Common Bush-Tanager 5242018 194887796 2008-02-29T13:29:53Z Eubot 231599 Removed taxobox colour. See [[User:Eubot/Removing colours from taxoboxen]]. {{Taxobox | name = Common Bush-tanager | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordata]] | classis = [[Aves]] | ordo = [[Passeriformes]] | subordo = [[Passeri]] | infraordo = [[Passerida]] | superfamilia = [[Passeroidea]] | familia = See text | genus = ''[[Chlorospingus]]'' | species = '''''C. ophthalmicus''''' | binomial = ''Chlorospingus ophthalmicus'' | binomial_authority = ([[Bernard du Bus de Gisignies|Du Bus de Gisignies]], [[1847]]) }} The '''Common Bush-tanager''' ('''''Chlorospingus ophthalmicus''''') is a small [[passerine]] [[bird]]. It is a resident breeder in the highlands from central [[Mexico]] south to [[Bolivia]] and northwest [[Argentina]]. The adult is 13.5 cm long and weighs 20g. They have a brown head with a (usually) thin [[supercilium]] and a white spot behind the eye and a light throat. The upperparts are olive and the underparts yellow, becoming white on the belly. Immatures are browner above, darker below, and have a duller olive eye spot. Coloration, especially of the cheeks, throat and eye region, is very variable across the wide range, giving weight to the theory that this is actually a [[superspecies]]. The call is a squeaky ''tseeet'', and the song is a high thin ''whichis whichis witchery tsee tseep seeur'' with many variations. The related ''[[Chlorospingus pileatus]]'' has a blacker head with a bold white supercilium rather than an eye spot. This bird is found in [[cloud forest]]s and adjacent bushy clearings, typically from 400 m to 2300 m altitude. It is usually encountered in small groups or as part of a [[mixed-species feeding flock]], and is rather sedentary<ref name=garciamorenoetal2004>García-Moreno ''et al.'' (2004)</ref>. This passerine feeds on [[insect]]s, [[spider]]s small [[fruit]]s and nectar. The [[menoponidae|menoponid]] [[chewing louse]] ''[[Myrsidea ophthalmici]]'' was described from a [[Venezuela]]n specimen of this bird<ref>Price & Dagleish (2006)</ref>; it is not known from other [[host (organism)|host]]s to date. The Venezuelan population of the Common Bush-tanager would, if this [[taxon]] is split up, be assigned to a distinct species. The bulky cup nest is built on bank, slope, or hidden amongst [[epiphyte]]s up to 15 m high in a tree. The normal clutch is two brown-marked white eggs, and this species is regularly double-brooded. ==Systematics and taxonomy== Traditionally, the genus ''Chlorospingus'' was placed with the [[tanager]] [[family (biology)|family]], Thraupidae. More recent research suggests that they are actually aberrant [[brush-finch]]es in the [[Emberizidae]] and particularly close to ''[[Arremonops]]''. Hence, as a common name "chlorospinguses" is arguably better than that the widely used "brush-tanagers", as the former is equally well suited to either placement. The use of chlorospingus has yet to be proposed. The wide range and considerable [[morphology (biology)|morphological]] variation displayed by ''C. ophthalmicus'' has been a problem for [[ornithologist]]s for many decades. Initially, many [[taxa]] presently united in this [[species]] were considered distinct, but they were eventually all lumped together. More recent results suggest that the "Common Bush-tanager" is actually a [[superspecies]]. A preliminary study of [[allozyme]] data<ref>Peterson ''et al.'' (1992)</ref> found pronounced divergences between the northern populations. [[mtDNA]] [[ATPase]] 8 [[DNA sequence|sequence]] data<ref name=garciamorenoetal2004 /> found 5 major [[clade]]s in the Mexican populations alone. These were subsequently confirmed by morphological comparisons.<ref name=sanchezgonzalezetal2007>Sánchez-González ''et al.'' (2007)</ref> A formal splitting-up of this species into several seems to be the eventual outcome, pending data from the populations south of Mexico. In addition, it would be interesting to determine whether there are geographical variations in the song that would further strengthen the case for species status of the [[taxa]]. The morphological variation, though recognizable, is rather inconspicuous and probably more the consequence of [[genetic drift]] in freshly-isolated [[subpopulation]]s than a cause for their separation. It appears as if the group north of the [[Isthmus of Panama]] originated before the final bout of the [[Great American Interchange]], by island-hopping across the emerging mountain ranges that now make up the isthmus, some 6 [[million years ago]] (mya). The direct descendants of the original colonizers of [[Mesoamerica]] are the southernmost Mesoamerican group, as is to be expected. Some 5.5 mya, the [[Sierra de los Tuxtlas]] population originated. The other groups west of the [[Isthmus of Tehuantepec]] [[evolutionary radiation|radiated]] rather synchronously between 3 and 4 mya.<ref>These dates are uncorroborated by material (fossil) evidence and hence only somewhat rough estimates. However, the discussion by García-Moreno ''et al.'' (2004) is very thorough and considers many lines of evidence, all indicating that these dates are indeed rather close approximations. It is possible, these authors point out, that there is an extremely "fast" ATP8 [[molecular clock]] in this taxon, but this would require a rate of [[mutation]]s so high as to be quite unlikely indeed considering the data from other passerine birds with comparable life histories.</ref> Notably, the divergence between the northern clades seems to have occurred far too early for the [[Pleistocene]] [[ice age]]s to have played a major part. Rather, it appears that the "Common Bush-tanager" [[evolve]]d in and was always confined to montane cloud forest. Given its sedentary habits, the [[phylogeny]] seems to be a result of a combination of habitat expanding and constricting due to [[Pliocene]] [[climate change]]s and, less frequently, accidental dispersal (such as to the Sierra de los Tuxtlas and, earlier, to Mesoamerica in general) The 5 northern clades are:<ref name=sanchezgonzalezetal2007 /> * Brown-headed Bush-tanager, ''Chlorospingus (ophthalmicus) ophthalmicus'' <small>(Du Bus de Gisignies, 1847)</small> :[[Sierra Madre Oriental]], from south-east [[San Luis Potosí]] south to northern [[Oaxaca]]. May contain several [[subspecies]]. Status of birds from around [[Montserrate]] (westernmost [[Chiapas]]) unknown, but these are probably ''dwighti''. :Crown [[olive (color)|olive]]. Throat whitish-grey, speckled and with indistinct "whiskers". Breast-band yellow to [[chartreuse yellow]]. Ear region dark. Eyestreak thin. Thin, incomplete white spectacles. Forehead spots indistinct. * Dusky-headed Bush-tanager, ''Chlorospingus (ophthalmicus) postocularis'' <small>[[Jean Cabanis|Cabanis]], [[1866]]</small> :Extreme SE [[Sierra Madre de Chiapas]] ([[Volcán Tacaná]]; probably west to [[El Triunfo, Chiapas|El Triunfo]]) and southwards along the [[Pacific]] slope of the Central American mountains, probably to [[Nicaragua]]. If considered a separate species, includes subspecies ''honduratius'' and ''schistaceiceps''. :Crown [[sepia (color)|sepia]]. Throat almost white, speckled, no "whiskers". Breast-band yellow. Ear region whitish. Eyestreak thin, broader behind eye but no spectacles. Forehead unspotted. * White-fronted Bush-tanager, ''Chlorospingus (ophthalmicus) albifrons'' <small>[[Osbert Salvin|Salvin]] & [[Frederick DuCane Godman|Godman]], [[1889]]</small> :[[Sierra Madre del Sur]] in [[Guerrero]] and Oaxaca. May contain several subspecies such as ''persimilis'' of the [[Sierra de Miahuatlán]]. :Crown [[Cinnamon (disambiguation)|cinnamon]]. Throat light [[buff (color)|buff]] with conspicuous "whiskers" and speckled sides. Breast-band [[tangerine yellow]]. Ear region dark. Eyestreak thin, merging into incomplete white spectacles and hence shaped like a horizontal [[tears|teardrop]]. Forehead with round white spots. * Dwight's Bush-tanager, ''Chlorospingus (ophthalmicus) dwighti'' <small>Underdown, [[1931]]</small> :Mountains of N Chiapas and easternmost Oaxaca, west to the [[Atlantic]] slope of [[Guatemala]] and probably the western Sierra Madre de Chiapas. :Crown [[olive (color)|olive]]. Throat almost white, speckled and with indistinct "whiskers". Breast-band chartreuse yellow shading to olive green. Ear region dark. Eyestreak thick. Conspicuous incomplete white spectacles. Forehead spots indistinct. * Wetmore's Bush-tanager, ''Chlorospingus (ophthalmicus) wetmorei'' <small>Lowery & Newman, [[1949]]</small> :[[Sierra de los Tuxtlas]], [[Veracruz]] :Crown [[olive (color)|olive]]. Throat whitish-grey, speckled and with indistinct "whiskers". Breast-band yellow to chartreuse yellow. Ear region dark. Eyestreak thin. Thin but distinct incomplete white spectacles. White forehead spots V-shaped. ==Footnotes== <references/> ==References== * {{aut|García-Moreno, Jaime; Navarro-Sigüenza, Adolfo G.; Peterson, A. Townsend & Sánchez-González, Luis A.}} (2004): Genetic variation coincides with geographic structure in the common bush-tanager (''Chlorospingus ophthalmicus'') complex from Mexico. ''[[Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|Mol. Phyl. Evol.]]'' '''33'''(1): 186–196. <small>{{doi|10.1016/j.ympev.2004.05.007}}</small> [http://www.specifysoftware.org/Informatics/bios/biostownpeterson/GNPS_MPE_2004.pdf PDF fulltext] * {{aut|Peterson, A. Townsend; Escalante P., Patricia & Navarro-Sigüenza, Adolfo G.}} (1992): Genetic variation and differentiation in Mexican populations of Common Bush-tanagers and Chestnut-capped Brush-finches. ''[[Condor (journal)|Condor]]'' '''94'''(1): 244–253. <small>{{doi|10.2307/1368813}}</small> [http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Condor/files/issues/v094n01/p0244-p0253.pdf PDF fulltext] * {{aut|Price, Roger D. & Dagleish, Robert C.}} (2006): ''Myrsidea'' Waterston (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae) from tanagers (Passeriformes: Thraupidae), with descriptions of 18 new species. ''[[Zootaxa]]'' '''1174''': 1-25. [http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2006f/zt01174p025.pdf PDF fulltext] * {{aut|Sánchez-González, Luis A.; Navarro-Sigüenza, Adolfo G.; Peterson, A. Townsend & García-Moreno, Jaime}} (2007): Taxonomy of ''Chlorospingus ophthalmicus'' in Mexico and northern Central America. ''[[Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club|Bull. B.O.C.]]'' '''127'''(1): 34-49. [http://www.specifysoftware.org/Informatics/bios/biostownpeterson/Setal_BBOC_2007.pdf PDF fulltext] * {{aut|Stiles, F. Gary & Skutch, Alexander Frank}} (1989): ''A guide to the birds of Costa Rica''. Comistock, Ithaca. <small>ISBN 0-8014-9600-4</small> [[Category:Chlorospingus]]