ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS OF 2 TODIES IN HISPANIOLA - EFFECTS OF HABITAT AND FLOCKING

We studied microhabitat use, foraging and social behavior of Broad-bil led (Todus subulatus) and Narrow-billed (T. angustirostris) Todies in two areas of sympatry in the Cordillera Central of the Dominican Repub lic. Solitary Broad-billed and Narrow-billed Todies occupied distinct microhabitats in both shade coffee plantations and native pine forest while generally sharing similar foraging strategies. In both habitats, Broad-billed Todies foraged higher in the vegetation and occurred in more outer horizontal positions with lower foliage density than did th eir congener. Movement rates and feeding rates differed significantly between the two species, with the Narrow-bill being the more active sp ecies. Changes in foraging behavior by both species of todies were obs erved when they associated with mixed-species flocks in pine forest. W e noted a decrease in some measures of spatial overlap of todies in in terspecific flocks, but other feeding behaviors tended to converge.