Nathan H. Rice

Geographic variation in the rosy thrush-tanager (rhodinocichla rosea) complex of mesoamerica (aves: passeriformes)

Patterns of differentiation and geographic variation among populations of the Rhodinocichla complex are described. We document the existence of a heretofore unreported population in the vicinity of Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico. The species occurs in 4-6 allopatric populations, each of which has unique characters that make it diagnosable. We recommend that the complex be considered a single biological species, but at least five phylogenetic species.

A Preliminary Phylogenetic Hypothesis for the Cotingas (Cotingidae) Based on Mitochondrial DNA

The cotingas (Cotingidae) are a diverse family of Neotropical suboscines that are thought to be closely related to manakins (Pipridae) and tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) in the superfamily Tyrannoidea (Lanyon 1985; McKitrick 1985; Sibley and Ahlquist 1985, 1990; Prum 1990). The cotingas include species with a great variety of plumages, breeding systems, and ecologies, and they exhibit the largest range in body size of any passerine family (Snow 1982). Understanding the evolutionary history of variation in these traits requires a corroborated phylogenetic hypotheses for the group. Toward this goal, we have conducted a preliminary molecular phylogenetic analysis to identify the major cotinga clades and reconstruct their interrelationships. Modern phylogenetic studies of the cotingas have included five analyses of morphological and molecular data. Some cotingas were included in phylogenetic studies based on allozyme electrophoresis (Lanyon 1985) and DNA-DNA hybridization (Sibley and Ahlquist 1985, 1990; Sibley et al. 1985). Furthermore, Prum (1990) performed a test of the monophyly of the cotingas based on morphology. Prum and Lanyon (1989) did a phylogenetic analysis of the Schiffornis group based on morphology, and Lanyon and Lanyon (1988) analyzed the relationships among the genera of the Phytotoma group using morphology and allozyme electrophoresis. Here, we analyze data from sequences of mitochondrial DNA from individuals of 32 cotinga species in 26 genera and 7 outgroup taxa. Monophyly of cotingas.—First recognized in nearly its modern form by Sclater (1888), the Cotingidae has varied somewhat in taxonomic composition over the last century (Ridgway 1907; Hellmayr 1929; Snow 1979, 1982). Garrod (1876) first recognized the close relationship between manakins and cotingas based on the presence of an enlarged femoral artery. Prum (1990) established that the majority of cotingas and manakins possess the derived femoral artery condi-

A NEW SPECIES OF ANTPITTA (FORMICARIIDAE: GRALLARIA) FROM THE SOUTHERN ECUADORIAN ANDES

We describe a striking new species of Grallaria antpitta from wet, upper sub- tropical forest in the upper Rio Chinchipe drainage, provincia Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador. Notes on its natural history and molecular systematics are presented along with spectro- grams of its voice. The species is readily diagnosed by its large size, unique white facial markings, and voice. Initial results from DNA sequence analyses place the new species in a well-supported clade that includes Grallaria nuchalis (which is syntopic with the new spe- cies), G. hypoleuca, G. watkinsi, and G. ruficapilla. Received 23 September 1998, accepted 22 April 1999.

Phylogenetic Patterns in Montane Troglodytes Wrens

This is the publishers version, also available electronically from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1370013#references_tab_contents.

Phylogenetic relationships of flowerpeckers (Aves: Dicaeidae): Novel insights into the evolution of a tropical passerine clade

Understanding the relationships and evolution of flowerpeckers has been challenging, particularly as no phylogenetic study has as yet assessed the group. Here, we present a first such analysis of this clade based on sequences of two mitochondrial genes and one nuclear intron. Our analyses offer strong support for monophyly of the Dicaeidae. Within the family, 4 Dicaeum species (D. chrysorrheum, D. melanoxanthum, D. agile, and D. everetii) had closer affinity to Prionochilus, although tests of alternative topologies could not reject reciprocal monophyly of the two genera. Across the family, overall bill shape trends from more stout bills basally to more slender and medium bills, whereas sexual dichromatism and plumage patterns show much more homoplasy. Taxonomically, generic allocations may need to be changed to reflect historical relationships better.

SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTION IN THE TITYRINAE (PASSERIFORMES: TYRANNOIDEA)

Abstract We tested the monophyly and determined the phylogenetic relationships of the seven genera (Laniisoma, Laniocera, Iodopleura, Pachyramphus, Schiffornis, Tityra, and Xenopsaris) and 27 of the 31 recognized species of the subfamily Tityrinae using complete gene sequence data from the mitochondrial gene NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2. Monophyly of all seven genera was recovered using both weighted parsimony and Bayesian methods. Intergeneric relationships were nearly identical between the two methods and are largely in concordance with previous studies. Both analyses recovered two basal clades within the Tityrinae: one clade contained Schiffornis, Laniocera, and Laniisoma; the other clade consisted of Iodopleura, Tityra, Xenopsaris, and Pachyramphus. All genera in the Tityrinae that contained multiple species were monophyletic and are concordant with current taxonomy. We present the first phylogeny for Pachyramphus and suggest that Platypsaris is not valid. Character mapping of morphological, nest-construction, and breeding-system data on our phylogeny suggest conservative evolution of most characters. We recommend elevating the Tityrinae to family level. Sistemática y Evolución de los Tityrinae (Passeriformes: Tyrannoidea)

FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR PARAPHYLY OF THE FORMICARIIDAE (PASSERIFORMES)

Abstract The historical relationships of ground antbirds and their relatives have long been unresolved. Here, I present a phylogenetic analysis of ground antbird (Formicariidae) relationships based on DNA sequence data from the cytochrome-b and ND2 genes. Results support novel hypotheses of historical relationships, including two revisions of suboscine taxonomy: (1) paraphyly of the Formicariidae with the tentative inclusion of at least some rhinocryptids (Liosceles, Rhinocrypta, and Scytalopus) in the ground antbird lineage, and (2) placement of Pittasoma with Conopophaga in the Conopophagidae.

Diet explains red flight feathers in Yellow-shafted Flickers in eastern North America

ABSTRACT Yellow-shafted Flickers (Colaptes auratus auratus subspecies group of the Northern Flicker) occasionally have orange to red flight feathers in eastern North America far from the hybrid zone with the Red-shafted Flicker (C. a. cafer subspecies group). Blocks of feathers of anomalous color tend to show bilateral symmetry and may differ from one year to the next in the same bird. It has been suggested that hybridization with cafer must be the source of the red color and that selection for that color could explain the high incidence of red or orange shafts in eastern flickers in some localities. Complex, though largely unproven, physiological mechanisms have been hypothesized to explain the variegated look. We evaluated a simpler, dietary explanation for the variation: that the pigment rhodoxanthin acquired exogenously at the time of feather molt comes to rest alongside the carotenoids normally present in these feathers. An exogenous source of rhodoxanthin exists in the berries of nonnative bush honeysuckles (Lonicera spp.) now naturalized in eastern North America and the American Midwest. We confirm the presence of rhodoxanthin and a probable metabolite, rather than the 4-keto-carotenoids found in the Red-shafted Flicker, in the red flight feathers of 2 Yellow-shafted Flickers from eastern North America. In these individuals, dietary rhodoxanthin appeared to interfere with the production of lutein, the main carotenoid in auratus. A fairly abrupt appearance of red color in earlier-molted primaries (usually p4 or p5) followed by its gradual fading in subsequent primaries in a large series of aberrantly colored flickers from eastern North America and the American Midwest supports a dietary explanation. We use data on the timing of replacement of primaries in the Northern Flicker at Manomet in Plymouth, eastern Massachusetts, to infer that these aberrantly colored Yellow-shafted Flickers on average acquired the unusual red pigment in early August.

Using Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotopes to Distinguish the Locations of Feather Growth in Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

ABSTRACT. Large raptors have complicated primary flight feather molt cycles because they cannot afford to be grounded for any significant amount of time. Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) use Staffelmauser molt, the replacement of remiges in waves, allowing for constant mobility. Since their remiges are always in a molting cycle, Ospreys may grow feathers on their breeding and wintering grounds, each location providing its own distinctive stable isotopic signature. Herein we demonstrate that multiple analyses of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes from several locations along the primary flight feathers of Mid-Atlantic Ospreys document the location of the individual during feather growth. Any previous studies regarding Ospreys feather growth locations were carried out through wear studies, a highly subjective practice. We document three distinct signatures, a breeding ground signature for the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, and two wintering ground signatures, one in the Caribbean and one in northern South America. By analyzing multiple locations along each feather, a technique not executed before, we also document the continuation of molt during migration in a few specimens.