Birds from Coahuila, Mexico

by Emil K. Urban

Nos. 32828-32831 approach P. r. rubra. The measurements of No. 32829 are: wing, 98 mm.; tail, 80 mm.; the measurements of No. 32831 are: wing, 98 mm.; tail, 79 mm. The specimens of P. r. cooperi from Parras are somewhat small and seemingly approach P. r. rubra. The sizes of the testes (8×5 mm.; 9×5 mm.) of Nos. 32829 and 32831, respectively, and the size of the largest ovum (4×4 mm.) of No. 32830 indicate breeding by this subspecies in southern Coahuila, as does the presence of No. 32828, a juvenile male.

*Richmondena cardinalis canicaudus (Chapman).—Specimens examined: total 3: ♂ 31099 from 1 mi. N Boquillas, 700 ft., March 8, 1952, weight, 45.3 gms.; ♂ 32135 from 2 mi. W Jiménez, 850 ft., June 20, 1952; and ♂ 32136 from 2 mi. S, 3 mi. E San Juan de Sabinas, June 22, 1952.

In Coahuila the Cardinal is common. Miller (1955a:174) found it singing in the Boquillas drainage of the Sierra del Carmen at 4800 feet, and gave evidence that the Cardinal breeds there. Sutton and Burleigh (1939a:43) found the species to be common in the low country "east of Saltillo." Hellmayr (1938:69) recorded R. c. canicaudus from Sabinas. The sizes of the testes (9 mm.; 7×4 mm.) of Nos. 32135-32136 indicate breeding by this subspecies in northeastern Coahuila.

*Pyrrhuloxia sinuata sinuata (Bonaparte).—Specimens examined: total 4: ♂ 31100 from 10 mi. S, 5 mi. E Boquillas, 1500 ft., March 4, 1952, weight, 37.3 gms.; ♂ 32137 from 5 mi. N, 19 mi. W Cuatro Ciénegas, 3250 ft., July 5, 1952; ♂ 35403 (skeleton only) from San Marcos, May 5, 1954; and ♂ 30234 from 3 mi. SE Torreón, 3800 ft., January 12, 1951.

In Coahuila, the Pyrrhuloxia is common. Hellmayr (1938:76) listed it from Sabinas. Ridgway (1901:628) recorded P. s. texana (=sinuata) from La Ventura. Burleigh and Lowery (1942:206) found the species "only in the open desert country west of Saltillo where, on April 22, several pairs were seen in a small arroyo." Amadon and Phillips (1947:579) took an immature P. s. sinuata at Las Delicias; Sutton and Burleigh (1939a:43-44) found this subspecies fairly common in the San Pedro district on January 29 and 30. Miller, Friedmann, Griscom, and Moore (1957:330) recorded breeding by P. s. sinuata at Hipólito on July 2. The size of the testes (8 mm.) of No. 32137 indicates breeding in central Coahuila.

*Pheucticus melanocephalus melanocephalus (Swainson).—Specimen examined: one, ♂ 31664, from Sierra Guadalupe (=10 mi. S, 5 mi. W General Cepeda), 7500 ft., April 30, 1953, measurements: wing, 105.5 mm.; tail, 78 mm.; culmen, 19 mm.; weight, 48 gms.

Miller (1955a:174) reported that the Black-headed Grosbeak first appeared in the Sierra del Carmen on April 13 and was soon seen patrolling territories. He remarked that these specimens from the Sierra del Carmen conformed adequately with the rather poorly differentiated race P. m. melanocephalus and stated that Marsh took an immature male at Jardín del Sur on September 7. Oberholser (1919b:416) listed Hedymeles melanocephalus papago (=P. m. melanocephalus) from Sierra Guadalupe on April 27. Dickerman saw Black-headed Grosbeaks in the Sierra del Pino on May 12, 1954, and 16 mi. E and 18 mi. N Ocampo on May 7, 1954. The size of No. 31664 represents the characters of P. m. melanocephalus as presented by Oberholser (1919b:413). No specimen of P. m. melanocephalus from Coahuila, to my knowledge, approaches P. m. maculatus. The size of the testes (7×5 mm.) of No. 31664 suggests breeding by this subspecies in the Sierra Guadalupe.

*Guiraca caerulea interfusa Dwight and Griscom.—Specimens examined: total 2: ♂ 32138 from 12 mi. N, 12 mi. W Jiménez, 850 ft., June 18, 1952; and ♀ 32139 from 2 mi. W Jiménez, 850 ft., June 21, 1952.

Burleigh and Lowery (1942:206) recorded this Blue Grosbeak from "about twenty miles west of Saltillo" on April 22. Miller (1955a:174) stated that Marsh obtained a male G. c. interfusa at Vivoras Spring on August 3. Miller, Friedmann, Griscom, and Moore (1957:334) remarked that the Blue Grosbeak breeds in the northern and eastern sections and reported G. c. interfusa from Hipólito on July 2. Amadon and Phillips (1947:580) reported examining material from Sabinas referable to G. c. interfusa. Dickerman saw Blue Grosbeaks 4 mi. N San Isidro on May 10, 1954. Findley saw Blue Grosbeaks 4 mi. W Jiménez on June 19, 1952, and 2 mi. S and 3 mi. E San Juan de Sabinas on June 22, 1952. Nos. 32138-32139 are typical representatives of G. c. interfusa. The size of the testes (12 mm.) of No. 32138, the size of the largest ovum (2 mm.) of No. 32139, and the dates (June 18, 21) on which they were collected are evidence of breeding by this subspecies.

**Guiraca caerulea eurhyncha Coues.—Amadon and Phillips (1947:580) obtained an adult male of this Blue Grosbeak from Las Delicias on August 12. This subspecies, according to Miller, Friedmann, Griscom, and Moore (1957:334), is resident at middle and lower elevations through most of central and southern México. Except for the occurrence of intergrades of G. c. interfusa, caerulea, and eurhyncha in southern Nuevo León and Tamaulipas (Miller, Friedmann, Griscom, and Moore, 1957:335), the record from Las Delicias represents the northern limit of the range of the subspecies eurhyncha.