Abstract

ESPINOSA, Camilo; CRUZ-BERNATE, Lorena  and  BARRETO, Guillermo. REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY OF Sicalis flaveola (AVES: THRAUPIDAE) IN CALI, COLOMBIA. Bol. Cient. Mus. Hist. Nat. Univ. Caldas [online]. 2017, vol.21, n.2, pp.101-114. ISSN 0123-3068.  https://doi.org/10.17151/bccm.2017.21.2.7.

The Saffron Finch (Sicalis flaveola) is a mainly grain-eating species adapted to open habitats and a secondary cavity nester that also uses abandoned nests from other species. Knowledge about the natural history of the species comes mainly from Argentina and Brazil. However, only some data on the clutch size of S. f. flaveola distributed in Colombia and Venezuela were available. The reproductive biology of S. f. flaveola was conducted on the Meléndez Campus of Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia, between January 2013 and May 2015. Ninety-four nesting boxes were installed to provide additional nesting resource and four transects were done weekly in search of active nests and checking the nest boxes. Clutch size was 3.46 eggs, hatched chick average was three and gender proportion was 1:1. Incubation was carried out by the female while caring for the chicks was done by the couple. The reproductive success of the species at the moment of leaving the nest was 65.8%. Differences were found with the subspecies of southern latitudes of South America with a smaller range of posture and longer incubation and nesting stay periods. However, in aspects such as parental care during incubation and nesting of the chicks, they were similar.

Keywords : clutch size; growth rate; latitude; life history; nesting boxes; urban ecology; Thraupidae.

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