Vol. XIX pp. 17-22 February 26, 1906 PROCEEDINGS OF THE BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON BREEDING BIRDS OF THE SIERRA DE ANTONEZ, NORTH CENTRAL SONORA. ^.^ BY JOHN E. THAYER AND OUTRAM BANGS. 'Of^ ^ During some months last spring and summer spent in traveling about in Sonora to establish the present range of the vanishing Colinus rlrlgicayi, Mr. W. W. Brown, Ji\, made small collections of birds at several different points. Most of the places visited are pretty well known, and nothing of special interest was taken. One region, however, where Mr. Brown remained through the height of the breeding season, is le.ss well known, and a nominal list of the birds taken there is perhaps worth publishing. This place is a range of low mountains known as the Sierra de Antonez, in north central Sonora, about latitude 30°, longi- tude 110°+ and 95 miles south of the Arizona boundary, but extending almost to the boundary in a series of lower foot-hills. These mountains make a slight watershed, the Rio de Sonora and San Miguel rising there and flowing south, then west, and branches of the Gila River rising in their northern end and flow- ing north. Mr. Brown collected here from the last few days of April to the first of June, principally at Opodepe, 2,000 feet altitude, and La Chumata mine, 4,500 feet altitude ; the two places about 20 miles apart east and west. La Chumata mine is situated on the south side of La Chumata canon, 275 feet above its bottom. Through the caiion flows a brook which in the rainy season becomes quite a river, and along its banks the vegetation is luxuriant, cottonwood, birch, willow and oak being the charac- teristic trees. The peaks al)ove are rather more barren, three species of oaks being the characteristic trees, with long grass growing under them. The commoner bi'xls of the caiion were 4— Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. XIX, 1906. (17) 18 Tlxayer and Bangs — Breeding Birds of Xorth Central Sonora. Cooper's tanagcr, McLeod's sparrow, painted redstart, Califor- nian woodpecker, Nelson's oriole, Scott's oriole, and the wood pewee. On the higher peaks al)Ove, the hepatic tanager, Arizona ja3', Arizona woodpecker, blue gray gnateatcher, Scott's sparrow, and Mearns's quail were the characteristic species. Mr. Brown took many nests with sets of eggs ^ most interesting of which is perhaps that of McLeod's sparrow (Aimophila nicleodii Brewster), of which he secured a number of sets. Mr. Brown thinks his collection a very good representative one of the breed- ing birds of the region, as he saw l)ut one species, Uruhitinga anthracina (Licht.), that he fully identified, but failed to get. The following is a nominal list of the species taken : Podilymbus podiceps (Linn.). Opodepe. Buteo borealis calurus Cassin. La Chumata. Buteo swainsoni Bp. Opodepe. Accipiter cooperi mexicanus Swains. La Chumata. Cyrtonyx montezumge mearnsi Nelson. La Chumata. Lophortyx douglasi bensoni (Ridg. ). Opodepe. Lophortyx gambeli fulvipectus Nelson. Opodepe. Zenaidura carolinensis carolinensis (Linn.). Opodepe; La Chumata. Melopelia leucoptera (Linn.). Opodepe ; La Chumata. Scardafella inca inca (Less.). Opodepe. Columbigallina passerina pallescens Baird. Opodepe. Phseoptila latirostris (Swains.). Opodepe ; La Chumata. Colaptes chrysoides (Malh.). Opodepe. Thayer and Bangs — Breeding Birds of North Central Sonora. 19 Melanerpes formicivorus melanopogon (Teinm.). La Chunmta. The twenty-three skins taken represent a race not quite typical of any of the named forms. The bill is smaller than in Californian specimens, and the breast rather more streaked. The band on the crown is nearl)' as narrow as in august if rons. Melanerpes uropygialis (Baird). Opodepe. Dendrocopus arizonas (Hargitt). La Ciiumata. Pyrocephalus rubineus mexicanus Sclater. Opodepe. Empidonax difficilis Baird. La Chumata. Horizopus richardsoni (Swains.). La Cliumata. Myiarchus mexicanus magister Ridg. La Chumata. Myiarchus cinerascens cinerascens (Lawr.). La Chumata ; ()|)ode|)e. Myiarchus lawrencei olivascens Ridg. La Chumata. Tyrannus verticalis Say. Opodepe. Tyrannus vociferans Swains. Opodepe ; La Chumata. Mimus polyglottos leucopterus (Vig.). Opodepe. Toxostoma curvirostre palmeri (Ridg.). Opodepe. Nelson has separated the bird of southern Sonora, type locality Alamos, as T. c. macul'itv.^ (Auk, vol. XVII, 1900, p. 269). We can not detect any differences in the birds taken by Brown from Guaymas north to Opodej)e, and Arizona specimens, and believe they should all go with the northern form. Sialia sialis azurea (Baird). La Chumata. Polioptila caerulea obscura Ridg. La Chumata. Polioptila plumbea (Baird). Opodepe. Heleodytes brunneicapillus brunneicapillus (Lafr.). Opodepe. 20 Thayer andWangs — Breeding Birds of North Central Sonora. Thryomanes bewickii eremophilus Oberh. La Chumate. Catherpes mexicanus poiioptilus Oberh. La Chumata Sitta carolinensis neLsoni Mearns. La Chumata. Baeolophus wollweberi annexus (Cass.). La Chumata. Auriparus flaviceps flaviceps (Sund.). Opodepe. Psaltriparus plumbeus cecaumenorum subsp. nov. La Chumata, eight adults of both sexes. Ti/pe from La Chumata mine, north central Sonora, 4,500 feet altitude, adult c? No. 14,724, collection of E. A. and 0. Bangs. Collected May 22, 1905, by W. W. Brown, Jr. Characters. — Slightly smaller than true P. plumbeus Baird of Arizona ; upperparts blue-gray (olive-gray in true P. plumbeus) ; whole head and underparts much paler. Remarks. — This is a well marked southern form of P. plumbeus. Mr. Oberholser kindly compared our eight skins with the large series at Wash- ington, and agrees with us as to its distinctness. * MEASUREMENTS. Aphelocoma sieberii arizonae (Ridg.). La Chumata. Lanius ludovicianus excubitorides (Swains.). Opodepe. La Chumata. Opodepe. Opodepe. Vireo button! Stephens! Brewster. V!reo bell!! arizonae Ridf Phainopepla n!tens (Swains.). Thayer and Bangh — Breeding Birds of North Central Sonora. 21 Stelgidopteryx ruficollis serripennis (Aud.). Opodepe. liirundo erythrogastra Bodd. Opodepe. Compsothlypis pitiayumi pulchra (Brewst). La Chumata. Setophaga picta picta (Swains.). La Chumata. Tangavius* aeneus aeneus (Wagler). Oiiodepe. Molothrus ater obscurus (Gmel.). Opodepe; La Chumata. Scolecophagus cyanocephalus (Wagler). Opodepe. As these specimens were taken at the very end of April and none were seen in May, they most likely were migrants. Icterus wagleri Scl. Opodepe. Icterus cucullatus nelsoni Ridg. Opodepe ; La Chumata. Icterus parisorum Bp. La Chumata. Piranga rubra cooperi Ridg. Opodepe ; La Chumata. Piranga hepatica Swains. La Chumata. Astragalinus psaltria hesperophilus Oberh. Opodepe ; La Chumata. Carpodacus mexicanus ruberrimus Ridg. Opodepe ; La Chumata. This series represents a form clearly intermed- iate between C. m. frontalis (Say) and the so-called C. m. snnorifusis Ridg. of southern Sonora. Brewster, in " Birds of the Cape Region of Lower California," t has shown that the latter is not sufficiently different from C. m. ruberrimus of Cape St. Lucas to stand as a subspecies. It is always unpleasant to have to decide by what name to call an intergrade, and in this very instance other ornithologists might not agree with us. We have decided to call the specimens ruberrimus because they agree in measurements with a series of that form taken by Brown at Guaymas. In color the adult males are perhaps rather nearer frontalis, but there is much individual variation in both series. * For use of Tangavius in place of Callothrus, Cf. Nelson, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, Vol. XVIII, p. 125, Apr. 18, 1905. t Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Vol. XLI, pp. 133-135, Sept., 1902. 22 Thayer and Bang-s — Breeding Birds of North CeiUral Sonera. Opodepe. Opodepe. La Chumata. La Chumata. Opodepe. Opodepe. Opodepe. Opodepe. Aimophila quinquestriata (Scl.). Aimophila carpalis (Coues"). Aimophila mcleodii Brewster. Aimophila ruficeps scottii (Sennett). Amphispiza bilineata deserticola Rid* Spizella pallida (Swains.)- Not taken after the end of April. Spizella breweri Cassin. One 9 only, taken April 28. Zonotrichia leucophrys leucophrys (Forster). Pipilo fuscus intermedius Nelson. Opodepe. The examples taken appear to be perfectly typical, agreeing with specimens from Alamos and Guaymas, and are not as might be expected intergrades between intermedius and mesoleucus. Zamelodia melanocephala (Swains.). Opodepe ; La Chumata. Pyrrhuloxia sinuata sinuata Bp. Opodepe. Cardinalis cardinalis affinis Nelson. Opodepe ; La Chumata. Birds from this region have the bill exactly similar to those from Guaymas and Alamos, at once distinguishing them from C. c. superbus or C. c. igneiis. The only approach they show to C. c. superbus is that they are a trifle larger than examples from farther south — Alamos and Guaymas.