First nest description of the Azure-shouldered Tanager (Thraupis cyanoptera, Thraupidae)

Abstract

The genus Thraupis (Thraupidae, subfamily Thraupinae) is composed of seven species of small Neotropical passerines that represent the typical tanagers (Burns et al. 2016). They are characterized by discrete plumages, predominantly bluish and olive, and absence of sexual dimorphism in most species (Ridgely & Tudor 1989). They inhabit humid forests or wooded areas, various types of open areas, and even urban environments (Ridgely & Tudor 1989, Hilty 2019). Despite the commonness of some taxa, reproductive aspects are generally poorly documented, although nests and eggs have been welldescribed except for the Azure-shouldered Tanager, Thraupis cyanoptera, the Golden-chevroned Tanager, Thraupis ornata, and the Glaucous Tanager, Thraupis glaucocolpa (Hilty 2019). The Azure-shouldered Tanager is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil, and can be found from the slopes of Serra do Mar to humid montane forests from southeast Bahia, Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo states, southern to Rio Grande do Sul (Ridgely & Tudor 1989, Hilty 2019). It is more forest-dwelling than some congeners, occurring in forest canopy, but also in borders and secondary growth (Ridgely & Tudor 1989, Naka et al. 2002). The only information on the reproductive biology of this species is the description of two eggs as being pale blue with a few round spots of very dark purple color (Ogilvie-Grant 1912), and a mention by Kirwan (2009) that "a nest was being built on a bromeliad epiphyte in a

Neotropical bromeliads as food sources for birds: a systematic review and perspectives on the management of ecological interactions

“…The ecological relationship between bromeliads and birds may increase interactions, ecosystem functions and species richness in local habitats. For instance, some passerines are strongly dependent on bromeliad clusters for breeding (Luiz 2008, Oliveira Jr et al 2014, Costa et al 2019, Zima et al 2019. Even large generalist birds of prey (e.g.…”