1963
Vol.
XXXIV
General
Notes
GENERAL
[219
NOTES
Results of Pinon Jay Banding in South Dakota.--The PinonJay (Gym-
norhinuscyanocephala
Wied -- AOU # 492) is a speciesof the southwesternUnited
States. Accordingto the fifth editionof the A. O. U. Checklist,it rangesnorth to
Grand View, Oregon;Billings, Montana; and westernSouth Dakota; and south
to northernBaja California,centralArizona, centralNew Mexico, and western
Oklahoma. In mostof its range,it is a characteristic
speciesof the pigmy conifer
forest of pinon pines and junipers that is just above the brush desertin elevation.
In the Navahocountryof northernArizonaand southernUtah, the PinonJay
is one-ofthe most conspicuous
species.
In the Black Hills of southwestern
SouthDakota, this species
is a permanent
residentof openponderosa
pineforestsat elevations
between3,000and4,500feet.
Like manyotherCorvids,PinonJaysflockin winter,and at Rapid City, on the
east edgeof the Black Hills, two flocksfrequentfeedingstationsthroughoutthe
winter. One flock, containing20 or 30 individuals, frequentsthe cottonwoodsand
elmsof downtownRapid City, and anotherflock,with 40 or 50 members,roams
up and down the low ridge of Minnekahta limestonejust west of town. This latter
flockfrequentlyvisitsmy home,locatedat the eastbaseof the limestone
ridge,
and here, sinceI beganbandingin 1955, I have banded95 Pinon Jays through
1962. Most of thesehave beenin late fall, winter, and early spring.
Becausetheir habitat is not subjectto heavy human settlement,Pinon Jays
are seldombanded. Throughthe courtesyof Dr. Allan J. Duvall, head of the
Banding Laboratory at the Patuent Wildlife ResearchCenter, I learned that •
total of 157 Pinon Jays had been banded through 1957. I have banded 57 additional individuals
since 1957.
In contrastto many species,Pinon Jays are very docilewhentrapped. They
rarely struggleat all in the hand, but they are quick to take advantageof any
chance to escape.
I have further information on 17 individuals, including eight recoveries
(foundde•d and reportedthroughthe BandingOffice),two repeats(retr•ppedat
the original trapping station within three months after banding), and seven
returns (retrappedat the bandingstationmorethan three monthsafter banding).
Of the eight recoveries,the interval between banding and death were as follows:
17 days, 3• months,5 months,8• months,22 months,3• years,5 years, and
5• years. Of the sevenreturns, two were retr•pped almost exactly two years
after banding.For the others,the intervalswere9 months,17 months,18 months,
3 years,and 6 years. Sinceall thesebirds werebandedas adults,Pinon Jays obviouslyhavea life expectancy
of six or sevenyearsundernaturalconditions,
and
possiblymuchlonger. Of the 28 PinonJaysI bandedin the springof 1956,only
onehasbeenreporteddeadsofar, althoughmany othershaveprobablydied also.
All of the recoverieshave been along the samelimestoneridge on the e•st
slopeof the Black Hills whereI have my bandingstation,exceptfor onethat was
shot in the Bear's Paw Mountains of Montana, about 50 miles south of Chinook
and about 400 miles northwest of the point of banding. I am interested in de-
termining whether this was merely a chancewandering,or whether Pinon Jays
often travel acrossthe prairies to other mountain ranges.
In summary,I have banded95 Pinon Jays over a period of eight years at
Rapid City, South Dakota. Fourteen of these h•ve been reported more than
three months after date of banding, amounting to 16 percent of the individuals
banded prior to the summer of 1962. Seven of the eight recoverieswere either
north or southof the bandingstation, alongthe samelimestoneridge, but the
otherwasfrom 400 milesnorthwest.All birdsbandedh•ve beenadults,and future
planscall for the bandingof nestlingsin orderto determinelongevitymore exactly
and to determineplumagesequences.--N.R. Whitney, M.D., 633 South Berry
Pines Road, Rapid City, S. D.
Some Repeats and Returns of North American Migrants in Panama.
--As part of a generalstudy on arthropod-borneviruses(e.g., encephalitis),the
Gorgas Memorial Laboratory of Panama has undertaken a long-rangestudy of
migratorythrushesand catbirds. Under the directionof Dr. PedroGalindo,this
studyinvolvesthe manningof up to 100mist netson a dawn to duskbasisthroughout the year near Altairante, Bocasdel Toro Province, a coastallowland are• close
to the Costa Rican border on the Caribbeanslope. The resultsof the first year's