BAR-HEADED GOOSE Anser indicus Latham, 1790

Accepted: 0	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 2	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 0	Color image: none

This central Asian goose is popular among waterfowl fanciers. Although the species undertakes an impressive migration, flying over the Himalayas to winter in the northern half of the Indian subcontinent, it is considered an unlikely candidate for vagrancy to North America. All records from across Canada and the United States have been treated as probable escapees.

A photograph and other information reviewed by the Committee were insufficient to document the record of one at Lower Klamath NWR, Siskiyou County, 18 March 1959. Prior to the Committee’s review, this record was published in AFN 13:311, by Wilbur and Yocom (1971), and by Cogswell (1977). A bird photographed at Lake Merritt, Alameda County, was not accepted on the basis of questionable natural occurrence.

Bar-headed Goose – Not accepted, identification not established
18 Mar 1959		Lower Klamath NWR SIS	1993-104	22	ph.
Bar-headed Goose – Not accepted, natural occurrence questionable (identification established)
01 Jun 1992		Lake Merritt ALA	1992-177	18	ph.

 

BARNACLE GOOSE Branta leucopsis (Bechstein, 1803)

Accepted: 0	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 3	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 1	Color image: none

This goose breeds in northeastern Greenland and on Scandinavian and Russian islands; small nesting populations recently have become established in the Baltics and the Netherlands. The species winters in the British Isles and the Netherlands. Presumed escapees are encountered across North America (e.g., ABA 2002), but some records from the Northeast probably represent legitimate vagrants (Szantyr 1985, Hanson 2004). Ryff (1984) argued against natural vagrancy to North America, perhaps overstating the case (Bevier 1990). Proof of such vagrancy was provided by the male of a pair shot in Newfoundland during the fall of 1981, as it had been banded in Spitsbergen, Norway (Montevecchi and Wells 1984). Similarly, a bird shot in southeastern Ontario during November 2005 was found to have been banded in its first fall in Scotland on 9 November 2004 (NAB 60:62).

California records of the Barnacle Goose have received virtually no support from the Committee as pertaining to natural vagrants. An interesting saga involved what appeared to be a single bird, generally flocking with Greater White-fronted and Cackling Geese, reported at the following locations: Tule Lake NWR, Siskiyou County, “early November” to 18 November 1984; near Colusa, Colusa County, 7–10 December 1984; near Modesto, Stanislaus County, 12–21 December 1984; back at Lower Klamath NWR, 5–15 April 1985; and in “nearby Oregon,” 15–17 April 1985 (AB 39:345). The CBRC reviewed only portions of these reports, as indicated in the record table below. In an extended commentary on this record, Bevier (1990) noted that a Barnacle Goose at Palmer, Alaska, 22 April–12 May 1985, was “widely presumed to be the same individual,” but acknowledged that additional information on the Oregon date span could scuttle this scenario. Six years later, in 1991, C. S. Roberts sent the CBRC a quote from his field notes mentioning the Barnacle Goose he saw with Cackling Geese at Miller Island, near Klamath Falls, Oregon, on 27 April 1985. Thus the Alaska component of this narrative appears to have involved a second bird.

Barnacle Goose – Not accepted, natural occurrence questionable (identification established)
18 Nov 1984		Tule Lake NWR SIS	1986-185/2004-659	11
and 5–15 Apr 1985		Lower Klamath NWR SIS
08 Nov 1997		Orestimba Creek, vic. Newman STA	1998-149	23	ph., privately held specimen
01 Jan–10 Jul 1998		Granite Bay PLA	1998-045	24
Barnacle Goose – Not submitted
22–30 Nov 1986		vic. Colusa COL			AB 41:138

 

HAWAIIAN GOOSE Branta sandvicensis (Vigors, 1834)

Accepted: 0	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 1	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 0	Color image: none

As summarized by Banko et al. (1999), this Hawaiian endemic has the smallest range of any goose, is the only living goose that does not occur naturally in continental areas, and is considered to be “among the most isolated, sedentary, and threatened of waterfowl.” After this goose was nearly driven to extinction by 1950, reintroduction efforts established small populations on the islands of Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai. A 22 March 2005 query of the International Species Information System yielded a total of 148 captive Hawaiian Geese at 34 zoos and other participating institutions in North America, including five birds in San Diego County.

The Committee endorsed the identification of a Hawaiian Goose present from 3 to 22 May 2002 near Jenner in Sonoma County but considered it extremely unlikely that this sedentary species could ever reach California as a natural vagrant.

Hawaiian Goose – Not accepted, natural occurrence questionable (identification established)
03–22 May 2002		vic. Jenner SON	2003-025	30	ph.

RUDDY SHELDUCK Tadorna ferruginea (Pallas, 1764)

Accepted: 0	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 2	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 2	Color image: none

This attractive Old World duck breeds no closer to California than Mongolia, but it has reached Greenland as a presumed vagrant from western Europe. Captives are seen commonly, and records of presumed escapees are scattered across North America. Nonetheless, the record of six birds photographed on 23 July 2000 at Southampton Island in Nunavut (Allard et al. 2001) was regarded by some as involving natural vagrants (Holder 2002) but was not endorsed by the AOU (Banks et al. 2006) or ABA (Robbins et al. 2006). Neither of California’s two submitted reports generated any Committee support.

Ruddy Shelduck – Not accepted, natural occurrence questionable (identification established)
08 Aug 1992		Tule Lake NWR SIS	1992-213	18	ph.
14 Nov 1992		Sacramento NWR GLE	1992-285	18
Ruddy Shelduck – Not submitted
early Oct–Nov 1961		Malibu LA			AFN 16:73
23 Jan 2000		La Jolla SD			SDNHM 50468, Unitt (2004)

 

JACKASS PENGUIN Spheniscus demersus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Accepted: 0	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 1	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 0	Color image: none

This penguin, a resident of southern Africa, is not known to stray far from its breeding areas. The single California record failed to garner any Committee support. As reported by Pyle and McCaskie (1992), Bailey (1981) suggested that the description matched a Humboldt Penguin (S. humboldti), but Bailey (in comments) later agreed with the observer and the rest of the Committee concerning the bird’s identity. It was also noted that this species has been legally imported into the United States (Nilsson 1981) and kept in captivity in California. A Humboldt Penguin was captured in Alaska waters on 18 July 2002 (NAB 56:402, 471).

Jackass Penguin – Not accepted, natural occurrence questionable (identification established)
03–16 Feb 1981		Pt. Reyes MRN	1988-172	13

PINK-BACKED PELICAN Pelecanus rufescens Gmelin, 1789

Accepted: 0	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 2	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 0	Color image: below

This generally sedentary central African species has occurred as a vagrant in Egypt and Israel (Elliott 1992). A 10 March 2005 query of the International Species Information System yielded a total of 46 captive Pink-backed Pelicans at zoos and other participating institutions in North America, 22 of them at the San Diego Wild Animal Park in San Diego County.

From McKee and Erickson (2002): An adult at Southeast Farallon Island “shocked observers as it associated with Brown Pelicans. . . . Most CBRC members felt that this species was highly unlikely to reach North America on its own, and commentary from outside experts was supportive of captive origin. Small numbers of Pink-backed Pelicans are kept in captivity in the U.S., but captive waterbirds can be difficult to track, as they are not always banded or registered. The limited movements of this African species, and its questionable ability to cross a major ocean, weighed heavily against its natural occurrence. Members were intrigued, however, that the bird flew at least 32 km between the mainland and the island, and that it was in alternate plumage, suggesting that it had recently been in the Southern Hemisphere and perhaps supporting a recent migration of even longer distance.”

A 2001 report of a Pink-backed Pelican from Abbotts Lagoon in Marin County was not accepted on identification, but later occurrences presumed to involve the same bird (identification accepted) come from Southeast Farallon Island in 2002 and Harkin Slough, Santa Cruz County, in 2003.

 

Figure 321. The Pink-backed Pelican is a generally sedentary species that is resident from central Africa to the Middle East, so the appearance of this bird at Southeast Farallon Island in October 2000 caused puzzlement and confusion—first over its identification and then at the circumstances that might have led to its occurrence at an island 20 miles off the coast of central California! Although the Committee ultimately did not accept the record as pertaining to a naturally occurring vagrant, members did find the record intriguing. This photograph was taken on the day of its original discovery, 23 October 2000 (2001-019; Ivan Samuels). During the next three years, what is presumed to be the same bird was again recorded at Southeast Farallon Island, as well as at Harkin Slough in Santa Cruz County, but a 31 October 2001 report from Abbotts Lagoon, Marin County, was not documented to the CBRC’s satisfaction. The species is considered to be of hypothetical natural occurrence in the state.

 

Pink-backed Pelican – Not accepted, identification not established
31 Oct 2001		Abbotts Lagoon MRN	2003-051	29	video
Pink-backed Pelican – Not accepted, natural occurrence questionable (identification established)
22–24 Oct 2000	AHY	Southeast Farallon I. SF	2001-019	26	Fig. 321, ph., McKee & Erickson (2002)
and 01–02 Nov 2002		Southeast Farallon I. SF	2003-004	28	ph.
and 24 Oct–24 Nov 2003		Harkins Slough SCZ	2002-148	29	ph.

 

DARTER Anhinga melanogaster Pennant, 1769

Accepted: 0	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 1	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 3	Color image: below

This generally sedentary species is native to tropical and subtropical Africa, southern Asia, Indonesia, and Australia, and the CBRC considers it to be an unlikely candidate for natural occurrence in California. With regard to a bird present 17 November 1999–13 July 2000 at Finney and Ramer Lakes in Imperial County (Figure 322), McKee and Erickson (2002) wrote: “This bird was initially circulated as an Anhinga (A. anhinga), receiving considerable support as such. The bird was later refound and identified as the African subspecies of the Darter, A. m. rufa, sometimes considered a species separate from the Darters of Australia and Asia (AOU 1998, Johnsgard 1993).” Darters are kept in southern California zoos (McCaskie and San Miguel 1999, Unitt 2004), and observers must take pains to eliminate such birds when claiming an extralimital Anhinga in the state. More recent Darter reports have come from San Diego County (Unitt 2004); Ensenada, northwestern Baja California (e.g., NAB 56:111); and Ramer Lake, where a banded male was present on 2 May 2003 (K. L. Garrett, G. McCaskie unpubl. data).

Darter – Not accepted, natural occurrence questionable (identification established)
17 Nov 1999		Finney Lake IMP	1999-210
and 19 Jun–22 Jul 2000		Ramer Lake IMP	2001-095	26	Fig. 322, ph., McKee & Erickson (2002)
Darter – Not submitted
02 Feb–07 Apr 2001		Barrett Lake SD			Unitt (2004)
19 Aug 2001		Salton Sea NWR IMP			Patten et al. (2003)
07 Apr 2002		San Diego SD			Unitt (2004)

Figure 322. This image of a female Darter, captured on 13 July 2000 at Ramer Lake in Imperial County, speaks volumes about the need for caution when identifying any member of the genus Anhinga in California. Native to Africa, southern Asia, Indonesia, and Australia, the Darter is a presumed escapee wherever it appears in North America (2001-095; Kenneth Z. Kurland).

 

KITTLITZ’S PLOVER Charadrius pecuarius Temminck, 1823

Accepted: 0	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 1	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 0	Color image: none

This plover is considered primarily a resident across much of Africa (Cramp 1983) and is irregular or very rare in Israel (Shirihai 1996). Hayman et al. (1986) noted that a female was “apparently collected” in southern Norway in May 1913, but Cramp (1983) did not include this record, and its acceptability seems questionable.

Kittlitz’s Plover is an unlikely candidate for vagrancy to California. Figure 451 and other photographs clearly establish the identity of the bird in question, and some photos also show a leg band. The Committee decided unanimously that this individual was likely an escapee.

Kittlitz’s Plover – Not accepted, natural occurrence questionable (identification established)
26 Dec 1970	HY	San Diego R. mouth SD	1986-363	12	Fig. 451, ph.

Figure 451. This first-winter Kittlitz’s Plover, photographed on 26 December 1970 at the mouth of the San Diego River in San Diego County, wore a leg band that is not clearly visible in this image (1986-363; Charles Newell).

 

PURPLISH-BACKED JAY Cyanocorax beecheii (Vigors, 1829)

Accepted: 0	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 1	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 3	Color image: none

This large jay is a sedentary resident of western Mexico, from southern Sonora to northern Nayarit, with no known instances of apparent vagrancy. The species is seen regularly in the wild in Tijuana, including young birds (fide R. A. Erickson, R. A. Hamilton), and Hamilton (2001) reported a high count of 15 for sale in a pet shop in Rosarito, northwestern Baja California, on 25 May 2001. See comments under Gray Silky-flycatcher (page 452).

An unbanded first-fall bird was the subject of California’s reviewed record of the Purplish-backed Jay. From Heindel and Garrett (1995): “Committee members unanimously considered the bird an escapee rather than a natural vagrant. . . . Presumed escapees are known from El Paso, Texas, and from southern California; in fact, a pair apparently bred in the Tijuana River Valley, [San Diego County,] in the 1980s (fide Guy McCaskie).”

Purplish-backed Jay – Not accepted, natural occurrence questionable (identification established)
late Nov–13 Dec 1990	HY	Calexico IMP	1991-102	16	ph.
Purplish-backed Jay – Not submitted
08 Dec 1998	2	Tijuana R. valley SD			Unitt (2004)
late Dec 2000		Santa Ana ORA			NAB 55:229

 

GREAT TIT Parus major Linnaeus, 1758

Accepted: 0	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 1	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 1	Color image: none

This widespread Eurasian species is not a long-distance migrant. The AOU (1998) does not include this species on its main list but did cite a 2 September 1988 sight record from Little Diomede Island, Alaska. Presumed escapees have been found across North America and seem to be occurring on this continent more frequently in recent years. Breeding was confirmed in Wisconsin in 2006 (NAB 60:380).

The record of a bird present 12–13 April 1997 at a feeder in Chester, Plumas County, received no votes for acceptance. From Rottenborn and Morlan (2000): “This species is known to be held in captivity in at least some parts of the state, and presumed escapees have been reported on several occasions in southern California.”

Great Tit – Not accepted, natural occurrence questionable (identification established)
12–13 Apr 1997		Chester, PLU	1998-068	23	ph.
Great Tit – Not submitted
15 Sep 2003		Long Beach LA			NAB 58:146

 

WHITE-COLLARED SEEDEATER Sporophila torqueola (Bonaparte, 1850)

Accepted: 0	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 1	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 3	Color image: none

This emberizid is resident in extreme southern Texas and along both slopes of mainland Mexico south to central Panama. The species ranges north to central Sinaloa on the Pacific slope. The AOU (1998) considered records from California and Arizona to be questionable. Hamilton (2001) reported a high count of 20 west Mexican White-collared Seedeaters on 6 July 1999 at a pet shop in Rosarito, northwestern Baja California.

An adult male White-collared Seedeater from one of the western Mexican populations (S. t. torqueola or S. t. atriceps) was found on 19 September 1977 in the Tijuana River valley, San Diego County. This record received only one vote for acceptance. In comments, G. McCaskie stated that he had observed the species in this area on at least one other occasion. A similarly plumaged adult male was in Tijuana on 21 June 2002 (NAB 56:490), and Unitt (2004) summarized recent sightings in San Diego County. See also comments in the Gray Silky-flycatcher account (page 452).

White-collared Seedeater – Not accepted, natural occurrence questionable (identification established)
19 Sep 1977	AHY	Tijuana R. valley SD	1981-034	7
White-collared Seedeater – Not submitted
09 Dec 2001	3	Tijuana R. valley SD			Unitt (2004)

 

COMMON CHAFFINCH Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758

Accepted: 0	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 1	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 0	Color image: none

Northern and eastern populations of this widespread Old World finch are migratory, and variable numbers reach Iceland annually (Cramp and Perrins 1994). The species has been recorded about a dozen times from Newfoundland and Quebec south to New Jersey, although only the 21 May 1994 record of a female in Newfoundland, which coincided with an incursion of European vagrants, is widely considered to be valid (ABA 2002). Birds reported from Wyoming, Indiana, Ohio, Louisiana, and California—as well as several recorded in the Northeast and Canada—are considered likely escapees.

The Committee voted unanimously to treat a Common Chaffinch present 9–11 October 1993 in San Jose, Santa Clara County, as an escapee, believing the likelihood of vagrancy to California to be extremely remote. This record spurred controversy over whether the bird represented one of the migratory or sedentary races. Grinnell and Miller (1944) discussed two additional California records of presumed escapees.

Common Chaffinch – Not accepted, natural occurrence questionable (identification established)
09–11 Oct 1993		San Jose SCL	1993-168	19	ph.

 

EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH Carduelis carduelis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Accepted: 0	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 1	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 6+	Color image: none

This colorful fringillid ranges across central and southern Europe, east across southern Russia to Lake Baikal, and south to extreme northern Africa, eastern Pakistan, and central Nepal. Birds of northern populations migrate south for the winter, and the species also tends to vacate the highlands at this season. Introduced populations persist in New Zealand, southern Australia, Bermuda, and Uruguay; another population formerly was in New York. The individuals that occasionally turn up across North America are all presumed to be escapees (e.g., AOU 1998).

European Goldfinches were reportedly “planted” near San Francisco in 1891, and up to 12 were found in Marin County as recently as 1937 (Grinnell and Miller 1944). Only one record has been reviewed by the Committee, but many other occurrences were not reviewed and were never published. The 4 July 2003 observation of an adult with three juveniles in Long Beach, Los Angeles County, was termed “another breeding record of this frequent escapee” (NAB 57:547). Released and escaped individuals, and their progeny, undoubtedly account for all California reports of this species.

European Goldfinch – Not accepted, natural occurrence questionable
23–26 Apr 2003		Sea Ranch SON	2003-038	29	ph.
European Goldfinch – Not submitted
20 May 2001		Pt. Pinos MTY			NAB 55:354
01 Aug 2001		San Clemente I. LA			Sullivan & Kershner (2005:263)
04 July 2003	ad., 3 juvs.	Long Beach LA			NAB 57:547

 

EURASIAN TREE SPARROW Passer montanus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Accepted: 0	Treated in Appendix H: no
Not accepted: 1	CBRC review: all records
Not submitted/reviewed: 0	Color image: none

This widespread, nonmigratory Old World sparrow was established around St. Louis, Missouri, in 1870, and has spread as far as southeastern Iowa and central Illinois. Birds presumed to be from this population have wandered north as far as southern Canada.

California’s only record of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow pertains to a bird observed on 4 July 1991 in San Pedro, Los Angeles County. Patten et al. (1995) reported: “Kautesk (1986) and Weber (1987) discussed recent records in Canada and suggested scenarios, respectively, of ship-assistance and escaping from local aviculturalists. Recent reports from southwestern British Columbia (AB 43:161 and 44:321) suggest the potential establishment of a small population in that area, from which a bird could have wandered south to San Pedro. Given the location, however, ship-assisted travel may be the most likely explanation for this bird’s arrival in San Pedro. In any event, the Committee unanimously agreed that this species is a most unlikely candidate for natural occurrence in California, although the CBRC encourages continued submission of these sorts of records.”

Eurasian Tree Sparrow – Not accepted, natural occurrence questionable (identification established)
04 Jul 1991		San Pedro LA	1991-090	17

 

GRAY PARTRIDGE Perdix perdix (Linnaeus, 1758)

Grinnell and Miller (1944) provided an unsympathetic summary of the unsuccessful effort to establish this Old World species in California. Nevertheless, the Gray Partridge was included on the state list prepared by McCaskie et al. (1970). As reported by Jones et al. (1981) and Morlan (1985), the Committee could find no evidence that a self-sustaining population ever existed in California. The CBRC reviewed evidence that a population in the vicinity of Cedarville, Modoc County, was viable and concluded that it was not (CBRC record 1977-140; Morlan 1985). Efforts to establish this species in California may still be underway (e.g., Carroll 1993).

AFRICAN COLLARED-DOVE Streptopelia roseogrisea (Linnaeus, 1758)

The domesticated form of the African Collared-Dove, long known as the Ringed Turtle-Dove (S. risoria), was included on the list of California birds prepared by McCaskie et al. (1970) but was later removed by the Committee (Jones et al. 1981): “This species has become locally established in many cities throughout the world in a feral state but according to Goodwin [1970] ‘ . . . such colonies seldom prosper unless they are artificially fed and [their numbers regularly supplemented] by the liberation of young bred in captivity.’” A few individuals may persist in portions of downtown Los Angeles and elsewhere.

As discussed in the Eurasian Collared-Dove account (page 219), observers should be aware that hybridization between that species and the African Collared-Dove has been documented in California.