6 
BIRDS OF NEW MEXICO 
home; the Painted Bunting nests in the extreme southern part of the 
State in the valleys of the Rio Grande and the Pecos, and deserts the 
States, as well as the United States, for the winter; while the White- 
rumped Sandpiper, the Baird Sandpiper, and several other shorebirds 
pass across New Mexico when traveling from their summer homes on 
the far Arctic coast to their winter homes in southern South America” 
(MS). 
ZONAL DISTRIBUTION OF BREEDING BIRDS 
Broadly speaking, the birds of New Mexico may be divided into 
three zonal categories: Those that breed in the hot Lower Sonoran 
mesquite and oreosote valleys of the Pecos and Rio Grande in the 
southern part of the State; those that breed in the Upper Sonoran and 
Transition Zones—on the Upper Sonoran grassy plains and the juniper 
and nut-pine lower slopes of the mountains, and in the Transition yellow 
pine middle slopes of the mountains—including by far the largest area 
of the State; and those that breed on the Boreal Zone mountain heights 
marked by spruce, fir, and aspen in the Canadian Zone, by dwarf 
Engelmann spruce, cork-barked fir, and fox-tail pine in the Hudsonian 
Zone, and by hardy alpine plants in the Arctic-Alpine Zone, 
But while the birds of the State may be divided broadly into these 
three zonal categories, the local student will find it convenient to con¬ 
sider those of each zone separately, as listed by Mr. Bailey in his Life 
Zones and Crop Zones of New Mexico (1913, pp. 19-52). 1 For records 
since 1913, see State Records of individual species. 
Lower Sonoran Zone 
Characterized by mesquite and creosote, armadillo, kangaroo rat, Gila monster, and western diamond 
rattlesnake. 
[Species marked U. also occur in the Upper Sonoran Zone 
Texas Bob-white. 
Arizona Scaled Quail. JJ. 
Gambel Quail. 
White-winged Dove. 
Harris Hawk. 
Aplomado Falcon. 
Audubon Caracara. 2 
Barn Owl. 
Burrowing Owl. JJ. 
Elf Owl. U. 
Road-runner. 
Cactus Woodpecker. 
Gila Woodpecker. 
Texas Nighthawk. 
Costa Hummingbird. 
Cassin Kingbird, JJ . 
Black Phoebe. 
Vermilion Flvcatcher. 
Chihuahua Horned Lark. 
White-necked Raven. 
Rio Grande Meadowlark. 
Scott Oriole. 
Arizona Hooded Oriole. 
Desert Sparrow. 
Cassin Sparrow. 
Abert Towhee. 
Gray-tailed Cardinal. 
Arizona Pyrrhuloxia. 
Western Blue Grosbeak. JJ. 
Painted Bunting. 
Phainopepla. 
Western Mockingbird. U. 
Curve-billed Thrasher. JJ. 
Bendire Thrasher. 
Crissal Thrasher. 
Cactus Wren. 
Canyon Wren. JJ. 
Verdin. 
Plumbeous Gnatcatcher. 
1 In some cases names have been changed’to conform with the text 
2 Breeding record doubtful. 
