Abstract

AGUILERA-ORTEGA, Julio Eduardo  and  MADRID-LOPEZ, Walter Alexis. Pigmentary aberration in a Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) in El Salvador. Huitzil [online]. 2023, vol.24, n.1, e653.  Epub Oct 20, 2023. ISSN 1870-7459.  https://doi.org/10.28947/hrmo.2023.24.1.673.

Most cases of pigmentary aberrations for the family Tyrannidae have been described in North America, with few records for South America and no formal records for Central America. We record for the first time for El Salvador and Central America a case of partial leucism in the Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans). On 8 January 2022, around 11:00 h, we observed an adult specimen of S. nigricans perched on a stone within the current of the Shutia River, in Las Flores at 718 m a.s.l., in the municipality of Tepecoyo, La Libertad. We noticed that this individual had an abnormal coloration between the loreal and subocular region, presenting white spots in the form of moles. The white spots had bilateral symmetry and were located on the head, away from the spine, so we suggest that this is partial leucism. We consider it essential to document these incidental observations of pigmentary anomalies in wild birds, as they provide important data on the ecological and environmental characteristics that could explain the prevalence of these anomalies in bird coloration.

Keywords : Plumage; partial leucism; partial melanism; Tyrannidae.

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