Download New Bird Records from the Galapagos Associated with the El Nino

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The Condor 901505-507
Omithologlcal
Society1988
0 The Cooper
NEW BIRD RECORDS FROM THE GALAPAGOS ASSOCIATED
WITH THE EL NItiO-SOUTHERN
OSCILLATION’
ROBERTL. CURRY*
Department of Biology, The Universityof Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1048
SCOTTH. STOLESON
10 LounsburyRoad, Trumbull, CT 0661I
Key words: Galdpagos; colonization; El NifioSouthernOscillation;Black Tern; Rose-breastedGrosbeak; Eared Dove: Dark-billed Cuckoo;Cedar Waxwing.
ofthe archipelago(89”57’W o”1S’N). Stormsproducing
unprecedentedrainfall occurredthroughoutthis period
(Grant 1984b, Curry 1985). We made additional observations on Genovesa between 13 December 1983
and 5 May 1984, and on several other islandsin both
Colonization is a critical element of biogeographical 1983 and 1984. Our fieldwork was part of continuing
long-term studies of finch and mockingbird breeding
processes(MacArthur and Wilson 1967). However,
even for the avifauna of the GalapagosIslands, which biology begun in 1978.
On 29 and 30 Januarv 1983. both of us observed a
has been the focus of many studies of evolutionary
Black Tern, Chlidoniasniger,flying over the beachand
change, speciation, and community structure (Grant
1984a), the frequency of colonization remains poorly tidal lagoonbelow our camp on Genovesa,when it was
hawking for insectsover low scrub(mostly Cryptocardocumented.Here we report on recordsassociatedwith
the El Niiio-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) event of pus pyriformus).In winter plumage, the bird was pre1982-1983 for three bird speciesnew to the GalLpagos. dominantly white with a dusky nape, a small dark ear
covert spot, and a slightly forked tail; these characters
We suggestthat suchrare climatic events have an imare visible in our photographsof the bird (copy on file,
portant influence on the archipelago’savifauna by inDivision of Birds, Museum of Zoology, University of
creasingthe frequency with which birds reach the archipelago, disperse among the islands, and become Michigan). A Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)present
on the same days, also in winter plumage,was noticesuccessfullyestablished.
BetweenOctober 1982 and July 1983, the Galapagos ably larger.
Our sightings coincided with a period of severe
Archipelago experienced unusually heavy rain and
strongwinds associatedwith an extraordinarily strong weather, with 109 mm of rain falling between 28 and
30 January,strongwinds from various directions, and
ENS0 event (Philander 1983, Grant 1984b). Many of
unusually
heavy surf. Both terns may therefore have
the bioloaicaleffectsof theseconditionshave been discussedelsewhere(e.g.,papersin Robinsonand de1Pino been blown off coursetoward the Galapagosfrom their
1985). We conducted field studies in the Galapagos normal wintering range.The Black Tern is a common
winter residenton the Pacific coastof Colombia (Hilty
between31 December 1982 and 23 June 1983 on Genand Brown 1986) occurringmore rarely south to Ecovesa, a small isolated island in the northeast comer
uador (Butler 1979) and Peru as far south as Lima
(Koepcke 1970, Parker et al. 1982). The sole previous
record of this speciesfor the Galapagos was a dead
I Received 24 August 1987. Final acceptance4 Deimmature bird (Harris 1982).
cember 1987.
We observedat least two Rose-breastedGrosbeaks,
2 Presentaddress:Archbold BiologicalStation, Lake Pheucticusludovicianus,on Genovesa in 1983. On 12
Placid, FL 33852-2057.
April, Stoleson saw a male, in winter plumage, with
506
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an incompletely black head, a whitish bill, and a conspicuousrose breast patch; the latter field mark was
especiallynoticeableas most of Genovesa’s small resident landbirds, including three ground-finches(Geospizaspp.),the Warbler Finch (Certhideaolivacea),and
lack
the GalapagosMockingbird(Nesomimusparvulus),
brightly colored plumage.This bird, and the otherswe
saw. gave the species’distinctive clink call while moving throughwoodland in the islands interior. The habitat here, dominated by Bursera graveolens,Croton
scouleri.and Cordia lutea, was unusuallylush at this
time becausevegetation grew rapidly in-the continuously wet conditions that had prevailed since November 1982 (Grant and Grant 1987). We saw solitary
grosbeakson four occasionsbetween 15 and 19 April
in the same0.5-km2 area, and on both 25 and 27 April,
Stolesonsaw two individuals together:one was a male
in nearly complete breeding(alternate)plumage,while
the other was a female. Therefore, as many as three
individuals may have been present.
We know of no previous publishedreports of RosebreastedGrosbeaksin the Galapagos,but another individual of this specieswasseenon Fernandina in early
1983 (T. de Roy, pers.comm.). Pheucticusludovicianus
is a common winter visitor west of the Andes in Columbia (Hiltv and Brown 1986). occurring less frequently in western Ecuador and Peru (Butler 1979,
Parker et al. 1982). As with the tern, unusual ENSOrelatedweathermay accountfor the appearanceof these
birds in the Galapagos;our first sighting occurred at
the end of a stormy week with high winds and heavy
rain.
On 29 January 1984, roughly 6 months after the
1982-1983 ENS0 storms ended. Currv observed an
EaredDove, Zenaida auriculata,from closerange(< 20
m) on the grounds of the Charles Darwin Research
Station (CDRS) on Santa Cruz. The bird was easily
distinguishablefrom the endemic GalapagosDove (Z.
galapagoensis)
by the olive-brown color of its back and
breast (reddish in Z. galapagoensis),lack of a bluish
eye ring, black-spottedwings (with no white), and longer, wedge-shapedtail. The bird also had white-tipped
remiges,suggestingthat it belongedto one of the westem Colombian, Ecuadorean, or Peruvian subspecies
(e.g., Z. a. hypoleuca)rather than the more northern
russet-tippedforms (e.g.,Z. a. stenura,Hilty and Brown
1986).
There are no previous publishedaccountsof Z. auriculata in Galapagos,but T. Grant and P. R. Grant
sawan individual of the same speciesover severaldays
in August 1980, on Champion (P. R. Grant, pers.
comm.). Z. auriculata is abundant in the subtropical
and temperate zones of Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru
(Butler 1979,Parkeret al. 1982,Hilty and Brown 1986).
The bird seen in 1984 may have arrived during the
ENS0 event of 1982-1983.and persisted,perhapsfor
aslone,as 2 years:an Eared Dove wasuresentat CDRS
on lOAugust 1985 (P. R. Grant, in litt.).
Conditions associatedwith ENS0 eventsmay therefore favor the displacementof mainland speciesto the
archipelagoby disruptingmigration routesor wintering
ranges.We also know of-a sightingof an Eastern Kingbird Uvrannus tvrannus) on Genovesa in Mav 1983
(M. Jones, pers.comm.); another new species-record
for the Galapagos. Other rare species in the islands
seem to occur most frequently during years of ENS0
events.The only BlackpollWarbler (Dendroicastriata)
recorded for Galapagoswas seen in 1976 (Boag and
Ratcliffe 1979) an ENS0 year (Grant 1985). In late
January 1987, during the most recent ENS0 event, a
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycillacedrorum)was sightedon
Genovesa(P. R. Grant, in litt.). This species,also new
to the Galapagos,rarelywinterssouthof Panama(AOU
1983),but was recordedin Columbia during the ENS0
of 1983 (Hilty and Brown 1986). Other specieswhose
occurrencein the archipelagomay be associatedwith
ENS0 eventsincludePurole Gallinule (Porahvriomartinica); Curry saw one repeatedly at El .&co crater
lake on San Cristobal in March 1984, constitutingthe
fourth record for the Galapagos;LaughingGull (Larus
atricilla); we recorded up to 35 on Genovesa in 1983;
Common Nighthawk (Chordeilesminor); Curry heard
one on Genovesain March 1983;and SootyShearwater
(Pujinus griseus);we saw one bird off Genovesaon 3 1
December 1982. All thesespecieshave previouslybeen
observed in the Galapagosprincipally or exclusively
during or just after ENS0 events in 1953, 1957, 1965,
1972-1973,and 1976(Levequeetal. 1966;Harris 1973,
1982;Grant 1985).LaughingGulls normally occurover
warm water north of the archipelago;in 1983, perhaps
becausewater temperaturesin the Galapagoswere exceptionally high (Kogelschatz et al. 1985) Laughing
Gulls seemedto replace Franklin’s Gulls (L. pipixcan)
as the most common wintering gull in the Galapagos.
Severeweatherand unusualwind directionsof ENSOassociatedstormsmay alsoredistributeresidentspecies.
Dark-billed Cuckoos(Coccyzusmelacoryphus),Cattle
Egrets(Bubulcusibis), Smooth-billed Anis (Crotophaga ani), and Medium Ground-Finches (Geospizafortis), and Paint-billed Crakeswere all observedon Genovesa in 1983 (Grant and Grant 1987; our observ.),
none ofwhich are normally residentthere (Harris 1973,
1982). At least two cuckoosremained on Genovesa,
where they nested and successfullyfledged one chick
in 1984 (Stoleson,pers. observ.), the first breedingrecord of this suecieson Genovesa. Dark-billed Cuckoos
were also presenton Espaiiolain December 1983, and
on Champion in March 1984 (Curry, pers. observ.),
new recordsfor theseislands.At least 10 cuckooswere
presenton Daphne during the winter of 1983, and one
or more was still present until mid-February 1984
(Stoleson, pers. observ.; H. L. Gibbs, pers. comm.);
only one cuckoo had been recorded previously from
Daphne, in 1981 (Millington and Price 1982). Crakes
may also have persisted on Genovesa following the
1982-1983 ENSO; Stoleson saw individuals there in
January and February 1984. Curry observed a Cattle
Egret on 28 March 1983 on Champion, the first record
of the speciesfor this island. A GalapagosMockingbird, observed and color-banded on 15 June 1983 on
Daphne, persisted until October 1983 (H. L. Gibbs,
pers. comm.; Stoleson,pers. observ.). The only other
mockingbird recorded from Daphne was observed by
the Academy expedition in July 1906 (Gifford 1919);
seasonalitywas unusualin that year as landbirds were
found to be breedingon the northern islandsin August
(Gifford 1919) but it is not known if an ENS0 event
occurredin 1906.
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Accidental arrivals of new specieswill rarely have
any impact on the resident avifauna. As in the caseof
the grosbeakand tern we saw,individualsthat are blown
off course or that wander to the islands will usually
leave or die without either reproducingor having any
significantimpact on the resident species.Very rarely,
however, arrivals become establishedas colonistsand,
even more rarely, become permanent members of the
avifauna. This seemsto have occurredin recenthistory
in the caseof anis on Santa Cruz (Crotophagaani and
vossiblv C. sulcirostris,Harris 1982: F. Koster. oers.
comm.j and, possibly, Paint-billed Crakes on several
islands. Cattle Egrets, though not yet known to have
bred in the archipelago,are now regularvisitors or have
become resident there (Harris 1973, 1982). Though
ENS0 events as strong as the one occurring in 1983
are extremely unusual(Grant 1985) they may be critically important to the evolution of the avifauna by
increasingthe chancesthat new specieswill arrive in
the islands while conditions are temporarily hospitable. The profuse growth of vegetation associatedwith
heavy rainfall (Grant and Grant 1987) probably enhancesestablishmentof new species.
507
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