s_ (Linnaeus).

#Butorides virescens virescens# (Linnaeus), Eastern Green Heron

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 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.

#Dichromana.s.sa rufescens# (Gmelin), Reddish Egret

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.

#Plegadis falcinellus falcinellus# (Linnaeus), Eastern Glossy Ibis

#Plegadis mexicana# (Gmelin), White-faced Glossy Ibis

Considerable confusion exists concerning the specific ident.i.ty 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 a.s.sociates 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 Zoology 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.

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 reexamination 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.

#Branta canadensis hutchinsii# (Richardson), Hutchins Goose

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 Zoology.

#Oxyura dominica# (Linnaeus), Masked Duck

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.

#Buteo lineatus texa.n.u.s# Bishop, Texas Red-shouldered Hawk

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 _texa.n.u.s_, 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 _texa.n.u.s_.

#Numenius america.n.u.s america.n.u.s# Bechstein, Long-billed Curlew

#Numenius america.n.u.s parvus# Bishop, Northern Long-billed Curlew

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. america.n.u.s_--4 [Female], Cameron, November 21 and 22, 1940, and December 5, 1942. _N. a. parvus_--4 [Male], 1 [Female], Cameron, November 21 and 23, 1940, and April 11 and October 31, 1942; 1 [Female], 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.

#Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus# (Ca.s.sin), Western Snowy Plover

#Charadrius alexandrinus tenuirostris# (Lawrence), Cuban Snowy Plover

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 const.i.tute 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 (Burd.i.c.k, 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_.

#Charadrius hiaticula semipalmatus# Bonaparte, Semipalmated Plover

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).

#Charadrius wilsonia wilsonia# Ord, Wilson Plover

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 (Burd.i.c.k).

#Pluvialis dominica dominica# (Muller), American Golden Plover

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. Zool. 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 Burd.i.c.k and Tucker on December 6, 1942; and one seen, but not taken, near Cameron on November 22, 1941 (Lowery, _et al._).

#Erolia bairdii# (Coues), Baird Sandpiper

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 Burd.i.c.k 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.

#Steganopus tricolor# Vieillot, Wilson Phalarope