First nesting record of the Blue-gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus) in Guerrero, Mexico

Abstract

Reproduction is a useful population parameter in the recognition of the distribution area of a viable species. The stricto sensu distribution area is defined as the space where the species lives and interacts non-ephemerally with all components of the ecosystem. The Blue-gray Tanager is a common species of the Neotropical region. The historical distribution area of the species in Mexico, based on records from the 1970s, located in the state of Veracruz. However, the species has experienced a constant increase in its distribution area during the last 50 years, such that it is currently present on both slopes from Nuevo Leon to the Yucatan Peninsula and from Guerrero to Chiapas. The first records of the Blue-gray Tanager in Guerrero date back to 2006. Its presence has been verified, in the coastal plains of the southeast and the center of the state, with reliable records in 2016 and 2018. However, information on the reproductive aspects of the species in Guerrero was lacking. In this communication we report the first nesting record of the Blue-gray Tanager (Thraupis episcopus) in Guerrero, as incontrovertible evidence of the establishment of the species in the state with a reproductively viable population.

Keywords

• avifauna de guerrero
• primer registro
• reproducción
• zihuatanejo.