The breeding biology and nest site description of the western stripe-headed tanager (Spindalis zena) in the Bahamas

Habitat use was quantified for breeding Western Stripe-Headed Tanagers (Spindalis zena) on Abaco, Bahamas, during the summer of 2000. Ten S. zena nests were located in the canopy of a Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaeus) forest. The trees containing nests had a mean height of 13.30 m (SD = 2.08 m), and the mean height of the nests from the ground was 11.68 m (SD = 2.47 m). The vegetative structure of nest sites was determined by visually estimating the percent cover of four dominant plant taxa (i.e. Pinus caribaeus, Pteridium aquilinum, Tetrazygia bicolor, Metopium sp.) in 314 m2 circular sample plots around each nest. The vegetative structure of nest sites was compared to that of the surrounding habitat using a replicated goodness-of-fit test and no significant difference was detected. Several aspects of breeding, nesting, and foraging behavior were documented throughout the study giving insight into the general life history of this species.