This study investigates the relationship between morphological similarity and ecological overlap among 11 species of passerine birds inhabiting second-growth forests on the island of St. Kitts in the Lesser Antilles. Morphological similarity was based on body size, wing/tarsus ratio, and bill proportions. Ecological overlaps between species were based on foraging method, feeding location in the habitat, and distribution among habitats. Overlap in foraging method was strongly correlated with similarity in the wing/tarsus ratio; overlap in feeding location was additionally correlated with similarity in bill structure; habitat overlap was not, however, related to morphological similarity. This study strengthens the notion that morphology can be used as an index to ecological relationships among species coexisting in the same
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Ricklefs et al. (1977) studied this question.