Part 4

#Hylocichla ustulata almae# Oberholser, Alma Olive-backed Thrush

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.

#Hylocichla fuscescens salicicola# Ridgway, Willow Thrush

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.

#Anthus spinoletta pacificus# Todd, Western Pipit

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 Zooelogy 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.

#Vireo solitarius alticola# Brewster, Mountain Vireo

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 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).

#Helmitheros vermivorus# (Gmelin), Worm-eating Warbler

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.

#Seiurus aurocapillus furvior# Batchelder, Newfoundland Oven-bird

#Seiurus aurocapillus cinereus# A. H. Miller, Gray Oven-bird

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 noveboracensis# (Gmelin), Northern Water-thrush

#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).

#Geothlypis trichas occidentalis# Brewster, Western Yellow-throat

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.

#Icteria virens virens# (Linnaeus), Yellow-breasted Chat

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

#Wilsonia pusilla pusilla# (Wilson), Wilson Warbler

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.

#Sturnella neglecta# Audubon, Western Meadowlark

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.

#Cassidix mexicanus prosopidicola# Lowery, Mesquite Great-tailed Grackle

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

#Passerculus sandwichensis labradorius# Howe, Labrador Savannah Sparrow