Multiple nesting attempts and long breeding seasons of Mimus gilvus (Aves: Mimidae) in southeastern Brazil

Rodrigo Morais,Charles Duca,Luiz Carlos Araújo,Gleidson Ramos Silva

doi:10.3897/zoologia.36.e25717

Abstract

This study describes aspects of the life history of the Tropical MockingbirdMimusgilvus(Vieillot, 1808), including the breeding period, clutch size, nestlings and a list of plants used for nesting. Nests were monitored in an area of Restinga (sand-coastal plain) habitat in a protected area in southeastern Brazil. The data from 181 nests during five breeding seasons (2010-2014) showed that the Tropical Mockingbird has a long breeding season (26.1 ± 2.6 weeks) with up to two peaks of active nests from August to March. The breeding pairs made up to four nesting attempts in the same breeding season. The mean (± SD) clutch size was 2.4 ± 0.6 eggs (n = 169). The mean (± SD) incubation period was 14 ± 0.6 days, and the nestling remained in the nest for 14.5 ± 2.2 days. The nests were built on thirty plant species, andProtiumicicariba(DC.) Marchand. was the plant species most commonly used for nesting. The breeding parameters of the Tropical Mockingbird are similar to those of other Mimidae species. The knowledge gained from this study makes the Tropical Mockingbird a good choice for future studies, particularly for testing ecological and evolutionary hypotheses regarding life history attributes, habitat selection and parental investment.

Highlights

The natural history of organisms involves a balance between energy spent in survival and reproductive functions (Bennett and Owens 2002)
We addressed hypotheses related to differences in clutch size between breeding seasons and the influence of the weather on the nesting activity of a typical species from the Restinga, where precipitation is less variable than in the savanna and semi-arid ecosystems of the Neotropical region
The breeding season of the Tropical Mockingbird was shorter than the breeding season of the subspecies M. gilvus malnopterus in Venezuela (Paredes et al 2001)

Summary

Introduction

The natural history of organisms involves a balance between energy spent in survival and reproductive functions (Bennett and Owens 2002). Variations in nesting duration and clutch size were recorded for species in the highly seasonal Neotropical savanna (Duca and Marini 2011) and semi-arid ecosystems (Cavalcanti et al 2016). These studies demonstrated that birds use rainfall as an environmental cue to adjust the timing of their breeding activities. We addressed hypotheses related to differences in clutch size between breeding seasons and the influence of the weather on the nesting activity of a typical species from the Restinga, where precipitation is less variable than in the savanna and semi-arid ecosystems of the Neotropical region

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Conclusion