The bananaquit (''Coereba flaveola'') is a species of
passerine
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
in the tanager family
Thraupidae
The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12% of the Neotropica ...
. Before the development of molecular genetics in the 21st century, its relationship to other species was uncertain and it was either placed with the buntings and
New World sparrow
New World sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming the family Passerellidae. They are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns.
Although they share t ...
s in the family
Emberizidae
The buntings are a group of Old World passerine birds forming the genus ''Emberiza'', the only genus in the family Emberizidae. The family contains 45 species. They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills.
Taxonomy
The family Emberizid ...
, with New World warblers in the family
Parulidae
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds that make up the family Parulidae and are restricted to the New World. They are not closely related to Old World warblers or Australian warblers. Mos ...
or in its own
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
family Coerebidae. This small, active
nectarivore is found in warmer parts of the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
, and is generally common.
Taxonomy
The bananaquit was
formally described by
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his Nobility#Ennoblement, ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalise ...
in his landmark 1758
10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' as ''Certhia flaveola''. Linnaeus based his description on the "black and yellow bird" described by
John Ray and
Hans Sloane
Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector, with a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Mu ...
, and the "Black and Yellow Creeper" described and illustrated by
George Edwards in 1751. The bananaquit was reclassified as the only member of the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
''Coereba'' by
Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot
Louis Pierre Vieillot (10 May 1748, Yvetot – 24 August 1830, Sotteville-lès-Rouen) was a French ornithologist.
Vieillot is the author of the first scientific descriptions and Linnaean names of a number of birds, including species he collec ...
in 1809. The genus name is of uncertain origin but may be from a
Tupi name ''Güirá'' for a small black and yellow bird. The specific epithet ''flaveolus'' is a diminutive of the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''flavus'' meaning "golden" or "yellow".
Before the development of techniques to sequence DNA, the relationship of the bananaquit to other species was uncertain. It was variously placed with the New World warblers in the family
Parulidae
The New World warblers or wood-warblers are a group of small, often colorful, passerine birds that make up the family Parulidae and are restricted to the New World. They are not closely related to Old World warblers or Australian warblers. Mos ...
, with the buntings and
New World sparrow
New World sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming the family Passerellidae. They are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns.
Although they share t ...
s in the family
Emberizidae
The buntings are a group of Old World passerine birds forming the genus ''Emberiza'', the only genus in the family Emberizidae. The family contains 45 species. They are seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills.
Taxonomy
The family Emberizid ...
, or in its own
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
family Coerebidae. Based on the results of
molecular phylogenetic studies, the bananaquit is now placed in the tanager family
Thraupidae
The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12% of the Neotropica ...
and belongs with
Darwin's finches
Darwin's finches (also known as the Galápagos finches) are a group of about 18 species of passerine birds. They are well known for their remarkable diversity in beak form and function. They are often classified as the subfamily Geospizinae or t ...
to the subfamily Coerebinae.
It is still unclear if any of the island
subspecies should be elevated to species, but
phylogenetic
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...
studies have revealed three
clades: the
nominate
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list.
Political office
In the ...
group from
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
,
Hispaniola and the
Cayman Islands, the ''bahamensis'' group from
the Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...
and
Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo ( , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 11 mu ...
, and the ''bartholemica'' group from
South and
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
(except Quintana Roo), the
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc bet ...
and
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
.
Several
taxa
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
were not sampled,
[ but most of these are easily placed in the above groups based on ]zoogeography
Zoogeography is the branch of the science of biogeography that is concerned with geographic distribution (present and past) of animal species.
As a multifaceted field of study, zoogeography incorporates methods of molecular biology, genetics, mor ...
alone. Exceptions are ''oblita'' ( San Andrés Island) and ''tricolor'' (Providencia Island
Isla de Providencia, historically Old Providence, and generally known as Providencia, is a mountainous Caribbean island that is part of the Colombian department of Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina and the municipality ...
), and their placement is therefore uncertain. In February 2010, the International Ornithological Congress
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
listed ''bahamensis'' and ''bartholemica'' as proposed splits from ''C. flaveola''.
Subspecies
There are 41 currently recognized subspecies:[
* ''C. f. bahamensis'' ( Reichenbach, 1853): Bahamas
* ''C. f. caboti'' ( Baird, 1873): east Yucatan Peninsula and nearby islands
* ''C. f. flaveola'' (]Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
, 1758): nominate
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list.
Political office
In the ...
, Jamaica
* ''C. f. sharpei'' (Cory
As a given name, Cory is used by both males and females. It is a variation of the name Cora, which has Greek origins and is the maiden name of the goddess Persephone. The name also can have origins from the Gaelic word ''coire'', which means "in ...
, 1886): Cayman Is.
* ''C. f. bananivora'' (Gmelin Gmelin may refer to:
* Gmelin's test, a chemical test
* Gmelin database, a German handbook/encyclopedia of inorganic compounds initiated by Leopold Gmelin
People
* Carl Christian Gmelin (1762–1837), German botanist, author of ''Flora Badensis ...
, 1789): Hispaniola and nearby islands
* ''C. f. nectarea'' Wetmore, 1929: Tortue I.
* ''C. f. portoricensis'' ( Bryant, 1866): Puerto Rico
* ''C. f. sanctithomae'' ( Sundevall, 1869): north Virgin Is.
* ''C. f. newtoni'' (Baird, 1873): Saint Croix
Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincor ...
(south Virgin Is.)
* ''C. f. bartholemica'' ( Sparrman, 1788): north and central Lesser Antilles
* ''C. f. martinicana'' (Reichenbach, 1853): Martinique
Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...
and Saint Lucia (south central Lesser Antilles)
* ''C. f. barbadensis'' (Baird, 1873): Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...
* ''C. f. atrata'' (Lawrence
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
, 1878): St. Vincent (south Lesser Antilles)
* ''C. f. aterrima'' (Lesson
A lesson or class is a structured period of time where learning is intended to occur. It involves one or more students (also called pupils or learners in some circumstances) being taught by a teacher or instructor. A lesson may be either one ...
, 1830): Grenada and the Grenadines (south Lesser Antilles)
* ''C. f. uropygialis'' von Berlepsch, 1892: Aruba and Curaçao ( Netherlands Antilles)
* ''C. f. tricolor'' ( Ridgway, 1884): Providencia I. (off east Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
)
* ''C. f. oblita'' Griscom, 1923: San Andrés I. (off east Nicaragua)
* ''C. f. mexicana'' ( Sclater, 1857): southeastern Mexico to western Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
* ''C. f. cerinoclunis'' Bangs
Bang or bangs may refer to:
Products
* M1922 Bang rifle, a US semi-automatic rifle designed by Søren Hansen Bang
* Bang, a List of model car brands, model car brand
* Bang (beverage), an energy drink
Geography
* Bang, Lorestan, a village in I ...
, 1901: Pearl Is. (south of Panama)
* ''C. f. columbiana'' (Cabanis Cabanis is the surname of:
*George Cabanis (1815-1892), American politician
*Jean Cabanis (1816–1906), German ornithologist
*José Cabanis
José Cabanis (2 March 1922 – 6 October 2000) was a French novelist, essayist, historian and magistrate ...
, 1866): eastern Panama to southwestern Colombia and southern Venezuela
* ''C. f. bonairensis'' Voous, 1955: Bonaire I. (Netherlands Antilles)
* ''C. f. melanornis'' Phelps Phelps may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Phelps, Kentucky
* Phelps, Michigan, an unincorporated community
* Phelps, New York
** Phelps (village), New York
* Phelps, Wisconsin, a town
** Phelps (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated co ...
& Phelps Phelps may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Phelps, Kentucky
* Phelps, Michigan, an unincorporated community
* Phelps, New York
** Phelps (village), New York
* Phelps, Wisconsin, a town
** Phelps (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated co ...
, 1954: Cayo Sal I. (off Venezuela)
* ''C. f. lowii'' Cory, 1909: Los Roques Is. (off Venezuela)
* ''C. f. ferryi'' Cory, 1909: La Tortuga I. (off Venezuela)
* ''C. f. frailensis'' Phelps & Phelps, 1946: Los Frailes and Los Hermanos Is. (off Venezuela)
* ''C. f. laurae'' Lowe, 1908: Los Testigos
LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to:
Science and technology
* Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation
* Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers
* Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...
(off Venezuela)
* ''C. f. luteola'' (Cabanis, 1850): coastal northern Colombia and Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
* ''C. f. obscura'' Cory, 1913: northeastern Colombia and western Venezuela
* ''C. f. minima'' ( Bonaparte, 1854): eastern Colombia and southern Venezuela to French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas. ...
and north central Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
* ''C. f. montana'' Lowe, 1912: Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
of northwestern Venezuela
* ''C. f. caucae'' Chapman, 1914: western Colombia
* ''C. f. gorgonae'' Thayer Thayer may refer to:
Places
;United States
* Thayer, Illinois
* Thayer, Indiana
* Thayer, Iowa
* Thayer, Kansas
* Thayer, Michigan
* Thayer, Missouri
* Thayer, Nebraska
*Thayer, West Virginia
* Thayer County, Nebraska
* Thayer Street, Providence, ...
& Bangs, 1905: Gorgona I. (off western Colombia)
* ''C. f. intermedia'' ( Salvadori & Festa, 1899): southwestern Colombia, western Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
and northern Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
east to southern Venezuela and western Brazil
* ''C. f. bolivari'' Zimmer & Phelps, 1946: eastern Venezuela
* ''C. f. guianensis'' (Cabanis, 1850): southeastern Venezuela to Guyana
* ''C. f. roraimae'' Chapman, 1929: tepui
A tepui , or tepuy (), is a table-top mountain or mesa found in South America, especially in Venezuela and western Guyana. The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran S ...
regions of southeastern Venezuela, southwestern Guyana and northern Brazil
* ''C. f. pacifica'' Lowe, 1912: eastern Peru
* ''C. f. magnirostris'' ( Taczanowski, 1880): northern Peru
* ''C. f. dispar'' Zimmer, 1942: north central Peru to western Bolivia
* ''C. f. chloropyga'' (Cabanis, 1850): east central Peru to central Bolivia and east to eastern Brazil, northern Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
, northeastern Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
* ''C. f. alleni'' Lowe, 1912: eastern Bolivia to central Brazil
Subspecies gallery
Two Bananaquits (4458804963).jpg, ''C. f. aterrima'' ("normal" and dark morph), Grenada
Coereba flaveola -Andros, Bahamas-8 (1).jpg, ''C. f. bahamensis'', Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...
Coereba flaveola ( Sucrier à ventre jaune ).jpg, ''C. f. bartholemica'', Guadeloupe
Flickr - Dario Sanches - CAMBACICA (Coereba flaveola) (8).jpg, ''C. f. chloropyga'', São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
, Brazil
Coereba flaveola flaveola, Orange Bay, Jamaica 1.jpg, ''C. f. flaveola'', Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola luteola).jpg, ''C. f. luteola'', Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
Bananaquit (7060538435).jpg, ''C. f. mexicana'', Costa Rica
Bananaquit 01-2010g PuertoRico.jpg, ''C. f. portoricensis'', Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
Banaquit, StJohn2 RWD.jpg, ''C. f. sanctithomae'', Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint John ( da, Sankt Jan) is one of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorporated territory of the United States.
Saint John () is the smallest of the thre ...
Description
The bananaquit is a small bird, although there is some degree of size variation across the various subspecies. Length can range from . Weight ranges from .
Most subspecies of the bananaquit have dark grey (almost black) upperparts, black crown 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
The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R), also known as melanocyte-stimulating hormone receptor (MSHR), melanin-activating peptide receptor, or melanotropin receptor, is a G protein–coupled receptor that binds to a class of pituitary peptide hormones ...
variation.
The sexes are alike, but juveniles are duller and often have a partially yellow eyebrow and throat.
In the subspecies ''bahamensis'' and ''caboti'' from the Bahamas and Cozumel
Cozumel (; yua, Kùutsmil) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucatà ...
, respectively, the throat and upper chest are white or very pale grey, while ''ferryi'' from La Tortuga Island
La Tortuga Island (; "La Tortuga" means "the turtle") is an uninhabited island of Venezuela, the largest in the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela. It is part of a group of islands that include the Tortuguillos and Cayo Herradura. Isla La Tortu ...
has a white forehead. The subspecies ''laurae'', ''lowii'' and ''melanornis'' from small islands off northern Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
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
The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for eating, preening, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food ...
is usually very prominent in the subspecies from islands in the Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea ( es, Mar Caribe; french: Mer des Caraïbes; ht, Lanmè Karayib; jam, Kiaribiyan Sii; nl, Caraïbische Zee; pap, Laman Karibe) is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico ...
.
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
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
.[ Birds from the Bahamas are rare visitors to ]Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
.
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 .[
]
Behaviour and ecology
The bananaquit has a slender, curved bill, adapted to taking nectar from flowers
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...
, including mistletoes. Nectivory is probably an independent innovation in ''Coereba''. Since then ''C. flaveola''s tongue shape has shown convergent evolution
Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...
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
Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, a ...
the plant - known as nectar robbing
Nectar robbing is a foraging behavior utilized by some organisms that feed on floral nectar, carried out by feeding from holes bitten in flowers, rather than by entering through the flowers' natural openings. "Nectar robbers" usually feed in this ...
. It also feeds on fruits - including mistletoe fruits 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 will eat small insects and other small arthropods on occasion. While feeding, the bananaquit must always perch, as it cannot hover like a hummingbird.
The bananaquit is known for its ability to adjust remarkably 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 regardless of season and build new nests throughout the year.
References
Literature cited
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
*
Bananaquit Stamps
(with range map) a
bird-stamps.org
*
*
*
*
{{Taxonbar , from=Q228125
Thraupidae
Birds of Central America
Birds of the Caribbean
Birds of the Dominican Republic
Birds of South America
Birds described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus