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SHORT COMMUNICATIONS MASTER,T. L. 1979. An incident of Blue Jay predation on a House Sparrow. Wilson Bull. 9 1:470. MCLANDRESS,M. R., AND I. MCLANDRESS. 1981. Scrub Jay capturesHermit Thrush in flight. Wilson Bull. 93:550-551. OUELLET,H. 1970. Further observationson food and predatoryhabits of the Gray Jay. Can. J. Zool. 48: 327-330. ROTH, V. D. 1971. Unusual predatory activities of 505 Mexican Jaysand Brown-headedCowbirds under conditions of deep snow in southeasternArizona. Condor 73:113. WILEY, J. W., AND B. N. WILEY. 1974. The biology of the White-crowned Pigeon.Wildl. Monogr. 64: l-54. WILMORE,S. B. 1977. Crows, jays, ravens, and their relatives.David and Charles.Newton Abbot. U.K. 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 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 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. SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 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 E. W. 1919. Field notes on the land birds of the GalapagosIslandsand of CocosIsland, Costa Rica. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. Ser. 4, 2:189-258. GRANT,P. R. 1984a. Recent researchon the evolution of land birds on the Galapagos.Biol. J. Linn. Sot. 21:113-136. GRANT,P. R. 1984b. Extraordinary rainfall during the El Nifio event of 1982-83. Not. Galapagos39: 10-11. GRANT,P. R. 1985. Climatic fluctuationson the GalanaeosIslands and their influenceson Darwin’s fir&es, p. 47 l-483. In P. A. Buckley,M. S. Foster, E. S. Morton, R. S. Ridgely, and F. G. Buckley [eds.], Neotropical ornithology. Omithol. Monogr. No. 36. American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, DC. GRANT, P. R., ANDB. R. GRANT. 1987. The extraordinary El Niiio event of 1982-83: effectson Darwin’s fincheson Isla Genovesa,Galapagos.Oikos 49155-66. HARRIS,M. P. 1973. The Galapagosavifauna. Condor 75:265-278. HARRIS.M. P. 1982. A field guide to the birds of Galapagos.2nd ed. Collins,-London. ---.:.~nction with p. \;rrla. ..lP R. Grant’s studies of Galapagoslandh~,uO, wc tL.?“L LLlllllR HILTY, S. L., AND W. L. BROWN. 1986. A guideto the birds of Colombia. Princeton Univ. Press,PrinceU”llbIlCU him for critical advice and contribution of unm’ -” -I_^A ton, NJ. -h observations. We also thank the Dire+-L;L~UII Iqacional KOEPCKE, M. 1970. The birds of the Department of Forestal (Ecuador), the Servicio Parqule National GaLima, Peru. Livingston Publishing, Wynnewood, lapagos,and the Charles Darwin ReserIrch Station for -1 rA. permissionto conductfieldwork, World Wildlife FundKOGELSCHATZ, J., L. SOLORZANO, R. BARBER,AND P. US (grant US-3 18 to R. L. Curry), the Frank M. ChapMENDOZA. 1985. Oceanographicconditions in man Memorial Fund, the University of Michigan, and the GalapagosIslandsduringthe 1982-83 El Nifio, National Science Foundation, USA (grant BSR 82p. 91-123. In G. R. Robinson and E. de1 Pino 12515 to P. R. Grant) for financial support, and two [eds.],El Niiio in the GalapagosIslands:the 1982anonymous reviewers for comments on the manu1983 event. Charles Darwin Foundation for the script. GalapagosIslands, Quito, Ecuador. LBv&JE. R.. R. I. BOWMAN,AND S. L. BILLEB. 1966. Migrants in the Galapagosarea. Condor 68:81LITERATURE CITED 101. AMERICANORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. 1983. Check- MACARTHUR,R. II., AND E. 0. WILSON. 1967. The list of North American Birds. 6th ed. American theory of island biogeography.Princeton Univ. Ornitholosists’ Union, Washington. DC. Press.Princeton. NJ. BOAG, P. T., AND L. M. RADCLIFFE.1979. First record MILLINGTON,S. J., AND T. D. PRICE. 1982. Birds on of a Blackpoll Warbler for the Galapagos.Condor Daphne Major 1979-1981. Not. Galapagos 35: 81:218-219. 25-27. BUTLER,T. Y. 1979. The birds of Ecuador and the PARKER,T. A., III, S. A. PARKER,AND M. A. PLENGE. Galapagos archipelago. Lincoln Press, Sanford, 1982. An annotated checklist of Peruvian birds. ME. Buteo Books, Vermillion, SD. CURRY,R. L. 1985. Breeding and survival of GalaPHILANDER,S.G.H. 1983. El Niiio Southern OscilpagosMockingbirds during El Niiio, p. 449-47 1. lation phenomena. Nature 302:295-30 1. In G. R. Robinson and E. de1Pino teds.], El Nifio ROBINSON, G. R., AND E. DELPINO [EDS.]. 1985. El in the Galapagos Islands: the 1982-1983 event. Niiio in the Galapagos Islands: the 1982-1983 Charles Darwin Foundation for the GalapagosIsevent. Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galalands, Quito, Ecuador. pagosIslands, Quito, Ecuador. ._,-n GIFFORD,