DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.1328170.v3
title: Mangrove Cuckoo measurements

description: This fileset includes data collected from specimens of Mangrove Cuckoo (Coccyzus minor) held in the collections of the Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH), the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), the National Museum of Natural History - Smithsonian Institution (USNM), and the Museum of Comparative Zoology - Harvard University (MCZ). All data were collected by a single observer (John D. Lloyd) between November 2013 and October 2014. For more information about these data, please contact the author, John D. Lloyd, at the following email address: 5355693@gmail.com Mangrove_Cuckoo_Measurements.csv includes data on the identity of each specimen and its measurements. Mangrove_Cuckoo_Measurement_Error.csv includes repeated-measures data used to estimate the repeatability of estimates of bill size and color of the ventral plumage. Descriptions of each column follow. Mangrove_Cuckoo_Measurements.csv: Repository: the repository in which the specimens are permanently held (AMNH = American Museum of Natural History, FMNH = Field Museum of Natural History, MCZ = Museum of Comparative Zoology - Harvard University, and USNM = National Museum of Natural History - Smithsonian Institution). Catalog.number: the catalog number assigned to each specimen by the museum in which it was held. Subspecies: the subspecific identity of the specimen, as indicated on the collection tag except as otherwise noted in the "Comments" field. Sex: Sex as determined by the collector (m = male, f = female). Collected: Specific location where specimen was collected, as indicated on the collecting tag. Lattiude: Latitude of collection location as estimated from column "Collected" using GEOlocate (www.museum.tulane.edu/geolocate/). Longitude: Longitude of collection location as estimated from column "Collected" using GEOlocate (www.museum.tulane.edu/geolocate/). Locale: Generalized collection location (island, country, or state), as indicated on the collection tag. Region: Geographic region of collection location (BAFL = Bahamas and Florida, GA = Greater Antilles, LA = Lesser Antilles, CA = Central America and Mexico, SA = South America). Coll. month: Collection month, as indicated on the collection tag. Coll. day: Collection day, as indicated on the collection tag. Coll. year: Collection year, as indicated on the collection tag. Molt: Was the bird actively molting when collected? (y = yes, n = no). Molt.comments: Comments on molt. Age: Approximate age of bird when collected, as determined based on molt and plumage characteristics (juv = juvenile, very recently fledged based on size and/or plumage; hy = hatch-year; sy = second-year; asy = after second-year; ahy = after hatch-year). Age.comments: Comments on how age determined. total.length = total length of specimen from tip of bill to tip of tail. Note that preparation style influences this meaure, so it is not always reliable as an indicator of size. Bill.depth: depth of the bill (mm) at the anterior edge of the nares. Bill.width: width of the bill (mm) at the anterior edge of the nares. Nares: length of the bill (mm) from the anterior edge of the nares to the tip of the bill. Wing.chord: wing chord (mm) as measured with a wing-chord rule. Note that these measurements are not always reliable due to differences in preparation style of the specimens. p8-p1: difference in length of the longest (generally p8, but sometimes p7) and shortest primary (p) feathers. color.vent: depth of color in the cloacal region, scored from 0 (palest) to 5 (darkest). color.belly: depth of color in the belly region, scored from 0 (palest) to 5 (darkest). color.breast: depth of color in the breast region, scored from 0 (palest) to 5 (darkest). color.chin: depth of color in the chin region, scored from 0 (palest) to 5 (darkest). av.color: arithmetic average of color.vent, color.belly, color.breast, and color.chin. p7p8longest: Was the 7th (p7) or 8th (p8) primary longest? other.comment: any comment on the specimen. Mangrove_Cuckoo_Measurement_Error.csv: Individual (only on the MeasurementError tab): Number indicating to which individual the record belongs (e.g., the first two lines of data are repeated measurements of Individual 1; the Catalog.Number identifies the record for the individual on the Measurements tab). Catalog.number: the catalog number assigned to each specimen by the museum in which it was held. total.length = total length of specimen from tip of bill to tip of tail. Note that preparation style influences this meaure, so it is not always reliable as an indicator of size. Bill.depth: depth of the bill (mm) at the anterior edge of the nares. Bill.width: width of the bill (mm) at the anterior edge of the nares. Nares: length of the bill (mm) from the anterior edge of the nares to the tip of the bill. Wing.chord: wing chord (mm) as measured with a wing-chord rule. Note that these measurements are not always reliable due to differences in preparation style of the specimens. p8-p1: difference in length of the longest (generally p8, but sometimes p7) and shortest primary (p) feathers. color.vent: depth of color in the cloacal region, scored from 0 (palest) to 5 (darkest). color.belly: depth of color in the belly region, scored from 0 (palest) to 5 (darkest). color.breast: depth of color in the breast region, scored from 0 (palest) to 5 (darkest). color.chin: depth of color in the chin region, scored from 0 (palest) to 5 (darkest). av.color: arithmetic average of color.vent, color.belly, color.breast, and color.chin. First or Second?: Is the record from the first measurement or the second measurement of the specimen? Other data codes not described above: 1. n/a = "not available". Value could not be determined from the specimen. 2. blank = data were not measured.