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Nest, Eggs, and Nesting Behavior of the Gray Trembler 
(Cinclocerthia gutturalis ) on St. Lucia, West Indies 
Joshua B. LaPergola , 1,2,4 Jennifer L. Mortensen , 13 and Robert L. Curry' 
ABSTRACT.—Few descriptions exist of the nestint 
behav.or of the Gray Trembler (Cinclocerthia gurtur 
al,s) ' and the only nest description of this species seem.* 
tncongruent with what is known about nesting behavior 
of other specres of Mimidac. We report the first 
definitively described nest of the Gnty Trembler in St 
Lucia. West Indies in June-July 2007. We observed 
construction of. incubation at. and feeding of nestlings 
m an open-cup nest, similar in architecture to nests of 
other mini ids. contradicting previous reports that Gray 
Trembler nests are domed, constructed of dried grass 
and on topol palm (Cocos nucifera ) trees Received IS 
May 2010. Accepted 27 October 2010. 
Nesting biology is a basic component of the 
natural history of passerine birds. Nest structure 
can reflect phylogenetic relationships (Hansel 1 
2000) and, along with nest-site selection, influ¬ 
ence the likelihood of reproductive failure through 
mechanisms that include depredation and parasit¬ 
ism (Martin and Li 1992. Martin 1995). Locating 
'Department of Biology. Villanova University, 80(1 
Lancaster Avenue. Villanova, PA 19085, USA. 
-Current address: Department of Neurobiology and 
Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca. NY 14853. USA. 
Current address: Department of Biology, Tufts Univer¬ 
sity, Medford. MA 02155, USA. 
•■Corresponding author; e-mail:jbl96@corneIl.edu 
and identifying nests of focal species—based on 
characteristics of the nest, the eggs, or belli—are 
essential for monitoring reproductive parameters, 
including clutch size, hatching success, and 
fledgling production, which may affect population 
viability. 
The passerine family Mimidae contains 34 
species, including many species with only frag¬ 
mentary data on nesting biology (Cody 20051- 
Recent molecular phylogenetic analyses suppon 
the presence of two clades within the family : 11 1 •* 
monophyletic group comprising mockingbirds 
(Mimus) and thrashers ( Toxostoma and Oreo- 
scoptes). and (2) a monophyletic group containing 
Caribbean endemic thrashers and tremblers i 
phocinclus. Margarops. Allenia. and Cinil' 1 
ceri/iia), continental catbirds (Dumetelld • uld 
Melanoptila), and Blue ( Melanotis caervlesw 
and Blue-and-white (A/, hypnlcucus) mocking¬ 
birds (Lovette and Rubenstein 2007). Membersot 
the catbird and Caribbean thrasher ciade are k* 
represented in the scientific literature. incora|ur- 
ison to the well-studied mockingbird and conti¬ 
nental thrasher ciade. and lack detailed baseline 
natural history data with a few exceptions- eg- 
Dumetella carolinensis (Cimprich and M° lia 
1995), Margarops fuscatus (Arendt 2006). 3111 
