Narrow-billed Tody

Schmalschnabeltodi ( Todus angustirostris )

The Schmalschnabeltodi ( Todus angustirostris ) is a Roller bird in the family of Todi ( Todidae ). The distribution includes the countries of Haiti and Dominican Republic. The stock is classified by the IUCN as endangered not (Least Concern ).

Features

The Schmalschnabeltodi reaches a body length of about 11 centimeters and a weight of approximately 6.7 grams. He looks tiny and chunky. The top is bright green. The red throat merges into a yellow color with white at the bottom. The flanks are pale pink. The lower beak is reddish with a black tip.

Young birds lack the red on the throat and the chest is streaked pale green.

The Schmalschnabeltodi similar to Breitschnabeltodi ( Todus subulatus ). Both have overlapping distributions, so that they are difficult to distinguish.

Behavior

When sitting bird 's tail pointing straight down and the beak at about a 45 degree angle upwards. He constantly turns his head, looking for insects. His prey he hunts in short Schwirrflügen. Here, the beak snaps into place. To search for prey, he usually preferred the denser lower strata. It breeds from April to June, and places 3-4 glossy white, unspotted eggs. His nest he builds in a chamber or at the end of up to 30 centimeters deep tunnels in earth dams. In the Sierra de Bahoruco also nests in tree holes were discovered up to 9 meters above the ground.

Distribution and habitat

The bird is endemic to Hispaniola and get there in the higher elevations 900-2400 m, rarely to 3000 meters, above. It is found in dense, humid forests with moss -grown pines, liverworts, orchids, Spanish moss, ferns and climbing bamboo ( Dinochloa ). Occasionally he visited coffee plantations. Mostly you see him in something deeper layers. It likes to live in ravines and toner which embankments.

Subspecies

A DNA study of Lowell Chester Overton and Douglas D. Rhoads from 2004 showed genetic differences between populations in the Sierra de Neiba and the Cul -de- Sac Plain and the occurrence in the Sierra de Bahoruco and on the southern peninsula of Haiti. The IOC World Bird List not yet considered this recent past.

Etymology and History of Research

Lafresnaye described the way in 1851 in Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Appliquée. The bird was collected by Auguste Sallé (1820-1896) in the Dominican Republic. Lafresnaye based its first description to the descriptions of the discoverer. The name " angustirostris " is composed of the Latin words " angustus " for " narrow " and " - rostris " for " - schnäbelig together ."