[506] BIRDS OF OREGON 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Breeds from Prince William Sound and Upper Yukon south 

 to Washington and east to southern Alberta and Montana. Winters from Oregon 

 south to Nicaragua. In Oregon: Regular spring and fall migrant. At least occa- 

 sional summer resident that possibly breeds in State. Casual winter resident. 



TOWNSEND'S WARBLER first appeared in the ornithological literature of 

 Oregon when Bendire (1877) recorded a specimen taken May n, 1875, 

 and described a supposed nest and eggs taken near Camp Harney on June 

 7 of the same year. Merrill (1888) recorded one taken at Fort Klamath, 

 May 14, 1887. Anthony (1886) considered it rare in Washington County, 

 and Peck (1896) listed it from Salem under date of April 2.2., 1896. Wood- 

 cock (1901) listed it from several Willamette Valley points, and Jewett 

 (191 6b) published records from Tillamook County. Abbott (1915) re- 

 corded a set of eggs from Yamhill County, May 2.5, 1895, a statement 

 that we have not been able to confirm. Walker (1917^ listed it from 

 Gateway, Hay Creek, and Cascade Mountains. It was not again men- 

 tioned in Oregon literature until we published two of Gabrielson's records 

 for Multnomah County (Jewett and Gabrielson 192.9). One of these was 

 of a bird picked up dead on a Portland street by a school girl and brought 

 to Gabrielson through the courtesy of Miss Ruth Russell on January 13, 

 192.8. Since then two more winter birds (January 12,, 1931, and January 

 13, 1932.) have reached Jewett in the same way. They are our only winter 

 records for the State and indicate that careful search might reveal the 

 birds southward through the valleys of the Willamette, Umpqua, and 

 Rogue Rivers. Most of our specimens have been taken in May, June, and 

 September, although we have some taken in both July and August. 

 Jewett has one taken July 2.0, 1916, at Meacham, and one taken August 

 2.8, 192.3, at Bonanza, and Vernon Bailey's notes contain a record of one 

 collected at 6,000 feet altitude in the Steens Mountains on July 30. 



We find the species most abundant on the coast and in the Blue Moun- 

 tains and desert ranges of eastern Oregon. It is difficult to detect, as it 

 persistently remains in the tops of tall conifers, preferring spruce, fir, or 

 lodgepole pine. Along the coast at times it becomes exceedingly abundant 

 in migration but on account of the heavy timber is not so easily observed 

 as in the more open growth of the Blue Mountains. We have specimens 

 from the Blue Mountains, Hart Mountain, and the ranges about Bly, as 

 well as those from the coast and the Willamette Valley. It arrives in May 

 (earliest date, May 5, Tillamook County) and remains until September 

 (latest date, September 15, Lake County). 



Possibly this warbler nests within the State, though to date we have 

 no evidence to confirm the two supposed records mentioned above. At 

 least occasional birds remain through the summer and also through the 

 winter, but it is only during the migration movements that it can be 

 searched for with any real hope of success. At all other times it can be 

 considered a rare bird. 



