A Bahamas Birding Breeze: White-crowned Pigeon, Thick-billed Vireo and Cuban Emerald

[Freeport, Grand Bahama. April, 2014]

A quick sojourn in Freeport in the form of a cruise ship stop afforded a short window of birding opportunity to check out the local avifauna. The species observed were:

Local specialties:

• Thick-billed Vireo
• White-crowned Pigeon
• La Sagra's Flycatcher
• Cuban Emerald
• Red-legged Thrush

Neotropical Migrants:

• Ovenbird
• Black and white Warbler
• Palm Warbler
• Common Yellowthroat

 Others:

• Magnificent Frigatebird
• Laughing Gull
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Northern Mockingbird
• Common Ground Dove

This list, of course, should not be taken as representative of the avian wealth of the islands -- indeed, the Bahamas boast spectacular species such as the Bahama Parrot (aka Cuban Amazon), Great Lizard Cuckoo, Cuban Crow, Olive-capped Warbler and endemics such as the Bahama Woodstar and Bahama Swallow. The islands are also famous for the 60,000 resident flamingos. However, to make a significant dent in the country list would require much more time than afforded by this trip.

Starting with the local specialties:

Thick-billed Vireo

Thick-billed Vireo seen at Rand Nature Center

With a song sounding similar to our White-eyed Vireo, the Thick-billed Vireo is found on just a few islands in the Caribbean with its stronghold being the Bahamas. Two white wing bars are notable and the bill is prominent. It is a rare vagrant to Florida.

Unlike the Thick-billed Vireo, the White-crowned Pigeon is regular in Southern Florida (especially the Keys).

White-crowned Pigeon seen at Port Lucaya

A striking species, the White-crowned Pigeon is distributed widely in the Caribbean; however, its population trend is negative due to hunting and it tends to be very skittish when approached; it is classified as "Near Threatened".

La Sagra's Flycatcher


La Sagra's Flycatcher is another vagrant to Florida; however, its normal distribution encompasses Cuba and the Bahamas. It was earlier considered conspecific with the Stolid Flycatcher (profiled here when it was observed in Hispaniola). The flycatcher's name commemorates a former director of the Havana Botanical Gardens, Don Ramon de la Sagra.

Cuban Emerald (female) seen at Rand Nature Center


Other than the endemic Bahama Woodstar, the Cuban Emerald (found exclusively on Cuba and the Bahamas) is the only other hummingbird found on the islands. The male is a brilliant green (hence "emerald").

Red-legged Thrush


Red-legged Thrush is a common thrush found across the Caribbean; indeed, in addition to the Bahamas, the author has observed them on Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. It's Latin name, turdus plumbeus, doesn't refer to the red legs, but rather to the thrush's lead-colored plumage. Interestingly, the Bahamaian race of the Red-legged Thrush has a black chin while the one in Puerto Rico shows a clean white throat with black streaking (see here).

The Rand Center is only about 15 minutes away from the Harbor at Freeport. In addition to the local specialties, it also held some wintering warblers which will, in a matter of weeks, be soon elevated to "Neotropical Migrants" as they arrive on the US mainland.

Obenbird

Black-and-white Warbler

Palm Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Grand Bahama is merely 56 miles away from Florida; small wonder, then, that the following species are seen equally well States-side:

Magnificent Frigatebird

Laughing Gull

Red-winged Blackbird

Northern Mockingbird

Common Ground Dove

Familiar yet exotic, the Bahamas is a great place to start or enhance your Caribbean list of species. In addition since Cuba is off-limits to US birders, it is the only place to see Cuban specialties such as Cuban Emerald and La Sagra's Flycatcher.

Three More Hispaniolan Endemics: Black-crowned Palm-Tanager, Hispaniolan Pewee and Hispaniolan Emerald

[Hispaniola. Feb 2014]

Three spectacular endemics found on Hispaniola will feature in this post. The first is a Tanager -- a family which is responsible for fully 1 in 8 neotropical species; the second endemic presented here is a flycatcher -- the Hispaniolan Pewee; and lastly, an endemic hummer: the Hispaniolan Emerald.

The tanagers are a large family that includes not only medium sized, fantastically colored species (like the Paradise Tanager) but also smaller-sized species such as the Yellow-faced Grassquit which looks more like a sparrow (and was once classified as such). The full list of species profiled here is:

Hispaniolan endemics:

• Black-crowned Palm Tanager
• Hispaniolan Pewee
• Hispaniolan Emerald

Caribbean Specialties:

• Yellow-faced Grassquit

Wintering warblers:

• Yellow-throated Warbler
• American Redstart
• Black-throated Blue Warbler
• Black-and-White Warbler

We will lead with the tanager:

Black-crowned Palm-tanager seen at Ebano Verde

Black-crowned Palm-tanager is a striking species with olive upperparts, grey body with white throat and breast, black crown and face with distinctive white markings.

There are two Palm-tanagers on Hispaniola. The Black-crowned is found commonly on the DR (Dominican Republic) side while the Near-threatened Grey-crowned Palm-tanager is found on the Haiti side. The two are visually similar in many respects (excepting the color of the crown); but genetic analysis shows that they diverged 2 million years ago.

Black-crowned Palm-tanager seen at Jardin Botanico

Black-crowned Palm-tanager seen at Jardin Botanico

This is a widespread tanager and like other tanagers, it is omnivorous but prefers fruit and berries.

The Hispaniolan Pewee is a tyrant flycatcher that was earlier lumped with the Jamaican and Cuban Pewees as the Greater Antillean Pewee.

 Hispaniolan Pewee seen at Ebano Verde

As is typical with many flycatchers, the Hispaniolan Pewee will perch patiently and then swoop to swiftly catch insects on the fly.

Hispaniolan Pewee seen at Ebano Verde

Hispaniolan Pewee seen at Ebano Verde

The third endemic is not only a hovering jewel but named after one: the Hispaniolan Emerald.

Hispaniolan Emerald seen at Ebano Verde

The Emerald is a striking green hummer; the male is iridescent green with a bluish throat; the red lower mandible is distinctive.

Known locally as Zumbador Mediano, it is one of three hummers resident on Hispaniola -- Antillean Mango, Hispaniolan Emerald, and Vervain Hummingbird.

Next, the Yellow-faced Grassquit:

Yellow-faced Grassquit seen at Ebano Verde

There are 7 grassquits in tropical America of which 2 are found on Hispaniola.

Yellow-faced Grassquit (male) seen at Ebano Verde

Looking very much like a sparrow whose face has been dipped in yellow paint, this Grassquit is now classified with the tanagers.

Yellow-faced Grassquit (female) seen at Ebano Verde

Finally, the warblers -- a group to which the American birder requires no introduction:

American Redstart seen at Jardin Botanico

Black-throated Blue Warbler seen at Ebano Verde

Black-and-White Warbler seen at Jardin Botanico

Yellow-throated Warbler seen at Jardin Botanico

Yellow-throated Warbler seen at Jardin Botanico

There are no species that are tied more to their habitat than the endemics. And, to see them, the birder has to go the extra mile to find them in their natural environment.

Three striking endemics: a Trogon, a Tody and a Warbler

[Hispaniola. Feb 2014]

Islands are hotspots of endemism and Hispaniola is no exception; 3 endemics (noted by E) and 3 additional specialty species were observed in the Dominican Republic (DR):

• Hispaniolan Trogon (E)
• Narrow-billed Tody (E)
• Green-tailed Warbler (E)
• Rufuous-collared Sparrow
• Bananaquit
• Antillean Bullfinch

There are 45 Trogon species in the World of which 2 are found in the Caribbean (both endemics). The remainder of the species are found in the tropics of America, Africa and Asia.

 The endemic Hispaniolan Trogon observed at Ebano Verde, DR

Trogons are highly sought after birds and this was a prime target species of the trip. Ebano Verde is reported to be a good site and indeed at this time of the year, the papagayo (the local name of the species) could be heard calling in the forest. However, seeing one was a different story: this is a sedentary species and the trogon was content to stay put.

Papagayo

The US has one trogon species, the Elegant Trogon -- found in a small area in SE Arizona. However, the next species, from the Tody family, has no representation in the US at all.

Narrow-billed Tody seen at Ebano Verde

Todies are exclusive to the Caribbean and there are only 5 species of this family: 2 endemic to Hispaniola and 1 each endemic to Jamaica, Cuba and Puerto Rico.

The Narrow-billed Tody is a brilliant, 4 inch relative of the kingfishers. Unlike the Puerto Rican Tody profiled earlier, this species shows a pink wash on the flanks as well.

The 2 Hispaniolan endemics -- the Narrow-billed and the Broad-billed Todies -- occupy different habitats. The former preferring montane forest while the latter lowlands.

Narrow-billed Tody

Green-tailed Warbler seen at Ebano Verde

Green-tailed Warbler (seen above in a poor photograph) is a grey warbler with a white incomplete eye-ring and greenish back; it is sometimes also classified with the tanagers.

 Rufous-collared Sparrow seen at Ebano Verde

Rufous-collared Sparrow while ranging from Mexico down to the tip of South America is not found in the Caribbean except in Hispaniola.

This handsome American sparrow features a bold collar that is bright brown except in the throat where it is black. The head is grey and marked with black stripes and the throat is white.

Unlike the Rufous-collared Sparrow which is exclusive to Hispaniola, the next bird is found widely in the Caribbean.

Bananaquit

A rare vagrant to Florida, the Bananaquit is an abundant species in the Caribbean except Cuba where it is not found.

Bananaquit seen at the Jardin Botanico
 
Taxonomically, the Bananaquit is placed with either the Tanagers or its own family the Coerebidae.

Finally, 2 very poor shots of Antillean Bullfinch:

Antillean Bullfinch seen at Ebano Verde
 

The Caribbean offers a constellation of endemic species and also some puzzles -- for example, why is the Rufous-collared Sparrow found only on Hispaniola but not on nearby islands (Puerto Rico only 70 miles away) ? Why is the Bananaquit widespread on all the islands except Cuba? Surely mysteries that warrant further scientific research.