Animalia > Chordata > Aves > Passeriformes > Icteridae > Molothrus > Molothrus bonariensis

Molothrus bonariensis (Shiny Cowbird)

Synonyms: Tanagra bonariensis

Wikipedia Abstract

The shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It breeds in most of South America apart from the most dense jungles, mountains and deserts (although spreading into these habitats as they are modified by humans), the coldest southernmost regions (e.g. Tierra del Fuego), and on Trinidad and Tobago. It has relatively recently colonised Chile and many Caribbean islands, and has reached the United States, where it is probably breeding in southern Florida. Northern and southernmost populations are partially migratory. It is a bird associated with open woodland and cultivation. The male’s song is a purr and whistle, purr purr purrte-tseeeee. The male’s call is a sharp whistled tsee-tsee, but the female makes a harsh rattle.
View Wikipedia Record: Molothrus bonariensis

Infraspecies

Molothrus bonariensis aequatorialis
Molothrus bonariensis bonariensis
Molothrus bonariensis cabanisii
Molothrus bonariensis minimus
Molothrus bonariensis occidentalis
Molothrus bonariensis riparius
Molothrus bonariensis venezuelensis

Invasive Species

View ISSG Record: Molothrus bonariensis

EDGE Analysis

Uniqueness Scale: Similiar (0) 
0
 Unique (100)
Uniqueness & Vulnerability Scale: Similiar & Secure (0) 
7
 Unique & Vulnerable (100)
ED Score: 2.47364
EDGE Score: 1.2452
Learn more at EDGE of Existence programme

Attributes

Adult Weight [1]  37 grams
Birth Weight [3]  4.3 grams
Female Weight [1]  34 grams
Male Weight [1]  40 grams
Weight Dimorphism [1]  17.6 %
Breeding Habitat [2]  Generalist
Wintering Geography [2]  Non-migrartory
Wintering Habitat [2]  Generalist
Diet [4]  Carnivore (Invertebrates), Granivore
Diet - Invertibrates [4]  70 %
Diet - Seeds [4]  30 %
Forages - Ground [4]  100 %
Global Population (2017 est.) [2]  200,000,000
Incubation [5]  11 days
Mating System [3]  Monogamy
Maximum Longevity [1]  5 years
Migration [6]  Migratory

Ecoregions

Protected Areas

Biodiversity Hotspots

Prey / Diet

Embothrium coccineum (Chilean firetree)[7]

Prey / Diet Overlap

Competing SpeciesCommon Prey Count
Curaeus curaeus (Austral Blackbird)1
Elaenia albiceps (White-crested Elaenia)1
Phrygilus patagonicus (Patagonian Sierra Finch)1
Sephanoides sephaniodes (Green-backed firecrown)1
Spinus barbatus (Black-chinned Siskin)1

Range Map

External References

NatureServe Explorer

Audio

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Provided by Xeno-canto under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.5 License Author: Bernabe Lopez-Lanus

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
♦ 1Nathan P. Myhrvold, Elita Baldridge, Benjamin Chan, Dhileep Sivam, Daniel L. Freeman, and S. K. Morgan Ernest. 2015. An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96:3109
♦ 2Partners in Flight Avian Conservation Assessment Database, version 2017. Accessed on January 2018.
♦ 3Terje Lislevand, Jordi Figuerola, and Tamás Székely. 2007. Avian body sizes in relation to fecundity, mating system, display behavior, and resource sharing. Ecology 88:1605
♦ 4Hamish Wilman, Jonathan Belmaker, Jennifer Simpson, Carolina de la Rosa, Marcelo M. Rivadeneira, and Walter Jetz. 2014. EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95:2027
♦ 5del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
♦ 6Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 01, 2010 at animaldiversity.org
♦ 7Foraging behaviour of bird pollinators on Embothrium coccineum (Proteaceae) trees in forest fragments and pastures in southern Chile, CECILIA SMITH-RAMIREZ AND JUAN J. ARMESTO, Austral Ecology (2003) 28, 53–60
Ecoregions provided by World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF). WildFinder: Online database of species distributions, ver. 01.06 Wildfinder Database
Biodiversity Hotspots provided by Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Audio software provided by SoundManager 2
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0