FEATURED PHOTO 
These photographs document only the second known nesting of the Aztec Thrush 
in Sonora and one of relatively few records of the species from that state. Russell and 
Monson (1998) cited just two reports, including one of an adult and three young birds 
on 17 September 1984, establishing the first breeding record for Sonora. Those birds 
were also near Mesa del Campanero. In fact, all Aztec Thrush sightings for Sonora of 
which I am aware come from the vicinity of Yecora, I suspect because of the area’s easy 
access via Mexico Highway 16. The 280 km of highway from Hermosillo to Yecora 
is a well known birding corridor, only a day’s drive from Nogales, Arizona. 
A review of North American Birds {NAB) reports for the Aztec Thrush in Sonora 
since reporting began for Mexico in March of 2001 yielded a single report of 15 
birds on 16 July 2006 at Yecora {NAB 60:584). However, I am aware of a few other 
sightings by birders who have visited Yecora, e.g., 5 birds on 10 July 2006 (Richard 
E. Webster pers. comm.), a lone female on 26 May 2008 (David Powell), and two 
winter reports: 12-15 birds on 19 December 1998 (Richard Palmer pers. comm.) 
and 25 birds on 20 December 1998 on the Yecora Christmas Bird Count (CBC). 
Forrest Davis (pers. comm.), compiler of the Yecora CBC, reports seeing the Aztec 
Thrush sporadically at Mesa del Campanero and in the surrounding barrancas above 
Yecora since 1990. 
The status of the Aztec Thrush in Sonora, especially the northern limits of its breed- 
ing range and its status in winter, is not entirely clear. But the species is proving to be 
more regular in Sonora than the number of published records suggests. In Arizona 
there are approximately 20 accepted records, including several of multiple birds, e.g., 
up to nine in Madera Canyon, Santa Cruz County, 24 July 2006-7 August 2006. 
(Rosenberg and Witzeman. 1998, Rosenberg 2001, unpubl. data). There are four 
accepted records for Texas (Lockwood and Freeman 2004). Most of these sightings 
were during the summer monsoon season from July through September; there are 
only two acceptable reports in winter. This pattern of occurrence in Arizona and Texas 
appears to coincide with the species’ status in Sonora. Phillips (1991) suggested that 
summer residents withdraw from northwestern Mexico from October through Febru- 
ary; Howell and Webb (1995) reported that the Aztec Thrush occurs in winter north 
at least to Sinaloa. Given the two winter reports of sizable flocks at Yecora, evidently 
it occasionally winters in Sonora as well. 
In Sonora the Aztec Thrush should be considered a rare and local summer resident 
and casual winter visitant to the higher Madrean pine-oak woodlands and pine forests 
of the Sierra Madre Occidental. 
I thank Richard E. Webster, David Powell, Cindy Radamaker, Forrest Davis, Richard 
Palmer, Mark M. Stevenson, Richard A. Erickson, and Osvel Hinojosa for helpful 
comments and suggestions. 
LITERATURE CITED 
American Ornithologists’ Union. 1998. Check-list of North American Birds, 7th ed. 
Am. Ornithol. Union, Washington, D.C. 
Conservation International. 2008. Biodiversity Hotspots, www. biodiversity hotspots. 
org/xp/Hotspots/pine_oak/Pages/default.aspx (12 July 2008). 
Howell, S. N. G., and Webb, S. 1995. A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern 
Central America. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, England. 
Lockwood, M. W., and Freeman, B. 2004. The TOS Handbook of Texas Birds. Texas 
A & M Univ. Press, College Station. 
Phillips, A. R. 1991. The Known Birds of North and Middle America, Part 2. A. R. 
Phillips, Denver. 
Rosenberg, G. H. 2001. Arizona Bird Committee report: 1996-1999 records. 
W. Birds 32:50-70. 
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