Preformative wing molt in 23 neotropical resident passerine species

Abstract

Quantitative descriptions of wing‐feather replacement during the preformative and prealternate molts of resident Neotropical passerines are deficient: no more than 100 species possess adequate information. Here, we present quantitative molt data for 23 Neotropical passerines in three blocks: wing and tail molt extent, frequency of wing-molt pattern, and frequency of wing‐feather replacement. We used Bayesian bootstrapping to estimate mean and 95% credible intervals of wing‐ and tail‐molt extent. We found four molt patterns in the preformative molt, of which most species present more than one. Twenty‐one species undergo partial molt, being the general pattern most frequent. Only Northern Beardless‐Tyrannulet (Camptostoma imberbe) and Black‐chested Sparrow (Peucaea humeralis) undergo a complete preformative molt, the latter also undergoing an extensive prealternate molt. Basic life‐history information may inspire hypotheses to explain molt phenomena. In this sense, our results suggest that lack of time constraints has a small influence on completeness of preformative molt, at least in Neotropical passerines.