title: The Shiny Cowbird, Molothrus bonariensis (Gmelin, 1789) (Aves: Icteridae), at 2,800 m asl in Quito, Ecuador.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Shiny Cowbird, Molothrus bonariensis Gmelin, 1789, is a brood parasite of hundreds of small-bodied birds that is native to South American lowlands. Within the last 100 years this species has been expanding its range throughout the Caribbean, towards North America, but has rarely been seen above 2,000 m asl.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Here, we present records of Shiny Cowbirds in Quito, a city located 2,800 m above sea level that harbors a bird community typical of the Andean valleys. We found two juvenile individuals parasitizing two different pairs of Rufous-collared Sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis Müller, 1776). This report constitutes an altitudinal range expansion of reproductive populations of ca. 500m, which may have beenprompted by anthropogenic disturbance.
authors.affiliation: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Av. 12 de Octubre y Roca, Quito, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Verónica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Crespo-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador; Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Division of Mammals, 1000 Constitution Ave NW, Washington DC, United States of America.
authors.forename: C Miguel
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: Fundación Zoológica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Juan Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Carrión
authors.affiliation: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Av. 12 de Octubre y Roca, Quito, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Rubén D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Jarrín-E
authors.affiliation: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Av. 12 de Octubre y Roca, Quito, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Cristian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Poveda
authors.affiliation: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Av. 12 de Octubre y Roca, Quito, Ecuador.
authors.forename: Tjitte
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: de Vries
keywords: Brood parasite; Climate change; Habitat fragmentation; Molothrus bonariensis; Rufous-collared Sparrow; Shiny Cowbird; Zonotrichia capensis; university campus