STATUS UPDATE

of a lone female noted by Evenden (1952) on a pond 117 kilometers south- Thechanging status of the west of Matamoros, along the road to Victoria, February 23, 1951. Since the establishment of Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs) in Mexico in the early 1970s, WoodDuck (Aix sponsa) Wood Ducks have been noted on two Tamaulipan counts. Since 1977, the in Mexico G6mez Farias CBC has recorded Wood Ducks on two of five counts: two birds on January 1, 1977 (Am. Birds 31:896, 1977) and two on January2, 1982 (Am. Birds 36:769, 1982). The Rio Corona CBC, first conducted in the winter of 1978-79, has recorded Wood Ducks on seven of its nine counts: two on De- cember 29, 1979 (Am. Birds 34:673, 1980); two on December27, 1980 (Am. Birds 35:740, 1981); two on January 1, 1983 (Am. Birds 37:784, 1983); a re- markable 17 individuals on December 31, 1983 (Am. Birds 38:819, 1984); four on December 29, 1984 (Am. Birds 39: 814, 1985); four on December28, 1985 (Am. Birds 40:1022, 1986); and ten on January3, 1987 (Am. Birds41 in press). Both the G6mez Farias and Rio Corona areas have been explored ornithologi- cally since the late 1930s, yet Wood Ducks remained unknown there until theserecent sightings.

San Luls Potos[ Davis (1952) Photo/GeoffLeBaron (VIREO/L05/8/011). reported that a female Wood Duck was seen on three consecutivedays during the period December 27-31, 1951, Sartor O. Williams !!! along the Rio Axtla near Xilitla, in Duck (Aix sponsa) in Mexico is southeastern San Luis Potosl. A CBC HEunevenlyOCCURRENCE documentedOFTHE and WOODpoorly was established at the northeastern town understood.The speciesis listed as ca- of El Naranjo in 1972, where Wood sual in northern Mexico, with records Ducks have since been noted on six oc- only from Durango, Sinaloa, and the Christmas Bird Count casions: two on December 20, 1972 Distrito Federal, the latter two reports (Am. Birds 27:536, 1973);seven on De- well over 100 yearsold (A.O.U. 1983). data help clarify the cember 23, 1975 (Am. Birds 30:621, In the past 35 years, however. Wood current status of the 1976); one on December 28, 1976 (Am. Ducks have been noted with increasing Wood Duck in Mexico Birds 31:895, 1977);three on December frequencyand in increasingnumbers at 30, 1980 (Am. Birds 35:739, 1981); one variousMexican localities,including the on December 30, 1982 (Am. Birds 37: northeastern lowlands, the central pla- 783, 1983); and nine on December29, teau, and the west coast(Table 1). The 1985 (Am. Birds 40:1021, 1986). Al- purposeof this paper is to draw together though not located in a coastal state, scattered published and unpublished both the Xilitla and the El Naranjo information on the occurrence of Wood areas contain lowlands at the base of Ducks in Mexico on a state-by-stateba- the Sierra Madre Oriental. sis in order to clarify the distribution and current statusof the speciesin that Veracruz David N. Pashley (a country. doctoral student in the School of Fo- Tamaulipas This century's first restry, Wildlife, and Fisheriesat Loui- report of a Wood Duck in Mexico was Photo/S.J. Lans (VIREO/LI 1/1/001) sianaState University conducting avian

372 American Birds, Fall 1987 research •n the S•erra de los Tuxtlas re- was present at the same locality. Th•s March w•th all the other w•nterlng wa- gton of southeasternVeracruz) observed s•tewas one of my pnnc•pal waterfowl terfowl.Interestingly, Vfilada (1890-91' a female Wood Duck on December 4, study areaseach May through Septem- 260) closeshis account by expressing 5, and 10, 1984, on a pond 20 kilo- ber from 1973 to 1975 (Williams 1980); his personal doubts that the species•s meters north of Catemaco. This bird, Wood Ducks were unobserved on visits ever presentin the valley. alsoseen by Rosamond Coates-Estrada exceptthose mentioned. With the information at hand, it •s and Steve Howell, appeared with the Distrito Federal One of the two difficult to judge accuratelythe status passageof a strong cold front, as did very oldestreports for Mexico pertains of the Wood Duck in the Valley of several other waterbird speciesseldom to the Valley of Mexico, a closedbasin Mexico duringthose days. If specimens noted so far south (Pashley1987). The (elevation 2200 meters) containing wereobtained, their whereaboutstoday Tuxtlas region has been worked inten- Mexico City and Lago de Texcoco, and are unknown to me. I suspectthat Her- sivelyby ornithologistsand birdersfor includingparts of the stateof M6xico rera did indeed find a Wood Duck on many years,but lacks prior reports of and the Distrito Federal. Sfinchez Texcocoin Augustof one year and cor- Wood Ducks. (1878) appearsto have been the first to rectly recognizedit as something un- Coahuila Taylor (1966) saw two ascribethe Wood Duck to the area, list- usual, at least at that season.However, Wood Ducks on December 28, 1964, ing it without comment for the Valley he probably listed the specieswith the at Posos de la Becerra, 16 kilometers of Mexico. Next, Herrera (1887) in- more common North American m•- southwestof Cuatro Ci6negasin the cluded the Wood Duck along with 15 grantswith no actualevidence of regular ChnhuahuanDesert region of central other speciesof waterfowlgenerally said winter occurrence.It is noteworthythat Coahuila. de Leon (1987) took a female to arrive in the valley in the fall and to Sfinchez,Herrera, and Villada all pro- Wood Duck on November 31, 1986, leave in the spring.Villada (1890-91), dded Nfihuatl (Aztec) names for the one kilometer southeastof Hipolito. who apparentlynever saw the species, common or conspicuous waterfowl Durango Hubbard and Crossin creditsHerrera with consideringit "ac- species,but none gave such a name for cidental" on Texcoco in August while (1974) reportedtaking a femaleon April the Wood Duck. This suggeststhat the 3, 1972, at Rio Mesquital (elevation arriving in October and leaving in specieswas not well known to the in- 1350 meters), 72 kilometers south- Table 1. Wood Duck reports from Mexico, 1951-1987. southeastof Durango; the specimen showedno signsof havingbeen in cap- Date # of Birds Location(Map ReferenceNo.) t•mty. On June 12-13, 1986, Melissa J. 1950s and 1960s Renfro and I observed and photo- Feb. 23, 1951 117 km SW Matamoros, TAMS (1) graphedtwo Wood Ducks at PresaSan Dec. 27-31, 1951 Xilitla, SLP (5) Bartolo (elevation 1940 meters),a shal- Feb. 1961 Agua Prieta, SON (12) low reservoirwith standingtimber lo- Dec. 28, 1964 16 km SW CuatroCi6negas, COAH (7) cated in central Durango,just east of 1970s Canatlfin and about 60 kilometers north Apr. 3, 1972 1 Rio Mesquital,DGO (9) of Durango. These birds, both males, Dec. 20, 1972 2 E1 Naranjo, SLP (4) were wary and capableof flight. I had June 8 &July 15-16, 1974 1 1.5 km E. Lag Cajititlfin,JAL (10) ms,ted this reservoir, as well as nearby Dec. 23, 1975 7 E1 Naranjo, SLP (4) Laguna de Santiaguillo, on numerous Dec. 28, 1976 1 E1 Naranjo, SLP (4) 2 occasionsfrom 1973 to 1978 and again Jan. 1, 1977 G6mez Farlas,TAMS (3) Dec. 29, 1979 2 Rio Corona,TAMS (2) •n 1981 without recording Wood Ducks. 1980s Dec. 27, 1980 2 Rio Corona,TAMS (2) Jalisco On the morning of June Dec. 30, 1980 3 E1 Naranjo, SLP (4) 8, 1974, I observed and photographed Jan. 2, 1982 2 G6mez Fadas,TAMS (2) a male Wood Duck on a smallpond 1.5 Dec. 30, 1982 1 E1 Naranjo, SLP (4) kilometerseast of Lagunade Cajititlfin Jan. 1, 1983 2 Rio Corona,TAMS (2) (elevation 1500 meters), about 30 ki- Feb. 6, 1983 4 Villa Hidalgo, SON (13) lometers south-southeast of Guadala- Dec. 30, 1983 2 San Blas, NAY (21) Dec. 31, 1983 17 jara. This bird, which wasfeeding in the Rio Corona,TAMS (2) Dec. 4-5 & 10, 1984 1 20 km N Catemaco, VC (6) shallows when first observed, seemed Dec. 29, 1984 4 Rio Corona,TAMS (2) qmte wary and, when eventually dis- Nov. 26-Dec. 4, 1985 1 Cuemanco, DF (11) turbed, took wing with three Mexican Dec. 28, 1985 4 Rio Corona,TAMS (2) Ducks (Ariasplatyrhynchos diazi) and Dec. 29, 1985 9 E1 Naranjo, SLP (4) flew to the safetyof an extensivewater- Jan. 6, 1986 1 Tonichi, SON (18) 2 hyacinth mat that covered much of the Feb. 7, 1986 San Antonio de Huerte, SON (17) Feb. 11, 1986 3 13 km S Onabas,SON (19) nearby lake. Color slidesof the Wood June 12-13, 1986 2 Presa San Bartolo, DGO (8) Duck, in companywith Mexican Ducks Nov. 31, 1986 [Nov. 30 or Dec. 17] 1 Hipolito, COAH (7a) and Northern Jacanas(Jacana spinosa), Dec. 14, 1986 1 Natora, SON (16) showit to be in apparentlytypical spring Dec. 18, 1986 1 LagodeChalco, DF (11) plumage.On the morningsof July 15- Dec. 21, 1986 3 Aros/Yaqui confluence,SON (15) 16 of the same year, a male Wood Jan. 3, 1987 lO Rio Corona,TAMS (2) Mar. 25, 1987 2 13 km S Granados,SON (14) Duck, presumablythe sameindividual,

Volume 41, Number 3 373 d•genous population and hence may never have occurred regularly •n the AZ NM valley.Furthermore, Villada (1890-91: 256) statedthat the noted naturalistA. Dug•s believedthat the Nfihuatl name "Ixtactzonyayauhqui" (which practi- TX callyall recentcompendia ascribe to the SON Wood Duck) most probablyapplied to the Bufllehead(Bucephala albeola), a • CHIH specieswhich is now, asit probablywas then, much more common than the COAH

Wood Duck in Mexico in the winter. 7 Wilson (1986) recorded an adult male Wood Duck in a small pond east DGO of Cuemanco, presentfrom November 26 through December 4, 1985. He once again recordeda single individual on the Mexico City CBC, December 18, 1986 (Am. Birds 41 in press),at Lago de Chalcoin the TlahuacDistrict (Wil- Figure 1. Map of northernand son, pers. comm.). central Mexico showinglocal- Sonora A Wood Duck was shot itiesof knownWood Duck re- ports through March, 1987. by a hunter at a tank south of Agua Tamaulipas:(1) 117 km SW Prieta in February 1961; the bird was Matamoros,(2) Rio Corona,(3) I• mounted by SeymourLevy of Tucson, Gdmez Far[as. San Luis Potosi: DF but its presentlocation is unknown. On (4) El Naranjo, (5) Xilitla. Veracruz:(6) February6, 1983,two pairswere found 20 km N Catemaco.Coahuila: (7) 16 km on the Rio Bavispenear Villa Hidalgo SW Cuatro Cidnegas. (7a) Hipolito. Durango: (8) PresaSan Bartolo,(9) R[o Mesquital.Jalisco: (10) 1.5 by Stephen M. Russell. In 1986 and km E Lag. Cajititldn.Distrito Federal:(11) Lag. Texcocoand 1987, while conducting river trips in Cuemancomarsh area and Lag. de Chalco. Sonora: (12) Agua Prieta, searchof nestingBald Eagles(Haliaee- (13) VillaHidalgo, (14) 13 km S Granados,(15) R[o Aros/R[o Yaqui confluence, (16) Na- tus leucocephalus),Bryan Brown re- tora,(17) 5 km N SanAntonio de Huerte, (18) Tonichi,(19) 13 km S Onabas.Sinaloa: (20) corded Wood Ducks on six occasions Mazatldn. Nayarit: (21) San Blas. m eastern Sonora: one bird on the Rio Yaqui just north of Tonichi on January is creditedwith alsotaking at Mazatlfin tury, numerous collectingexpeditions 6, 1986;a male and a femaleon the Rio the only mainland example of the Ha- were undertakenthroughout Mexico. It Yaqui about five kilometers north of waiian Duck (Anas wyvilliana), al- is noteworthy that E.W. Nelson, E A San Antonio de Huerte on February 7, thoughthe validity of thislast hasbeen Goldman, W.W. Brown, C.C. Lamb, 1986; three on the Rio Yaqui about 13 questioned(American Ornithologists' G.B. Saunders,A.S. Leopold, and oth- kilometers below Onabas on February Union 1983:76). Other than Abert's ers all failed to note the speciesdespite 11, 1986;one on the Rio Aros near Na- specimen,which was sent from the U.S. yearsof work in Mexico. The samepe- tora (east of Sahuaripaand near the National Museum to the Chicago riod was, correspondingly,a time of Chihuahuan border) on December 14, Academyof Sciencesin 1870 (whereit criticallylow Wood Duck numbers•n 1986; three on the Rio Aros near its became a victim of the Chicago Fire of the United Statesand Canada, when the confluence with the Rio Bavispe on 1871), there are no other Wood Duck specieswas fearedby many to be on the December21, 1986; and two on the Rio records from Sinaloa. road to extinction (Bellrose 1976) It Bavispe about 13 kilometers below Nayarit On December30, 1983, was not until the 1940s that the North Granados on March 25, 1987. The or- two Wood Ducks were noted on the San American Wood Duck population had nithologyof Sonorawas reportedupon Blas CBC (Am. Birds 38:819, 1984). recovered sufficiently to allow even •n detailby van Rossem(1945), but with Althoughthe environsof San Blashave limited hunting, and it has only been no mention of Wood Ducks. been intensivelybirded sincethe early sincethe 1960s that the population has Sinaloa In his summary of spec- 1960s,this is the first sightingfor the maintained consistentlyhigh numbers imens collectedprimarily by Grayson, area and the state. (Bellrose1976). Occurrences in Mexico Xfintus, and Bischoff in western Mex- appearto haveshadowed the overall•n- too, Lawrence (1874) listed the Wood Discussion creasesin the North American popu- Duck followedonly by "Mazatlan, Col. lation. Abert." There is no further information Birdersbegan to show increasedin- The regularity with which Wood on this specimen (U.S. National Mu- terest in Mexico during the 1950s, an Duckshave been noted recentlyin win- seum No. 12705), nor is any record interest that has continued to the pres- ter in northeastern Mexico has followed available on the date of John J. Abert's ent day, but this interestalone doesnot closelyon increasesobserved in adja- Mazatlfin material, except that it was necessarilyexplain the increasedinci- cent southTexas sincethe early 1960s obtained prior to 1859. Colonel Abert dence of Wood Duck observations over Brazda(Saunders and Saunders1981) must have been an extremelyselective, the past 35 years.From the late 1890s saw a flock of 25 on January 11, 1963, or extremely fortunate, collector, as he through the first half of the presentcen- in the Rio Grande delta on the Texas-

374 American B•rds,Fall 1987 Tamauhpas hne Bolen and Cottam tnto Federal (Fig 1) They are found •n LITERATURE CITED the lowlands of northeastern Mexico (1967) reportedthat a flockof 200 win- AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION tered at Lake CorpusChristi duringthe regularly in Tamaulipas and San Luis 1983. Check-list of North American w•nter of 1963-64 and that the first Potosi south rarely to Veracruz, occa- Birds, 6th ed. American Ornithologists' Wood Duck nest for south Texas was sionally on the central plateau and Union, Washington, D.C. 877 p. found July 15, 1964. Wood Ducks are rarely in southeasternCoahuila and BELROSE, F. C. 1976. The comeback of now recorded with such regularity in Durango southto Jaliscoand the Dis- the Wood Duck. Wildl. Soc. Bull. 4:107- 110. south Texas that they are no longer trito Federal, and in the west coaststates BOLEN, E.G. and C. COTTAM. 1967 considered unusual by compilers. A of Sonora(principally on upland rivers), Wood Duck nesting record from south flock of 175 was seen below Falcon Sinaloaand Nayarit. The greatmajority Texas. Southwest. Nat. 12:198-199. Dam on the Rio Grande on January of records are from December-Febru- DAVIS, L. I. 1952. Winter bird censusat 31, 1981 (Am. Birds 35:316, 1981), ary, although there are individual re- Xilitla, SanLuis Potosi,Mexico. Condor while during the 84th CBC the species ports for March, April, June, July, and 54:345-355. DE LEON, A. G. 1987. Unusual records was noted in the Rio Grande valley August. from Coahuila, Mexico. Condor 89:672- from Anzalduas-Bentsen upriver Followingtwo very old reportsfrom 673. throughDel Rio and Big BendNational the 19th century, the Wood Duck went EVENDEN, F. G. JR. 1952. Notes on Mex- Park to E1Paso (Am. Birds 38, 1984). unreported from Mexico for about 75 ican bird distribution. Wilson Bull. 64 Becauseof the popularity of Wood years. The specieswas noted on four 112-113. Ducks with aviculturists and waterfowl occasionsduring the 1950s and 1960s HERRERA, A. L. 1887. La migracirn en el fanciers, extralimital occurrencesare Valle de M•xico. La Naturaleza, set. 2, (five birds at four locations),on seven vol. 1:165-189. often viewed with suspicion.However, occasionsin the 1970s(16 birds at five HUBBARD, J.P. and R. S. CROSSIN the predominanceof winter occurrences locations),and on 23 occasionsso far 1974. Notes on northern Mexican birds in suitable habitat at relatively remote during the 1980s (78 birds at 16 loca- Nemouria, Occas.Papers Delaware Mus locations,together with the generalcor- tions).The apparentabsence of the spe- Nat. Hist. 14:1-41. relation betweenincreased sightings in cies from Mexico early in this century LAWRENCE, G. N. 1874. The birds of Mexico and a reboundingNorth Amer- and its appearancethere in recent years western and northwestern Mexico, based upon collections made by Col. A. J ican population, argues strongly that seems to correlate with critically low Grayson,Capt. J. Xantus and Ferd. Bis- numbers in the United States and Can- thesereports representnaturally occur- choff, now in the museum of the Smith- nng birds. ada in the early 1900s and the subse- sonianInstitution, at Washington,D.C To date, nestingby Wood Ducks is quent recoveryof the continental pop- Mem. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. 2:265-319 unreportedfrom Mexico, but shouldbe ulation by mid-century. Regular occur- PASHLEY, D. 1987. New duck recordsfor expected in the northeast and perhaps rence in northeastern Mexico has southernVeracruz. Mexican Birding As- sociation Newsletter, vol. 1, no. 87-2 elsewherein the north. Of special in- followed closely on observedincreases (April 1987):2-3. terestas regards nesting is an ambitious in numbers in adjacent south Texas. SANCHEZ, J. 1878. Datos para el catfilogo nest box program for Muscovy Ducks Nestingis unreportedbut might be ex- de las avesque viven en M•xico. Anales (Catrina moschata)now underway in pected in the northeast and perhaps del Museo Nacional de Mdxico, ser. 1, parts of Mexico; some 2500 nest boxes elsewherein the north. The speciesis vol. 1:92-110. are now in place, including some in of regular enough occurrencein west SAUNDERS, G. B. and D.C. SAUNDERS areas where Wood Ducks have been re- Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and east- 1981. Waterfowl and their wintering groundsin Mexico, 1937-64. U.S. Fish ported. Additionally, the numerous ern Sonora to be expectedto occur also & Wildl. Ser., Resour. Publ. 138:1-151 reservoirs on the northern plateau, in the state of Chihuahua. TAYLOR, W. K. 1966. Avian recordsfrom which both flood timber and create centralCoahuila, Mrxico, primarilyfrom small areas of riparian habitat, may the CuatroCirnegas area. Southwest. Nat eventually prove attractive to nesting 11:136-137. Wood Ducks. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS VAN ROSSEM, A. J. 1945. A distributional In light of the Wood Duck's historic survey of the birds of Sonora, Mexico Occas. Papers Mus. Zool. Louisiana scarcityin Mexico, the greatnumber of I thank R.C. Banks, E.G. Bolen, J.P. State Univ. 21:1-379. allegedvernacular names provided by Hubbard, and J.V. Reinsen, Jr. for VILLADA, M. M. 1890-91. Los anfitidos the literature is puzzling. One recent readingand commentingon an earlier del Valle de Mfixico. Anales del Museo publication(USFWS Resour.Publ. 139: draft. Additionally, Banks provided Nacional de M•xico, ser. 1, vol. 4:151- 14, 1981) gaveno lessthan eightMex- data on Abert's Sinaloa specimen and 166, 253-260. WILLIAMS, S. O. III. 1980. The Mexican ican names--more names than there Bolen provided information on nestbox Duck in Mexico: natural history, distri- were then generally known records of activitiesin Mexico. StephenM. Russell bution, and population status. Ph.D occurrence!As noted above, the Nfi- and Gale Monson generouslyretrieved Dissertation,Colorado State Univ., Fort huatl name may apply to another spe- and made available to me their records, Collins. 284 p. cies,while most of the rest are, as noted plus those of Bryan Brown, of Wood WILSON, R. G. and H. CEBALLOS-LAS- by Saunders and Saunders (1981), Ducks in Sonora. I thank K.F. Lueder CURAIN, 1986. The Birds of Mexico City. BBC Printing& GraphicsLtd. Bur- purely "book names" and unknown to for his hospitalityduring my residence lington, Ont., Can. 86 pp. the Mexican people. in Chapala, Jalisco. Financial support for much of my field work wasprovided Summary by the Welder Wildlife Foundation, --Endangered SpeciesProgram, with additional support from the Na- New Mexico Departmentof Game Wood Ducks have been reported tional Audubon Society and the U.S. and Fish, State Capitol, Santa Fe, from nine Mexican states and the Dis- Fish and Wildlife Service. New Mexico 87503

Volume41, Number3 375