Distributional information on birds from egg sets collected by Henry Rogers Durkee in 1870 in southwestern Wyoming

Western North American Naturalist, Dec 2003

Henry Rogers Durkee collected 74 egg sets of 27 avian species in 1870 at Gilmer, Uinta County, in southwestern Wyoming. Despite the paucity of documented breeding evidence from this region during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, his material at the Smithsonian Institution was generally overlooked and has never been critically examined. Durkee's egg sets included 5 species (Sandhill Crane, Grus candensis; Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Stelgidoteryx serripennis; Grasshopper Sparrow, Ammodramus savannarum; Fox Sparrow, Passerella iliaca; Cassin's Finch, Carpodacus cassinii) whose breeding distribution was then poorly known, 25 to more than 70 years before nests and eggs were otherwise documented in Wyoming. Durkee also collected complete egg sets of Lark Bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys) over 70 years before breeding was confirmed at other peripheral locations in Wyoming. In addition, Durkee's incomplete egg sets of Grasshopper Sparrow were the 1st western subspecies (A. s. perpallidus); his complete egg set and nest of the Fox Sparrow collected at Gilmer constituted the 2nd locality for the species or species group (P. i. schistacea). Although the number of egg sets Durkee collected is modest, he made a meaningful contribution to the early history of avifaunal exploration in Wyoming.

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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 - 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)


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Douglas B. McNair, James P. Dean. Distributional information on birds from egg sets collected by Henry Rogers Durkee in 1870 in southwestern Wyoming, Western North American Naturalist, 2003, Volume 63, Issue 3,