BIRDS OF JACKSON CO., OREGON, & SURROUNDING AREAS 57 



Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus. Yellow-headed Blackbird. 



This blackbird is an uncommon summer resident and occasional 

 winter visitor near White City. Two to five pairs of the species breed 

 at the Game Ponds. It probably breeds at nearby Hoover's Lakes. 

 Gabrielson and Jewett (1940) consider the species to be an irregular 

 visitor west of the Cascades. 



Agelaius phoeniceus. Red-winged Blackbird. 



Specimens : Four, near Prospect, both sexes, March, April, May, and 

 August. The Red-winged Blackbird is a very common permanent 

 resident below 762 m. The species breeds along the Lower Rogue 

 River and Bear Creek and tributaries and marsh edges of ponds and 

 valley reservoirs. It is an abundant winter resident in the valley floor. 



Agelaius tricolor. Tricolored Blackbird. 



Specimens: Six, 1.6 km NW White City, three males and three 

 females, June 2, 1960. The Tricolored Blackbird was formerly thought 

 to be found in Oregon only in Klamath County (Gabrielson and 

 Jewett 1940). In the summer of 1956 Richardson (1961) saw 15 to 

 20 in Medford and in May 1957 he saw several hundred 4.8 km east 

 of Medford. Thomas McCamant discovered the species nesting east 

 of Central Point on June 2, 1958 (Aud. Field Notes 1958:379). 

 Richardson (1961) collected three nests with three eggs each, and 

 also the three males and three females cited. The marsh at the White 

 City collection locality was drained in 1961, but a colony was located 

 1.6 km east of Eagle Point (Richardson and Sturges 1964). On the 

 basis of these records and winter occurrences, the Tricolored Blackbird 

 is now considered a very common local permanent resident in Jackson 

 County. 



Icterus cucullatus. Hooded Oriole. 



Accidental. Two adult males with an immature or adult female 

 were seen at Ashland on May 15, 1963, and a male and female were 

 observed south of Ruch on October 1, 1964 (Browning 1966b). A 

 female was reported at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge (Harney 

 County) on May 29, 1964 {Aud. Field Notes 1964:475) and a male was 

 observed at the south jetty of the Columbia River on April 26, 

 1969 (Aud. Field Notes 1969:618). The A.O.U. Check-list (1957) gives 

 central California as the Hooded Oriole's northern range limit. 



Icterus galbula. Northern Oriole. 



Specimen: 12.9 km SW Prospect, sex ?, April 29, 1959; Roxy Ann 

 Peak, male. May 10, 1970. The Northern Oriole is a common migrant 

 and breeding species in the Chaparral-Oak Community. Earliest, 

 March 22, Medford; latest, October 29, Medford. 



