''Dives'' is a genus of

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the family

Icteridae Icterids () or New World blackbirds make up a family, the Icteridae (), of small to medium-sized, often colorful, New World passerine birds. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red. The ...

. The melodious blackbird lives in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

and

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

; the scrub blackbird in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. The three species look similar, with plumage ranging from brownish black in juveniles to black with iridescence (green, blue, or violet) in adults, slightly more iridescent in males. The bare parts are black and the eyes are dark brown. The upper edge of the bill (the culmen) is curved, not flattened as in many other icterids, and the bill has a slight hook at the tip. The songs are varied and pleasant. If the ranges of the melodious blackbird and the northern populations of the scrub blackbird overlapped, they would be indistinguishable in the field apart from voice, and some authorities

lump Lump may refer to: * "Lump" (song), a 1995 song by The Presidents of the United States of America * ''Lump'' (compilation album), a 2000 best-of album by The Presidents of the United States of America * Lump (dog), a dog who inspired Pablo Pic ...

these two species into one; on the other hand some split the scrub blackbird into two species. All three live in open habitats, including agricultural land, and have adapted well to human disturbance. This genus is believed to be most closely related to ''

Euphagus ''Euphagus'' is a small genus of American blackbirds. It contains two extant species: Brewer's blackbird, ''Euphagus cyanocephalus'', and rusty blackbird ''E. carolinus''. The living species are very similar medium-sized birds. Adult males h ...

'' and ''

Quiscalus The Bird, avian genus ''Quiscalus'' contains seven of the 11 species of grackles, gregarious passerine birds in the icterid family. They are native to North America, North and South America. The genus was named and described by French ornitholog ...

''.

Species

It contains three species:

References

* * Peterson, Alan P. (Editor). 1999
''Zoological Nomenclature Resource'' (Zoonomen)
Accessed 2007-07-29. American blackbirds Bird genera {{Icteridae-stub