Arizona Bird Committee Report, 2015–2017 Records

The Arizona Bird Committee reviewed 287 records and updated the Arizona bird list through 2017, adding eight species: the Common Crane (Grus grus), Lesser Sand-Plover (Charadrius mongolus), Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma tethys), Juan Fernandez Petrel (Pterodroma externa), Wedge-tailed Shearwater (Ardenna pacifica), Pine Flycatcher (Empidonax affinis), California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica), and Little Bunting (Emberiza pusilla). These bring the Arizona state list to 563 species in good standing. This is the ninth published report of the Arizona Bird Committee (ABC; Speich and Parker 1973, Speich and Witzeman 1975, Rosenberg and Witzeman 1998, 1999, Rosenberg 2001, Rosenberg et al. 2007, 2011, 2017). This report covers records from the period between 2015 and the end of 2017, and in addition includes some recently reviewed records from prior years. The ABC reviewed a total of 287 records (some with multiple submissions from several observers), of which 238 (83%) were accepted. Eight species were added to the Arizona state list, bringing it to 563 species in good standing. Other highlights in this report include acceptance of Arizona’s first physically documented Black Swift (Cypseloides niger), fourth through eighth Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris), doubling the previous number of state records, second Royal Tern (Thalasseus maximus), second Black Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma melania), fourth through eighth Least Storm-Petrels (Oceanodroma microsoma), first nesting of the Rose-throated Becard (Pachyramphus aglaiae) since 2006, second and third Couch’s Kingbirds (Tyrannus couchii), first confirmed nesting of the Tufted Flycatcher (Mitrephanes phaeocercus), fifth Yellow-bellied Flycatcher (Empidonax flaviventris), fourth Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus), fourth and fifth Blue Mockingbirds (Melanotis caerulescens), second White Wagtail (Motacilla alba), second White-winged Crossbill (Loxia leucoptera), third LeConte’s Sparrow (Ammodramus leconteii), and tenth Fan-tailed Warbler (Basileuterus lachrymosa). The current Arizona Bird Committee (2019) consists of Chris D. Benesh, Andrew Core, Sean Fitzgerald, Lauren Harter (who serves as chair), Scott Olmstead, Gary H. Rosenberg (who also serves as secretary), David Vander Pluym, and Magill Weber. Recent committee members who also voted on records in this report include Laurens Halsey, Eric Hough, Kurt Radamaker (who also serves as web master), Dave Stejskal, and John Yerger. Janet Witzeman serves in a nonvoting capacity as assistant secretary and has done so since the inception of the committee in the early 1970s.