Pitangus Sulphuratus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Pitangus sulphuratus (Linnaeus, 1766) The great kiskadee Pitangus sulphuratus is a common and well known bird in its native range of South America and the southern end of the United States. A highly aggressive, generalist feeder it is sometimes known as an agricultural pest. In its native range of Brazil the great kiskadee has been observed to predate on a number of native frog species; including the Menwig frog (Physalaemus albonotatus), the lesser snouted treefrog (Scinax nasicus) and tadpoles of the leaf frog (Phyllomedusa distincta) (Birdlife International 2009). Preferred habitat of the great kiskadee includes areas around rivers, streams, and lakes bordered with dense vegetation as well as open country and parks. It has has also been observed in arable land, pastureland, heavily degraded forest, moist lowland and montane forests, moist shrubland, dry grassland, mangrove habitats and beaches. 200 individuals of P. sulphuratus were intentionally introduced to Bermuda from Trinidad in 1957 in a falied attempt as biological Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons (User: Trabajo Propio) control agents for introduced anole lizards (particularly the Jamaican anole (Norops grahami) (Cheesman & Clubbe, 2007; vertebrate in Bermuda, the ‘Critically Endandered’ (CR) Bermudian Davenport et al., 2008) and insect pests. skink (Eumeces longirostris)(Davenport et al., 2008); some size The great kiskadee has had severe impacts on native biodiversity classes were observed to be completely absent during monitoring in Bermuda. The great kiskadee was implicated in the extinction (Davenport et al., 2008). The great kiskadee also predates on the of the native Bermudian cicada (Tibicen bermudiana) in the late eggs and chicks of native bird species such as the Bermuda catbird 1990’s. (Galeoscoptes bermudianus), chick-of-the-village (Vireo griseus bermudianus) and the eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis) (Forbes, 2010).

It is a significant predator of the only endemic terrestrial References: BirdLife International (2009) Pitangus sulphuratus. In: IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Cheesman, O.D. & Clubbe, C. (2007) Dealing with Alien Invasive Species – Introduction, Overview and Conclusions. pp 193-200 in Biodiversity That Matters: a conference on conservation in UK Overseas Territories and other small island communities, Jersey 6th to 12th October 2006 (ed. M. Pienkowski). UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum [link] Davenport, John; Jeremy Hills; Anne Glasspool & Jack Ward (2008) Threats to the Critically Endangered endemic Bermudian skink Eumeces longirostris. Oryx Volume 35 Issue 4, Pages 332 – 339 Click here to view archives of previous weeks’ species Forbes, K.A. (2010) Bermuda’s Fauna. Bermuda Online [link]