First record of piscivory in the Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus)

Authors

  • José Antonio González-Oreja
  • Francisco Javier Jiménez-Moreno

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.28947/hrmo.2018.19.2.350

Keywords:

Neotropical passerines, predation, trophic ecology, Tyrannidae, urban habitats.

Abstract

Tyrant flycatchers (i.e., Tyrannidae) are primarily insectivores, but they can supplement their diet with spiders, fruits, or small vertebrates. Kingbirds are among the most specialized predators in this family, since they prey almost exclusively on flying insects. We document a Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus) capturing and eating a small fish (Poeciliopsis gracilis) in one of the bodies of water of the main campus of the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, in Puebla, Mexico. Although it is known that the Grey Kingbird (T. dominicensis) and the Eastern Kingbird (T. tyrannus) can prey opportunistically on fish, this is the first time fish-eating has been reported for the Tropical Kingbird.

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References

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Published

2018-08-18

How to Cite

González-Oreja, J. A., & Jiménez-Moreno, F. J. (2018). First record of piscivory in the Tropical Kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus). Huitzil Revista Mexicana De Ornitologí­a, 19(2). https://doi.org/10.28947/hrmo.2018.19.2.350

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Section

Notas científicas

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