SHORT COMMUNICATIONS ORNITOLOGIA NEOTROPICAL 19: 157–160, 2008 © The Neotropical Ornithological Society OBSERVATIONS ON A NEST OF THE BEARDED TACHURI (POLYSTICTUS PECTORALIS) Martín Carrizo1 & Kaspar Delhey2,3 1Alvarado 845, 5o A, 8000, Bahía Blanca, Argentina. 2Behavioural Ecology of Sexual Signals Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Vogelwarte Radolfzell, Schlossallee 2, D-78315, Radolfzell, Germany. E-mail:
[email protected] Observaciones sobre un nido del Tachurí Canela (Polystictus pectoralis). Key words: Breeding system, parental care, monogamy, polygyny, Tyrannidae. The Bearded Tachuri (Polystictus pectoralis) is a low heights, but further details, such as the widely distributed small Neotropical tyrant duration of incubation and nestling periods, flycatcher (Tyrannidae) that inhabits open are unknown (Fitzpatrick 2004). Moreover, grasslands, often with shrubs near wetlands some observations suggest that males are (Collar & Wege 1995, Fitzpatrick 2004). polygynous and that females take care of the Three subspecies are recognized forming a chicks on their own (Parker & Willis 1997), disjunct distribution: P. p. bogotensis (highlands although this needs confirmation (Fitzpatrick of Colombia), P. p. brevipennis (E Colombia, S 2004). Polygyny is an uncommon breeding Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam and N Brazil) system among tyrant flycatchers, as most spe- and P. p. pectoralis (E Bolivia, S Brazil, Para- cies seem to be socially monogamous with guay, Uruguay and N Argentina) (Fitzpatrick males and females sharing the bulk of chick 2004). The Bearded Tachuri currently has the provisioning (Fitzpatrick 2004). Here we IUCN status near-threatened, mainly owing report observations on one nest of this spe- to habitat loss through fires, overgrazing and cies (nominate subspecies based on distribu- agriculture (BirdLife International 2007), and tion) in the southernmost end of its one of its three subspecies (P.