Two New Records for Arizona
Two New Records for Arizona
The Arkansas Goldfinch (Spinus psaltria psaltria) and the Nevada Cowbird (Molothrus ater artemisiae) have not to my knowledge been previously recorded from Arizona. Specimens of both of these races are in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at Berkeley, California. I am grateful to Dr. J. Grinnell for identifying the specimens and to Mr. James 0. Stevenson for his part in collecting them.
An adult female Arkansas Goldfinch (no. 67447, Mus. Vert. 2001.) was collected from a group of about twenty birds by Stevenson on July 4, 1934, from the mountain willows and narrowleaved cottonwoods of the high Upper Sonoran Zone, 3 miles south of Springerville, 7050 feet, Apache County. This was evidently a breeding bird, as it contained a large egg in its oviduct. Another adult female (no. 67448, Mus. Vert. 2001.) was taken by the writer from a group of five birds on the same day in the narrow-leaved cottonwoods on Blue River, seven miles north of Blue Post Office, 34 miles south-southeast of Springerville, 6250 feet, in Greenlee County. The vegetation at this locality was an intermingling of both Upper Sonoran and Transition plants.
Although the number of specimens taken is limited, it seems probable that the common breeding subspecies of “green-backed” goldfinch throughout the Upper Sonoran Zone, at least on the north and east slopes of the White and Blue mountains of east-central Arizona, is S. p: psaltria. It appears, therefore, that the range of this subspecies extends westward to eastern Arizona, the territory formerly thought to be occupied by S. p. hesperophilus.
An adult female Nevada Cowbird (no. 67425, Mus. Vert. Zool.), was taken by Stevenson from a group of four birds on July 7, 1934, in the sagebrush and willows of the Upper Sonoran Zone, 3 miles south of Springerville, 7050 feet. This was evidently a breeding bird since a large egg was found in its oviduct.
There are many sight records of cowbirds from the vicinity of Springerville, and it is likely that M. a. atemisiae, whose range extends southward into east-central Arizona, is the breeding form in this region north of the White Mountains.
Randolph Jinks
Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona, Tucson, September 15, 1935
