Forbes's blackbird (''Anumara forbesi'') is an

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

species of

New World blackbird 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 ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Atlantic forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. This species was named for the British zoologist

William Alexander Forbes William Alexander Forbes (25 June 1855 – 14 January 1883) was an English zoologist. He was the son of James Staats Forbes (1823–1904). Forbes studied natural sciences at St John's College, Cambridge, and later taught at Rhodes College ( ...

Identification

Forbes's blackbird is an average sized

icterid 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 ...

around 21–24 cm with all black, non-glossy feathers. It has a slender, arrow-shaped bill with a straight culmen, equal to the length of its head. It has a long, slender tail with rounded feathers. As a perching bird it has an

anisodactyl In biology, dactyly is the arrangement of digits (fingers and toes) on the hands, feet, or sometimes wings of a tetrapod animal. It comes from the Greek word δακτυλος (''dáktylos'') = "finger". Sometimes the ending "-dactylia" is use ...

toe arrangement with three toes facing forward and one back. It has a harsh and buzzy call and chatters. It is often mistaken for the

chopi blackbird The chopi blackbird (''Gnorimopsar chopi'') is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Gnorimopsar''. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Its natural habitats are dry sava ...

(''Gnorimopsar chopi''), which can be distinguished by its glossy feathers and a distinct curve in the culmen of the beak.

Life History

Forbes's blackbird had an average lifespan of 4.6 years. It can eat insects, fruit and occasionally nectar from flowering plants or

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with ...

. Its breeding season ranges from March to June, during the rainy season. Nests are most commonly found in

mango trees ''Mangifera indica'', commonly known as mango, is a species of flowering plant in the family Anacardiaceae. It is a large fruit tree, capable of growing to a height of . There are two distinct genetic populations in modern mangoesthe "Indian type ...

(''Mangifera indica''). Egg clutch sizes can range between 1-4 eggs and it can have up to two clutches during the breeding season. After nest completion it can take anywhere between 4 and 10 days until egg laying starts. It is estimated that the population does not exceed 10,000 mature individuals.

Habitat and Range

Forbes's blackbird is a

non-migratory Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...

species found in east and north-east

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in small and very fragmented habitats. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are

subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discont ...

, subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

, and

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s. The largest grouping found 150 individuals at Pedra Talhada,

Alagoas Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. It ...

. There are anywhere between 2-100 subpopulations, all of which are experiencing a continued decline of mature individuals. It has been found in small numbers around sugar cane plantations and pastures adjacent to forest patches and marshy areas. In the wild it primarily inhabits forest edge areas.

Threats

The greatest threat to Forbes's blackbird is widespread

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

and degradation. It is estimated that roughly 10% of forest from the species range was lost between 2000–2012. The degradation has even reduced the amount of forest edge habitat available. Much of the destroyed forest has been converted to sugar cane plantations which the local populations may be able to withstand. Decline in population size has also been attributed to reduced reproductive success due to

brood parasitism Brood parasites are animals that rely on others to raise their young. The strategy appears among birds, insects and fish. The brood parasite manipulates a host, either of the same or of another species, to raise its young as if it were its own ...

from the

shiny cowbird The shiny cowbird (''Molothrus bonariensis'') is a passerine bird in the New World family Icteridae. It breeds in most of South America except for dense forests and areas of high altitude such as mountains. Since 1900 the shiny cowbird's range ha ...

(''Molothrus bonariensis''). Nests observed from 1981-1986 has a parasitism rate of 64%, and in 1987 all nests studied were parasitized by the shiny cowbird. It has also been observed in trade due to confusion with the chopi blackbird which is valued in trade.

Conservation

Forbes's blackbird is officially recognized as Vulnerable in Brazil. It is legally protected in

Rio Doce State Park The Rio Doce State Park ( pt, Parque Estadual do Rio Doce) is a state park in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It protects a large remnant of Atlantic Forest, and includes a system of lagoons rich in species of native fish. Location The Rio D ...

and Pedra Telhada Biological Reserve where protection is enforced by guards, however the species mostly occur outside these areas. At Pedra Telhada experiments are being performed on destroying shiny cowbird eggs that have parasitized blackbird nests. Currently there are no further protections in place to protect this species.

References

#BirdLife International. 2017. Anumara forbesi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T22724274A119070155. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22724274A119070155.en. #Tracewski, L., Butchart, S.H.M., Di Marco, M., Ficetola, G.F., Rondinini, C., Symes, A., Wheatley, H., Beresford, A.E. and Buchanan, G.M. 2016. Toward quantification of the impact of 21st-century deforestation on the extinction risk of terrestrial vertebrates. ''Conservation Biology''. #Silveira, L.F. and Straube, F.C. 2008. Aves. In: Machado, A.B.M., Drummond, G.M. and Paglia, A.P. (eds), Livro vermelho da fauna brasileira ameaçada de extinção. Vol. 2, pp. 378–679. Ministério do Meio Ambiente, Brasília & Fundação Biodiversitas. , Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q27076021

Forbes's blackbird Forbes's blackbird (''Anumara forbesi'') is an endangered species of New World blackbird that is endemic to the Atlantic forest in South America. This species was named for the British zoologist William Alexander Forbes. Identification Forbes' ...

Birds of the Atlantic Forest Endemic birds of Brazil

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot