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PLOVERS, ETC.: MOUNTAIN PLOVER 
MOUNTAIN PLOVER: Eupoda montana (J. K. Townsend) 
Description. — Length: 8-9.1 inches, wing 6, bill .8-9, tarsus 1.5-1.6. Middle 
and inner toes without basal web, legs long. Adults in breeding plumage: Forehead 
and line over eye white, contrasting with black crown patch. Back of head and rest of 
upperparts plain light brown with buffy or rusty feather tippings; tail with blackish 
brown subterminal band and white tips; axillars and wing linings white , under surface 
of flight feathers pale gray; chest and sides pale brown, belly white. Iris brown, bill 
black, legs pale brown or yellowish, toes black. Adults in winter plumage: Without 
black or white markings, and plumage largely tinged with rusty or buff. Young in 
juvenal plumage: Like winter adults but light feather-edgings broader and brighter 
and under plumage more extensively tinged with tawny or creamy buff. 
Range. —Breeds from northern Montana to western Nebraska, northwestern 
Texas and New Mexico; winters from north-central California, southern Arizona, and 
central Texas to southern Lower California and San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Acci¬ 
dental in Florida. 
State Records. —In June 27, 1874, downy young Mountain Plover were taken 
by Henshaw at Algodones and in June, 1864, Coues saw the birds a few miles farther 
south at Los Pinos. Even as late as 1898 they were said to be breeding still in 
eastern San Miguel County (Mitchell), where Henry had said they were common 
in 1855. [Between Domingo and Pena Blanca, Santa Fe County, a few pairs seemed 
to be nesting on the mesa (Jensen, 1922). A female with three young were seen, 
June 7, 1924, south of Kenna, Chaves County. No others were seen on a trip from 
Carlsbad to Cimarron.] They nest on open mesas north of Domingo, rather abun¬ 
dantly on the St. Augustine plain west of Magdalena, laying April 24, 1915, and in the 
rolling open country south of the Sacramento Mountains apparently nesting July, 
1912; [nesting calls were also heard on the open flats west of the Rio Grande north¬ 
west of Taos in May, 1916; it was also “rather common over the long stretches of 
ridges and flats south of the Sacramento Mountains 50 to 60 miles southeast of 
Alamogordo,” June 19,1917 (Ligon); and in May a dozen or more were seen whipping 
about over the flat, in compact form, just west of Lulu (H. G. Smith). In the sum¬ 
mer of 1926, when engaged in the New Mexico game survey, Ligon found them “fairly 
common in widely separated sections of the State.” On May 19, a female and four 
young were seen 20 miles northeast of Tatum, Lea County; and on June 23, quite a 
number were seen between Tatum and Caprock. They were also found breeding 
quite commonly in the Animas Valley. They breed sparingly but practically all 
over New Mexico. The plains in the eastern part of the State and the San Augustine 
Plains, west of Magdalena, are two regular breeding areas. They also breed over 
limited areas in Torrance, Otero, Hidalgo, Santa Fe, Taos, and other counties. 
The species occurs not rarely in New Mexico in migration. [On August 2, 1924, 
25 were seen on the Ocean to Ocean Highway, St. Augustine Plain, 15 miles west of 
Magdalena. The same day 12 were seen about two miles to the southwest on high 
rolling hills along the Fair View road, and one two miles beyond. Some of these were 
birds of the year.] It was noted in the Jornada, September *1, 1905 Chloride, Septem¬ 
ber 5, 1915 (Ligon); and Roswell September 11, 1902; was still present at Santa Rosa, 
September 27, 1902 (Gaut), and at Lake Burford, October 1, 1904 (Bailey). On the 
Carlsbad Bird Reserve it was reported as noted occasionally in fall (Willett, 1915). 
Judged from the time of its arrival in central Colorado, the Mountain Plover 
probably enters New Mexico about the first of March, but as yet there are no actual 
spring records of the bird in the State, except that they were seen March 28,1895, in 
the Datil Mountains (Herrick).—W. W. Cooke. 
