.-- 0 , ,

the last 50 years exceptthat by ThomasR. Howell Juan, and Coco. At the start of the 20th century the

(see below), and since his time, only sporadic arti- first expeditions were made to the volcanoes San cleshave been published. This largely reflectssocial Cristobal and Mombacho, and the islands of

factors,such as the civil war of the 1970sand 1980s, Ometepe and Zapatera in Lake , and on

but also strong ornithological work in neighbour- the isthmus of Rivasll, In 1922, W, Huber collected ing , which appears to have attracted birds at various localities along the rios Prinzapolka most of the region's scientific resources.Nonethe- and Pis Pis, and elsewhere in the Caribbean region'. less, Nicaragua is worthy of serious ornithological The central part of the country,into which few roads attention, becauseit occupiesan important biogeo- penetrated until recently, received considerable at- graphical position in the middle of the Central tention from W. R. Richardson, a professional American isthmus, where the ranges of many spe- collector who resided in Matagaipa for more than cies begin or end. 30 years at the beginning of the 20th century. His collections provided many of the first records in Nicaragua of birds, mammalsand reptiles from the pine forests of the central highlands and cloud for- ests of dpto. Segovia. The most notable of Richardson's ornithological discoveries were pub- lished by Miller & Griscom 12-15. Ridgway & Friedmann 17 compiled many specimen records from early expeditions in Nicaragua. These records are especially useful when combined with the works of Miller & Griscomfrom the 19208. A Catholic priest, Fr. Bernardo Ponsol,lived in Juigalpa, dpto. Chontales, in the 19408,and collected more than 1,000 bird specimens11.Most of these are currently housed at the Universidad Centro- americana, , and the Smithsonian Institution, WashingtonDC. The most consistent studies of the Nicaraguan avifauna were undertaken by Thomas R. Howell, who began his work in the 19508 and continued until the 1970s, producing several publications4-7, but the majority remains unpublished. More recently, in 1980-1981, James M. Silliman mist-netted and col- Figure I. Locadon of records for species new to lected throughout Nicaragua, and Juan Carlos Nicaragua. Squares represent si&f1tingsof Green Ibis Martinez Sanchezbegan surveying and collecting Mesembrirlibiscoyennensis; me circle in me extreme in the country. However, since the works by Howell, south.eastof the country representsme Purple- very little has been published on Nicaraguan orni- dlroated Fruitcrow Querula putpurata record; and the triangles represent localities for Tropical Mockingbird thology outside the country, exceptoccasionallyl'. Mimus gilYus.

S3 ~ "'"'"1,

Cotinl ---= The present notes are principally a by-product suggests that the species probably occurs there Missis of country-wide researchon parrot populations be- regularly. Anderson et al.2 recently reported the Again, tween 1994 and 1999. Our work has involved no species from adjacent Honduras, the first record in rarer tJ

collecting or mist-netting, and therefore all reports that country. Because the band recoveries from the Centra made here are sight records. We have visited all 1960s and our record are frOm localities close to two hi parts of Nicaragua, from CosigUina to the Honduran border, it is likely that the pelican to Waspam to San Juan del Norte, in the periods: has occurredpreviously in Honduras,in the Gulf of Man8gl oneint 27 November-21 December 1994 and 5 January-4 Fonseca region. dpto.RJ February 1995 (DWW & JMM), and 2 February-2 twice: £. April 1999 (DWWW, JMM and MLL). We also in- Green Ibis Mesembrinibis cayennensis 14 Mar, clude some records from various dates in the 19908 Known from Costa Rica and rio Platano region of at 14°4{

during fieldwork for other projects. These notes Honduras1o (also DWW pers. obs., near Wapniyari, appear. provide evidenceof' three speciesnew to Nicaragua rio Platano, 20 August 1992). Howell & Webb8 list Stiles &

(Green Ibis Mesembrinibis cayennensis, Purple- its range as 'E Honduras to Brazil', That it should We also throated Fruitcrow Querula pu1purata and Tropical also occur in Nicaragua is unsurprising, but the fol- at sever

Mockingbird Mimus gilvus), as well as distributional lowing are the first country records: five,

and temporal extensions for several others. Our downstream of El Castillo de la Concepcion,dpto. NOrthE discussion below will generally compare our records Rio San Juan, on the rio San Juan on 31 January Howell's against unpublished notes by Thomas R. Howell on 1995; six, on 3 February 1995, at three different sites men nea Nicaraguan bird distributions. Howell's notes rely just upstream of Boca de San Carlos, Costa Rica two sigh heavily on specimen records, while our sight records (not San Carlos, Nicaragua), on the Nicaraguan side at Mana; help to fill in some gaps in those collections. of the rio San Juan. Lezama also has records from a female

Refugio de Vida Silvestre Los Guatuzos, dpto. Rio the road Pied-billed Grebe Podiiymbuspodiceps San Juan, in FebrUary-May 1997, and near 25 km to Howell's notes list only four recordsof this species Bluefields, Region Aut6noma Atlantico Sur (RAAS), highway

in Nicaragua, although several of those appear to between February and May 1998. We have three

cover a period of several months. On 8 December records from 1999: two, 2 kin north ofEmpalme de Peregril 1994,we observedc.l0 on Laguna de Moyua, dpto. Baka, south of Rosita, RAAN (13°41 'N 84°27'W), on Accordin, . On Laguna de Karata, near Puerto 11 March; and a total of eight, at two localities on men reco Cabezas, Regi6n Aut6noma Atlantico Norte (RAAN), the rio Kurinwu, RAAS, at 12°52'N 84°09'W, on 22 records. V we recorded 12 on 17 January 1995; one was at March, and 12°51'N83°47'W, on 23 March (seeFig. Venado, d Laguna de Masaya,dpto. Masaya,on 16 Febroary 1). These seven records suggest the species is prob- responds, 1999;and 10 were at , dpto. Rivas, ably now widespread in Caribbean Nicaragua, also at Is on 21 February 1999.The speciesis probably more presumably as a result of deforestation. also recor, frequent and widespreadin Nicaraguathan the few inmangr< recordssuggest. Osprey Pandionhalioetus Bluefields Howell indicates this to be a rare speciesin Nicara- being bar Brown Pelican Peleconusoccidentolis gua, giving specific instances for only 10 sightings rufigulari,

Common on both coasts, but less so on the great and two specimens. We recorded 32 Ospreys at eight lakes. We observed one near Boca de Sabalos, dpto. localities during 5 December 1994 to 31 January Purple G

Rio San Juan, on 28 March 1999. This locality is at 1995, and 34 between 11 February and 28 March Howell no least 40 km from and 80 kin from 1999, with records from both slopes, Lake Managua May and , the Caribbean coast, and is an extremely unusual and Lake Nicaragua. These may include both win- between 8 locality for this species.The record suggeststhat ter residents and transients. Lezama also reports de Moyua, the speciesmay move betweenthe lake and coast up to five around Isla Mancarroncito,Solentiname and single:

following the rio SanJuan. Indeed,if the birds cross Archipelago, Lake Nicaragua, throughout February 24 Januar: the narrow land (in some placesno more than 20 1997. In addition, C. Sharpe (peTS. comm.) has BeY- Kanta. new 1-- ~~_\ '--' .hA Dft~;4;~ ~~ft~. "~~ r...1rA Ni OYOGl YO""flMR nunn.. thp Mreal summer: sin~les at and near E Cot;nga 15 Sight records of new species for Nicaragua - - Mississippi Kite ktinio mississippiensis have created suitable habitat for the species,per- Again, Howell's notes indicate this speciesto be mitting it to extend its range northward. rarer than is likely, as it must migrate throughout Central America. He lists only a single sighting of Eastern Kingbird Tyrannustyronnus

two birds by James M. Silliman, just west of Four recordsin March 1999:nine, on 12-13 March Managua, on 23 November 1981. Lezama recorded 1999, east and west of Sahsa (14°04'N 83°59'W), one in the Refugio de Vida Silvestre Los Guatuzos, RAAN; four at San Juan del Norte, dpto. Rio San dpto. Rio San Juan, in March 1997. We recorded it Juan, on 26 March; and a total of 11 along the rio twice: four at Waspam, on the rio Coco, RAAN, on San Juan, on 25 and 28 March. Howell lists spring « 14 March 1999, and one, south of Leimus, MAN, dates as '19 April to 18 May', although Stiles &.

at 14°40'N 84°02'W, on 15 March 1999. These dates Skutch!8 give spring dates of 'late March to mid- I. ~ appear early for most migrants, which according to May'. Our records from near Sahsa appear f Stiles & Skutcht8 occur in 'late March.to early May'. especially early. .{ We also recordedPlumbeous Kite lctinia plumbea I i at severalsites on the Caribbeanslope. Purple-throated Fruitcrow Querulopurpuroto ~ I Not previously recorded in Nicaragua, although { Northern Harrier Circus cyoneus Stiles & Skutch 18 list it for 'Costa Rica (and almost ~ Howell's notes list just one published record, aspeci- certainly SE Nicaragua) to W Ecuador...'. We re- i men near Bluefields, RAAS, on 2 October 1892, and corded a flock of three downstream of EI Delta on , two sight records, including one seen several times the Nicaraguan side of the rio San Juan on 3 Feb-

.,. at Managua,on 25 February-15 May.We observed ruary 1995,confirming Stiles &.Skutch's suspicions a female or immature, on 11 December 1994, on (seeFig. 1). Forest in this area, part of the exten- the road to San FranciscoLibre, dpto. Managua,c. sive and largely intact Si-a-Paz Reserve, is 25 km towards San FranciscoLibre from the main continuous for somedistance into Nicaragua, and highway connecting Managua and 8ebaco. the species could therefore range as far north as the rio Indio or rio Maiz. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus According to Howell, there are no definite speci- Tropical Mockingbird Mimus gilvus

men records in Nicaragua, and he lists only three Our records are the first in Nicaragua. First noted '" records. We saw one in adult plumage, near Isla del on 3 December 1994, 3.1 km east of the intersec- Venado, dpto. Le6n, on 6 December 1994. This cor- tion of the Pan-American Highway and road to EI responds well with one of the records Howell reports, Sauce, south-east of Somotillo, dpto. also at Isla del Venado,on 8 December1982. We (12°56'N 86°49'W). Subsequentlyrecorded at sev- also recorded one individual in immature plumage eral other sites: 12°56'N 86°48'W, c. 2 km east of in along the lower rio Escondido, near the initial sighting, on 7 February 1999; 2 kIn south Bluefields, RAAS, on 25 January 1995, which W'aS of Malpaisillo, dpto. Le6n (12°36'N 86°41 'W), on 8 being harassed by a pair of Bat Falcons Falco February 1999; 29.3 km north of La Paz Centro, rufiguloris, permitting a useful size comparison. dpto. Le6n, on 5 December 1994; two at Salinas Grandes, dpto. Le6n (12°16'N 86°53'W>, on 9-10 Purple Gallinule Porphyrulo mortinico February 1999; and one near San Francisco Libre, Howell notes all records for the species in April- dpto. Managua (12°26'N 86°11'W), on 15 February May and July. We recorded it on five occasions 1999 (see Fig. 1). Near Malpaisillo, we observed between 8 December and 28 March: four at Laguna three, including a pair, one of which briefly carried de Moyua, dpto. Matagalpa, on 8 December1994; a small stick, suggestingnesting activity. It is un- and singles on the lower rio Kurinwas, RAAS, on likely that Howell, or other collectors, overlooked 24 January 1995 and 21 March 1999; on the rio such a conspicuousbird in this well-surveyedpart Kama, near Bluefields, RAAS,on 26 January 1995; of Nicaragua. Although possible that it has been and near EI Castillo de la Concepci6n,on the rio introducedto the country through cage-birdescapes,

San Juan, dpto. Rio San Juan, on 28 March 1999. the species has probably reached Nicaragua as a The few records probably do not reflect the species' result of natural expansion due to habitat changes. true occurrence during the winter months in Nica- It is known from the Pacific slope of Honduras ragua. around San Lorenzo!&, just 50 km from the nearest sites we recorded it in Chinandega. The species' Crimson-fronted Parakeet Aratingafinsdli peculiar distribution and tendencYfor its plwnage We recorded the species at Tortuguero, on the rio characters to grade into those of Northern Mock- Tortuguero, northern RAAS, on 22 January 1995. ingbird Mimus polyglottos suggest the systematics Howell did not record it north of the rio Escondido, of these two forms have yet to be fully elucidated. c. 90 km south of Tortuguero. Forest clearance may 55 :~~: c%';~

Cedar Waxwing Bombya"1Iocedrorum east of the country.We recordeda pair at EI Cocal We observeda single individual at Tortuguero,rio (1~50'N 83°50'W), on the lower rio Kurinwu near Tortuguero, RAAS, on 22 January 1995. Howell the mouth of Cano Kun-Kun, near the midpoint of

knew of no definite records from the Caribbean the Caribbean coast in Nicaragua, which supports

slope, and suggests that, despite all specimens be- the range asserted by Btiles & Skutch18. ing from March and April, it is probably a winter resident. Our sight record indicates it to be present Rose-breasted Grosbeak Pheudicus on the Caribbean slope and in winter. ludovidanus We recordedthe speciestwice, both adult males: Red-eyed Vireo Vireo olivaceus near Villa Nueva (not far from Somotillo), dpto. Howell's extreme dates of occurrence in fall are 12 Chinandega. on 3 December 1994, and in north-east A~st-27 October.Howell & Webb8give the latest Managua, on 4 February 1999. Howell knew of only fall dates for northern Central America and Mexico two winter records,near Managua and near Le6n,

as 'early November'. We observed a single bird by although it is known as a transient migrant. the road to EI Sauce, dpto. Leon, on 7 December 1994.This record is far out of range of expected Red-winged Blackbird Agelaiusphoeniceus dates, and may relate to a winter vagrant. For Howell recordedit only around Lake Managuaand spring, Howell gives extreme dates from 8 April-6 west of Lake Nicaragua,and along the western por- ) MayS. Stiles & Skutch 18 give 'early April' 88 the ear- tion of the rio San Juan. Continuing agricultural f liest sorin2 date for Costa Rica, although Howell & development, especially rice cultivation, has permit- t ~~ara~ (1999), Pefias Blancas (1999), and (1994, 12. Miller, W. de W. & Griscom, L. (1921) Descrip- tEl Coca! 1999), dpto. Rivas; and in San Carlos, dpto. Rio San tions of proposed new birds from Central Iwas near Juan (1994, 1999). Of these, only San Carlos is on America, with notes on other little known idpoint of the Caribbean slope. It has apparently not yet colo- forms. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. Novit. 25: 1-13. !supports nisedCaribbean slope cities suchas PuertoCabezas, 13. Miller, W. de W. & Griscom, L. (1925) Descrip- RAAN, or Bluefields, RAAS. tions of new birds from Nicaragua. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. Nov. 159: 1-9. Acknowtedgements 14. Miller, W. de W. & Griscom, L. (1925) Notes on We greatly thank Thomas R. Howell, whose notes Central American birds with descriptions of lIt males: were invaluable in the preparation of this paper. new forms. Ame7: Mus. Nat. Hist. Nov. 183: 1- 110),dpto. The Ministerio del Ambiente y RecursosNaturales 14. 10rth-east (MARENA), Managua,Nicaragua, and CITES Sec- 15. Miller, W. de W. & Griscom, L. (1925) Further ew of only retariat (Switzerland) supported our fieldwork. notes on Central American birds, with descrip- Lear Le6n, Amigos de la Tierra, Espana, financed Lezama's tions of new forms.Ame7: Mus. Nat. Hist. Nov. ant. work at Refugio de Vida Silvestre Los Guatuzos. 184: 1-16.

iceus Finally, we appreciate the efforts of Jose Maria 16. Monroe, B. L. (1968) A distributional survey of lagua and Duarte and Sandra Tijerino and the staff of CITES- the birds of Honduras. Washington DC: Ameri- Nicaragua in supporting the fieldwork. Chris can Ornithologists' Union (Om. Monogr. 7). .stem por- Sharpe provided additional records and reviewed 17. Ridgway, R. & Friedmann, H. (1901-1946) The

:ricultural the manuscript. birds of North and Middle America. US Natnl. as permit- Mus. Bull. 50. ecordedit References 18. Stiles, F. G. & Skutch, A. F. (1989) A guide to the la, dpto. 1. American Ornithologists' Umon (1998) Check- birds of CostaRica. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Um- t can also ndegaand list of North American birds. Seventh edition. versity Press. Lawrence, Kansas: American Ornithologists' 19. Wermundsen,T. (1997)Seasonal change in the s are up to U mono diet of the Pacific Parakeet Aratinga strenua rest popu- 2. Anderson, D. L., Bonta, M. & Thorn, P. (1998) in Nicaragua.Ibis 139: 566-568. -s to have New and noteworthy bird records from Hon- ; we found duras. BuU. Brit. Orn. Club 118: 178-183. David A. Wiedenfeld -los, Costa 3. Blake, E. R. (1977) Manual ofNeotropical birds, George Miksch Sutton Avian Research Cente1; p; O. m can also 1. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Box 2007, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, 74005, USA. E- 4. Howell, T. R. (1957) Birds of a second-growth mail: dwiedenfeld~u.edu.

rain forest area of Nicaragua. Condor 59: 73-

111. Jose Morales M- 1CristObal 1dega, and 5. Howell, T. R. (1965) New subsp(!cies of birds from Oficina de CITES.Nicaragua, Direcci6n de erecorded the lowland pine savanna 'of northeastern Biodiversidad y RecurB08 Naturales, MARENA, Nicaragua. Auk 82: 438-464. Apdo. 5123, Managua, Nicaragua. E-mail: 12 Febru- 6. Howell, T. R. (1971) An ecologicalstudy of the [email protected]. relatively )rth, prob- birds of the lowland pine savanna and adja- lout north cent rain forest in northeastern Nicaragua. Martin Lezama L Living Bird 10: 185-242. Departamento de Ciencias Ambientales, 7. Howell, T. R. (1972) Birds of the lowland pine Universidad Centroamericana, P.O. Box 69,

savanna of northeastern Nicaragua. Condor Managua, Nicaragua. E-mail:

t recorded 74: 316-340. ~a~uca.edu.ni. 981,when 8. Howell, S. N. G. & Webb,S. (1995)A guide to the ,ports sug- birds of Mexicoand northern Central America. 1978. Yet Oxford: Oxford University Press. CostaRica 9. Huber, W. (1932) Birds collected in northeast- presentin ern Nicaragua in 1922. Prot. Acad. Nat. Sci.

: slopeand Philadelphia 84: 205-249.

;OS! (1999). 10. Marcus, M. J. (1983)Additions to the avifauna illo (1994, of Honduras. Auk 100: 621-629. 994), Le6n 11. Martinez-Sanchez,J.C. (1990)Biodiversidad en 999),dpto. Nicaragua: estado actual de conocimiento .{uy(I999), sobre la fauna vertebrada. Washington World Wildlife Fund-US. DC: gua (1994. ; Juigalpa, 1999) and 999).Rivas

57