Abstract
The Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholichus) feeds mostly on flying insects, but it can also supply its diet with other arthropods, fruits, and even small vertebrates. Despite being one of the most common birds in the Neotropics, knowledge about its foraging behavior is scarce. In December 2020, we observed and videotaped an adult feeding a fledgling with pulp and seeds of Blue Passionflower (Passiflora caerulea) in Ranchos, northeastern Buenos Aires province, Argentina. The whole event lasted 3:37 min. This is the first time that this foraging and breeding behavior is reported for the Tropical Kingbird.
References
Allenspach N y Dias MM (2012) Frugivory by birds on Miconia albicans (Melastomataceae), in a fragment of cerrado in São Carlos, southeastern Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology 72:407-413.
Fitzpatrick JW (1980) Foraging behavior of Neotropical tyrant flycatchers. Condor 82:43-57.
Francisco MR y Galetti M (2001) Frugivoria e dispersão de sementes de Rapanea lancifolia (Myrsinacea) por aves numa área do cerrado do estado de São Paulo, sudeste de Brasil. Ararajuba 9:13-19.
González-Oreja JA y Jiménez-Moreno FJ (2011) First record of piscivory in the Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus). Huitzil 19:281-284.
Jahn AE, Levey DJ, Mamani AM, Saldías M, Alcoba A, Ledezma MJ, Flores B, Vidoz JQ y Hilarion F (2010) Seasonal differences in rainfall, food availability, and the foraging behavior of Tropical Kingbirds in the southern Amazon Basin: foraging behavior of Kingbirds in Amazonia. Journal of Field Ornithology 81:340-348.
Krügel MM, Burger MI y Alves MA (2006) Frugivoria por aves em Nectandra mesopotamica (Lauraceae) em uma área de floresta estacional decidual no Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Iheringia, Serie Zoologia 96:17-24.
Lees AC, Rosenberg KV, Ruiz-Gutiérrez V, Marsden S, Schulenberg TS y Rodewald AD (2020) A roadmap to identifying and filling shortfalls in Neotropical ornithology. Auk 137:1-17.
Mathura N, Shawn O’Garro S, Thompson D, Hayes FD y Nandy FU (2005) Foraging behavior of two tyrant flycatchers in Trinidad: the Great Kiskadee (Pitangus sulphuratus) and Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus). Journal of Caribbean Ornithology 18:18-21.
Michel NL, Whelan CJ y Verutes GM (2020) Ecosystem services provided by Neotropical birds. Condor 122:1-12.
Moermond TC y Denslow JS (1985) Neotropical avian frugivores: patterns of behavior, morphology, and nutrition, with consequences for fruit selection. Ornithological Monographs 36:865-897.
Palacio FX (2017) Aves frugívoras como agentes de selección natural sobre el despliegue de frutos en plantas. Tesis doctoral, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, San Miguel de Tucumán.
Palacio FX (2019) Hummingbirds (Trochilidae) as frugivores: a review and the first records from Argentina. Ornitología Neotropical 30:99-102.
Palacio FX, Valoy M, Bernacki F, Sánchez MS, Núñez-Montellano MG, Varela O y Ordano M (2017) Bird fruit consumption results from the interaction between fruit-handling behaviour and fruit crop size. Ethology Ecology & Evolution 29:24-37.
Pinheiro CE (1996) Palatability and escaping ability in Neotropical butterflies: tests with wild kingbirds (Tyrannus melancholicus, Tyrannidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 59:351-365.
Ramírez-Fernández JD, Biamonte E, Gutiérrez-Vannucchi AC, Sarria-Miller GA, Scott A y Sandoval L (2019) Previously undescribed food resources of eleven Neotropical bird species. Boletín SAO 28:1-8.
Reboreda JC, Fiorini VD y Tuero DT (2019) Behavioral ecology of Neotropical birds. Springer, Cham.
Ridgely RS y Tudor G (1989) The birds of South America: Volume 1: The oscine passerines (Vol. 1). University of Texas Press, Austin.
Simonetti G y Devoto M (2018) La defensa de Passiflora caerulea por hormigas reduce el número de huevos y larvas de Agraulis vanillae, pero no el daño por herbivoría. Ecología Austral 28:123-132.
Stotz DF, Fitzpatrick JW, Parker III TA y Moskovits DK (1996) Neotropical birds: ecology and conservation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Stouffer PC, Chesser RT y Jahn AE (2020) Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus). Version 1.0. En: Billerman SM, Keeney BK, Rodewald PG y Schulenberg TS (eds) Birds of the World. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca.
Stutchbury BJM y Morton ES (2008) Recent advances in the behavioral ecology of tropical birds. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120:26-37.
Wütterich A, Azócar A, García-Núñez C y Silva JF (2001) Seed dispersal in Palicourea rigida, a common treelet species from Neotropical savannas. Journal of Tropical Ecology 17:449-458.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.