Bananaquit
| Common Bananaquit | |
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| Genus: | Coereba Vieillot, 1809
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| Species: | C. flaveola
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| Binomial name | |
| Coereba flaveola (Linnaeus, 1758)
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The Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) is a species of passerine bird of uncertain relation. It is tentatively placed in the tanager family, but classified as incertae sedis by other authorities such as the AOU. Its classification is debated, and it is often placed in its own family: Coerebidae. Historically it was a single species but it is sometimes split into three species, the Common Bananaquit, Lesser Antillean Bananaquit, and the Bahamas Bananaquit.
Taxonomy
The Bananaquit was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema naturae in 1758 as Certhia flaveola.[2] It was reclassified as the only member of the genus Coereba by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1809.[3] Prior to 2005 the Bananaquit was assigned to the monotypic family Coerebidae; there is currently no agreement to which family it belongs; some authors place it into the Emberizidae.[4] Since recent studies have shed some light on the bananaquit's affinities, many authorities consider Coerebidae an obsolete taxon. The Coerebidae used to contain other nectar-eating birds from the tropical Americas, but these have since been moved. The Bananaquit is part of a group that includes the Darwin's finches, Tiaris (grassquits), Loxigilla, etc.—most of which were previously placed in Emberizidae, but are now known to actually be part of the Thraupidae[5]. As such this species is tentatively placed in the Thraupidae family unless a study suggests more accurate placement. Nevertheless, its precise relations remain unresolved, so the American Ornithologists' Union thus classes it as species incertae sedis.[6]
Recent phylogenetic studies suggest that there are multiple species of bananquit. It is still unclear exactly how many of the island subspecies properly deserve full species status.[7] In February 2010, the International Ornithological Congress listed two subspecies, C. bahamensis and C. bartholemica as proposed splits.[8] C. bartholemica has yet to receive an English name, because it comprises many of the island subspecies outside the Bahamas including C. bartholemica, C. dominicana, C. martinicana, and C. santithomae. It has been suggested that the Puerto Rican Bananaquits should be given their own species status as well.
Subspecies
- C. flaveola alleni Lowe, 1912
- C. flaveola aterrima (Lesson, 1830)
- C. flaveola atrata (Lawrence, 1878)
- C. flaveola bananivora (Gmelin, 1789)
- C. flaveola barbadensis (Baird, 1873)
- C. flaveola bolivari Zimmer & Phelps, 1946
- C. flaveola bonairensis Voous, 1955
- C. flaveola caboti (Baird, 1873)
- C. flaveola caucae Chapman, 1914
- C. flaveola cerinoclunis Bangs, 1901
- C. flaveola chloropyga (Cabanis, 1850)
- C. flaveola columbiana (Cabanis, 1866)
- C. flaveola dispar Zimmer, 1942
- C. flaveola ferryi Cory, 1909
- C. flaveola flaveola (Linnaeus, 1758)
- C. flaveola frailensis Phelps & Phelps Jr, 1946
- C. flaveola gorgonae Thayer & Bangs, 1905
- C. flaveola guianensis (Cabanis, 1850)
- C. flaveola intermedia (Salvadori & Festa, 1899)
- C. flaveola laurae Lowe, 1908
- C. flaveola lowii Cory, 1909
- C. flaveola luteola (Cabanis, 1850)
- C. flaveola magnirostris (Taczanowski, 1880)
- C. flaveola melanornis Phelps & Phelps 1954
- C. flaveola mexicana (Sclater, 1857)
- C. flaveola minima (Bonaparte, 1854)
- C. flaveola montana Lowe, 1912
- C. flaveola nectarea Wetmore, 1929
- C. flaveola newtoni (Baird, 1873)
- C. flaveola oblita Griscom, 1923
- C. flaveola obscura Cory, 1913
- C. flaveola pacifica Lowe, 1912
- C. flaveola portoricensis (Bryant, 1866) Possibly a distinct species.
- C. flaveola roraimae Chapman, 1929
- C. flaveola sharpei (Cory, 1886)
- C. flaveola tricolor (Ridgway, 1884)
- C. flaveola uropygialis Berlepsch, 1892
- Coereba flaveola bahamensis (Reichenbach, 1853) Likely a distinct species.[7]
- Coereba flaveola bartholemica (Sparrman, 1788) Likely a distinct species, containing these subspecies as well:[7]
- C. bartholemica bartholemica
- C. b. dominicana
- C. b. martinicana
- C. b. sancithomae
Description
The Bananaquit is a very small bird attaining an average length of 11 cm. It has a slender, curved bill, adapted to taking nectar from flowers. It sometimes pierces flowers from the side, taking the nectar without pollinating the plant.[9] It cannot hover like a hummingbird, and must always perch while feeding. It will also eat fruit and insects. It often visits gardens and may become very tame. Its nickname, the sugar bird, comes from its affinity for bowls or bird feeders stocked with granular sugar, a common method of attracting these birds in the United States Virgin Islands.[citation needed]
The Bananaquit has dark grey upperparts, a black crown to the head and yellow underparts and rump. It has a prominent white eyestripe. The sexes are alike.
The Bananaquit builds a spherical lined nest with a side entrance hole, laying up to three eggs, which are incubated solely by the female.[4]
Distribution
It is resident in tropical South America north to southern Mexico and the Caribbean. It is found throughout the West Indies, except Cuba.[10] Birds from the Bahamas are rare visitors to Florida.[9]
On Grenada and Saint Vincent, most Bananaquits have black plumage, suggesting divergence from other West Indian populations.
Gallery
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Bananaquit in its nest, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica -
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References
- ^ BirdLife International, 2009
- ^ Linnaeus, 1758, p. 119
- ^ Vieillot, 1809, p. 70
- ^ a b Monteiro Pereira, 2008, p. 120
- ^ Burns et al., 2002
- ^ American Ornithologists' Union, 2008
- ^ a b c Bellemain et al., 2008
- ^ http://www.worldbirdnames.org/updates-PS.html
- ^ a b Dunning, 2001
- ^ Raffaele et al., 1998, p. 415
Literature cited
- American Ornithologists' Union (2008). "Check-list of North American Birds". Retrieved 5 January 2009.
- Bellemain, Eva; Bermingham, Eldredge; and Robert E. Ricklefs (2008). "The dynamic evolutionary history of the bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) in the Caribbean revealed by a multigene analysis". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 8: 240.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Template:IUCN
- Burns, K. J.; S. J. Hackett; and N. K. Klein (2002). "Phylogenetic relationships and morphological diversity in Darwin's finches and their relatives" (PDF). Evolution. 56: 1240–1252.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Dunning, John B. Jr (2001). "Bananaquit". The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 510–511. ISBN 978-1-4000-4386-6.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|editors=ignored (|editor=suggested) (help) - Linnaeus, C (1758). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata (in Latin). Holmiae. (Laurentii Salvii). p. 119.
C. nigra, uropygio pectoreque luteo, superciliis macula alarum rectricümque apicious albis
- Monteiro Pereira, José Felipe (2008). Aves e Pássaros Comuns do Rio de Janeiro (in Portugese). Rio de Janeiro: Technical Books. ISBN 978-85-61368-00-5.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - Raffaele, Herbert; Wiley, James; Garrido, Orlando; Keith, Allan; Raffaele, Janis (1998). A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-08736-8.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Vieillot, Louis Jean Pierre (1809). Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de l'Amérique septentrionale (in French). Paris: Desray.
External links
Data related to Coereba flaveola at Wikispecies
Media related to Coereba flaveola at Wikimedia Commons- Bananaquit videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Stamps (with RangeMap)
- Saint Barth Fauna & Flora Template:Fr icon
- Bananaquit overview on xeno-canto.org
- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Coerebidae
- Birds of Puerto Rico
- Birds of Grenada
- Birds of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Birds of South America
- Birds of the Amazon Basin
- Birds of the Guianas
- Birds of Marajó Island
- Birds of the Cerrado
- Birds of the Caatinga
- Birds of the Pantanal
- Birds of Central America
- Birds of the Caribbean
- Birds of the Greater Antilles
- Birds of the Lesser Antilles
- Bird families
- Genera of birds