TheCondor86:204-207 0 The CooperOrnithological Society I984 RICHARDSON’S MEXICAN COLLECTION: BIRDS FROM ZACATECAS 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 Mexico. 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, Aguascalientes, and Jalisco 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 Arizona, 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 Texas 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 Durango 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 Oaxaca). 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. Tamaulipas, 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 California, Calif., Sonora 16 77-82 79.62 1.36 1.71 jlammeus Chihuahua, Sinaloa 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, Colima 22 79-89 82.00 2.01 2.52 mexicanus Morelos, Hidalgo, Distrito 45 75-87 82.31 2.33 2.83 Federal, State of Mexico, Puebla, Oaxaca, Guerrero mexicanus central Vera Cruz 9 75-81 78.67 1.29 1.64 mexicanus Chiapas 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 Baja California, 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 Nayarit, 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.