Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Rapid speciation by a Lesser Antillean endemic, Barbados bullfinch Loxigilla barbadensis

2004; British Ornithologists' Club; Volume: 1242; Linguagem: Inglês

2513-9894

P. A. Buckley, Francine G. Buckley,

Plant and animal studies

The small endemic West Indian emberizine known as the Lesser Antillean Bullfinch Loxigilla noctis is widespread in the Leeward and Windward Lesser Antilles (Fig. 1). It has usually been regarded as highly polytypic and nine subspecies are currently recognised (Table 1). With one exception, all are strongly sexually dichromatic: males are jet black with rufous throats, rufous or black undertail-coverts, and black bills; females are brownish-olive, paler ventrally, with horn-coloured bills. The exception is the population found only on the isolated and geologically discrete island of Barbados. Originally described by Cory (1886) as a separate species, Barbados Bullfinch Loxigilla barbadensis, nearly all subsequent workers, hewing to 20th-century taxonomic practice, have treated it as another subspecies of the Lesser Antillean Bullfinch, its scientific name then becoming Loxigilla noctis barbadensis. However, the bullfinches resident on Barbados differ in one striking way from the other eight named populations of the Lesser Antillean Bullfinch: they exhibit no sexual dichromatism. In the light of recent treatments of other allopatric West Indian bird populations, reconsideration of the taxonomic status of barbadensis is warranted. References: Brumfield, R. T., Swofford, D. L. & Braun M. J. 1997. Evolutionary relationships among the potoos (Nyctibiidae) based on isozymes. Pp. 129-145 in Remsen, J. V. (ed.) Studies in Neotropical ornithology honoring Ted Parker. Orn. Monogr. No. 48. Cleere, N. 1998. Nightjars. A guide to the nightjars and related nightbirds. Pica Press, Robertsbridge. Dickerman, R. W. & Phelps, W. H. 1982. An annotated list of the birds of Cerro Urutani, on the border of Estado Bolivar, Venezuela and Territorio Roraima, Brazil. Amer. Mus. Novit. 273: 1–20. Hilty, S. L. & Brown W. L. 1986. A guide to the birds of Colombia. Princeton Univ. Press. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. (eds.) 1999. Handbook of the birds of the world, vol. 5. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Olivares, A. 1964. Adiciones a las aves de la Comisaria del Vaupes (Colombia), II. Caldasia 9: 379–393. Roca, R. L. 1994. Oilbirds of Venezuela: ecology and conservation. Publ. Nuttall Orn. Cl. 24. Cambridge, MA. Ridgely, R. S. & Greenfield, P. J. 2001. The birds of Ecuador. Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca, NY. Sick, H. 1993. Birds in Brazil: a natural history. Princeton Univ. Press. Snow, D. W. 1962. Natural history of the Oilbird Steatornis caripensis, in Trinidad, W.I. Part II. Population, breeding, ecology and food. Zoologica 47: 199–221.