A couple of things that may contribute to peoples decisions on
this questions.

First, almost any bird that exists in Mexico can be found in
captivity in a local market or can be bought caged. At one of
the markets in Guadalahara there were a couple of stalls with
all sorts of wild birds in very small cages. Most of these
birds had obvious feather damage, which is not surprising given
that the cage was rarely larger than the bird and occasionally
smaller.

It would not surprise me at all to find that you could buy a
caged hummingbird in Baja.

Second, the Xantus' is rarely found anywhere near an airport.
>From what I have read, it occurs only in at least the foothills
and most often a higher elevations. It is sedentary both in its
movements around Baja and in its location vertically in the
mountains, not going up or down very much. Accidental hitching
of a ride on a vehicle or plane seems improbable to me.

If the bird was assisted, it seems to me far more likely it was
bought by a non-birding Canadian with an RV in Baja, brought
back to Canada and probably somewhere near Gibson's, and
escaped.

I am glad I am not on the records committee. This questions
seems unanswerable to me.

Brent


Brent Beach, Victoria, BC, CA