Although whale watching has become a popular ecotourism attraction in Dominica, birders seldom take advantage of a splendid opportunity to observe seabirds. On 16 February, a nightime search for Black-capped Petrels on the north and northwest slopes of Morne aux Diables, which hosted the last known nesting site on the island in 1882, was unsuccessful. To our knowledge this record provides only the second in Arima Valley in the last half century and may be a herald of an expanding population recovering from excessive hunting. Apparently no Dickcissels have been noted in Nariva Swamp this year, though many have been seen between Freeport and Waterloo on the west coast.
Birds exhibit a variety of mating systems.
The most common mating system is monogamy, in which one male and one female mate and bond with each other during a breeding season. Variations on the theme include serial monogamy, in which a different mate is acquired each season, and life monogamy, in which a pair is mated until one individual dies. Monogamy is considered to be more prevalent in birds than in mammals because male birds can participate in the incubation of eggs and provisioning of the young, whereas in mammals both of these activities are performed almost exclusively by females. Many of the identifications reported in the SCBA are tentative in nature.