Lesser Antillean Pewee (Contopus latirostris)

Lesser Antillean Pewee


Description

The Lesser Antillean pewee (Contopus latirostris) is a species of bird in the family Tyrannidae.


Distribution And Habitat

The Lesser Antillean Pewee occurs in Puerto Rico (Oberle 2018) and in the northern Lesser Antilles such as St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, and Guadeloupe (Raffaele and others 1998). In Puerto Rico, it occurs almost exclusively in the western two-thirds of the island (Raffaele and others 1998), and it can be seen regularly at the Boquerón Nature Reserve and the Maricao State Forest (Oberle 2018). This species generally inhabits montane forests, coffee plantations, coastal scrub forests (Oberle 2018), and mangroves (Raffaele and others 1998). The atlas fieldwork yielded a total of 99 records within 56 hexagons or 12 percent of the 479 total hexagons (see map). Of the 56 hexagons where this species was found, breeding met the atlas definition of confirmed in 5 percent (3) of the hexagons, probable in 11 percent (6), and possible in 84 percent (47) (see map). Lesser Antillean Pewee distribution. The map shows the highest breeding code by hexagon and overlaying the ecological life zones in Puerto Rico. Note: percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.

Lesser Antillean Pewee Distribution

Breeding Habits

The Lesser Antillean Pewees nest consists of a cup-shaped structure made of moss, lichens, small roots, pieces of thin tree bark, and other fine materials, and is usually placed on a 213Lesser Antillean Pewee/Bobitotree limb (Biaggi 1997, Oberle 2018). Previously published reports indicate that breeding occurs in the spring (Biaggi 1997). Atlas results show that this species breeding season extends throughout the year with the most breeding activity from March to June (see chart). The breeding peaks in May, and in this month mostly occurs in the subtropical dry and wet forest life zones (see chart). Overall, atlas results (see table and map) show that the pewee breeds mostly within the subtropical moist forest life zone (39 percent of the hexagons) but also in subtropical wet forest life zones at higher elevations (30 percent of the hexagons) and in the subtropical dry forest life zone (30 percent of the hexagons).


Conservation

The global population trend of the Lesser Antillean Pewee has not been quantified or assessed, but the species is described as uncommon (Stotz and others 1996). It is suspected to be in decline in the Lesser Antilles, mostly due to habitat loss (del Hoyo and others 2004). This species is currently listed as a species of least concern by the IUCN (BirdLife International 2017). Locally, this species is not listed in any of the threatened categories of PRDNER and USFWS. In Puerto Rico, the Lesser Antillean Pewee has a protected habitat in land of about 22 percent or 295 km2 of the total area covered by the hexagons where evidence of breeding was found for this species (1342 km2).