A 
in Ntw Mexio): a first for the 
United States 
SARTQi 0. WILLiMIS III • DIVISION OF BIRDS, MUSEUM OF SOUTHWESTERN BIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO, ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO 87131 
(CORRESPONDING AUTHOR; SUNBITTERN@EARTHLINK.NET) 
SALLY A. KING • 102 BERYL STREET, LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO 87S44 
STiPHM M. FITTIS • 947 QUARTZ STREET, LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO 87544 
JIRRY R. OLMHETTEL • 499 FARM-TO-MARKET ROAD, SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO 87801 
mm E. PAiMETEB • 1325 PAISANO NE, ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO 87112 
Figure 1 . The Sungrebe was first photographed at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, Socorro County, New Mexico 
on 13 November 2008 (here) but was not identified until four days later. Photograph by Sally A. King. 
Abstract 
This paper documents the occurrence of a 
Sungrebe (Heliomis fulica) at Bosque del 
Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New 
Mexico, a female photographed on 13 and 
18 November 2008, which represents the 
first of its species and family for the United 
States. We summarize available informa- 
tion indicating that the species is unknown 
in captivity, discuss evidence for seasonal 
movements, vagrancy, and possible range 
expansion, and conclude that the bird 
should be considered a wild vagrant unless 
contrary evidence becomes available. 
Introduction 
Sungrebe (Heliomis fulica) is a small, 
aquatic species of tropical America. It is 
not a grebe but a member of the finfoot 
family Heliornithidae, a pantropical family 
with three species, one each in the New 
World, sub-Saharan Africa, and southeast- 
ern Asia. Invariably referred to as “little 
known,” Heliornithidae ranks among the 
most poorly understood of bird families 
(Bertram 1996). The family is a member of 
the Gruiformes, and within that order it is 
typically placed adjacent the rail family 
Rallidae (A.O.U. 1998). 
Sungrebes range from northeastern Mex- 
ico south through Central America and 
most of northern South America exclusive 
of the Andes to northern Argentina. The 
species is found from sea level up to about 
500 m (Russell 1964, Edwards 1972, Hilty 
and Brown 1986) but is most frequently en- 
countered below about 200 m (e.g., Howell 
and Webb 1995), where it favors coastal la- 
goons, slow-moving forested rivers and 
streams, oxbows, backwaters, sloughs, and 
small lakes and ponds, these typically with 
heavily vegetated banks and shorelines 
(Slud 1964, Bertram 1996, Hilty 2003). 
Sungrebes feed primarily on aquatic insects 
(adults and larvae) and other small animal 
life obtained from the water’s surface or 
from overhanging vegetation (Stiles and 
Skutch 1989, Bertram 1996). 
For such a little-known species, it is not 
surprising that contradictory information is 
scattered through the literature. It is usual- 
ly referred to as resident or sedentary where 
found, but some evidence suggests limited 
movements (see below). Information on 
breeding and seasonal cycles is fragmentary 
and sometimes equivocal, but nesting tends 
to occur early in the wet season (Stiles and 
Skutch 1989), which for Mexico and much 
of Central America begins more or less in 
April and continues into October. For ex- 
ample, a nest in Chiapas, Mexico, was ac- 
tive in April (Alvarez del Toro 1971), and 
two nests in Panama were active in June 
and July (Wetmore 1965). The species is 
unique am-ong birds in that the male has 
pockets or brood pouches beneath the 
wings in which the young can be carried in 
flight as well as when swimming, yet this 
remarkable fact was only confirmed rela- 
tively recently (Alvarez del Toro 1971). 
Such a mysterious Neotropical species 
would seem an unlikely candidate for va- 
grancy to the United States, where no pre- 
vious report of Sungrebe exists. An old 
mention of the species as occurring in the 
“middle [United] states,” apparently dating 
from the early 1800s (Ridgway and Fried- 
mann 1941), lacks specificity as to location 
4 
NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS 
