Wintering Rufous-Crowned Sparrows Found in Utah
Wintering Rufous-crowned Sparrows Found in Utah.-A Rufous-crowned Sparrow (Aimophila wjiceps) was collected by the author in Oak Creek Canyon, Zion National Park, Washington County, Utah, on November 5, 1963. The specimen was a male and was assigned to the race scotti by Lester Short of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. It represents the first record of the Rufous-crowned Sparrow for Utah and extends the previously known range about 100 miles to the north.
The species was found to be present within the area throughout the winter of 1963-1964, as six individuals were reported. The first record was that of a bird banded at the Oak Creek station on November 3; it remained through the winter and early spring as it was captured again on December 2 and on March 4, 1964. Other records include: two birds observed in Pine Creek Canyon on November 6, 1963, by Dennis Carter, and one found dead in upper Pine Creek by Carter on November 12; a second bird was banded at the Oak Creek Canyon station on December 21, 1963.
Five additional Rufous-crowned Sparrows were banded at the Oak Creek Canyon station in August and October of 1964. A single bird was banded on August 29, and four individuals were banded on October 9, 16, 17, and 31. A banded bird was seen in the area throughout December, and two unbanded individuals were observed in upper Oak Creek Canyon on January 7, 1965. A single bird was banded at the Oak Creek station on January 30, 1965.
It appears that the Rufous-crowned Sparrow has become a regular wintering resident in the Zion Canyon area. Previous records for this race occurred “from central northern and central eastern Arizona (Grand Canyon, McNary) and southwestern New Mexico (Catron County) south to central southern Arizona” (Checklist of North American Birds, 1957:600-601). Phillips, Marshall, and Monson (The Birds of Arizona, 1964:200) say that the species is “found sparingly along most of the Grand Canyon, where its range and status are poorly known.” They also state that “there is still no good evidence of migration in this sparrow, other than short ‘weather movements’ downward in snowy weather and fluctuations at its lower limit . . . from year to year.”
The early fall records, in August, in Zion Park indicate a fall wandering tendency for the species, but the presence of Rufous-crowned Sparrows throughout the winter months appears to suggest a northerly movement in fall and, perhaps, a return to southerly breeding grounds in spring.-ROLAND H. WAUER, Zion National Park, Utah, January 31, 1965.
