Comments to López de Aquino and Garza de León (2008) on the Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) in the Yucatan

Comentarios a López de Aquino y Garza de León (2008) sobre el búho cuerno corto (Asio flammeus) en Yucatán

Jorge E. Montejo Díaz¹*, Amy E. McAndrews¹ y Melgar Tabasco-Contreras²

¹ Apartado Postal 579, Xalapa, 91000, Veracruz, Mexico. E-mail: *jorgemontejodiaz@yahoo.com.mx, aemcandrews@yahoo.ca.

² C-33-D #503, por 6 y 72, Col. Reparto Dolores Patrón, Mérida, 97070, Yucatán, Mexico. E-mail: mtabasco@ninosycrias.org.mx.

Received: 26 April 2009.
Revision accepted: 7 December 2009.
Associated editor: José Luis Rangel Salazar.

Abstract

We discuss several points of view presented in López de Aquino and Garza de León (2008) and update status information on the Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) relevant to McAndrews et al. (2006).

Key words: distribution, Asio flammeus domingensis.

Resumen

Palabras claves: distribución, Asio flammeus domingensis.

López de Aquino and Garza de León (2008) presented the discovery of a missing 45-year-old specimen and opinions on the value of specimens, and frequently referenced our paper "First confirmed record of the Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) for the state of Yucatan, Mexico" (McAndrews et al. 2006). We wish to take this opportunity to clarify several comments in referencing our and other publications in their paper. Additionally, we outline relevant new information on the Short-eared Owl since the publication of McAndrews et al. (2006).

López de Aquino and Garza de León (2008) stated "the Antillean populations [of Short-eared Owl] have been recorded recently in Florida and major islands (like Cuba) since 1970", citing Hoffman et al. (l999) and McAndrews et al. (2006) as their sources. While Antillean Short-eared Owl had previously been considered rare on Cuba and was not documented as breeding until December 1981, it was first recorded on the island in 1850 (Holt et al.1999). In the 1970s, the Antillean Short-eared Owl expanded rapidly across Cuba presumably due to increased agricultural practices resulting in more suitable habitat and greater food availability (Garrido 1984, 1995, 2007). Neither Hoffman et al. (1999) or McAndrews et al. (2006) described Antillean populations of the Short-eared Owl having only recently been recorded in Cuba. López de Aquino and Garza de León (2008) additionally cited Hoffman et al. (1999) for "the wing length in Antillean Short-eared Owls (subspecies portoricensis and dominguensis according to Dickinson 2003) differs from nominate flammeus in having shorter wing (<300 mm)". While we agree with López de Aquino and Garza de León (2008) that the nomenclature of the Antillean populations is confusing, including here both subspecies as considered by Dickinson (2003) does not accurately reflect the work of Hoffman et al. (1999) who presumed the Antillean individuals they examined originated from Cuba, and thus pertained only to the subspecies domingensis, following Dickinson (2003). Note here the variation in spelling between domingensis and dominguensis, the latter found to be used only by Garrido (1984, 1995, 2007) and within the above quote by López de Aquino and Garza de León (2008). Based on differing opinions of the current classification of the Short-eared Owl complex, Wiggins et al. (2006) recommended taxonomy and nomenclature of the group is in need of review.

Lastly, López de Aquino and Garza de León (2008) cited McAndrews et al. (2006) for the recent Yucatan Peninsula colonization hypothesis of the Antillean Short-eared Owl. To clarify, we suggested the presence of Antillean individuals of Short-eared Owl on the Yucatan Peninsula was a possibility; we believe the potential for future colonization of Mexico by this taxon exists based on increasing numbers of dispersing individuals in the Caribbean and the presence of suitable breeding habitat on the Yucatan Peninsula. We never stated that the Antillean Short-eared Owl had established populations in Mexico. Based on the possibility of Antillean Short-eared Owl occurring in Mexico we concluded the origin of the owl we observed was ultimately unknown. It is of great interest to note that an Antillean Short-eared Owl was photographed in late spring of 2007 in northeastern Quintana Roo (Gómez de Silva 2008).

Antillean Short-eared Owl is expanding its range throughout the Greater Antilles to include most islands (Garrido 2007). Since the publication of Hoffman et al. (1999) reporting 17 Antillean Short-eared Owl records in southern Florida, at least 16 additional Antillean Short-eared Owl records have accumulated through spring 2006; to date, however, there have been no confirmed breeding records (Bill Pranty, Florida Bird Records Committee, pers. comm.). The observation of Antillean Short-eared Owl in Quintana Roo supports our decision to treat the Yucatan state record as of origin unknown.

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank O. Garrido, R. Gibbons, M. Grosselet, A. Kirkconnell, B. MacKinnon, P. Pyle, J.L. Rangel Salazar, E. Pineda Diez de Bonilla and to an anonymous reviewer for their help in reviewing earlier drafts of this manuscript.

Literature cited

Dickinson, E.C. 2003. The Howard and Moore complete checklist of the birds of the world, 3^rd ed. Princeton University Press. Princeton, New Jersey.         [ Links ]

Garrido, O.H. 1984. Asio flammeus (Aves: Strigidae) nesting in Cuba. Caribbean Journal of Science 20:67-68.         [ Links ]

Garrido, O.H. 1995. A preliminary review of the Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) complex in the Greater Antilles. Pitirre 8:8.         [ Links ]

Garrido, O.H. 2007. Subespecie nueva de Asio dominguensis para Cuba, con comentarios sobre Asio flammeus (Aves: Strigidae). Solenodon 6:70-78.         [ Links ]

Gómez de Silva, H. 2008. Mexico. North American Bird 64:646-647.         [ Links ]

Hoffman, W., G.E. Woolfenden, and P.W. Smith. 1999. Antillean Short-eared Owls invade southern Florida. The Wilson Bulletin 111:303-313.         [ Links ]

Holt, D.W., R. Berkley, C. Deppe, P.L. Enríquez-Rocha, J.L. Petersen, J.L. Rangel-Salazar, K.P. Segars, and K.L. Wood. 1999. Short-eared Owl (Strigidae). Pp. 241-242. In: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, y J. Sargatal (eds.) Handbook of the birds of the world, Vol. 5: barn-owls to hummingbirds. Lynx Editions. Barcelona.         [ Links ]

López de Aquino, S. and A. Garza de León. 2008. Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) in the Yucatan Peninsula: the importance of specimens in museum collections. Huitzil 9:1-3.         [ Links ]

McAndrews, A.E., J.E. Montejo-Díaz, and M. Tabasco-Contreras. 2006. First confirmed record of the Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) for the state of Yucatan, Mexico. Huitzil 7:32-34.         [ Links ]

Wiggins, D.A., D.W. Holt, and S.M. Leasure (on line). 2006. Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus). In: A. Poole (ed.). The birds of North America online. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Ithaca, New York.<http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/062> (accessed 3 December 2009).         [ Links ]