Distributional information on birds from egg sets collected by Henry Rogers Durkee in 1870 in southwestern Wyoming
Western North American Naturalist
Distributional information on birds from egg sets collected by Henr y Rogers Durkee in 1870 in southwestern Wyoming
Douglas B. McNair 0 1 2 3
Tall Timbers Research Station 0 1 2 3
Tallahassee 0 1 2 3
Florida 0 1 2 3
James P. Dean 0 1 2 3
0 Department of Systematic Biology, Smithsonian Institution , Washington, D.C , USA
1 Thi s Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Western North American Naturalist Publications at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Western North American Naturalist by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information , please contact
2 Key words: eggs , museum collections, Wyoming, distribution, history, Ammodramus savannarum, Grasshopper Spar row, CaJamospiza melanocorys, Lark Bunting, Passerella iliaca schistacea, Fox Sparrow, Grus canadensis, Sandhill Crane , USA
3 lTalI TImbers Research Station. 13093 Henry Beadel Drive. Tallahassee, FL 32312-0918. 2Present address: Division of Fish and Came. Department of Planning and Natural Resources , 45
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan Recommended Citation
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Distributional information on confirmed
breeding birds from southwestern Wyoming
during the latter half of the 19th century is
scarce (Knight 1902, McCreary 1939, Dorn
1978). Apart from the journey by T. Nuttall
and J.K. Townsend in 1834, ornithological
exploration of Wyoming did not begin until
the 1850s (Knight 1902, Dorn 1978). This
included a Union Pacific Railroad survey in
1858 when over 100 species were collected by
Constantin Drexler (a taxidermist at the Smith
sonian Institution; Lindsay 1991) !i·om April to
June along Blacks Fork of the Green River at
Fort Bridger, Uinta County, in the southwestern
corner of the state (Baird et al. 1858). McCreary
(1939), who was the most reliable source of
information on the birds of Wyoming before
the 19405 (Dorn and Dorn 1990), cited no other
historical information from Uinta County.
Other than a few efforts in the 1860s (Dorn
1978), ornithological expeditions in Wyoming
resumed in the 1870s (Knight 1902, Dorn 1978).
This included Stevenson's (1872) exploration
in 1870 around Fort Bridger and the northern
slope of the Uinta Mountains (which included
Utah; Behle 1981) for about 20 days after the
hreeding season (see map of route in Johnson
1987). During the breeding season in 1872,
Nelson (
1875
) also explored the vicinity of
Fort Bridger (and the northern slope of the
Uinta Mountains in Utah, 50 ),.-rn south of Fort
Bridger; Behle 1981), where he documented
43 species. Another, earlier (1870) expedition
during the breeding season was by Henry
Rogers Durkee in Uinta County at and near
Gilmer. The material Durkee collected was
deposited at the United States National
Museum (USNM; Henry 1871). Subsequent
authorities, however, overlooked this material
(other than Dorn [1978], who never examined
it), except Baird et al. (
1874
) and Bendire
(
1892
), who cited breeding information on the
Lark Bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys) and
Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicantl$), respectively,
and Ridgway (1889), who cited a specimen
of a Prairie Falcon (adult male, USN 'vi 60176;
exchanged on 12 January 1882 to J.H. Gurney).
WESTER" NORTH A.\1ERICA" NATURALIST
TABLE 1. The 74 egg sets (plus 12 nests) of 27 species that H.R. Durkee collected at or near Gilmer, Uinta County,
Wyoming, in 1870.
Species nam&
Northern Pintail (Anas ocula)
Northern Hamer (Circus cyoneus)
Swainson's Hawk (Bllteo swainsoni)
Ferruginous Hawk (B. regalis)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius)
Prairie Falcon (F mexicanlls)
Greater Sage-Crouse (Centrocercus uro-phasionus)
Sandhill Crane (Crus c(madell$is)
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis maeularia)
Long-eared Owl (Asia OlllS)
ClifT Swallow (Petrochelidoll pyrrhol1ota)
Bam Swallow (Hinmdo rustica)
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
(Stelgidopteryx serripermis)
Mountain Bluebird (Sialia cumlCoides)
American Robin (Turdus migratorius)
Sage Thrasher (Oreoscoptes montonus)
Yellow Warbler (Dendroica aestiva)
Creen-tailed Towhee (Pipilo chlomrus)
Brewer's Sparrow (Spi=ello breweri)
Vesper Sparrow (Pooecetes gramilleus)
Lark Bunting (Colomospizo meloflocorys)
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sOfldwichensis)
Crasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus S(lV(lflllarum)
Fox Sparrow (Passerella iliaca)
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Brewer's Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus)
Cassin's Finch (Carpodacfts cassinii)
N"umber of egg setsb
(3)
3 (
1
)
1
1 (
1
)
1
1
2 (
1
)
1
1 (
1
)
2
I (I)
(I)
I
1 (2)<1
2
3 (
0
)<
1(
1
)<
1(
1
)
4' (4)
3' (4)
2 (
1
)
Id
2
Id
3d (2)"
2' (7)d
USt M numbers<:
(15608-15610)
15601,3711-37112(15603)
15593
37105 (15594)
37120
15596
15605, 37080 (156On
37018
15611 (15612)
15598-15599
15643 (15642)
(15644)
15645
15626 (15625, 15649)
15613-15614
15623-15624,3i241
15641 (15640)
15656 (15634)
15637-15639,15663
(15661-15662, 15664-15665)
15631,37202-37203
(15633, 1565 (...truncated)