Preface

The idea for this book arose out of necessity. We needed information on
mating systems in tropical birds to compare with D N A fingerprinting
studies of temperate birds. We were asking a simple question: is extra-
pair mating more common in temperate than in tropical passerine
birds? We found little information on tropical birds. So we started some
empirical field studies in Panama to answer our own question, and
found no extra-pair fertilizations in the Dusky Antbird. But we
expected to find EPFs in the Clay-colored Robin because we knew
from our prior research that they bred synchronously during the dry
season, much like temperate zone birds do in the spring. A reviewer of
our paper stated that the prediction that Clay-colored Robins should
have EPFs qualified us for membership in the Flat Earth Society.
Extra-pair mating systems in passerines were (and still are) considered
ubiquitous, so it seemed silly to the reviewer that we were making a big
issue of predicting that robins would have EPFs. We had come face to
face with the Temperate Zone Bias.
Of course this was not the first time. E S M began working in Panama
in the 1960s, before behavioral ecology blew on the embers of the dying
field of ethology. Early work included latitudinal differences in avian
frugivory and fruiting seasons, the influence of nest predation on
breeding seasons, and the bioacoustic basis for the evolution of songs
in tropical birds. Major differences between temperate and tropical
birds were highlighted.We then turned to migratory birds.What a great
opportunity they provide to contrast adaptations to differences in
latitude within the same individual. But through all these endeavors, it
remained our impression that studies of temperate zone birds provided
the data to model generalities, and that tropical exceptions were con-
sidered oddities. Today, the now vibrant field of behavioral-ecology is
still much too reliant on_Lhese temperate-based models.
There is an intellectual vacuum to fill. We planned this book, not to
fill the vacuum, an impossible task, but to stimulate others to work on
tropical birds using a new perspective. The new perspective is exciting.
viii BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY OF TROPICAL BIRDS

Our premise is not 'why tropical birds are so different' but rather 'why
temperate zone birds are so atypical.' Alexander Skutch (1985) used
the same logic when he stated that the question should not be 'why do
tropical birds lay so few eggs?' but, rather, 'why do temperate zone birds
lay so many?'The answer seems more tractable when you ask it in this
way.
In the tropics diversity is the name of the game. For example, over
90% of North American passerines have a similar territorial system,
they defend breeding territories for only a few months each summer.
But, in the tropics, only 13 % of passerines defend territories during the
breeding season only; instead the predominant territorial system is
year-round defense of feeding and nesting territories plus three other
systems not represented at all in temperate zone passerines! Our
message is clear. In order to discover generalities about avian biology, a
diversity of adaptations helps provide the comparative material needed
to overcome the thin slice of time represented by the present. And,
while understandable, a temperate zone bias is inexcusable, because it
is more than a latitudinal bias, it acts as a blinder to the amazing diver-
sity in behavioral adaptations that remain to be explained.
We also have regrets. We apologize for the heavy load we place upon
passerine birds in this book. We hope that the ideas are generalizable to
other groups. Passerines make good subjects, though, because they are
mainly freed from stringent nest site requirements and there are so
many species. Our focus on the neotropics is due to our familiarity with
the natural history of the birds there.
This familiarity is due largely to the efforts of two mentors, Martin
Moynihan and Eugene Eisenmann. Both were instrumental in the
development of tropical bird study and in the development of one of
the premier tropical research institutions, the Smithsonian Tropical
Research Institute (STRI). STRI afforded E S M both predoctoral and
postdoctoral opportunities to become familiar with tropical birds and,
for both of us, a yearly visit to Panama for research.We thank STRI staff
for their help in facilitating our field research, and their excellent library
was an invaluable resource for us.
Readers will see, time and again, that we draw conclusions and make
generalizations based on evidence from just a few studies and species.
For most important questions there are not enough data to perform
formal comparative analyses of temperate versus tropical species.
Instead we take the few pieces of the puzzle that exist, and our own
experience, and try to see the big picture. We cannot wait until dozens
of studies have been done on a variety of tropical birds to tackle
 PREFACE ix

particular questions. The slow but steady rate at which such studies are
being done means that the tropical ecosystem will be largely ruined by
the time such comparative studies could be made. But important dif-
ferences in ecology and behavior do exist, and it is very clear that
temperate species are not a good model for understanding the behav-
ioral ecology of tropical birds.
This book is a call to arms. We highlight the missing pieces of the
puzzle in the hope that an army of graduate students and researchers
will set out to find the answers before it is too late. Our fervent wish is
that residents in tropical countries will be stimulated to answer the
many questions we raise. Opportunities abound for discovering,
describing, and discussing the beautiful ways tropical birds are differ-
ent from run-of-the-mill temperate zone birds and yet more
representative of avian adaptations worldwide.
We thank Isabelle Bisson, Debbie Buehler, Sharon Gill, Gail Fraser,
Joan Howlett, Jennifer Nesbitt, Ryan Norris, and Trevor Pitcher for
reviewing and commenting on various chapters in this book. The
Smithsonian Institution, through its Scholarly Studies Program, and
the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
provided essential grant monies to carry out our research and support
students. York University provided excellent support for field research
by BJMS and her students, and much of this book was written during
her sabbatical leave. Stan and Pat Randprovided us with a place to stay
and a trusty Cherokee to ride in for several years.We are forever grateful
to them. We also thank Douglas and Sarah who were born to the task.

Bridget J. M. Stutchbury
Eugene S. Morton