Keywords
South America
territorial stability
territories
Tyrannidae
How to Cite
Abstract
Studying bird territories provides insight into their requirements and the limitation of their populations. We monitored Greater Wagtail-Tyrants (Stigmatura budytoides) in the central Monte over five years, where a small proportion of the population established territories that saturated the study plot. Individuals maintained their territories throughout the year, often in consecutive years, and selected high perches in Algarrobo trees (Neltuma flexuosa) for their defense. The average territory size was 1.4 ha, and territories were larger with greater overlap during the non-breeding season. Pairs remained together throughout the year and both members defended the territory. In several seasons both members developed brood patches, indicating that males might be incubating. We observed juveniles singing within their parents’ territory. Although we obtained information from few individuals, the territorial patterns (stable territories, strong pair bonds, retention of juveniles in the territory), together with previous evidence (small clutch size, low reproductive success, high longevity, prolonged parental care), suggest that the Greater Wagtail-Tyrant has life-history traits shared with tropical birds and contrast with those of temperate-climate birds of the Northern Hemisphere.
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Copyright (c) 2026 M. Cecilia Sagario, Carolina Guerra Navarro, Javier Lopez de Casenave, Victor R. Cueto