Molothrus aeneus

• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• Bibliography
• More Info
• Notes

Common Names

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Description

Family Fringillidae

A Family of seed-eating, small to moderately large passerine birds that have strong , stubby beaks, which in some species can be quite large. They have a bouncing flight, alternating flapping with gliding on closed wings. Most sing well.

Physical Description

Habitat

Vegetation: tropical lowland evergreen forest, pine-oak forests, tropical deciduous forests, arid lowland scrubs, second-growth scrub, arid lowland scrubs, pastures and agricultural lands • Maximum Elevation: 2,200 meters • Foraging Strata: Terrestrial • Center of Abundance: Lower tropical: lowlands, lower than 500 m.; tropics. • Sensitivity to Disturbancet: Low

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,775 meters (0 to 9,104 feet).Mean = 613.500 meters (2,012.795 feet), Standard Deviation = 688.800 based on 2,946 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Ecology:
List of Habitats :1.5Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Dry 1.9Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Montane 14.2Artificial/Terrestrial - Pastureland 14.6Artificial/Terrestrial - Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest

Biology

Diet

Mostly: Seeds Insects

Reproduction

• Breeding Habitat : N/A
• Nest Location: N/A
• Nest Type: N/A
• Clutch Size: VARIES
• Length of Incubation : 10-12 days
• Days to Fledge : 11
• Number of Broods: ?

Migration

Most migrate

Taxonomy

Unambiguous Synonyms

1. Molothrus aeneus (Wagler, 1829)

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001

Similar Species

Brown-Headed Cowbird, Shiny Cowbird

Members of the genus Molothrus

There are approximately 32 species in this genus:

M. aeneus (Bronzed Cowbird) · M. aeneus aeneus · M. aeneus armenti · M. aeneus assimilis · M. aeneus assimilus · M. aeneus loyei · M. aenus · M. armenti · M. ater (Brown-Headed Cowbird) · M. ater artemisiae (Brown-Headed Cowbird) · M. ater ater · M. ater coronatus · M. ater obscurus · M. ater ssp · M. badius · M. badius badius · M. badius fringillarius · M. bonariensis (Shiny Cowbird) · M. bonariensis aequatorialis · M. bonariensis bonariensis · M. bonariensis cabanisii · M. bonariensis minimus · M. bonariensis occidentalis · M. bonariensis venezuelensis · M. cassini · M. minimus · M. oryzivora · M. oryzivorus · M. oryzivorus oryzivorus · M. pecoris · M. rufoaxillaris · M. sericeus

Bibliography

• Alsop, Fred J. III. Birds of North America - Eastern Region. First American Edition. Smithsonian Handbooks. DK Publishing, Inc. 2001.
• Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, A. L. Gardner, and W. C. Starnes 2003. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada.
• Banks, R. C., R. W. McDiarmid, and A. L. Gardner 1987. Checklist of Vertebrates of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada. Resource Publication, no. 166. United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington, D.C., USA. 79.
• Bird Reference Citations. The numbers inserted in the text accounts above (usually in bold) refer to references. For further details on these references, click on the BirdLife International link above to go to the specific species account on the BirdLife web site. In some cases, particularly in the taxonomic notes, the references are cited using the author names. Details for these can be found on the BirdLife International web site at the following two places: For References from A–L. For References from M–Z.
• BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.
• BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
• Ehrlich, P., Dobkin, D., and Wheye, D. (1988). The Birders Handbook: A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. New York: Simon and Schuster Inc. (info on clutch size, length of incubation, days to fledge and number of broods.)
• Robbins, C.S., Bruun, B., Zim, H.S., (1966). Birds of North America. New York: Western Publishing Company, Inc. (Length and wingspan info.)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Notes

Contributors

• BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
• Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 3, 2006.
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 13, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 6 providers.
• Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
• Parker III, T.A., D.F. Stotz, and J.W. Fitzpatrick, "Ecological and Distributional Databases for Neotropical Birds," in Neotropical Birds: Ecology and Conservation, by D.F. Stotz, T.A. Parker III, J.W. Fitzpatrick, and D.K. Moskovits (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996). ISBN 0-226-64676-9.
• Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
• Universal Biological Indexer and Organizer. uBio.org accessed July 17, 2008.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 13, 2008:

• Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
• Avian Knowledge Network: Great Backyard Bird Count
• Avian Knowledge Network: Project FeederWatch
• Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
• UNIBIO, IBUNAM: CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
• University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 3851010
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-179116
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13816636
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 179116
• IUCN ID: 54174
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABPBXB7020
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 13991

Footnotes

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