Little is known about the relationship between seasonal food availability and the foraging strategies of insectivorous Neotropical birds. We studied a population of Tropical Kingbirds (Tyrannus melancholicus), a primarily insectivorous species, in eastern Bolivia to examine relationships between rainfall, food availability, and foraging strategies throughout the year. Our study site in the southern Amazon Basin was characterized by strong seasonal variation in the abundance of the kingbird's main insect prey (coleopterans and hymenopterans), with reduced abundance during the nonbreeding season which largely overlaps the dry season. Overall, mean search times for insect prey by Tropical Kingbirds during the breeding (96.9 ± 85.6 [SD] sec) and nonbreeding (83.7 ± 91.2 sec) seasons did not differ (P= 0.23). However, during the nonbreeding season, kingbird search times were negatively, but nonsignificantly, correlated with coleopteran abundance (r2= 0.43, P= 0.16) and significantly and negatively correlated with hymenopteran abundance (r2= 0.72, P= 0.03). Although insect abundance differed seasonally, kingbird search times did not, perhaps because kingbirds forage on a greater variety of insects during the nonbreeding season or, during the breeding season, kingbird search times may be influenced by the need to monitor and defend nests as well as constraints on the types of prey that can be fed to nestlings. However, the reduced abundance of their primary insect prey and negative relationships between the abundance of those prey and search times during the dry, nonbreeding season suggest that Tropical Kingbirds in southern Amazonia may be food limited, potentially explaining why some migrate and spend that season elsewhere.

Se realizó un estudio en un bosque seco o semideciduo chiquitano de la región de Lomerío, a un año de una extracción forestal selectiva de baja intensidad. Evaluamos la riqueza, diversidad, abundancia relativa y representación de gremios de aves (126 individuos de 32 especies) capturadas con redes de niebla en claros de extracción de dos tamaños y en sitios adyacentes sin extracción. La riqueza, abundancia y diversidad de especies mostraron una disminución consistente desde los claros grandes, a claros chicos y a sitios sin extracción, aunque las diferencias entre tratamientos no siempre fueron significativas. Los insectÌvoros Thamnophilus sticturus, Cnemotriccus fuscatus y Thryothorus guarayanus fueron las aves m·s frecuentes en los claros grandes, mientras que Thamnophilus sticturus, Sittasomus griseicapillus, Thryothorus guarayanus y Basileuterus culicivorus fueron las especies más capturadas en los claros chicos y en los sitios sin extracción. De ocho gremios examinados, sólo la abundancia de los insectÌvoros que capturan su presa en el aire fue mayor en los claros; los restantes gremios no presentaron diferencias significativas entre tratamientos. Las actividades de aprovechamiento forestal aparentemente no causaron fuertes impactos en la comunidad de aves en el área de estudio después de un año. Sin embargo, los cambios cualitativos podrían ser sutiles y pasar desapercibidos en este plazo, y ser notables solo después de muchos años.