About Dives dives (Deppe, 1830)
This species is scientifically called Dives dives (Deppe, 1830), commonly known as the melodious blackbird. Adult melodious blackbirds are medium-sized blackbirds with rounded tails. Males measure 25.5 cm (10.0 in) long and weigh 108 g (3.8 oz). Females are slightly smaller, measuring 23 cm (9.1 in) long and weighing 95 g (3.4 oz). Adult plumage is entirely black with a bluish gloss, and the bill, legs, and feet are also black. The iris is brown. Females have identical plumage to males. Young birds are brownish black and do not have iridescence. There are no recognized subspecies of this species. Dives dives is a resident breeding species found from coastal eastern and southeastern Mexico to Costa Rica, and its range is currently expanding. It colonized El Salvador in the 1950s and eastern Guatemala in the 1960s. Before 1989 there was only one recorded sighting of the species in Costa Rica, but it is now easily observed at least as far south as San José, and it is expected to colonize Panama next. The melodious blackbird lives in a wide variety of habitats, but avoids dense forest and thick undergrowth. It has adapted to live alongside humans, and can be seen in gardens and on lawns. It forages mainly on the ground for insects, but will also feed on nectar, ripening maize ears, and other plant materials including the fruits of gumbo-limbo (Bursera simaruba) and Trophis racemosa.
