Birds From Coahuila, Mexico

Volume 11, No. 8, Pp. 443-516

August 1, 1959

Birds From Coahuila, Mexico

BY EMIL K. URBAN

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LAWRENCE 1959

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Institutional libraries interested in publications exchange may obtain this series by addressing the Exchange Librarian, University of Kansas Library, Lawrence, Kansas. Copies for individuals, persons working in a particular field of study, may be obtained by addressing instead the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. There is no provision for sale of this series by the University Library which meets institutional requests, or by the Museum of Natural History which meets the requests of individuals. However, when individuals request copies from the Museum, 25 cents should be included, for each separate number that is 100 pages or more in length, for the purpose of defraying the costs of wrapping and mailing.

* An asterisk designates those numbers of which the Museum's supply (not the Library's supply) is exhausted. Numbers published to date, in this series, are as follows:

Vol. 1. Nos. 1-26 and index. Pp. 1-638, 1946-1950.

*Vol. 2. (Complete) Mammals of Washington. By Walter W. Dalquest. Pp. 1-444, 140 figures in text. April 9, 1948.

Vol. 3. *1. The avifauna of Micronesia, its origin, evolution, and distribution. By Rollin H. Baker. Pp. 1-359, 16 figures in text. June 12, 1951.

*2. A quantitative study of the nocturnal migration of birds. By George H. Lowery, Jr. Pp. 361-472, 47 figures in text. June 29, 1951.

3. Phylogeny of the waxwings and allied birds. By M. Dale Arvey. Pp. 473-530, 49 figures in text, 13 tables. October 10, 1951.

4. Birds from the state of Veracruz, Mexico. By George H. Lowery, Jr., and Walter W. Dalquest. Pp. 531-649, 7 figures in text, 2 tables. October 10, 1951.

Index. Pp. 651-681.

*Vol. 4. (Complete) American weasels. By E. Raymond Hall. Pp. 1-466, 41 plates, 31 figures in text. December 27, 1951.

Vol. 5. Nos. 1-37 and index. Pp. 1-676, 1951-1953.

*Vol. 6. (Complete) Mammals of Utah, taxonomy and distribution. By Stephen D. Durrant. Pp. 1-549, 91 figures in text, 30 tables. August 10, 1952.

Vol. 7. *1. Mammals of Kansas. By E. Lendell Cockrum. Pp. 1-303, 73 figures in text, 37 tables. August 25, 1952.

2. Ecology of the opossum on a natural area in northeastern Kansas. By Henry S. Fitch and Lewis L. Sandidge. Pp. 305-338, 5 figures in text. August 24, 1953.

3. The silky pocket mice (Perognathus flavus) of Mexico. By Rollin H. Baker. Pp. 339-347, 1 figure in text. February 15, 1954.

4. North American jumping mice (Genus Zapus). By Philip H. Krutzsch. Pp. 349-472, 47 figures in text, 4 tables. April 21, 1954.

5. Mammals from Southeastern Alaska. By Rollin H. Baker and James S. Findley. Pp. 473-477. April 21, 1954.

6. Distribution of Some Nebraskan Mammals. By J. Knox Jones, Jr. Pp. 479-487. April 21, 1954.

7. Subspeciation in the montane meadow mouse. Microtus montanus, in Wyoming and Colorado. By Sydney Anderson. Pp. 489-506, 2 figures in text. July 23, 1954.

8. A new subspecies of bat (Myotis velifer) from southeastern California and Arizona. By Terry A. Vaughan. Pp. 507-512. July 23, 1954.

9. Mammals of the San Gabriel mountains of California. By Terry A. Vaughan. Pp. 513-582, 1 figure in text, 12 tables. November 15, 1954.

10. A new bat (Genus Pipistrellus) from northeastern Mexico. By Rollin H. Baker. Pp. 583-586. November 15, 1954.

11. A new subspecies of pocket mouse from Kansas. By E. Raymond Hall. Pp. 587-590. November 15, 1954.

12. Geographic variation in the pocket gopher, Cratogeomys castanops, in Coahuila, Mexico. By Robert J. Russell and Rollin H. Baker. Pp. 591-608. March 15, 1955.

13. A new cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) from northeastern Mexico. By Rollin H. Baker. Pp. 609-612. April 8, 1955.

14. Taxonomy and distribution of some American shrews. By James S. Findley. Pp. 613-618. June 10, 1955.

15. The pigmy woodrat, Neotoma goldmani, its distribution and systematic position. By Dennis G. Rainey and Rollin H. Baker. Pp. 619-624, 2 figures in text. June 10, 1955.

Index. Pp. 625-651.

(Continued on inside of back cover)

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Volume 11, No. 8, Pp. 443-516

August 1, 1959

Birds From Coahuila, Mexico

EMIL K. URBAN

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LAWRENCE 1959

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS PUBLICATIONS, MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

Editors: E. Raymond Hall, Chairman, Henry S. Fitch, Robert W. Wilson

Volume 11, No. 8, Pp. 443-516

Published August 1, 1959

UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS Lawrence, Kansas

PRINTED IN THE STATE PRINTING PLANT TOPEKA, KANSAS 1959

Birds From Coahuila, Mexico

BY EMIL K. URBAN

INTRODUCTION

The following account is a summary of the present knowledge of the birds of Coahuila. Some 500 specimens from Coahuila in the Museum of Natural History at the University of Kansas are the basis for this report; these are supplemented by records of birds previously listed from the State.

In Coahuila, habitats vary from those characteristic near tree-line to those of the floors of the low deserts. Because of the variety of habitats, many kinds of birds are present in the State; at least 312 living named kinds of 249 species have been recorded. Possibly another 100 species will be reported after further studies have been made there. At least 154 of the species listed in this paper probably breed in Coahuila. The bird fauna in the State includes species characteristic of eastern North America and of western North America, species that range from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, and species found only, or mostly, in Mexico.

I thank Professor E. Raymond Hall, Doctor Richard F. Johnston and Doctor Robert M. Mengel for their kind help, and Doctor Harrison B. Tordoff for first suggesting this study to me. Unless otherwise stated, the nomenclature in this paper is that of the A.O.U. Check-list Committee (1957). Catalogue numbers are those of the Museum of Natural History at the University of Kansas. In so far as known to me, all birds recorded in the literature from Coahuila are listed below. In a few instances the only support for occurrence is the ascription of a given kind to Coahuila (without mention of date, catalogue number, or precise locality) by Friedmann, Griscom, and Moore (1950), and/or the A.O.U. Check-list Committee (1957); when this is so the entire entry is inclosed within brackets. In the accounts beyond, an asterisk indicates that the kind breeds in Coahuila; two asterisks indicate probable breeding in the State.

LIST OF COLLECTORS

Persons who have obtained specimens of birds from Coahuila for the Museum of Natural History are as follows:

Albert A. Alcorn Joseph Raymond Alcorn Sydney Anderson Rollin Harold Baker James Sheldon Carey Peter Stanley Chrapliwy W. Kim Clark Robert William Dickerman John R. Esther James Smith Findley John Keever Greer John William Hardy Gerd H. Heinrich William McKee Lynn Jack M. Mohler Roger O. Olmstead Robert Lewis Packard Robert Julian Russell William J. Schaldach, Jr. Harrison Bruce Tordoff South Van Hoose, Jr. Olin Lawrence Webb

GAZETTEER OF LOCALITIES IN COAHUILA

The following place-names were used to record the localities of Coahuilan birds now specimens in the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History. Each place-name is followed by its location in degrees and minutes of latitude and longitude, respectively.

Acebuches.--28 deg.17', 102 deg.56'. Americanos.--27 deg.12', 103 deg.14'. Australia.--26 deg.18', 102 deg.18'. Bella Union.--25 deg.26', 100 deg.51'. Boquillas.--29 deg.11', 102 deg.55'. Castillon.--28 deg.21', 103 deg.33'. Cuatro Cienegas.--26 deg.58', 102 deg.04'. Diamante.--25 deg.22', 100 deg.54'. Don Martin.--27 deg.32', 100 deg.37'. Fortin.--28 deg.48', 101 deg.41'. General Cepeda.--25 deg.22', 101 deg.28'. Gomez Farias.--24 deg.58', 101 deg.02'. Hermanas.--27 deg.13', 101 deg.13'. Iglesias.--27 deg.34', 101 deg.20'. Jaco.--27 deg.50', 103 deg.55'. Jimenez.--29 deg.04', 100 deg.42'. La Babia.--28 deg.33', 102 deg.03'. La Gacha.--28 deg.09', 101 deg.31'. La Mariposa.--28 deg.12', 101 deg.49'. La Ventura.--24 deg.48', 100 deg.38'. Las Delicias.--26 deg.10', 102 deg.49'. Las Margaritas.--28 deg.42', 101 deg.14'. Mesa de Tablas.--25 deg.14', 100 deg.24'. Muzquiz.--27 deg.53', 101 deg.32'. Nava.--28 deg.25', 100 deg.46'. Ocampo.--27 deg.22', 102 deg.26'. Paila.--25 deg.38', 102 deg.09'. Parras.--25 deg.25', 102 deg.12'. Piedras Blanca.--29 deg.02', 102 deg.33'. Piedras Negras.--28 deg.43', 100 deg.32'. Sabinas.--27 deg.52', 101 deg.07'. Saltillo.--25 deg.26', 101 deg.00'. San Antonio de las Alazanas.--25 deg.16', 100 deg.37'. San Buenaventura.--27 deg.06', 101 deg.32'. San Francisco.--27 deg.37', 102 deg.37'. San Geronimo.--28 deg.30', 101 deg.48'. San Isidro.--27 deg.33', 102 deg.27'. San Juan de Sabinas.--27 deg.55', 101 deg.17'. San Lorenzo.--25 deg.28', 102 deg.12'. San Marcos.--26 deg.41', 102 deg.07'. San Miguel.--29 deg.14', 101 deg.22'. San Pedro de las Colonias (San Pedro).--25 deg.45', 102 deg.58'. Santa Teresa.--26 deg.27', 101 deg.21'. Tanque Alvarez.--27 deg.56', 102 deg.38'. Torreon.--25 deg.33', 103 deg.27'. Villa Acuna.--29 deg.19', 100 deg.56'.

For mountain ranges, the approximate center of the highland of each range is used as the point of reference.

Pico de Jimulco.--25 deg.08', 103 deg.16'. Sierra del Carmen.--29 deg.00', 102 deg.30'. Sierra de la Encantada.--28 deg.25', 102 deg.30'. Sierra de Guadalupe.--25 deg.13', 101 deg.32'. Sierra del Pino.--28 deg.15', 103 deg.03'. Sierra de la Madera.--27 deg.03', 102 deg.30'.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE KNOWN BREEDING BIRDS OF COAHUILA

Topography and Climate

Coahuila lies in the broad northern end of Mexico, immediately east of the center of the continental mass. The mountains of Coahuila, which are part of the Rocky Mountain-Sierra Madre Oriental Axis, extend in a north-south direction and divide the lower lands into two areas, a larger one, a part of the Central Plateau, to the westward and a smaller one, a part of the Gulf Coastal Plain, to the northeastward. Most of the mountains of Coahuila do not exceed 6000 feet in elevation. A few peaks such as in the Sierra del Carmen, Sierra del Pino, Sierra de la Madera, Sierra Encarnacion, and Sierra de Guadalupe, are more than 9000 feet high, and some more than 10,000 feet in elevation occur near the southeastern border of the State in the Sierra Madre Oriental. The Gulf Coastal Plain of northeastern Coahuila ranges from 700 feet to 1800 feet. The desert plains of the Mesa del Norte to the west of the Sierra Madre Oriental Axis are higher, more rugged, and more dissected than those of the Coastal Plain and are marked by scattered desert ranges, buttes, low hills, and knobs.

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