Dives (bird)
Dives is a genus of Neotropical birds in the family Icteridae.
| Dives | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Cuban blackbird (Dives atroviolacea) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Icteridae |
| Genus: | Dives Cassin, 1867 |
| Species | |
The melodious blackbird lives in Mexico and Central America; the scrub blackbird in Ecuador and Peru.
The three species look similar, with plumage ranging from brownish black in juveniles to black with iridescence (green, blue, or violet) in adults, slightly more iridescent in males. The bare parts are black and the eyes are dark brown. The upper edge of the bill (the culmen) is curved, not flattened as in many other icterids, and the bill has a slight hook at the tip. The songs are varied and pleasant. If the ranges of the melodious blackbird and the northern populations of the scrub blackbird overlapped, they would be indistinguishable in the field apart from voice, and some authorities lump these two species into one; on the other hand some split the scrub blackbird into two species.
All three live in open habitats, including agricultural land, and have adapted well to human disturbance.
This genus is believed to be most closely related to Euphagus and Quiscalus.
Species
It contains three species:
| Image | Common Name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Cuban blackbird | Dives atroviolacea | Cuba |
 | Melodious blackbird | Dives dives | coastal eastern and south-eastern Mexico to Costa Rica. |
.jpg.webp) | Scrub blackbird | Dives warszewiczi | Ecuador and Peru |
References
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dives. |
- Jaramillo, Alvaro; Burke, Peter (1999). New World Blackbirds: the icterids. Princeton University Press. pp. 221–227. ISBN 0-691-00680-6. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
- Peterson, Alan P. (Editor). 1999. Zoological Nomenclature Resource (Zoonomen). Accessed 2007-07-29.