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Species
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MTY status & distribution
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Documentation:
if photo, usually a thumbnail;
if specimen or details,
so indicated
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Credits or comments
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Purple Martin
Progne subis
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Breeds locally: now a scacre & local summer resident in the
Santa Lucia Mts. and along Big Sur coast. Once more widespread but many
local populations extirpated by starlings that out-compete martins for
nest holes. Rare in migration throughout
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photo © Ronald L. Branson
May 1966 Big Sur
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Tree Swallow
Tachycineta bicolor
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Breeds widely: locally common summer resident near water throughout;
also common in spring & early fall migration; uncommon & local
in winter but regular at some coastal sites
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photo © Don Roberson
Aug 1990 Salinas wtp
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Violet-green Swallow
Tachycineta thalassina
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Breeds widely: common summer resident of oak & mixed coniferous
woodlands. Common spring & early fall migrant throughout, scarce &
local in winter near the coast
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photo © Don Roberson
June 1986 Nacimiento Ridge
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Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Stelgidopteryx serripennis
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Breeds widely: locally common summer resident in lowlands near
water; uncommon migrant throughout, rare in winter
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photo © Brian J. Weed
14 June 1988 San Antonio River
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Bank Swallow
Riparia riparia
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Breeds very locally: only 1-3 colonies known in steep crumbling
cliffs on tributaries of Salinas River at mid-county. Several former colonies,
incl. a coastal one, have been abandoned. Rare migrant throughout; exceptional
in winter
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photo © Don Roberson
May 1986 near King City
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Cliff Swallow
Petrochelidon pyrrhonota
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Breeds widely: common summer resident & migrant throughout;
no records Oct-Jan
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photo © Don Roberson
17 June 2001 San Lucas
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Barn Swallow
Hirundo rustica
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Breeds widely: common summer resident & migrant throughout;
rare in winter along the coast but more present in recent winters
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photo © Don Roberson
4 July 2000 Big Sur R. mouth
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Mountain Chickadee
Poecile gambeli
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Breeds very locally; resident in Sugar Pine forests at Cone Peak
& Junipero Serra Peak. Absent 1961-1990, perhaps locally extirpated
by fires; recolonized by 1991.
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no photo in MTY
but
specimens at CAS, MVZ
and sev. new field descriptions
incl. this one 26 July 1991 from near Cone Peak by D.
Roberson
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Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Poecile rufescens
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Breeds widely: common resident of coastal forests and riparian
woods (both coastal & Salinas Valley)
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photo © Don Roberson
3 Feb 2003 Pacific Grove
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Oak Titmouse
Baeolophus inornatus
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Breeds widely: common resident of oak woodlands
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photo © John Sorensen
May 2001 Gonzales
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Bushtit
Psaltriparus minimus
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Breeds widely: common resident of brushy, wooded & riparian
habitat throughout
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photo © Don Roberson
Dec 1997 Carmel R. mouth
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Red-breasted Nuthatch
Sitta canadensis
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Breeds locally: rare & local resident in thick high elevation
coniferous forests. Otherwise, a widespread but eruptive migrant &
winter visitor (Sep-Apr), sometimes common and sometimes scarce
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photo © Don Roberson
24 Oct 1979 Pacific Grove
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White-breasted Nuthatch
Sitta carolinensis
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Breeds widely: common resident of oak savanna & open oak-pine
forests, scarcer towards the coast
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photo © Don Roberson
28 Mar 2004 Rancho San Carlos
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Pygmy Nuthatch
Sitta pygmaea
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Breeds widely: common resident of closed-cone pine forests along
the coast and in the Santa Lucia Mts.
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photo © Robert F. Tintle
26 Aug 1988 Pacific Grove
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Brown Creeper
Certhia americana
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Fairly common resident in humid forests; widespread along the coast
but patchy in interior riparian woods
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photo © Ronald L. Branson
July 1972 Big Sur
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Rock Wren
Salpinctes obsoletus
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Breeds locally: common summer resident of dry rocky hills east
of Salinas Valley; rare year-round resident in rocky canyons & outcrops
of the coastal range; very rare to the coast
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photo © Don Roberson
31 Dec 2001 Pebble Beach
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Canyon Wren
Catherpes mexicanus
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Breeds locally: scarce local resident in steep, rocky canyons of
the interior; very rare to the coast
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photo © John Sorensen
Oct 1993 Pinnacles NM,
west side
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Bewick's Wren
Thryomanes bewickii
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Breeds widely: common resident of chaparral, riparian & brushy
habitats throughout
See a
separate page on Bewick's Wren
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photo © Don Roberson
29 Dec 1994 Ft. Ord
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House Wren
Troglodytes aedon
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Breeds widely: common summer resident of riparian & montane
woodlands throughout; uncommon in coastal riparian scrub in winter
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photo © Robert F. Tintle
15 Sep 1986 Mission Trails
Park, Carmel
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Winter Wren
Troglodytes troglodytes
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Breeds locally: uncommon to locally common resident of moist coastal
canyons (mostly redwoods) along Big Sur coast, and in old eucalyptus on
Elkhorn Slough. Numbers increased in winter (Sep-Feb) by migrants
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photo © Don Roberson
2 Nov 2003 Big Sur R. mouth
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Marsh Wren
Cistothorus palustris
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Breeds locally: fairly common resident of a few coastal freshwater
marshes; sometimes nests patchily in interior cattail ponds. Migrants &
winter visitors (Sep-Feb) widespread in marshes or wet coastal grasslands
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photo © Ronald L. Branson
Oct 1978 Carmel R. mouth
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American Dipper
Cinclus mexicanus
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Breeds locally: rare resident along rushing rivers in the Santa
Lucia Mts. to the Big Sur coast
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photo © Robert F. Tintle
18 June 1986 Los Padres Dam,
Carmel River
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Golden-crowned Kinglet
Regulus satrapa
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Breeds very locally: tiny population nests patchily in redwoods
& douglas-fir around Big Sur. Otherwise, an irruptive winter visitor
to coniferous forests, sometimes common (Oct-Mar)
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photo © BSOL/Sarah Stock
12 Nov 2003 Big Sur R. mouth
[banded by BSOL]
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Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Regulus calendula
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Common winter visitor (mostly Oct-Mar) in wooded & riparian
habitats throughout
for a discussion of a local i.d. problem, go to the Hutton's
Vireo vs. Ruby-crowned Kinglet page
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photo © Don Roberson
16 Nov 1998 Moonglow Dairy,
Moss Landing
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Dusky Warbler
Phylloscopus fuscatus
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Exceptional fall vagrant; one record (Oct 2004)
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photo © BSOL/Jessica Griffiths
2 Oct 2004 Big Sur R. mouth
[banded by BSOL]
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Arctic Warbler
Phylloscopus borealis
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Exceptional fall vagrant; one record (Sep 1995) was the first for
all of California
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photo © BSOL/Allen Spaulding
13 Sep 1995 Big Sur R. mouth
[banded by BSOL]
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Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Polioptila caerulea
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Breeds widely: fairly common summer resident in montane woods &
chaparral; widespread in migrant; rather scarce winter visitor in coastal
scrub or riparian habitats
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photo © Blake Matheson
1 May 2004 Cone Peak
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Western Bluebird
Sialia mexicana
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Breeds widely: common resident of oak savanna & open oak-pine
woodlands; scarce to the north coast
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photo © Robert F. Tintle
26 Oct 1992 Big Sur R. mouth
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Mountain Bluebird
Sialia currucoides
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Scarce winter visitor (Nov-Feb) to arid interior grasslands; very
rare to the coast
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photo © Don Roberson
3 Jan 2003 Moss Landing
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Townsend's Solitaire
Myadestes townsendi
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Rare & irregular winter visitor in the interior, sometimes
individuals linger into spring in the mountains; very rare on the coast
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photo © Don Roberson
15 May 1999 Pacific Grove
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Veery
Catharus fuscescens
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Very rare fall vagrant; two records (both in Sep 1998)
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photo © BSOL/Jim Booker
21 Sep 1998 Big Sur R. mouth
[banded by BSOL]
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Swainson's Thrush
Catharus ustulatus
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Breeds widely: uncommon to locally common summer resident in riparian
thickets; fairly common spring & fall migrant in riparian undergrowth
throughout
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photo © Robert F. Tintle
25 Oct 1987 Soberanes Creek
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Hermit Thrush
Catharus guttatus
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Breeds locally: scarce & patchy summer resident in shaded canyons
of Big Sur coast. Common winter visitor in undergrowth throughout
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photo © Don Roberson
27 Oct 2001 Big Sur R. mouth
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American Robin
Turdus migratorius
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Breeds widely: common resident of shaded woodlands; more arrive
in winter (Oct-Mar), sometimes in abundance
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photo © Don Roberson
3 Jan 2004 Big Sur R. mouth
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Varied Thrush
Ixoreus naevius
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Irregular winter visitor (Oct-Mar), sometimes fairly common but
in other winters quite scarce; very rare by late spring
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photo © BSO/Sarah Stock
30 Mar 2002 Big Sur R. mouth
[banded by BSOL]
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Wrentit
Chamaea fasciata
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Breeds widely: common resident of dense chaparral and thick riparian
undergrowth
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photo © Robert F. Tintle
1 May 1988 Bixby Canyon
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Gray Catbird
Dumetella carolinensis
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Rare vagrant; seven records, mostly in late spring but also in
fall & winter
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photo © Don Roberson
17 June 1996 Big Sur R. mouth
[banded by BSOL]
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Northern Mockingbird
Mimus polyglottos
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Breeds widely: common resident in residential & agricultural
habitats
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photo © John Sorensen
Dec 1993 Salinas
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Sage Thrasher
Oreoscoptes montanus
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Rare fall & winter vagrant, exceptional in spring. May be more
regular in arid southeast MTY than along the coast
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photo © Don Roberson
14 Oct 1996 Salinas wtp
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Brown Thrasher
Toxostoma rufum
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Rare vagrant; ten records, mostly in fall but also spring &
summer records and could occur in winter in the future
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photo © Ronald L. Branson
Nov 1967 Yankee Pt.
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Bendire's Thrasher
Toxostoma bendirei
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Very rare fall vagrant; one record (Sep 1993)
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photo © Don Roberson
5 Sep 1993 Salinas wtp
[there are also numerous
descriptions to supplement
this marginal photo! ]
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California Thrasher
Toxostoma redivivum
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Breeds widely: common resident of dense chaparral habitats
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photo © Don Roberson
28 Feb 2004 Carmel R. mouth
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European Starling
Sturnus vulgaris
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Non-native introduced species. Breeds widely: common resident of
disturbed habitats throughout
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photo © Don Roberson
Sep 1992 Pt. Pinos
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Eastern Yellow Wagtail
Motacilla tschutschensis
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Exceptional fall vagrant; one record (Sep 1992)
More information is on a "wagtails
in MTY" page
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description only
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no photo in MTY
but
written descriptions
on file with CBRC
[record accepted]
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Gray Wagtail
Motacilla cinerea
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Exceptional vagrant; one record (Oct 1988) is the only record for
all of California
More information is on a "wagtails
in MTY" page
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photo © Don Roberson
10 Oct 1988 Salinas R. mouth
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White Wagtail
Motacilla alba
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Very rare fall & winter vagrant; two records (Sep 1998 plus
a female that returned for 3 consecutive winters 1988-1990)
Much detailed information on both records is accessible from links on
a "wagtails
in MTY" page
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photo © Don Roberson
20 Sep 1998 Big Sur R. mouth
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Black-backed Wagtail
Motacilla lugens
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Very rare vagrant; one record (adult female that returned to complete
post-breeding molt in two consecutive July-Sep visits 1979-1980)
More information is on a "wagtails
in MTY" page
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photo © Al Ghiorso
Aug 1979 Pajaro R. near
Watsonville
[note: although this wagtail
occurred on both MTY &
SCZ sides of Pajaro River,
this photo is from SCZ side]
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Red-throated Pipit
Anthus cervinus
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Rare fall vagrant (Sep-Nov) along the coast
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no photo in MTY
but numerous descriptions
including this one
by D. Roberson
13 Oct 1986 Moonglow
Dairy, Moss Landing
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American Pipit
Anthus rubescens
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Fairly common migrant & winter visitor throughout lowlands
(mostly subspecies pacificus); individuals of the Siberian subspecies
japonicus
are rare fall vagrants
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photo © Don Roberson
26 Jan 2004 Sand City
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