Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Parental care and external sexual characters in the Warbling Doradito (Pseudocolopteryx flaviventris)

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Journal of Ornithology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Biparental care is the dominant (81 %) form of parental care in birds. The degree of sexual selection and the resulting mating system and parental care type have been determined, in many cases, by inference from external characters of sexual dimorphism. The lack of information and the biological attributes of the tyrant flycatchers (e.g., low sexual dimorphism) make it difficult to determinate the parental care roles in most species. Tyrant flycatchers comprise a diverse bird family, but information on the reproductive behavior of many Tyrannid species is lacking. Our aim was to describe external sexual characters (morphology and coloration) and determine the parental care behavior at the nest in the Warbling Doradito (Pseudocolopteryx flaviventris), especially considering the potential role of sexual differences in relation to parental roles at nest. We studied the parental care behavior during two breeding seasons. Parents were captured to take morphological measurements and a blood sample for molecular sex determination. We found that parental care in the Warbling Doradito was biparental biased toward females, where the incubation was performed exclusively by females and the 74 % of activities of nestling brooding and feeding was performed by females. We also found sexual differences, slight in size and plumage, but more conspicuous in bill color. Despite the relatively slight sexual dichromatism of the Warbling Doradito, the parental care behavior in the nest was biased towards females, and the assistance of males to nestlings was highly variable and was not correlated with either clutch size or increasing nestling mass. Therefore, the evidence presented here suggest that Pseudocolopteryx genus may have an unusual social system, otherwise uncommon in tyrannids.

Zusammenfassung

Brutpflege und äußere Geschlechtsmerkmale beim Braunrücken-Sumpftyrann ( Pseudocolopteryx flaviventris ) Bei Vögeln ist die Brutpflege durch beide Elternteile die vorherrschende (81 %) Form der Brutpflege. Die Ausprägung der sexuellen Selektion und das daraus resultierende System von Balz und Brutpflege wurde sehr häufig nur durch das Schließen von äußeren Merkmalen auf einen Geschlechtsdimorphismus bestimmt. Zu wenig Informationen sowie die biologischen Eigenheiten wie z.B. ein schwach ausgeprägter Geschlechtsdimorphismus bei den Schreivögeln (Tyrranides), machen es bei den meisten Arten schwierig, die tatsächliche Rolle der beiden Elternteile in der Brutpflege festzustellen. Die Schreivögel stellen eine große, recht uneinheitliche Familie dar, aber über das Fortpflanzungsverhalten vieler ihrer Arten liegt nur wenig Information vor. Ziel dieser Studie war es, für den Braunrücken-Sumpftyrann (Pseudocolopteryx flaviventris) äußere Geschlechtsmerkmale (Morphologie, Färbung) zu beschreiben und das Brutpflegeverhalten am Nest zu bestimmen. Dabei wurde besonderes Augenmerk auf mögliche Geschlechtsunterschiede in der Brutpflege durch die beiden Eltern am Nest gelegt. Das Brutpflegevehalten wurde über zwei Brutzeiten hinweg beobachtet und die Elterntiere gefangen, um ihre Körpermaße zu bestimmen und Blutproben für eine molekulare Geschlechtsbestimmung zu entnehmen. Wir fanden heraus, dass beim Braunrücken-Sumpftyrann die Brutpflege eher von den Weibchen übernommen wurde: das Brüten selbst lag ausschließlich bei den Weibchen, und 74 % aller Aktivitäten ums Brüten und Füttern herum wurden ebenfalls von den Weibchen durchgeführt. Ferner fanden wir äußere Geschlechtsunterschiede: für Größe und Gefieder waren sie eher kleiner, deutlich auffälliger jedoch in der Schnabelfärbung. Trotz der relativ kleinen Geschlechtsunterschiede war das Brutpflegeverhalten am Nest bei den Weibchen stärker ausgeprägt; die Unterstützung durch die Männchen war sehr unterschiedlich und korrelierte nicht mit der Gelegegröße. Diese Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass das soziale System der Gattung Pseudocolopteryx möglicherweise anders und unüblich für die übrigen Tyranni ist.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  • Ábalos R, Areta JI (2009) Historia natural y vocalizaciones del Doradito Limón (Pseudocolopteryx citreola) en Argentina. Ornitol Neotrop 20:215–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Andersson S, Ornborg J, Andersson M (1998) Ultraviolet sexual dimorphism and assortative mating in blue tits. Proc R Soc Lond B 265:445–450

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beauchamp G (2003) Delayed maturation in birds in relation to social foraging and breeding competition. Evol Ecol Res 5:589–596

    Google Scholar 

  • Birkhead TR, Møller AP (1992) Sperm Competition in Birds. Academic, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Bostwick K, Zyskowski K (2001) Mechanical sounds and sexual dimorphism in the Crested Doradito. Condor 103:861–865

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chaves AV, Clozato CL, Lacerda DR, Sari HER, Santos FR (2008) Molecular taxonomy of Brazilian tyrant-flycatchers (Passeriformes: Tyrannidae). Mol Ecol Resour 8:1169–1177

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock TH (1991) The evolution of parental care. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Cockburn A (2006) Prevalence of different modes of parental care in birds. Proc R Soc Lond B 273:1375–1383

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuthill IC, Bennett ATD, Partridge JC, Maier EJ (1999) Plumage reflectance and the objective assessment of avian sexual dichromatism. Am Nat 160:183–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dinelli LM (1933) El tiránido Pseudocolopteryx dinellianus y su nido. Hornero 5:221–222

    Google Scholar 

  • Eaton MD (2005) Human vision fails to distinguish widespread sexual dichromatism among sexually ‘‘monochromatic’’ birds. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102:10942–10946

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Emlen ST, Oring LW (1977) Ecology, sexual selection and the evolution of mating systems. Science 197:215–223

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fiorini VD, Rabuffetti FL (2003) Cuidado parental en el Churrinche (Pyrocephalus rubinus): contribución relativa del macho y de la hembra. Hornero 18:31–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzpatrick JW (2004) Family Tyrannidae. In: del Hoyo J, Elliott A, Christie DA (eds) Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol 9., Cotingas to pipits. Lynx, Barcelona, pp 110–462

    Google Scholar 

  • Fontaine JJ, Martin TE (2006) Habitat selection responses of parents to offspring predation risk: an experimental test. Am Nat 168:811–818

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fridolfsson A, Ellegren H (1999) A simple and universal method for molecular sexing of nonratite birds. J Avian Biol 30:116–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghalambor CK, Peluc SI, Martin TE (2013) Plasticity of parental care under the risk of predation: how much should parents reduce care? Biol Lett 9:20130154

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Griffith SC, Owens IPF, Thuman KA (2002) Extra pair paternity in birds: a review of interspecific variation and adaptive function. Mol Ecol 11:2195–2212

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hair JF Jr, Anderson RE, Tatham RL, Black WC (1995) Multivariate data analysis. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River

    Google Scholar 

  • Hellmayr CE (1927) Catalogue of birds of the Americas, part 5. Field Mus Nat Hist Publ Zool Ser 13:1–517

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann D, Rodriguez M (2011) Breeding biology and reproductive success of Polystictus superciliaris (Aves: Tyrannidae), an uncommon tyrant-flycatcher endemic to the highlands of eastern Brazil. Zoologia 28:305–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt S, Cuthill IC, Bennett ATD, Church SC, Partridge JC (2001) Is the ultraviolet waveband a special communication channel in avian mate choice? J Exp Biol 204:2499–2507

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Isacch JP, Costa CSB, Rodríguez-Gallego L, Conde D, Escapa M, Gagliardini DA, Iribarne OO (2006) Distribution of saltmarsh plant communities associated with environmental factors along a latitudinal gradient on the south-west Atlantic coast. J Biogeogr 33:888–900

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ismar SMH, Chong NL, Igic B, Baird K, Ortiz-Catedral L, Fidler AE, Hauber ME (2011) Visual sensitivity, coloration and morphology of Red-tailed Tropicbirds Phaethon rubricauda breeding on the Kermadec Islands. N Z J Zool 38:29–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kendeigh SC (1952) Parental care and its evolution in birds. Ill Biol Monogr 22:1–356

    Google Scholar 

  • Ketterson ED, Nolan V Jr (1994) Male parental behavior in birds. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 25:601–628

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lack D (1968) Ecological adaptations for breeding in birds. Methuen, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawton SM, Lawton RO (1986) Heterochrony, deferred breeding, and avian sociality. Curr Ornithol 3:187–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin TE, Geupel GR (1993) Nest-monitoring plots: methods for locating nests and monitoring success. J Field Ornithol 64:507–519

    Google Scholar 

  • Massoni V, Reboreda JC, Lopez G, Aldatz M (2012) High coordination and equitable parental effort in the Rufous Hornero. Condor 114:564–570

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer de Schauensee R (1970) A guide to the birds of South America. Livingston, Wynnewood

    Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP (2000) Male parental care, female reproductive success, and extrapair paternity. Behav Ecol 11:161–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muehter VR, Greene E, Ratcliffe L (1997) Delayed plumage maturation in Lazuli buntings: tests of the female mimicry and status signaling hypotheses. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 41:281–290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Narosky T, Salvador SA (1998) Nidificación de las aves Argentinas (Tyrannidae). Asociación Ornitológica del Plata, Buenos Aires

  • Narosky T, Yzurieta D (2010) Aves de Argentina y Uruguay—birds of Argentina and Uruguay: Guía de Identificación Edición Total—a field guide total edition, 16a edn. Vázquez Mazzini, Buenos Aires

    Google Scholar 

  • Ortiz D, Aráoz R, Capllonch P (2006) Registros novedosos de doraditos (Pseudocolopteryx) en la provincia de Tucumán. Nuestras Aves 52:24–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Pretelli MG (2015) Efecto de la fragmentación del pastizal sobre las aves en pastizales costeros de la región pampeana. Doctoral thesis dissertation, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires

  • Pretelli MG, Isacch JP, Cardoni DA (2013) Year-round abundance, richness and nesting of the bird assemblage of tall grasslands in the south-east pampas region, Argentina. Ardeola 60:327–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pretelli MG, Isacch JP, Cardoni DA (2016) Variation in parental care in the spectacled tyrant Hymenops perspicillatus is associated with increased nest predation in grassland fragments. J Ornithol 157:451–460

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ridgely RS, Tudor G (1994) The birds of South America, vol 2., The suboscines passerines. Oxford University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Roesler I (2009) El Doradito Oliváceo Pseudocolopteryx acutipennis en las pampas Argentinas: nuevos registros y comentarios sobre su historia natural. Cotinga 31:1–4

    Google Scholar 

  • Sejberg D, Bensch S, Hasselquist D (2000) Nestling provisioning in polygynous Great Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus): do males bring larger prey to compensate for fewer nest visits? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 47:213–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silver R, Andrews H, Ball GF (1985) Parental care in an ecological perspective: a quantitative analysis of avian subfamilies. Am Zool 25:823–840

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Székely T, Webb JN, Cuthill IC (2000) Mating patterns, sexual selection and parental care: an integral approach. In: Appolonio M, Festa-Bianchet M, Mainardi M (eds) Vertebrate mating systems. World Scientific, Singapore, pp 159–185

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Székely T, Lislevand T, Figuerola J (2007) Sexual size dimorphism in birds. In: Blanckenhorn W, Fairbairn D, Székely T (eds) Sex, size and gender roles. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 27–37

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Traylor MA Jr (1977) A classification of the tyrant flycatchers. Bull Mus Comp Zool 148:129–184

    Google Scholar 

  • Trivers RL (1972) Parental investment and sexualselection. In: Campbell B (ed) Sexual selection and the descent of man, 1871–1971. Aldine, Chicago, pp 136–178

    Google Scholar 

  • Verner J, Willson MF (1969) Mating systems, sexual dimorphism, and the role of male North American passerine birds in the nesting cycle. Ornithol Monogr 9:1–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walsh PS, Metzger DA, Higuchi R (1991) Chelex-100 as a medium for simple extraction of DNA for PCR-based typing from forensic material. Biotechniques 10:506–513

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wetmore A (1926) Observations on the birds of Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile. Bull US Natl Mus 133:1–448

    Google Scholar 

  • Zar JH (2010) Biostatistical analysis. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This paper benefitted from the comments of two anonymous reviewers. We appreciate the improvements in English usage made by Diego E. Metzadour. Financial support was provided by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata (EXA 545/11), Agencia de Promoción Científica y Técnica (PICT 12-461) and Neotropical Grassland Conservancy.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio Vertebrados, Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnica and Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes 3250, 7600, Mar del Plata, Argentina

    D. Augusto Cardoni, Matías G. Pretelli, Juan P. Isacch, Enrique Madrid, Alejandro V. Baladrón & Nicolás M. Chiaradia

Authors
  1. D. Augusto Cardoni
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Matías G. Pretelli
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Juan P. Isacch
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Enrique Madrid
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Alejandro V. Baladrón
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Nicolás M. Chiaradia
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. Augusto Cardoni.

Additional information

Communicated by C. G. Guglielmo.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cardoni, D.A., Pretelli, M.G., Isacch, J.P. et al. Parental care and external sexual characters in the Warbling Doradito (Pseudocolopteryx flaviventris). J Ornithol 158, 159–167 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-016-1378-7

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-016-1378-7

Keywords