Table Of Content:
134 THE WILSON JOURNAL OL ORNITHOLOGY • Vol. 119, No. I, March 2007
Bent, A. C. 1939. Northern Red-breasted Sapsucker. Joy, J. B. 2000. Characteristics of nest cavities and
Pages 151-154 in Life histories of North Ameri- nesttreesofthe Red-breastedSapsuckerincoastal
can woodpeckers. U.S. National Museum Bulletin montane forests. Journal ofEield Ornithology 71
174. 525-530.
Dennis, J. V. 1964. Woodpecker damage to utility Nelson, S. K. 1988. Habitat use and densities ofcav-
poles: with special reference to the role of terri- ity-nesting birds in the Oregon Coastranges. The-
tory and resonance. Bird-Banding 35:225-253.
Harness, R. E. and E. L. Walters. 2004. Woodpeck- sis. Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA.
ers and utility pole damage. Rural Electric Power Rumsey, R. L. 1970. Woodpecker nest failures in cre-
Conference. Paper 04 B3. 23-25 May 2004, osoted utility poles. Auk 87:367-369.
Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. Walters, E. L., E. H. Miller, and P. E. Lowther.
Howell,T. R. 1952. Natural historyanddifferentiation 2002. Red-breasted Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus rub-
in the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. Condor 54:237- er) and Red-naped Sapsucker {Sphyrapicus nu-
282. chalis). The birds ofNorth America. Number663.
The Wilson Journal ofOrnithology 1 19(1):134—136, 2007
The First Specimen Record of Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea) for
North America
Martin Renner' and Paul D. Linegar^
—
ABSTRACT A Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea) was This bird was presumed to be a Great Blue
found alive on 1 1 October 1996 in Newfoundland, Heron (Ardea herodias), was frozen and sent
Canada. It was identihed as a Great Blue Heron (A. to the Biology Department at MUN to be used
herodias), and prepared asa study skin fora university
teaching collection. We give a description of this first in teaching specimen preparation. The skin
specimen for North America and summarize previous was prepared by a student, deposited in the
records from the western hemisphere. Received31 Oc- collection, and labeled as a Great Blue Heron.
tober 2005. Accepted 1 March 2006. It is now deposited in the Royal Ontario Mu-
ROM
seum as catalog number 104256; male,
culmen: 120 mm, flattened wing: 455 mm, tar-
The first Gray Heron (Ardea cinerea) spee- sus: 152 mm (measurements by MR).
imen for North America was discovered by
MR
while selecting bird specimens from a DESCRIPTION AND IDENTIFICATION
teaching collection for an ornithology class at
Memorial University of Newfoundland The heron was gray above and white on the
(MUN) in September 2002. It had been lying, belly. The sides of the neck were uniform
misidentified, in the MUN collection for gray, and the crown was gray with a small
years. The bird has been found moribund on blackish gray crest. The combination ofa gray
11 October 1996 at Lear's Cove (46° 50' N, neck and white belly, and size rules out most
054°11'W), Avalon Peninsula, Newfound- of the world’s herons other than Gray and
land, about 3 km north ofCape St. Mary’s and Great Blue —herons.
taken to Salmonier Nature Park where it died. Plumage. The specimen lacks any rusty
brown on the leg feathers or on the underwing
' Bit)logy Department, Memorial University of or neck in contrast to a Great Blue Heron.
Newfoundland, NL AIB 3X9, Canada. There is a slightly buffy hue on the thighs.
-21 Osbourne St., St. John's, NL AIB 3X6,Canada. The front ofthe neck is white with bold black
’Current address: School of Aquatic and Eishery
spots of high contrast. Thinner, longer, less
Science, University ofWashington, Box 355020, Seat-
tle, WA 98195, USA. well-defined black streaks continue from the
’Corresponding author; e-mail: neck to the belly. The neck on the Gray Heron
[email protected] is plain gray laterally without such markings
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS 135
FIG. 1. Dorsal and ventral view ofGray Heron, found on 11 October 1996 at Lear’s Cove, Newfoundland.
as the distinct pale streaking along the side of slight sexual dimorphism in size with some
the neck of immature Great Blue Herons overlap (Butler 1992, Cramp and Snow 1998).
—
Size and Proportions. The Newfoundland The bill especially appears proportionately
Gray Heron was a male (based on dissection shorter in the Gray Heron (Figs. 1, 2). The
as noted on the specimen label). Herons show culmen length ofthe Newfoundland specimen
FIG. 2. Gray Heron (above) and Great Blue Heron (below) in the Memorial University of Newfoundland
collection. Note difference in bill proportion and details in feathering.
136 THE WILSON JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY • Vol. 119, No. I, March 2007
is within the published range for Gray Heron Conception Bay on 3 October but died soon
but outside the expected range for Great Blue afterward in Salmonier Nature Park. One of
Heron. the specimens is now in the Newfoundland
and Labrador Museum, St. John’s.
DISCUSSION During most ofOctober 1996, abroad high-
The heron was picked up near Cape St. pressure ridge prevailed over the North Atlan-
Mary’s, which is close to the major shipping tic between Newfoundland and Britain, re-
lane from Europe to the Gulfof St. Lawrence. sulting in westerly winds to the east of New-
Thus, partial ship assistance cannot be ruled foundland. However, on 10 and 11 October,
out; however, there is no direct evidence to two low-pressure systems, remnants of hurri-
suggest the bird hitched a ride. Its emaciated cane Josephine, created an easterly flow of
condition is consistent with having flown at winds from Iceland via Greenland to New-
least a large proportion ofthe trip. The timing foundland. Ifthis heron did not ride on a ship,
ofthis record matches the main migration sea- it could have ridden these winds from Iceland
son for the species in Europe (Sep-Oct) to Newfoundland.
(Cramp and Snow 1998) as well as arrival of ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
vagrants on Barbados (Oct-Nov) (Buckley et
al. 2006). This bird was a Ist-year bird based Wethank R A. Adams, P. A. Buckley, D. D. Gibson,
on the blackish-gray crown, short nape-plume, F. E. Hayes, I. L. Jones, E. H. Miller, H. M. Renner,
and Salmonier Nature Park.
and gray sides of the neck (Mullarney et al.
LITERATURE CITED
1999).
We know of no previous specimens from Badouin-Bodin, J. 1960. Des herons cendres bagues
North America. Gray Herons wander widely, au lac de Grand-Lieu reprisauxAntilles.L’Oiseau
averaging about 50 sightings a yearon Iceland et RFO 30:270.
in recent years (Shanahan 2001) and have Boertmann, D. 1994. An annotated checklist of the
been recorded at least 15 times in Greenland, birds of Greenland. Meddelelser om Grpnland.
Bioscience 38:1-63.
rmiabibnelayn,inGrfaalyl (HBeoreorntsmahnanve199b4e)e.n InfotuhnedCoan- BuckBluecyk,leP.y,A.a,ndE.H.B.EMHauststi.ah20,06M..ThB.e bHiurtdts,ofEBaGr.-
Barbados (first recorded in 1963; year-round bados, West Indies. B.O.U. Check-listNumber24.
resident since 1997 with up to 5-6 birds si- British Ornithologists’ Union, London, United
multaneously; Buckley et al. 2006), Montser- Kingdom.
rat, Martinique, Trinidad, and Tobago (Shan- Burton, K. M. and S. D. Smith. 2001. First report of
ahan 2001). A bird banded as a nestling in the Gray Heron in the United States. Western
Birds 32:88-90.
France was shot the next year on Trinidad Butler, R. W. 1992. Great Blue Heron (Ardea liero-
(Ffrench and Ffrench 1966). Banded birds dicLs). The birds of North America. Number 25.
have also been found on Montseratt (Bau- Cramp, S. and D. Snow, (Ed.). 1998. The complete
douin-Bodin 1960) and Capitao Poco Ourem birds ofthe Western Palearctic on CD-ROM. Ox-
Para, Brazil (Sick 1993:134). A Gray Heron ford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom.
was found dead on Bermuda on 7 October Dobson, A. 2005. Grey Heron-New to Bermuda. Ber-
2005 (Dobson 2005). There is also a sight rec- Ffrenmcuhd,aRA.uPd.uabnodnMS.ocFifertyenNcehw.sl1e9t6t6e.rR1e6c.eNnutmrbeecorrd3s.
ord from Saint Paul Island, Alaska, which has of birds in Trinidad and Tobago. Wilson Bulletin
been recorded as unsubstantiated (Burton and 78:4-1 1.
Smith 2001). A Gray Heron survived a trans- Mullarney, K., L. Svensson, D. Zetterstrom, and
atlantic voyage on board a cargo vessel in P.J. Grant. 1999. BirdsofEurope. PrincetonUni-
2002. Three Gray Herons landed on the ship versity Pre.ss, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
northwest ofthe Azores on 26 September. One Shanahan, D. 2001. The Gray Heron: a vagrant
among us? Birders Journal 9:294-301.
of them died and was discarded, another one
Sick, H. 1993. Birds in Brazil: a natural history.
died and the specimen was saved. The third Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jer-
bird was still alive when the vessel docked in sey, USA.
