David F. DeSante’s Birds of Cabo San Lucas, Fall 1968: A Historic Account

In preparation for his doctoral studies at Stanford University, the late David F. DeSante spent the fall of 1968 studying migratory landbirds at Cabo San Lucas. Although his hopes to capture numerous vagrant warblers were not met, he amassed an impressive list of distributional records for the Baja California Peninsula at a time when few ornithologists were working there. Among these were peninsular firsts for the Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris), Broad-billed Hummingbird (Cynanthus latirostris), Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus), Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), and Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris). Another six species, and one subspecies, were found for the first time in Baja California Sur. Venturing away from the immediate confines of Cabo San Lucas, DeSante established the first peninsular record of the Gray-headed Junco (Junco hyemalis caniceps) and first state records for another five species and one subspecies. Although many of these records have been reported previously, the junior authors believe it is appropriate to synthesize them more completely with current context, in Dave’s honor.