#ABArare - Rufous-backed Robin - Nevada

On November 14, while birding on private property in Lincoln County, Nevada, Greg Scyphers discovered and photographed Nevada's first state record of Rufous-backed Robin.  

photo by Greg Scyphers

Unfortunately for Nevada birders, the site is a private ranch and access is restricted to protect the property owner's anonoymity.  

Rufous-backed Robin is an endemic West Mexican species found on Mexico’s Pacific Slope from the states of Sonora south to Oaxaca (Birds of Mexico and Northern Central American (Howell and Webb) where it is described as expanding its range (Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America, T. Floyd).

This species has recently been shown to be a regular visitor between mid-October and late winter in the ABA Area, having been documented from the southwest, including portions of West Texas, southern New Mexico, Southeast Arizona, western Utah, and southern California during this time period.

Comments

[Rick Wright]

What a great bird. The way things are going, it won't be long before there are no west Mexican endemics at all.

[Ted Floyd]

I'm hope I'm not horribly embarrassing Greg Scyphers, but I do have a question: Does anybody find a greater share of his or her state's/province's megas? And everything Greg finds usually gets photographed, often gets seen by many, and always gets promptly and compellingly documented for the Nevada Bird Records Committee.