28

Acknowledgements Feare, C. 1984. The Starling. Oxford

Typing services were provided byUniversity Press, Oxford.

Kessel, B. 1950. Observations on the polygamyGore & Storrie Limited. and territorial behavior of a male Starling

(Sturnus vulgaris). Bird-Banding

Literature cited 21:112-114.

Bent, A. C. 1950. Life histories of North Kessel, B. 1957. A study of the breeding

American wagtails, shrikes, vireos, and biology of the European Starling

their allies. United States National (Sturnus vulgaris) in North America.

Museum Bulletin 197. Washington, D. C. American Midland Naturalist 58:257-331.

Brown, M. L 1951. Some observations on thenesting and feeding habits of the Starling,Stumus vulgaris. Auk 68:511-512.

NotesBehavioural Identification

of the Wilson's WarblerWarbler enthusiasts know only too noticeable action. Especially whenwell that many warblers, especially observed skulking in thickimmatures in fall, go unidentified shrubbery or seen in poor light,because they restlessly dart about or Wilson's is easy to distinguish by itsare barely visible in thick cover. The behaviour.Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla) William Brewster (in Bentis a very active, flitting, and often 1953:630--631) and Wayne R.only briefly glimpsed species whose Petersen (in Farrand 1983:180)field marks are frequently not seen described the wing and tail actionswell enough to allow positive of the Wilson's Warbler, but theyidentification. Immatures also bear failed to emphasize how usefula resemblance to immature and these actions are to itsfemale Yellow Warblers (Dendroica identification under typical fieldpetechia). Fortunately, Wilson's can conditions of poor light and thickbe easily identified by its distinctive cover. I encourage others to watchbehavioural actions. for the distinctive wing and tail

Wilson's almost constantly flicks twitching of the Wilson's Warbler.its wings like a Ruby-crowned Once you are familiar with thisKinglet (Regulus calendula) and behaviour, you will be able tooften flips its tail up and down or identify with ease many morefrom side to side like a Blue-gray Wilson's which once wentGnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea). unidentified.The fidgety, kinglet-like wingnicking is usually the most

ONTARIO BIRDS APRIL 1989

AcknowledgementsI wish to thank Mike Buss, BarbElliot, Rory MacKay, Ron Tozer,and Dan Strickland for theirvaluable comments during thepreparation of this note.

Literature citedBent, A. C. 195:3. Life Histories of North

American Wood Warblers. United StatesNational Museum, Bulletin 20:3.Washington, D. C.

Farrand,llr. (ed.). 198:3. The AudubonSociety Master Guide to Birding. Vol. :3.Albert A Knopf, New York.

29

Ron Pittaway, Box 619, Minden, Ontario KOM 2KO

First Yellow-headed Blackbird Nest forThunder Bay District

In the summer of 1988 I found oneYellow-headed Blackbird(Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) nestand evidence of a second nest atMission Island Marsh, Thunder Bay,Thunder Bay District, Ontario. Thisis the first recorded nest of thisspecies in the Thunder Bay District(Flood 1987; Peck and James 1987).

Mission Island Marsh lies wi thinthe city limits of Thunder Bay at themouth of the Kaministiquia Riveron Lake Superior (48°23'N89°13'W). The marsh isapproximately 40ha in area. Standsof bur-reed (Sparganium sp.), rush(Scirpus sp.), and other emergentplants and open pools are frequentin the open part of the marsh withcattails (Typha sp.) lining theshores.

As many as three singing maleYellow-headed Blackbirds were seenbetween 15 May and 18June 1988in a small marsh near ChippewaPark, approximately 3km south ofMission Island Marsh. No femaleswere seen here and, despite severalvisits during the summer, no

evidence of nesting was found.On 3July 1988 I saw a female

Yellow-headed Blackbird at MissionIsland Marsh and, after watchingher for several minutes, saw herenter a dense stand of bur-reed(Sparganium eurycarpum). The standwas situated approximately 20mfrom shore in approximately 50cmofwater. I waded to the stand andflushed the female blackbird from anest con taining four eggs.

The nest was constructed ofcoarse grass, lined with finer grassesand feathers, and was interwovenwith the stalks of the bur-reed. Itwas positioned approximately 30cmabove the water.

On 9 July the nest contained onenewly-hatched young and one eggin the process of hatching. The fateof the two missing eggs is unknown.

On 26July no adults or youngwere observed in the area, and thenest had been removed. The stalkssupporting the nest had been cutoff near the water level, possibly bymuskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) or byhumans. It is not known if the

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young birds fledged before the nestwas removed.

A second female was seen in thesame part of the marsh on 3 and 9July. It perched with the first femaleseveral times, and made occasionalforays to another stand of bur-reed.Although I was unable to find asecond nest, the behaviour of thesecond female and the fact that thisspecies almost invariable nests incolonies (Flood 1987) suggests thatanother nest was present.

Yellow-headed Blackbirds areprimarily a prairie-nesting species,but have nested in Ontario and inthe Rainy River District since atleast 1961 (Baillie 1961) and in themarshes of Lake St. Clair (Essex Co.and Kent Co.) since at least 1965(Sawyer and Dyer 1968). Duringthe Ontario Breeding Bird Atlasperiod (1981 to 1985) nesting wasnot confirmed outside these twocoun ties and one district (Flood1987).

The Thunder Bay nesting isprobably a result of birds beingdisplaced from their traditionalnesting grounds in the west due tothe drought of the spring andsummer of 1988. Several otherprairie-nesting species, includingLesser Scaup (Aythya affinis),

Redhead (A. americana), RuddyDuck (Oxyura jamaicensis), andWilson's Phalarope (Phalaropus

tricolor), that do not normallysummer at Thunder Bay, were alsorecorded in the summer of 1988(N. Escott, pers. comm.).

Whether or not the same birdsor their offspring will return to nestat Mission Island Marsh whenweather conditions on the prairiesreturn to normal is unknown, butthis species does tend to reusebreeding sites (Peck and James1987). This will presen t theopportunity to observe anexpanding colony from itsinception.

literature citedBaiUie,J L.,jr. 1961. More new Ontario

breeding birds. Ontario Field Biologist15:1-9.

FlIJod, N. 1987. Yellow-headed Blackbird. pp.474-475. In M. D. Cadman, 1'. F.j. Eagles,and F. M. Helleiner (eds.). Atlas of theBreeding Birds of Ontario. Universi ty ofWaterloo Press, Waterloo, Ontario.

PecJt, C. K. and R.. D. James. 1987. BreedingBirds of On tario: Nidiology andDistribution. Vol. 2: Passcrines. LifeSciences Mise. Publ., Royal OntarioMuseum, Toronto.

Sauryer, M. and M. I. Dyer. 1968. Yellow-headedBlackbird nesting in southern Ontario.Wilson Bulletin 80:236-237.

Wilson's Phalarope / R. D. James

Allan Harris, 1131/2 South Harold Street, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7E IRS

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31

First Record of Dickcissel Spiza americanain the Sudbury District

On the morning of 19 September1988 an unusually coloured,sparrOW-like bird was observedfeeding on the ground beneath amaintained feeder by Svend Larsen,Dorothy Larsen, and Barney Weightin Sudbury, Sudbury District. Usingfield guides, binoculars, and carefulobservation at a distance ofapproximately 6.5m, the threeobservers identified the bird as aDickcissel (Spiza americana). Itfrequented the same Sudburyfeeder (46°29'N 81°00'W) for muchof the next day and was observedand confirmed by several othermembers of the SudburyOrnithological Society in theevening. On 21 September the birdwas observed at 0730h for 15minutes by the author andphotographed on a return visit at1630h. The bird was seen by theauthor again on 22 and 23September. It was last observed onthe evening of the 23 September byS. Larsen.

During the period when theDickcissel was present it wasobserved feeding on mixed seed onthe ground below the feeder andwould not take seed from thecovered feeder. It would frequen tlyreappear with other sparrows whenfresh seed was laid out at differentperiods of the day. It fed inassociation with smaller, immatureChipping Sparrows (Spizella

passerina) , the more elongateWhite-erowned Sparrows(Zonotrichia leucophrys) , and twodingy-eoloured House Sparrows(Passer domesticus). The ChippingSparrows appeared to precede theDickcissel on most approaches tofresh seed.

Three specific field marks helpdistinguish this species from allother sparrows, and were noted inthe Sudbury bird. The overall"chunky" appearance of theDickcissel was similar to that of aHouse Sparrow. However, thepresence of a distinctive yellowwash on the chest separated theDickcissel from this species.Secondly, two black but indistinctmalar streaks ran down the sides ofthe throat area. Finally, theshoulder patch of the wing was arusty red. This is usually aprominent field mark, however thisshoulder patch was periodicallyconcealed by overlapping feathersduring rest periods. Other featuresnoted in the Sudbury bird weregrey cheeks and grey, lightly­streaked crown, white throat, anddistinctively streaked back.

James et al. (1976) indicate thatthe Dickcissel is generallyconsidered to be of sporadicoccurrence in On tario. Themajority of records areconcentrated in southwesternOntario, particularly in counties

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Dickcissel/drawing by Chris Blomme

bordering the north shore of LakeErie (Godfrey 1986; Eagles 1987).Weir (1987a) reported that therewere usually two records perautumn for this species in Ontarioin recent years. Recent summerrecords of Dickcissel appear to beeven more scarce, wi th no recordsfor 1987 (Weir 1987b) and onerecord for 1986, that of a male atInverary, near Kingston, FrontenacCo. (Weir 1986).

Northern Ontano records ofDickcissel are fewer, with recordsciled from Fort Albany, CochraneDistrict (Goodwin 1982),Marathon, Thunder Bay District(Goodwin 1980a; Speirs 1985),Batchawana Point, Lake Superior,Algoma District (Goodwin 1980b),and Thunder Bay, Thunder BayDistrict Qames et al. 1976). In

ONT!\RIO BIRDS APRIL 1989

Manitoulin District (situated duewest of Sudbury District) there arelWO records of male Dickcissels,both seen in May (Nicholson 1981).

This sighting constitutes the firstknown record of the Dickcissel inSudbury District.

Literature citedEagles, P. RJ. 1987. Dickcissel. pp. 436-437. In

M. D. Cadman, P. F.J. Eagles, and F. M.Helleiner (eds.). Atlas of the BreedingBirds of Ontario. University of WaterlooPress, Waterloo, Ontario.

Godfrey, W E. 1986. The Birds of Canada.Revised edition. National Museum ofCanada, Ottawa.

Goodwin, C. E. 1980a. The autumn migration.Ontario region. American Birds34:155-158.

Goodwin, C. E. 1980b. The spring migration.Ontario region. American Birds34:770-773.

Goodwin, C. E. 1982. The autumn migration.Ontario region. American Birds36:171-174.

33

James, RD., P. L McLaren, and J. C. Barlow. Speirs,]. M. 1985. Birds of Ontario. Volume II.1976. Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Natural Heritage/Natural History Inc.,Ontario. Life Sciences Misc. Pub!., Royal Toronto.Ontario Museum, Toronto. Weir, RD. 1986. Ontario Region. American

Nicholson,J. C. 1981. The Birds of Manitoulin Birds 40:1197-1201.Island and Adjacen t Islands within the Weir, RD. 1987a. Ontario Region. AmericanManitoulin District. Acme Printers, Birds 41:80-84.Sudbury, Ontario. Weir, RD. 1987b. Ontario Region. American

Birds 41:1429-1432.

Chris Blomme, Department of Biology, Laurentian University, Ramsey LakeRoad, Sudbury, Ontario P3E 2C6

Western Kingbird Nesting inRainy River District

The Western Kingbird (Tyrannus Rainy River District (Weir 1987).verticalis) is a rare spring and fall This record was accepted as t.he firstvisitor to southern Ontario. confirmed nesting of the species inBreeding across much ofwestern Ontario.Canada and the United States, and Additional Ontario sightings ofas far east as the mid-western states, summering or potentially breedingit is considered a rare nester in birds include: (1) three birds foundMichigan and eastern Manitoba in Rainy River District, 6-14July(Bent 1942). 1983, by B. Jones, L. Fazio, J.

Only recently has the Western Heslop, and D. H. Elder, with twoKingbird been confirmed as a of the birds iden tified as femalesbreeding species in Ontario. Peck and one as a male, and (2) aand James (1987) and Speirs Western Kingbird found in suitable(1985) report a nest con taining nesting habitat by W. Crins and R.three eggs (supported by Ridout on 26 May 1981 in Rainyphotographic evidence [ROM PR River District, 20krn south of the349 & 350]) found in Kent County above sighting. No evidence ofon 26June 1943 by C. J. breeding was noted in either caseMacFayden. However, no (Carpen tier 1987).description of the parents is On 3June 1988, G. Carpentier,available, and the photographs of R. Smith, B. Charlton, and N.the nest and eggs are not Barrett discovered a pair of ad uItdiagnostic. Western Kingbirds in Worthington

On 9June 1987, D. H. Elder and Township, Rainy River District. OnT. J. Nash reported finding an 4June Carpentier discovered aactive nest, containing at least two Western Kingbird nest locatedyoung, in Worthington Township, about 6m up in a large Manitoba

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Maple (Acer negundo).The nest was constructed of

coarse grasses and fine twigs,loosely woven into a "messy"elongate structure, and situatednear the confluence of a majorvertical branch and the main trunkof the tree. Considerable foreignmatter, of paper-like quality, waswoven in to the structure of the nestin the median section. The nest wasgenerally untidy, and severalstrands of grass dangled from itsbase. It appeared that the lowestportions of the nest were wellweathered, and it seemed that thenest was actually constructed on topof a previous one, although this wasnever confirmed.

At no time were the adults seento incubate, but actions by one ofthe pair implied that the nest wasstill under construction, althoughobviously in the late stages. Akingbird observed on the nest on '1.

June appeared to be shaping thecup of the nest with its body.Neitller adult was seen carryingnest material to the site during theobservations. The adults frequentlyemitted soft alarm calls while theobservers were presen t.

The con ten ts of the nest werenot checked so as to reducedisturbance and the possibility ofan abandonment. During thecourse of the observation period(3-6June 1988), the adults werenoted attending the nest for twobrief periods, but they generallyremained in the immediate vicinityof the nest and nest site for 15 to 20

minutes at a time.The nest site and basic

construction were consistent withdescriptions con tained in Harrison(1978) with respect to location onthe tree, height above the ground,the presence of paper materials andgrasses in its construction, and itsloosely woven, un tidy appearance.

It is the opinion of the observersthat this consti tutes the secondconfirmed nesting of the WesternKingbird in On tario.

Acknowledgemen tsThe author would like to thank LizaVandermeer for reviewing theoriginal manuscript and makinguseful amendments.

Literature citedRent, A. C. 1912. I.ire I Iistories of North

American flycatchers, Larks, Swallows,and Allies. United States NationalMuseum Bulletin 179. Washington, D. C.

Carpentier, C. 1987. Western Kingbird. p. 513.In M. D. Cadman, P. F.J. Eagles, and F. M.Helleiner (eds.). 1987. Atlas of theBreeding 13irds of Ontario. University ofWaterloo Press, Waterloo, Ontario.

HarrisOTi, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the NesLS,Eggs and Nestlings of North American13irds. Wm. Collins and Sons, Glasgow,Scotland.

PecJt., C. K. and R. D. James. 1987. Breeding13irds of On tario: Nidiology andDistribution. Vol. 2: Passerines. LifeSciences Misc. Publications, Royal OntarioMuseum, Toronto.

Speirs,). M. 1985. Binis of On tario. Vol. 2.Natural Heritage/Natural History Inc.,Toronto.

Weir, R. D. 1987. The nesting season. Ontarioregion. American Birds 41:1431.

Geoffrey Carpentier, 964 Weller Street, Peterborough, Ontario K9J 4Y2

Ol\!TI\RIO BIRDS APRIL 1989

35

Short-eared Owl and Red-tailed HawkAttempt to Rob Northern Harrier

On 19 March 1989 at 1715h we sawthree raptors circling over openfields about 1km south ofHagersville, Regional Municipalityof Haldimand-Norfolk, Ontario.The two highest were an adult maleNorthern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)and a Short-eared Owl (Asio

flammeus).As we watched, the owl twice

closed on the rising harrier anddived at it. The harrier was carryinga mouse and several strands of grassin its left foot but did not relinquishthis prey. As this happened, a smalladult Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo

jamaicensis) flapped and circledbelow the two higher birds butgained altitude steadily.

After about two minutes, theShort-eared Owl left and the Red­tailed Hawk began flying withsteady wingbeats towards theharrier. The harrier flew quickly tothe northwest for about 0.5km withthe Red-tailed Hawk pursuing, butnot gaining distance. Within 30seconds, the Red-tailed Hawk brokeoff the chase and glided back to thesoutheast.

The harrier glided down,perched on the ground at the edgeof an ice-covered quarry, andlooked about, all the while holdingthe mouse.

Piracy is common among raptors(Palmer 1988:298), with NorthernHarriers frequently involved as theattackers (Watson 1977:93). Palmer

(1988:128) notes that the Red­tailed Hawks occasionally rob otherspecies such as Northern Harriers.Bildstein (1987) observes thatharriers are more frequentlyrobbed by Rough-legged Hawks(Buteo lagopus) to the extent thatthey often do not hunt in areasfrequented by that species.

Usually, Short-eared Owls arethe victims of piracy by NorthernHarriers (Berger 1958; Clark 1975;Watson 1977) but, on occasion,they have been reported robbingprey of Northern Harriers (Palmer1988:298).

Ben t (1937) notes the only othercase ofa Northern I-Tarrier beinginvolved in a three-species act ofpiracy. A Northern Harrier carryinga mouse was pursued closely bythree American Crows (Corvus

brachyrhynchos); it dropped themouse. The leading crow snatchedit up, only to be chased by a CrestedCaracara (Polyborus plancus). Thecrow dropped the dead mouse,which landed so close to theobserver that the caracara perchednearby, reluctant to retrieve it.

Literature citedBent, A. c. 1937. Life Histories of North

American Birds of Prey (Part 1). UnitedStates National Museum Bulletin 167.Washington, D. C.

Berger, D. D. 1958. Marsh Hawk takes preyfrom Short-eared Owl. Wilson Bulletin70:90.

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Bildstein, K L. 1987. Behavioral ecology of CZarlt, RJ 1975. A field study of the Short-Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) , eared Owl, Asio flammeu.s Polltopiddan, inRough-legged Hawks (Buteo Zagopus) , North America. Wildlife MonographsNorthern Harriers (Circus ')'aneu.s) , and 47:1-67.American Kestrels (Falco sparverius) in Palmer, R S. (ed.). 1988. I-Iandbook of Northsouth central Ohio. Ohio Biological American Birds. Volume 4: DiurnalSurvey. Biological Note Number 18. Ohio Raptors (Part I). Yale University Press.State University, Columbus, Ohio. New Haven, Connecticut.

Watson, D. 1977. The I-len I-Iarrier. T. and A.

D. Poyser. Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire,England.

Bruce W. Duncan andJanet E. Snaith, 10 Chateau Court, Hamilton, OntarioL9C 5P2

Book Reviews

Nothing Gold Can Stay; The Wildlife of Upper Canada. By W Fraser Sandercombe.The Boston Mills Press, Erin, Ontario. 188pp. ($19.95)

A while ago I was reading the diary are given evocative and/or poeticof Elizabeth Simcoe, wife of titles ("None Gets Out Alive" forOntario's first Lieutenant-Governor the chapter on squirrels and hares;(1792-1796), and was fascinated by "Trophy Meat" for the chapter onthe numerous, interesting natural ungulates, etc.). In each the authorhistory references. I thought it selects passages from a variety ofwould be interesting to go through well-known pioneer wri ters andher diary and other similar sources observers, including Catharine Parrand try to compose a picture of Traill, Phillip H. Goss (who wrotewhat the landscape of Upper about Lower Canada, by the way),Canada looked like, before Henry Scadding, Suzanna Moodie,deve lopmen t so fundamen tally etc. With each subject area there ischanged it. Accordingly, I was an editorial by the author,delighted soon after to hear that a summarizing the situation ornew book, Nothing Gold Can Stay, expounding his views on thehad precisely that as its purpose. To matter. Many beautifully executedquol.e from the introduction, it "is pen and ink sketches of the animalsabout how the land was when the and situations discussed aresettlers arrived, how they used it distributed through the text.and abused it, added to it, took It is, ironically, the graphic andaway from it". Sounds great, eh? artistic success of Nothing Gold CanUnfortunately, the book falls Stay - and it is a truly beautifullyconsiderably short of the mark. illustrated and crafted package -

It is sub-divided into a variety of that points towards its major failing.thematic chapters such as birds, Not nearly enough atten tjon washun ting, fish and fishing, etc. Many paid to what went into this pretty

ONTARIO mRDSAPRIL 1989