Melodious Blackbird

Overview

The melodious blackbird (Dives dives) is a species of bird in the family Icteridae. It is a monotypic species found across tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas.

Identification

• Males average 25.5 cm long with a weight of 98.3 to 102 g, while females average 23 cm long and weigh 83.4 to 95.9 g.
• Adults are entirely black with blue and purple iridescence, featuring a dark brown iris, black bill, and black legs and feet.
• The species possesses a long tail and disproportionately large legs and feet.
• Its song is described as loud and musical, mixing mellow whistles and warbles with sudden pitch changes, often accompanied by pumping display movements.

Habitat

This bird inhabits semi-open to open landscapes in tropical and lower subtropical zones, including forest edges, clearings, pine woodlands, gallery forests, and human-inhabited areas with scattered trees. Its range extends from southern Mexico through Central America, with conflicting data regarding its presence in Costa Rica, though some sources indicate it is now widespread there. It is found at elevations ranging from sea level to approximately 2,000–2,500 m.

Diet

The melodious blackbird is omnivorous, consuming insects, arthropods, small vertebrates, seeds, fruit, and nectar. It primarily forages on the ground by bobbing its head, but also feeds in all parts of trees up to the canopy. It occasionally removes ticks and other parasites from cattle and uses a "gaping" behaviour to expose prey in pine cones and leaf clusters.

Did you know?

Although it shares its range and habitat with the bronzed cowbird, the melodious blackbird is not known to host this brood parasite.