Seasonal Breeding and Morphological Variation Across Age and Sex in the Antioquia Brushfinch ( Atlapetes blancae )

Describing the natural history of endemic and endangered species is useful for developing effective conservation plans. Two important pieces of the natural history are the timing of reproduction and morphometrics. In this study, we estimated the reproductive season of Antioquia Brushfinch ( Atlapetes blancae ) based on a large database of observations and captures. We also provide the most extensive morphometric data base of males, females and subadult individuals for this species. Taking advantage of ecological modeling techniques, we estimated that the reproductive season of A. blancae most likely spans from February through late July with peak reproductive activity during early July. The reproductive activity is influenced by day length and precipitation. We also found that subadults are smaller than adults and females are smaller than males providing evidence for both, age and sexual size dimorphism. This study was the first attempt to provide important missing information about A. blancae that could help with the understanding of population viability.