gle bird in a flock of WesternSandpipers DISTRIBUTION (C. maurO on January 10, 1980. In Pan- ama, Wetmore (1965) describes three observations of birds that he identifies as First record of Dunlin {Calidris alpina} for this speciesin 1955 and 1956. He adds, however, "Since Panama is so far be- Peru and continental South America yond the recorded range I include these as not wholly definite, pending the cap- ture of specimens."Ridgely (1976) adds Wayne R. Petersen, Paul K. Donahue, and Natasha Atkins an additional account of three birds seen and one photographed in Panama on January 19-24, 1977 (Greensmith 1977). HEDUNLIN ISA circumpolararctic- range is notable in that the vast majority With this background in mind, the au- boreal breeder whose New World of the Nearctic population remains in thors wish to report the first Dunlin rec- range extendsfrom northern Alaska, ex- the warmer parts of the North Temper- ords for Peru, and apparently for con- treme northern Mackenzie, and south- ate Zone, with only a few entering the tinental South America. On August 31, ern SomersetIsland south along the west tropics (Stout 1967). 1978, while birding at the Bay of Para- coast of Alaska and northern Mackenzie The status of the Dunlin beyond the cas, Department of lca, on the Pacific to Southampton Island. It also breeds normal southern limits of its winter coast of Peru about 240 km south of locally along the west and south coasts range is that of a casual or very rare va- Lima, Donahue and Petersen carefully of Hudson Bay, as well as in Greenland. grant. Bond (1980) lists West Indian rec- observed a Dunlin in breeding (alter- The winter range extends from south- ords from Barbados, New Providence, nate) plumage. The bird was resting western British Columbia on the Pacific Great Inagua, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, when first noticed,but flushedupon be- coast to southern Baja California and Dominica, and St. Lucia. There is a sin- ing approached. As it flew, it uttered a the coast of Sonora. It also occurs in gle record from Nicaragua (Eisenmann single, grating, "cheezp", a note that winter on the Gulf coast from Tamauli- 1955), and more recently, the specieshas was instantly familiar to both observers. pas in easternMexico to Texas and east- been recorded and collected in Costa The dorsal coloration of the bird was ward to include the Atlantic coast from Rica December 26-27, 1975 and Febru- prominently rusty-orange, however the Massachusetts to Florida (A.O.U. ary 8, 1976 (Stiles and Smith 1977). plumagedid not appear fresh. The white Check-list 1957). The Dunlin's wintering Stiles(pers. comm.) also recordeda sin- underparts retained the blackish belly

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342 American Birds, May 1981 patch characteristicof the speciesin fact that the west coast of Peru consti- Stiles for providing both helpful sugges- breeding, or partial breeding, plumage. tutes an important North American tions and data used in this note. The bird's bill was noticeably longer shorebirdstopover and wintering area, it than that of other adjacent small Call- is not improbable that an occasional LITERATURE CITED dris sandpipersand was conspicuously Dunlin might overshoot more tradi- drooped at the tip. In flight, the wings tional wintering quarters to the north, AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' displayeda prominentwhite wing stripe particularlyif it were migratingwith spe- UNION. 1957. Check-list of North Amer- for much of their length while the tail cies bound for South America. As for ican Birds. 5th ed. Baltimore. was dusky-centeredwith paler outer rec- the presenceof DunlEnsin Peru through- BOND, J. 1980. Birds of the West Indies. London. Collins. trices which showed whitish areas later- out the summer of 1978, it is not uncom- EISENMANN, E. 1955. The Speciesof Mid- ally at the base of severalof the outer mon for various North American shore- die American Birds. Trans. Linnaean feathers. There was no suggestionof the birds to remain on the wintering grounds $oc., N.Y., 7:1-128. white rump typical of Curlew Sandpiper throughout the northern summer, or to GRAVES, C. and M.A. PLENGE. 1978. accomplish only a partial and incom- First Curlew Sandpiper in Peru. Condor (C. ferruginea), a speciesrecorded in 80:455. Peru in 1976 (Graves and Plenge 1978). plete spring migration. Undoubtedly, GREENSMITH, A. 1977. Reports from Present in the area with the Dunlin were this behavior is most frequent among westernChiriqui. Toucan 4(2):5-6. varying numbersof SemipalmatedPlo- one-yearold birds. Regrettably,none of RIDGELY, R.S. 1976. A Guide to the Birds vers(Charaduris semipalmatus), Whim- the Paracas birds were able to be satis- of Panama. Princeton Univ. Press. STILES, F.G. and S.M. SMITH. 1977. New brels (Numenius phaeopus), Ruddy factorily aged. information on Costa Rican waterbirds. Turnstones (ArenatEa interpres), San- As increasing numbers of ornithilo- Condor 79:91-97. derlings(C. alba), SemipalmatedSand- gists and birding tour groups cover STOUT, G.D. (Ed.). 1967. The Shore- birds pipers(C. pusilia), WesternSandpipers, coastal South America, it is likely that of North America. New York. Viking Least Sandpipers(C. minutilla), and a other vagrant shorebirdswill be record- Press. WETMORE, A. 1965-1868-1973. The Birds variety of other speciesin small num- ed at such favored gathering areas as of the Republic of Panama, Parts 1-3. bers. Paracas, and indeed, they should be Smiths. Misc. Coil., Vol 150, pts. 1-3. watched for closely. PONRETURNING TO the United --22 HuWhinson Terrace, Whitman, States, Donahue and Petersen ACKNOWLEDGMENTS MA 02382 (Petersen), FRD #1, So. learned that betweenMay 30 and July 7, Harpswell, ME 04079 (Donahue), 1816 1978, Atkins and David Duffy had ob- The authors wish to thank Eugene Ei- T St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20009 (A t- servedone to two DunlEns,also in breed- senmann, John P. O'Neill, and F. Gary kins). ing plumage,in the samearea of Paracas Bay where the August observationwas made. These individuals were seen both feeding and roosting with other shore- birds presentin the area at the time. The composition of shorebirds during the early australwinter includednumbers of SemipalmatedPlovers, Sanderlings,and "peep," along with smaller numbersof other North American migrants. Tours In 1979, Atkins observeda Dunlin in ½FORMERLYFLYING CARPET TOURS, INC.) winter (basic) plumage at Sequion, a nearbybay to the southof the 1978loca- tion, on January 21, 24, and 25. On OperatingNaturalHi,story Tours August 27, 1979, Donahue and Petersen (primarilybirding) since 1955. ' observed a similarly-plumagedbird at * SMALL GROUPS . . . LEISURELY PACED the original 1978 location. This bird was * CAREFULLY SELECTED DESTINATIONS well studiedas in 1978, and specialeffort was made to note the upper tail coverts WRITE FOR INFORMATION ON COMING TOURS in flight to eliminatepossible confusion We also stock foreign and domesticfield guides,natural with Curlew Sandpiperin corresponding historypublications of generalinterest and checklistsfor plumage. The covertsof the upper tail most areas of the world. were gray, similar to the overall dorsal coloration. No trace of a dusky belly WRITE FOR FREE CATALOG. patch was seen, however there was a Russ Mason's band of distinct streaks across the mid- breast. A pale superciliary stripe was •qATURAL HISTORY TOURS, I•qC. presentand the leg color was blackish. Post Office Box 2045 It is possiblethat the Dunlin records Kissimme, Florida 32741 in Peru may refer to the same bird(s) (305) 847-3656 over the course of two seasons:spring 1978-fall 1979. However, in light of the

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