AVIAN NEST COLLECTION OF ARGENTINA: AN UNEXPLORED RESOURCE FOR RESEARCH

QUINTELA, FACUNDO; GONZALEZ, EXEQUIEL; SEGURA, LUCIANO N.

El Hornero

Asociación Ornitológica del Plata

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2018 vol. 33 p. 45 - 50

0073-3407

Studies based on avian nest collections had several advantages for researchers, such us to establish direct comparisons avoiding locating the nests in the field or the preservation over time of the nest material. Nonetheless, access to nest collections usually becomes an issue for researchers, due to the lack of information of their contents. This study present the nest collection content of the La Plata Museum (MLP). This collection holds 435 nests built by 101 species in 30 families and 10 orders. Some nests stand out due to the lack of knowledge about the breeding biology of the species, like the Black-capped Piprites (Piprites pileata), the Plumbeous Black-Tyrant (Knipolegus cabanisi), the Dot-winged Crake (Porzana spiloptera), the Greenish Schiffornis (Schiffornis virescens) and the Bay-ringed Tyrannulet (Phylloscartes sylviolus). In this nest collection are well represented the species of Pampas ecoregion (242 nests), as well as Patagonian forests (58 nests), Yungas (30 nests) and Paranaense forests (27 nests). In this way, we are presenting the content of the MLP nest collection in order to encourage a greater use of this valuable resource.