Agelaius xanthomus was formerly widespread on
Puerto Rico (to USA), where it occurs in two forms. The race
monensis is found throughout the offshore islands of Mona and Monito. The nominate race occurs on the mainland, but is now mostly restricted to south-west coastal areas. There is also a population in eastern coastal areas, but this has almost vanished, with no breeding records since 1986 (USFWS 1996c,d). The south-west population declined by c.80% in 1975-1981 to a low of 300 individuals in 1982, but pre-reproductive season roost counts in 1985-1995 showed an average annual increase of 14% (USFWS 1996c,d); by 2011 there were 850 individuals, with an additional 60 at Salinas (R. Miranda-Medina
in litt. 2012). In early 1998, the total population was estimated at 1,250 individuals (Jaramillo and Burke 1999).
Rights Holder: International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Bibliographic Citation: BirdLife International 2012.
Agelaius xanthomus. In: IUCN 2014 . IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1 . <
www.iucnredlist.org>
