Hydranassa tricolor (P. L. S. Müller): Tricolored Heron.—An observation of one individual flying along the margin of the laguna near Camp 2 is our only record of this species.
Nycticorax nycticorax (Linnaeus): Black-crowned Night Heron.—This heron was found only at the edge of the laguna near Camp 2; ten individuals were noted on July 8, and 20 were seen perched in a clump of mesquite trees on July 9. Perhaps half the birds seen were in juvenal plumage. A juvenile was shot and examined on July 9 but was not preserved as a specimen.
There appears to be no definite evidence of breeding by this species in Tamaulipas (Mexican Check-list, 1950:32), but such may be expected because the species breeds locally in Texas (Peterson, 1960:19) and in Veracruz.
Ajaia ajaja (Linnaeus): Roseate Spoonbill.—On July 9 at Camp 2, 38 spoonbills flew up from the edge of the laguna where they had been resting near a large flock of white pelicans.
Cathartes aura (Linnaeus): Turkey Vulture.—One Turkey Vulture was seen flying east at a point 2 miles west of Washington Beach on July 10. It is noteworthy that we saw no Yellow-headed Vultures (C. burrovianus), a species recently recorded in the region of Tampico north to Lomas del Real (Graber and Graber, 1954a).
Colinus virginianus texanus (Lawrence): Bob-white.—This species was seen only in or near clumps of mesquite near Camp 1, where three covies (7, 13, and 18 individuals) were flushed on July 7. Specimen: ♂ juv., 38900, testis 3 mm., 100 gm., 6 P old, Camp 1, July 7.
Porzana carolina (Linnaeus): Sora Rail.—On sand flats at Camp 1 we found a left humerus and several other post-cranial skeletal elements that have been identified by Dr. Pierce Brodkorb as belonging to this species. All the bones are of Recent age. We have no other record of the Sora Rail on the barrier island, but in all probability it occurs as a migrant and winter visitant along margins of the laguna.
Haematopus ostralegus Linnaeus: Oyster-catcher.—One individual was seen at Camp 2 on July 8, three were noted at the same locality on July 9, and one was present on the beach 72 miles south of Washington Beach on July 10. The only previous records of this species in Tamaulipas are a specimen (♂, 29348) taken by E. R. Hall 10 miles west and 88 miles south of Matamoros on March 20, 1950 (herewith reported for the first time), and three seen on the beach near Tepehuaje on May 9, 1949 (Robins, Martin, and Heed, 1951).
Squatarola squatarola (Linnaeus): Black-bellied Plover.—Plovers of this species were uncommon but regular on the beach; frequently two individuals were seen together, sometimes in association with one or more Willets. Specimens (4): ♂, 38915, testis 4 mm., 231 gm.; ♂, 38914, testis 4 mm., 221 gm.; ♂, 38916, testis 3 mm., 209 gm., Camp 1, July 7. Male, 38917, testis 4 mm., 186 gm., Camp 2, July 9. The specimens were molting (3-4 P old) into winter plumage and showed little or no subcutaneous fat.
Our specimens and records probably pertain to nonbreeding individuals summering on the coast, as the species is known to do in Texas (Hagar and Packard, 1952:9) and elsewhere in its range (Eisenmann, 1951:182; Haverschmidt, 1955:336; A.O.U. Check-list, 1957:174). In any event, our dates (July 6 to 10) are unusually early for autumnal migrants; they do not reach Texas until August (Peterson, 1960:94), and Loetscher (1955:26) gives August 7 as the earliest date for southbound migrants in Veracruz.