Bananaquit

Description

The bananaquit is a small bird, although size varies somewhat across the subspecies. Length can range from 10 to 13 cm (3.9 to 5.1 in). Weight ranges from 5.5 to 19 g (0.19 to 0.67 oz).

Most subspecies of the bananaquit have dark grey (almost black) upperparts, black crowns and sides of the head, a prominent white eyestripe, grey throat, white vent, and yellow chest, belly, and rump. Coloration is heavily influenced by melanocortin 1 receptor variation.

The sexes are alike, but juveniles are duller and often have partially yellow eyebrows and throat.

In the subspecies bahamensis and caboti from the Bahamas and Cozumel, respectively, the throat and upper chest are white or very pale grey, while ferryi from La Tortuga Island has a white forehead. The subspecies laurae, lowii, and melanornis from small islands off the coast of northern Venezuela are overall blackish, while the subspecies aterrima and atrata from Grenada and Saint Vincent have two plumage morphs, one "normal" and another blackish. The pink gape is usually very prominent in the subspecies from islands in the Caribbean Sea.

The tongue is paddle-shaped, with an extremely long paddle section.

Distribution and habitat

It is resident in tropical South America north to southern Mexico and the Caribbean. It is found throughout the West Indies, except for Cuba. Birds from the Bahamas are rare visitors to Florida.

It occurs in a wide range of open to semi-open habitats, including gardens and parks, but it is rare or absent in deserts, dense forests (e.g. large parts of the Amazon rainforest), and at altitudes above 2,000 m (6,600 ft).

Bananaquit nests are known to be used by frog species, such as the Common coquí.

Behaviour and ecology

The bananaquit has a slender, curved bill, adapted to taking nectar from flowers, including mistletoes. Nectivory is probably an independent innovation in Coereba. Since then C. flaveola's tongue shape has shown convergent evolution with other birds feeding on the same flowers, and its source flowers have shown convergence to accommodate its tongue. It sometimes pierces flowers from the side, taking the nectar without pollinating the plant (nectar robbing). It also feeds on fruits, including mistletoe fruits, other berries, and ripe bananas (hence the common name and bananivora for the Hispaniolan subspecies). It has been observed taking fruits' sweet juices by puncturing fruit with its beak and also sometimes eats small insects (such as ants and flies), their larvae, and other small arthropods (such as spiders). While feeding, the bananaquit must perch, as it cannot hover like a hummingbird.

The bananaquit is known for its ability to adjust to human environments. 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. The bananaquit builds a spherical lined nest with a side entrance hole, laying up to three eggs, which are incubated solely by the female. It may also build its nest in human-made objects, such as lampshades and garden trellises. The birds breed all year and build new nests throughout the year.

Literature cited

• Bellemain, Eva; Bermingham, Eldredge; Ricklefs, Robert E. (2008). "The dynamic evolutionary history of the bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) in the Caribbean revealed by a multigene analysis". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 8 (1): 240. Bibcode:2008BMCEE...8..240B. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-8-240. PMC 2533019. PMID 18718030.
• BirdLife International (2016). "Coereba flaveola". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016 e.T22722080A94747415. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22722080A94747415.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
• Diamond, A. W. (1973). "Altitudinal variation in a resident and migrant passerine on Jamaica" (PDF). The Auk. 90 (3): 610–618. doi:10.2307/4084159. JSTOR 4084159.
• Dunning, John B. Jr (2001). "Bananaquit". In Elphick, Chris; Dunning, John B. Jr.; Sibley, David Allen (eds.). The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 510–511. ISBN 978-1-4000-4386-6.
• Howell, S. N. G.; Webb, S. (1995). A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-854012-4.
• 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). Stockholm: Laurentius Salvius. C. nigra, uropygio pectoreque luteo, superciliis macula alarum rectricumque apicibus albis.
• Monteiro Pereira, José Felipe (2008). Aves e Pássaros Comuns do Rio de Janeiro [Common Birds of Rio de Janeiro] (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro: Technical Books. ISBN 978-85-61368-00-5.
• De Boer, Bart A. (1993). Our Birds. Willemstad: Stichting Dierenbescherming Curaçao. ISBN 978-99904-0-077-9.
• 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.
• Restall, R. L.; Rodner, C.; Lentino, M. (2006). Birds of Northern South America – An Identification Guide. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-7242-0.
• Seutin, G; Klein, N. K.; Ricklefs, R. E.; Bermingham, E. (1994). "Historical biogeography of the bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) in the Caribbean region: a mitochondrial DNA assessment". Evolution. 48 (4): 1041–1061. doi:10.2307/2410365. JSTOR 2410365. PMID 28564451.
• Vieillot, Louis Pierre (1809). Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de l'Amérique septentrionale [Natural History of the Birds of Northern America] (in French). Paris: Desray.