MILLER'S BRONZED COWBIRD 455 



DISTRIBUTION 



Range. — Southwestern United States, east to southern Louisiana, 

 south into Mexico. 



Breeding range. — The dwarf brown-headed cowbird breeds from 

 northwestern, central, and southeastern California (Hoopa, Death 

 Valley), the Colorado Valley in southern Nevada, extreme south- 

 western Utah (St. George), north-central and southeastern Arizona 

 (northeastern slope of San Francisco Mountains, Showlow), north- 

 western and central-southern New Mexico (Manuelito, Grant County, 

 Playas Valley, Las Cruces), western and southern Texas (El Paso, 

 Houston), and southern Louisiana (Marsh Island, St. James Parish); 

 south at least to northern Baja California (San Quintin, Colonia), 

 southern Sonora (Guaymas, Alamos), northern Durango (Rancho 

 Baillon), and northern Tamaulipas (Matamoros). 



Winter range. — Winters from north-central California (Sacra- 

 mento Valley), southern Arizona (Parker, Phoenix, Tucson), and 

 central Texas (Fort Clark, Boerne) ; south to southern Baja California 

 (San Jose del Cabo, Santiago), Colima (Manzanillo, Colima), Guerrero 

 (Iguala, Rancho Correza), Oaxaca (Tehuantepec City), and western 

 Veracruz (Orizaba). 



TANGAVIUS AENEUS MILLERI van Rossem 



Miller's Bronzed Cowbird 



HABITS 



This western race of the bronze-backed, red-ej'ed cowbirds is found 

 in northwestern Mexico, from the Territory of Tepic on the south 

 through Sinaloa and Sonora and into southern Arizona, breeding as 

 far north as Tucson, Sacaton and the valley of the San Pedro River, 

 where I collected a specimen near Fairbank. 



Members of this race are slightly larger than those of the eastern 

 race, with a stouter bill. The adult male is hardly distinguishable, 

 except that the rump is violet, like the upper tail coverts, rather than 

 bronzy like the back. The adult female is paler, dark mouse gray 

 above, rather than dull black, and paler mouse gray below, rather 

 than dark sooty brownish, as in the eastern race. 



Nesting. — Friedmann (1929) lists the following seven species as 

 hosts of the bronzed cowbird; Derby flycatcher, Audubon's oriole, 

 Arizona hooded oriole, Sclater's oriole, canyon towhee, yellow-throated 

 sparrow and Guatemala mockingbird. In later papers (1931, 1933 

 and 1938) he adds western white- winged dove, western kingbird, 

 Giraud's flycatcher, Cooper's tanager, Griscom's tanager, Xantus's 

 becard, scarlet-headed oriole, and Durango wren. 



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