While participating on the Audubon Sabal Palm Sanctuary Christmas Bird Count on 15 December, Jimmy Paz and David Benn found an ABA Code-4 Crimson-collared Grosbeak (Rhodothraupis celaeno) in the Lower Rio Grande Valley southeast of Brownsville, Texas. This female-type bird was photographed on the 16th near the visitor center.
Crimson-collared Grosbeak is endemic to northeastern Mexico where it is a range-restricted species. It occurs from sea level to about 3800 feet from central Nuevo León south to northern Veracruz state. In its natural range, Crimson-collared Grosbeak is found in second growth woodlands and in semiarid brushy woodlands and edge (Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America, Howell and Webb). Most reports from the ABA Area are of single birds and all but one has been reported from late fall and winter months. In the winter of 2004−2005, 9 birds were reported in South Texas, four of them from Weslaco, Texas (ABA Checklist, Seventh Edition, Pranty et al.).
Comments