Thursday 16 December 2004

Rufous-backed Robin, NM: San Antonio


To my knowledge, there are only two records of Rufous-backed Robin in the state of New Mexico in all recorded history, and both of them were in Socorro County. Makes me wonder why no one is seeing them closer to Arizona. The other record, by the way, is at the home of the redoubtable Pat Basham, a local bird artist who has seen a long string of truly incredible records in her yard, such as Groove-billed Ani, Swallow-tailed Kite, and just about every warbler there is.

But the second Rufous-backed Robin was a delight to many as it stayed put and easy to find for several weeks in December 1989. Here are some photos I took on 1989-12-21.