Puerto Rican Spindalis

The Puerto Rican Spindalis (Spindalis portoricensis) or Reina Mora (name in Spanish) is a tanager endemic to the island of Puerto Rico. It is widely distributed throughout the island and is an important part of the Puerto Rican ecosystem because of its help in seed dispersal and plant reproduction. The Puerto Rican Spindalis is also the national bird National bird is the accepted/standard expression to refer to the representative bird denominated by a government. This expression does not reflect Puerto Rico's political status. To read about Puerto Rico's political status please refer here. of the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Puerto Rico in Brief.

Physical description

The Puerto Rican Spindalis exhibits sexual dimorphism with the males being brightly colored and the females dully colored. Males are green colored above with an orange neck and chest. They have a black head with two white stripes that run across it, one above and one below the eyes. The tail and wings are gray to black with small white stripes at the tips. In contrast, the female has a dull olive-green color with slightly noticeable white strips Puerto Rican Spindalis. Sexual dimorphism is also observed in weight and size. Females are slightly heavier but smaller than males. The males weight ranges from 22.5-37.0 grams with an average of 30.8 grams while the females' ranges from 28.0-41.1 grams with an average of 33.5 grams. The length of the males' wings ranges from 82-88.5 mm with and average of 85.2 mm while the females' range from 80-85.5 mm with an average of 82.6 mm. The length of the males' tail ranges from 59-68 mm with an average of 63.3 mm while the females' range from 56-65.5 mm with an average of 60.6 mm Taxonomy of the Stripe-Headed Tanager, Genus Spindalis (Aves:Thraupidae) of the West Indies.

Taxonomy

The original binomial name of the Puerto Rican Spindalis was Spindalis zena (Stripe-Headed Tanager). In 1997, an article was published which presented an extensive analysis of the genus Spindalis. The report concluded, based on differences in weight, color, pattern, distribution and voice, that a split of S. zena was necessary. Four distinct species were identified: Spindalis dominicensis, Spindalis nigricephala, Spindalis portoricensis and Spindalis zena. This last species was further subdivided into five subspecies: Spindalis z. pretrei, Spindalis z. salvini, Spindalis z. benedicti, Spindalis z. townsendi and Spindalis z. zena. Specifically the difference in vocalization, and the morphological differences associated with it, distinguishes S. portoricensis from S. dominicensis .

Diet and habitat

The Puerto Rican Spindalis is a frugivore. Common fruits eaten by this bird come from Schefflera morototoni, Cecropia schreberiana , Cordia sulcata, Ficus spp., Phoradendron spp. and Inga vera trees, with fruit from S. morototoni being the most important Crop Size and Fruit Neighborhood Effects on Bird Visitation. Because of the difficulty of digestion and the small amount of energy that fruits and leaves provide these birds also include insects and small lizards as part of their diet.

The Puerto Rican Spindalis is currently found more commonly in plantations than in their natural habitat, the forests of Maricao and the Caribbean National Forest (El Yunque) Comparacion de la riqueza de aves entre plantaciones de pino hondureno (Pinus caribaea) y areas de bosque nativo en el Bosque Estatal de Carite, Cayey, Puerto Rico . They may also be found in gardens, scavenging for flower nectar, and other areas where fruits are grown. People have often been able to attract them to their houses by offering them sugar. They are distributed throughout the entire main island of Puerto Rico and rarely found above 1000 metres.

Behavior and reproduction

Puerto Rican Spindalis are usually found in pairs but may travel in small packs. They build cup-shaped nests from various plant matter. Two to four eggs are laid at a time. Eggs are usually light blue in color with brown patches around the large end but regional variations are known to exist. They measure, in average, 23.7 by 17.3 mm .

Puerto Rican Spindalis also engage in a behavior called mobbing. This is when a pack of birds, from one or more species, attack a known predator usually to defend eggs or hatchlings. Such behavior has been observed being directed at the Puerto Rican Boa by immature Puerto Rican Spindalis Avian Mobbing of the Puerto Rican Boa .

The vocalization of the Puerto Rican Spindalis is not as complex as that of other Spindalis species with only the songs of S. dominicensis being less elaborate. As with all Spindalis, the males emit high pitched sounds at 8 KHz or higher, usually from treetops high above the ground. Females, on the other hand, sing "whisper songs" usually from dense areas close to the ground. The most common vocalization is described as a "continuing series of high-pitched, thin, sibilant notes, given in a rhythmic pattern". Other vocalizations include a fast "tweet" and a short "chi chi chi" .

Footnotes

External links

Birds of Puerto Rico | Tanagers | West Indian restricted-range endemic bird species

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