Abstract

ROLDAN-CLARA, Blanca; LAPERGOLA, Joshua  and  CORREA-SANDOVAL, Jorge. Biology of the Black Catbird (Melanoptila glabrirostris) in Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, Mexico. Huitzil [online]. 2018, vol.19, n.1, pp.100-108. ISSN 1870-7459.  https://doi.org/10.28947/hrmo.2018.19.1.312.

In the present study, we report morphometric and reproductive characteristics of the Black Catbird, Melanoptila glabrirostris, some of them shown here for the first time. The Black Catbird is a tropical mimid endemic to the Yucatán Peninsula that is not well studied. Fieldwork was conducted in the North coast of the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve, México, from February to August 2008. We present measurements of bill, tarsus, and body mass. We propose a method for sexing outside the breeding season because males had longer wing chords than females. We demonstrate that eye color can be an extra criterion for age determination because second-year birds more frequently had brown eyes, similar to the eye color of hatch-year birds. Breeding season lasted from April until at least the middle of August. The nest cycle was 27 to 32 days long, and clutch size was from two to three eggs. Mostly males built nests and females incubated the eggs. Most of the nests were built on Thrinax radiata palm and Pithecellobium keyense bush. In conclusion, the Black Catbird shares characteristics with Gray Catbird, and the main differences are due to its tropical distribution.

Keywords : Mimidae; Yucatan peninsula; sexual dimorphism; natural history.

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