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G 
FIRST CONFIRMED RECORD OF WHITE-WINGED BECARD FOR MEXICO 
Figure 4. The White-winged Becard hunted insects in wet grasses along a roadside and allowed relatively close approach. A cool 
front from the north, with intermittent rain showers, appears to have stimulated prolonged bouts of foraging in relatively exposed 
settings in a number of birds in the vicinity. Photograph by Michael D. Carmody. 
ward, noting that reports from Chiapas re- 
quire verification. Jones et al. (2000) indicate 
that White-winged Becard was not recorded 
in Belize until 26 April 1970 and that this 
species’ range appears to be expanding north- 
ward. This expansion is thought to be in re- 
sponse to habitat created by deforestation, 
which promotes growth of the open scrub- 
land preferred by this species Qones 2005). 
The location in eastern Chiapas, Mexico, 
where this bird was recorded is at the same 
latitude as southern Belize. Additionally, the 
rough pasture where the bird was observed 
did not appear different from pastureland 
edges favored by White-winged Becard 
throughout the Caribbean lowlands from Be- 
lize south into Panama. If indeed this species 
is benefiting from deforestation in Belize, 
Guatemala, and elsewhere, then it is likely 
that the occurrence of this White-winged Be- 
card is a precursor to additional future 
records in Mexico. 
Acknowledgments 
I thank the participants of the group that ac- 
companied me to southeastern Chiapas on a 
Legacy Tours birding tour. Those sharing in 
this first Mexico record of White-winged Be- 
card include Kraig and Kathy Kemper, Mike 
and Eileen McFadden, Marilyn Milek, Mike 
Mulligan, Connie Osbeck, David Salas, Frank 
and Pat Stermitz, and Brooke Stevens. David 
Salas and Frank Stermitz contributed excel- 
lent photographs. Steve Mlodinow and Hal 
Opperman offered important suggestions for 
improvements to this article. 
Literature cited 
Sada, A. M. 1989. Mexican Birds: Codes for 
Ease of Obseiyation. Privately published. 
Jones, H. L., E. McRae, M. Meadows, and S. 
N. G. Howell. 2000. Status updates for se- 
lected bird species in Belize, including sev- 
eral species previously undocumented 
from the country. Cotinga 13: 17-31. 
Jones, H. L. 2005. Birds of Belize. University of 
Texas Press, Austin, Texas. 
Howell, S. N. G., and and S. Webb. 1995. The 
Birds of Mexico and Northern Central Amer- 
ica. Oxford University Press, Oxford. ^ 
528 
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS 
