The study of avian nesting biology in North America and Europe has a long history, resulting in an expansive and information‐rich literature. In contrast, the tropics have been relatively neglected and, in most ways, we are still at the frontier of exploration. Data about basic nest descriptions and natural history information are still lacking for many Neotropical species; standardization of data collection methods is needed for comparative analyses. Hence, our goals are: (1) motivate a new generation of Neotropical naturalists to collect nesting data by providing basic tips on how to find nests and collect basic data, (2) provide guidelines on how to use and analyze basic data, (3) highlight the importance of collections, (4) describe modern monitoring techniques, and (5) suggest how these data can be used to fill important gaps concerning the breeding biology of tropical birds. Understanding avian nesting biology and the biotic and abiotic factors that influence nesting success is crucial for a better understanding of bird population dynamics and breeding strategies at the community level, and can form the basis for the development of sound conservation measures.

Body mass is one of the most important phenotypic attributes in animal ecology and life history. This trait is widely used in the fields of ecology and macroevolution, since it influences physiology, morphological functions, and a myriad of ecological and social interactions. In this data set, our aim was to gather a comprehensive bird and mammal body mass data set from northern South America. We report body mass, discriminated by sex, for 42,022 individual birds and 7,441 mammals representing 1,317 bird species (69% of Colombia’s avifauna) and 270 mammal species (51% of Colombian mammals) from the Neotropics. The data were sourced from vouchers collected between 1942 and 2020 and from individuals captured and released at banding stations over the last two decades for birds (2000–2020) and the last decade for mammals (2010–2020), by 10 research groups and institutions in Colombia. This data set fills gaps identified in other similar databases, as it focuses on northern South America, a highly diverse Neotropical region often underrepresented in morphological data sets. We provide wide taxonomic coverage for studies interested in information both at regional and local scales. There are no copyright restrictions; the present data paper should be appropriately cited when data are used for publication. The authors would appreciate learning about research projects, teaching exercises, and other uses given to this data set and are open to contribute in further collaborations using these data.

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