UNEXPECTED THICK-BILLED LONGSPUR (RHYNCHOPHANES MCCOWNII) RECORDS IN NUEVO LEÓN AND SAN LUIS POTOSÍ, MÉXICO

We report the first records of thick-billed longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii) in Nuevo Leon and San Luis Potosi, Mexico, which constitute out-of-range southeastern observations. We observed thick-billed longspurs during February 2020 as part of two wintering mixed flocks, the first one with horned larks (Eremophila alpestris) in a Mexican prairie dog colony (Cynomys mexicanus) in Nuevo Leon, and the second one with chestnut-collared longspurs (Calcarius ornatus) in a dirt dam near the dry lake bed of Laguna La Mesita, San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Both sites were grasslands with high bare ground values (>80%).