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Birds of Yosemite National Park (1954, 1963) by Cyril A. Stebbins and Robert C. Stebbins

Cover: watercolor of Male Western Tanager (by Bob Stebbins)

• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• Distribution of Birds in Yosemite
• Bird Descriptions and Illustrations
  • Grebes, Order Podicipediformes
  • Pelican-like Birds, Order Pelecaniformes
  • Stork-like Birds, Order Ciconiiformes
  • Goose-like Birds, Order Anseriformes
  • Hawk-like Birds, Order Falconiformes
  • Fowl-like Birds, Order Galliformes
  • Crane-like Birds, Order Gruiformes
  • Plover-like Birds, Order Charadriiformes
  • Pigeon-like Birds, Order Columbiformes
  • Cuckoo-like Birds, Order Cuculiformes
  • Owls, Order Strigiformes
  • Goatsucker-like Birds, Order Caprimulgiformes
  • Swifts and Hummingbirds, Order Apodiformes
  • Roller-like Birds, Order Coraciiformes
  • Woodpecker-like Birds, Order Piciformes
  • Perching Birds, Order Passeriformes
    • Tyrant Flycatchers, Family Tyrannidae
    • Larks, Family Alaudidae
    • Swallows, Family Hirundinidae
    • Jays, Magpies, and Crows, Family Corvidae
    • Tits, Family Paridae
    • Nuthatches, Family Sittidae
    • Creepers, Family Certhiidae
    • Wrentits, Family Chamaeidae
    • Dippers, Family Cincilidae
    • Wrens, Family Troglodytidae
    • Mockingbirds and Thrashers, Family Mimidae
    • Thrushes, Family Turdidae
    • Gnatcatchers, Kinglets, and Old-world Warblers, Family Sylviidae
    • Wagtails, Family Motacillidae
    • Waxwings, Family Bombycillidae
    • Silky Flycatchers, Family Ptilogonatidae
    • Shrikes, Family Laniidae
    • Vireos, Family Vireonidae
    • Wood Warblers, Family Parulidae
    • Weaver Finches, Family Ploceidae
    • Orioles and Blackbirds, Family Icteridae
    • Tanagers, Family Thraupidae
    • Finches, Sparrows, etc., Family Fringillidae
• Species Recorded in the Yosemite Region But of Infrequent Occurrence
• Sources of Information
• Appendix I: Family Characteristics of Birds
• Appendix II: Key to the Yosemite Birds
• Index and Check List
• Back Cover

About the Authors

Bob Stebbins, 1951 (MVZ, UCB)

Cyril Adelbert Stebbins was born June 20, 1878 in Harrisville, Wisconsin. He married Louise Beck. He was Instructor with the Department of Agricultural Education at University of California. His interests were agriculture, particularly elementary school gardens for teaching, and birds. He died Feb. 26, 1953 in Los Angeles, California.

Robert C. “Bob” (Robert Cyril) Stebbins, son of Cyril Stebbins, was born in Chino, California October 25, 1915. He grew up in Los Angeles and became interested in Salamanders while wandering the foothills of the area. He married Anna-rose Cooper June 8, 1941 and had 1 son and 2 daughters. He received his AB, MA, and Ph.D. from UCLA (1940, 1942, and 1943). His original interest was in birds, with his father. He served as a Ranger Naturalist at Lassen Volcanic National Park in 1941 and 1942. He joined the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (MVZ), University of California in 1944, where he became Curator and Professor. Bob became a Guggenheim Fellow in 1949. He produced two films for the Sierra Club in the 1960s: Nature Next Door and No Room for Wilderness?

Bob is a leading expert in herpetology, particularly salamanders. His special interest is in the ecological and behavioral significance of the pineal gland and the parietal eye in reptiles. He also has an interest in landscape and wildlife painting. He retired in 1978 as Professor Emeritus, and is still active in herpetology fieldwork. He wrote over a dozen books, including various Peterson field guides, and over 70 scientific papers. Two Salamanders are named in his honor, Ambystoma mavortiumv stebbinsi and Batrachoseps stebbinsi. Bob feels that “education is the only way to solve environmental and population problems” (quote from Zoology 131 (UC Press, 2003)). He lived in Kensington, California, just north of Berkeley, and later moved to Oregon. He died December 18, 2000 in Gardena, California.

• For more information see Louis Sahagun, “Robert Stebbins; Art and Science Illuminate a Naturalist’s Path,” Los Angeles Times April 4, 2005, p. B-2.

Bibliographical Information

Cyril A. (Cyril Adelbert) Stebbins (1878-1953) and Robert C. (Robert Cyril) Stebbins (1915-2000), Birds of Yosemite National Park. (1963). Illustrated by Robert C. Stebbins. 76+4 pp. Illustrated with 142 black & white drawings. 24 cm. First published in Yosemite Nature Notes 33(8) (August 1954). Revised 1963. Paper wrapper illustrated with a watercolor. Saddle stitched. California State Library call number: QL684.C2 S8.

Although not credited, two illustrations, on the title page and p. 79, appear to be by Jane J. Gyer. The shading and prespective reflect her style. Jane Gyer illustrated the cover for the revised 1974 edition of Birds of Yosemite.

Digitized by Dan Anderson, April 2005, from a personal copy. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice is left intact.
    —Dan Anderson, www.yosemite.ca.us

http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/birds_of_yosemite/