TheCondor86:204-207 0 The CooperOrnithological Society I984

RICHARDSON’S MEXICAN COLLECTION: BIRDS FROM AND ADJOINING STATES

J. DAN WEBSTER

In 1888 and 1889, W. B. Richardson collected Owl. Richardson collected a total of six in Feb- extensively for Salvin and Godman in . ruary, March, and August of 1889, at Zaca- I reported (Webster 1973) on part of the col- tecas City. I took the opportunity to measure lection- 17 speciesfrom the western state of and compare the entire series(19 B. v. palles- Zacatecas.Herein I report on more of that col- tens, including 14 from Mexico; 2 muyensis; lection. I have found that Salvin and God- and 11 mesembrinus)of Middle American man’s accessioncatalog for these years is de- Great Horned Owls in the British Museum, cidely incomplete. While I located in the British essentially repeating earlier work by Webster Museum collection probably all of the Zaca- and Orr (1958) with a different seriesof spec- tecas, , and specimens imens. Most of the resultsconfirmed our pub- of the speciesI anticipated (or which were in lished work; most of the differenceswere triv- the Salvin and Godman catalog), there doubt- ial, but a few were notable, as follows. Page less remain specimensof other speciesthat I 135, lines 31-32: very pale specimens occur did not find. in the highlandssouth to Zacatecas.Page 138, The following list includesonly those species lines 1O-l 2: extremes of local variation are in for which Richardson’s collection provides new groups F, G, and L; as in Jalisco, four of the information on the taxonomy and distribution five dorsal color groups are representedin Za- of Mexican birds. I have included new state catecas.Page 139, line 13: the extreme of pale, records for Aguascalientes and some other fine ventral barring is found in , So- statesas well as for Zacatecas (an asterisk de- nora (southern as well as northwestern), and notes a new state record). All measurements southeasternOaxaca. Page 140, lines l-2: oth- are in millimeters; wing measurementsare of er places where black, coarse barring occurs the chord. I have seen all but three (Blue- are southern and Central America. Page throated Hummingbird, Allen’s Humming- 140, lines 35-36: B. v. mayensisis uniform in bird, longspur) of these species in Zacatecas color and similar to the medians of pallescens (1950-1964) and here include extracts from and of mesembrinusin dorsal darkness and my own field notes where they are appropriate. coarsenessof the ventral barring. I have not been able to find any field notes or Lampornis clemenciaebessophilus > cle- journal that Richardson may have kept. menciae.Blue-throated Hummingbird. Rich- Numeniusamericanus parvus. Long-billed ardson took five specimens 2-5 August 1889 Curlew. Racial identity of the two specimens in the Sierra Valparaiso. They are intermediate taken by Richardson is clear. The male (wing in color between the duller northwestern race 265, culmen 119) was taken at ZacatecasCity (Arizona and specimens compared) 16 August 1889 and the female (276, 144) there and the brighter southern race, but nearer the the following day. During my only winter trip former (intermediates from San Luis Potosi; to Zacatecas, I saw the speciesalmost every typical specimensof clemenciaefrom state of day (2-10 February 1964) on the grasslandof Mexico, Distrito Federal, Vera Cruz, Guer- Laguna Valderama, including a flock of 39 on rero, and ). Wing length of four Zaca- 6 February. tecas males is 76 to 78, x 77.3, again inter- Zenaida macroura marginella. Mourning mediate (cf. Browning 1978). Dove. A male (wing 137) taken at Jerez in *Eugenesfulgens fulgens. Rivoli Humming- September 1888, and an immature female bird. Richardson took a female in the Sierra (wing 136) that I collected at Laguna Valde- Valparaiso on 3 August 1889. I have seen the rama 14 July 1952 are aspale as any specimens speciesseveral times in Zacatecas,but only in from far westernUnited States.However, their pine-oak forests in June (Webster 1964). small size for the race (cf. Aldrich and Duvall *Selasphorussasin. Allen ’s Hummingbird. 1958) suggeststhat attention be paid to Pi- Richardson took a male at Jerez in September telka’s (1948) suggestionof a distinguishable 1888. The wing measures 36.2 and the out- Mexican population. I have seenno specimens ermost rectrix 1.8 in width. The date accords of truly typical, dark-colored Z. m. carolinen- well with Phillips’ (1975) migration map for sisfrom Mexico except those from the east- the species. , Vera Cruz, and *Distrito Federal. Trogon elegansambiguus. Coppery-tailed Bubo virginianuspallescens. Great Horned Trogon. Richardson collected six specimensin

w41 RICHARDSON’S MEXICAN COLLECTION 205

TABLE 1. Wing length of adult male Vermilion Flycatchers.

Subspecm Locality n Range R SD C.V. jlammeus Arizona 47 16-84 80.51 1.96 2.44 jlammeus Baja , Calif., 16 77-82 79.62 1.36 1.71 jlammeus , 12 79-86 81.67 1.93 2.37 mexicanus south Texas 15 80-85 82.20 1.33 1.62 mexicanus Zacatecas,Aguascalientes, San 15 80-86 83.20 1.80 2.16 Luis Potosi mexicanus Tamaulipas, Neuvo Leon 22 80-87 82.18 1.81 2.20 mexicanus Jalisco, Michoacan, 22 79-89 82.00 2.01 2.52 mexicanus , , Distrito 45 75-87 82.31 2.33 2.83 Federal, , , Oaxaca, mexicanus central Vera Cruz 9 75-81 78.67 1.29 1.64 mexicanus 6 76-8 1 78.83 - - blatteus southern Vera Cruz, Yucatan 19 IO-77 74.00 1.84 2.49 blatteus Guatemala, Honduras, Belize 11 71-75 72.9 1 1.17 1.60 -

the Sierra Valparaiso 27 July to 4 August 1889, Pyrocephalusrubinus mexicanus. Vermil- including juveniles. ion Flycatcher. Several years ago (Webster When Van Rossem(1934) describedthe race 1959) I identified Zacatecas specimensas be- cuylescey2sfrom Sonora and elsewhere in longing to the northwestern race, jkzmyneus northwestern Mexico and Arizona, he record- (Van Rossem 1934). Now that I have exam- ed no comparison with the race goldmani, ined 360 specimensfrom the northern part of which had been described by Nelson (1898) the species’ range (see Table 1) and measured from the Tres Marias Islands. But the char- 239 adult males, I must change my opinion, acters that these two describersused to differ- and I now recognize the three northern races entiate their races from ambiguusof southern with ranges as described by Traylor (1979). and eastern Mexico were the same (paler reds However, jlammeus is but a weakly distinct and browns; greener-backed males). Appar- race; I am able to distinguish it from mexi- ently no one since 1934 has attempted really canusonly on the basis of the color of males, to evaluate the three races all together, al- and even then, populations in , though Stager (1957) noted that specimens southern Texas, and Jalisco are variously in- from the Tres Marias were different from am- termediate. The distinction between mexica- biguusonly in the palenessof the females. nusand blatteusis much clearer, becausethey I compared seriesof 11 adults from the Tres differ significantly in size as well as in color. Marias of presumed goldmani,8 from Sonora Two color differences exist in males. The hue and Sinaloa of presumed canescens,and 51 of the red areasis more orange-red (vermilion) from central, eastern, and southern Mexico of in jlammeus,and more cardinal red in blat- presumed ambiguus.Like Stager, I can see no teus,with mexicanusin between. The blackish geographic variation in the back color of dorsum is blackest in mexicanus,with jlam- males-green, blue, and copper are individual meuspaler (but not browner) and blatteuspal- color variations. However, the red ventral col- er and browner than mexicanus.No specimens or of each sex is paler to the west and north, of pinicolaHowell are included in this study. and the brown of females (both dorsal and Pitangussulphuratus derbianus. Derby Fly- ventral) is paler and lessextensive in the north- catcher or Great Kiskadee. Richardson did not west. Measurements of the wing of males are: take any in Zacatecas,but collected five at Bo- 7 from the Tres Marias Islands, range 125- lafios, Jalisco, which are near-topotypes (cf. 134, x 130.3; 4 from Sonora and Sinaloa, 123- Webster 1968). Comparison of the British Mu- 129, 127.0; 13 from Zacatecas, Jalisco, and seum series, after my earlier work with other , 126-138, 132.9; 11 from San Luis collections, prompts me to comment on the Potosi, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas, 124- northern races. I found that three characters 140, 132.4; 13 from Guerrero, Oaxaca, Vera alleged by Van Rossem (1940) to differentiate Cruz, and Distrito Federal, 125-136, 132.3. subspeciesdo not vary significantly with ge- Therefore T. e. canescensVan Rossem is a ography: rufescenceof the dorsal surfaceof the synonym of T. e. goldmani Nelson. Some wing appears to be an individual variation, specimensfrom Zacatecasand Nayarit are in- with extremes scattered throughout the range termediate in color, although best referred to in the 134 specimensfrom Texas and Mexico. as ambiguus. Extent of rufescence of the outer rectrices I TABLE 2. Length of wing in male Derby Flycatchers.

Subspecies Locality n RaIlge f

texanus south Texas 16 117-129 123.12 derbianus Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Puebla, 11 116-128 122.09 Morelos, Guerrero derbianus Sinaloa, Nayarit, Zacatecas, 22 116-129 122.05 Jalisco, Colima guatemalensis central and southern Vera Cruz, 9 114-129 120.33 Chiauas. mainland Yucatan

classifiedas little, moderate, or large on each but uncomfortably. Richardson took five spec- specimen; the “little extent” class was more imens in the Sierra Valparaiso. common in Guerrero than elsewhere, but oc- Troglodytesaedon. House Wren. The series curred in every major area sample, as did the of 19 wintering specimens (actually, October “large extent” type. Variation in length of wing to 9 April) from Mexico in the British Museum is shown in Table 2. is instructive. Also, I have compared 25 Color of dorsum and of venter doesvary wintering Mexican specimensfrom other mu- geographically to a significant degree. Ven- seums. (These remarks exclude the brown- trally, Texas specimensare slightly paler than throated races breeding in Mexico and south- the rest, but a series (eight specimens) from eastern Arizona, cf. Phillips et al. 1964). In the Yucatan islands (Mujeres, Meco, and Co- general, I agree with Paynter’s (1960) treat- zumel islands)is distinctly paler still. Dorsally, ment. Although aedon and parkmanii are specimensof derbianus(for ranges, see Table completely distinguishable if their ranges are 2) are palest and grayest; specimensfrom the restricted to the ends of the cline as given by Yucatan islands are the least green, but dark the AOU (1957), baldwinidenotes a broad se- and dull; specimensof texanusare grayer and ries of varying integrades that is best not rec- paler and less green than guatemalensisbut ognized by name. darker and browner than derbianus;specimens The Mexican wintering rangesof these gray of guatemalensis(matching series from Cen- forms are more extensive than recognized by tral America not listed above) are darkest and Paynter and earlier authorities. Of parkmanii, greenest. The Guerrero series is intermediate I examined specimensfrom these states-Ja- between derbianusand guatemalensis.I re- lisco, *Distrito Federal, Guerrero, Oaxaca, frain from describinga race from the Yucatan Vera Cruz, *Chiapas (5 May 1948, 60 km NE Islands, despite the clear color characters,be- San Cristobal, 1,700 m, Univ. Mich.). Of ae- cause all the specimens are old (1880s) and don, I examined eight specimens from Vera unsexed. Miller et al. (1957) were correct in Cruz (hardly “rare” as stated by Paynter and synonymizing palliatuswith derbianus,but in- by Miller et al. 1957) and one each from *Oa- correct in excluding the race guatemalensis xaca (City of Oaxaca, March 1889) and *Coli- from Mexico. ma (Plains of Colima, 16 Jan. 1890). Of inter- *Hirundo rusticaerythrogaster. Barn Swal- mediates, which might be called “baldwini,” I low. Richardson took two at Aguascalientes, examined specimens from Vera Cruz, Mi- Aguas.,a male and an unsexedadult, in August choacan, and Est. Mexico. 1888. Catherpesmexicanus. Canyon Wren. I am Sitta pygmaea chihuahuae.Pygmy Nut- unable to evaluate properly the race C. m. can- hatch. There seem to be four races in Mexico tator(Phillips 1966) from Nayarit. I have com- as Van Rossem (1929) stated. However, Van pared 120 specimensfrom the areas of central Rossem chose Mound Valley, Chihuahua, as and southern Mexico assignedby Phillips to the type locality of his C. m. cantatorplus C. m. mexicanus,but no race (S. p. chihuahuae)and this is only 300 specimens from Nayarit. The wing length is km southwestof the type locality of melanotis slightly shorter to the northwest, viz.: 19 males in CochiseCo., Arizona. The charactersof chi- from Durango, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes,Ja- huahuae(short bill and wing; buffy anterior lisco, and Michoacan ranged from 60 to 70, but pale gray posterior underparts;bluer, dark- with a mean of 64.68, SD 2.56, C.V. 3.95. er upperparts than melanotis)are well differ- Nineteen males from Guerrero, Oaxaca, Pueb- entiated only in specimensfrom Durango and la, and Distrito Federal ranged from 64 to 72, Zacatecas.I conclude that the arrangement of mean 68.42, SD 2.25, C.V. 3.29. Also, the races set up by Van Rossem (1929) and con- northwestern sample is slightly paler and gray- curred in by Miller et al. (1957) may stand, er than the southeasternsample. Myadestestownsendi. Townsend ’s Solitaire. mission to collect birds in Mexico was granted by the Study of Richardson’s specimensfrom western Department0 de Conservation de la Fauna Silvestre, Se- cretaria de Agricultura y Ganaderia. Mexico, plus reexamination of the Zacatecas specimens(Webster 1958), clarifies somewhat LITERATURE CITED the status of this species in Mexico. Briefly, ALDRICH, J. H., AND A. J. DUVALL. 1958. Distribution most of the specimensare wintering examples and migration of racesof the Mourning Dove. Condor of the northern race (nine specimens: Sierra 60:108-128. Bolaiios, Jalisco, February-March 1889; three AMERICANORNITHOLOGISTS UNION.’ 1957. Check-list of specimens:Chihuahua, 1888 [ 10 March, Casa North American birds. 5th ed. Am. Omithol. Union, Baltimore. Colorado; 23 March, Rio Verde; 30 March, BROWNING,M. R. 1978. An evaluationofthe new species Tutaca]). A singleZacatecas specimen of Rich- and subspeciesproposed in Oberholser’s Bird Life of ardson’s (27 July 1889, Sierra Valparaiso), like Texas. Proc. Biol. Sot. Wash. 91:85-122. the three from that state I reported earlier MILLER, A. H., H. FRIEDMAN,L. GRISCOM, AND R. T. MOORE. 1957. Distributional check-list of the birds (1958), is of the darker subspeciesM. t. cal- of Mexico, Part II. Pacific Coast Avifauna 33. ophonus.I did not see the specimensfrom So- MILLER,W. DE W. 1906. List of birds collectedin north- nora reported by Salvin and Godman ( 1889) westernDurango, Mexico, by J. H. Batty, during 1903. and Van Rossem (1945). Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 22:161-183. *Phainopeplanitens nitens. Phainopepla. NELSON,E. W. 1898. Descriptions of new birds from the Tres Marias Islands, Western Mexico. Proc. Biol. Sot. Richardson took a female in the Sierra Cal- Wash. 12:5-l 1. villo, Aguascalientes,in August 1888. The large PAYNTER,R. A., JR. 1960. Troglodytidae, p. 379-440. size (wing 95, tail 89) placesit clearly with the In Peters, J. L. et al., Check-list of birds of the world. southern race, like specimensI previously re- Vol. 9. Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, corded from Zacatecas (Webster 1968). MA. PHILLIPS,A. R., J. MARSHALL,AND G. MONSON. 1964. * Vireo huttoni carolinae.Hutton ’s Vireo. The birds ofArizona. Univ. ofArizona Press.Tucson. Richardson collected four of this central-and- PHILLIPS,A. R. 1966. Further systematicnotes ’on Mex- eastern Mexican race in the Sierra Calvillo, ican birds. Bull. Br. Omithol. Club 86: 125-l 3 1. Aguascalientes,in August 1888. PHILLIPS,A. R. 1975. The migrationsofAllen ’s and other humminabirds. Condor 77: 196-205. * Vireo solitarius cassinii. Solitary Vireo. PITELKA, R. AI. 1948. Notes on the distribution and tax- Richardson collected a male of this race in the onomy of Mexican game birds. Condor 50: 113-l 23. Sierra Calvillo, Aguascalientes,in August 188 8. SALVIN,O., AND F. D. GODMAN. 1889. Notes on Mexican Without doubt the bird (adult plumage, wing birds, part 2. Ibis (6th series) 1:380-382. 72, tail 50) is a migrant; no specimen of a STAGER,K. E. 1957. The avifauna of the Tres Marias Islands, Mexico. Auk 74:413-432. breeding race hasbeen recorded from the state. TRAYLOR,M. A., JR. 1979. Tyrannidae, p. l-228. In J. “Piranga rubra.Summer Tanager. Richard- L. Peters et al., Check-list of birds of the world. Vol. son took a female (wing 96) and a male (wing 8. Museum of ComparativeZoology, Cambridge, MA. 98) in fresh plumage at Calvillo, Aguascal- VAN ROSSEM,A. J. 1929. New racesof the Pigmy Nut- hatch. Proc. Biol. Sot. Wash. 42:176-177. ientes, in August 1888. The size indicates P. VAN ROSSEM,A. J. 1934. Critical noteson Middle Amer- r. rubra;the pale color of both specimenssug- ican birds. Bull. Mus. Comu. Zool. 77:387-490. gests P. r. cooperi;the bright yellow of the VAN ROSSEM,A. J. 1940. Notes on some North Amer- female indicates P. r. rubra.Presumably they ican birds of the generaMyiodynastes, Pitangus,and are migrants from an intermediate population. Myiochanes. Trans. San Diego Sot. Nat. Hist. 9:79- 86. *Piranga ludoviciana. Western Tanager. VAN ROSSEM,A. J. 1945. A distributional survey of the Richardson took a male at Calvillo in August birds of Sonora, Mexico. Occas. Pap. Mus. Zool. La. 1888. State Univ. 21: l-379. Talcarius mccownii.McCown ’s Longspur. WEBSTER,J. D. 1958. Further ornithological notes from Zacatecas,Mexico. Wilson Bull. 70:243-256. Richardson took one male and two with sex WEBSTER,J. D. 1959. Another collection from Zacatecas, unrecorded at Zacatecas, Zacatecas, 4 Febru- Mexico. Auk 76:365-367. ary 1889. The male and one of the others are WEBSTER,J. D. 1964. Breedingbird census:No. 27. Oak- in adult male plumage. This record extends pine woodland. Audubon Field Notes 18:560-56 1. the range for the species490 km to the south- WEBSTER,J. D. 1968. Ornithological notes from Zaca- tecas, Mexico. Condor 70~395-397. east from the previous known extreme of Villa WEBSTER,J. D. 1973. Richardson’s Zacatecascollection, Ocampo, Durango (Miller 1906). I. Condor 75:239-241. WEBSTER,J. D., AND R. T. ORR. 1958. Variation in the ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Great Homed Owls of Middle America. Auk 75: 134- 142. 1 thank the authorities of the British Museum of Natural History (Tring) for their courtesyand help during my study there in the summer of 1978. I thank the California Acad- Department of Biology, Hanover College, Hanover, Zn- emy of Sciencesand the University of Michigan Museum diana 47243. Received 6 May 1983. Final acceptance24 of Zoology for permission to study their collections. Per- September 1983.