The palmchat (''Dulus dominicus'') is a small, long-tailed
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 t ...
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 ...
, the
only species in the genus ''Dulus'' and the family Dulidae
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to the
Caribbean island of
Hispaniola (split between the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
and
Haiti). It is related to the
waxwing
The waxwings are three species of passerine birds classified in the genus ''Bombycilla''. They are pinkish-brown and pale grey with distinctive smooth plumage in which many body feathers are not individually visible, a black and white eyestripe, ...
s, family
Bombycillidae
The waxwings are three species of passerine birds classified in the genus ''Bombycilla''. They are pinkish-brown and pale grey with distinctive smooth plumage in which many body feathers are not individually visible, a black and white eyestripe, ...
. Its name reflects its strong association with
palms for feeding, roosting, and nesting.
The palmchat is the
national bird
This is a list of national birds, including official birds of overseas territories and other states described as nations. Most species in the list are officially designated. Some species hold only an "unofficial" status.
National birds
See al ...
of the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
.
Taxonomy
In 1760 the French zoologist
Mathurin Jacques Brisson
Mathurin Jacques Brisson (; 30 April 1723 – 23 June 1806) was a French zoologist and natural philosopher.
Brisson was born at Fontenay-le-Comte. The earlier part of his life was spent in the pursuit of natural history; his published works ...
included a description of the palmchat in his ''Ornithologie'' based on a specimen collected from the French colony of
Saint-Domingue, modern Haiti. He used the French name ''Le tangara de S. Dominigue'' and the Latin ''Tangara Dominicensis''.
[ The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen.] Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the
binomial system and are not recognised by the
International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.
When the Swedish naturalist
Carl 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 ...
updated his ''
Systema Naturae'' for the
twelfth edition in 1766, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson,
[ with one of them being the palmchat. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name ''Tanagra dominica'' and cited Brisson's work.
The palmchat is the only species placed in the genus ''Dulus'' that was introduced by the French ornithologist ]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 1816. The species is 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 ...
.[
]
Description
Palmchats are about in length. They are olive-brown above, and heavily streaked with brown below. Their rumps, as well as the edges of their primary feathers, are dark yellow-green. They have strong yellow bills and russet eyes. They lack the soft silky plumage of the waxwings or silky-flycatcher
The silky-flycatchers are a small family, Ptiliogonatidae, of passerine birds. The family contains only four species in three genera. They were formerly lumped with waxwings and hypocolius in the family Bombycillidae, and they are listed in tha ...
s. Adults show no sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...
; immature birds have dark throats.
Distribution and habitat
The species is endemic to the island of Hispaniola (in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and the adjacent Saona
Saona Island ( es, Isla Saona) is a 110 square kilometer tropical island located off the south-east coast in Dominican Republic's La Altagracia province. It is a government-protected nature reserve and is part of '' Parque Nacional Cotubanamá''.
...
and Gonâve Island
Gonâve Island or Zile Lagonav (french: Île de la Gonâve, ; also ''La Gonâve'') is an island of Haiti located west-northwest of Port-au-Prince in the Gulf of Gonâve. It is the largest of the Hispaniolan satellite islands. The island is an a ...
s, where it is common and widespread. It inhabits areas from sea level to 1500 m asl
American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that is express ...
where palm savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
s can be found, or other open areas with scattered trees. Where its food trees are present, it has adapted well to city parks and gardens.
Behaviour
Palmchats are very sociable birds, often seen in small flocks containing several pairs, which will roost closely together with their bodies in contact.
Breeding
The breeding season is mainly from March to June. The birds build large, messy, communal nests
A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...
of twigs in the crowns of palms (mainly royal palm
''Roystonea regia'', commonly known as the Cuban royal palm or Florida royal palm, is a species of palm that is native to Mexico, parts of Central America and the Caribbean, and southern Florida. A large and attractive palm, it has been planted ...
s ''Roystonea'' sp.). Occasionally, in the absence of palms, other trees or even telephone pole
A utility pole is a column or post typically made out of wood used to support overhead power lines and various other public utilities, such as electrical cable, fiber optic cable, and related equipment such as transformers and street lights. It ...
s may be used. The whole nesting structure may be up to 2 m across, containing up to 30 adjoining nests with their own separate chambers and entrances. The females lay clutches
A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts) ...
of 2-4 thickly spotted, grey-purple eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
.
Food
Palmchats feed on fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
s and berries, including those of palm
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm (ba ...
s and of the Gumbo-limbo tree, as well as on flower
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 mechani ...
s, especially those of epiphytic
An epiphyte is an organism that grows on the surface of a plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phoroph ...
orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...
s.
Voice
They are voluble and noisy birds, with a large repertoire of gurgling and cheeping sounds constantly used in their social behaviour.
With their loud whistles, they are able to imitate the calls of hawks and kestrels which may be a surprise coming from their tiny bodies. They are typically classified as song birds, but are hardly ever heard chirping or making any sounds that can be made out as a song 0
Conservation
The palmchat is a common species within its range of about , and highly adaptable. As it is not approaching the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations), it has been evaluated as being of Least Concern.
References
10. ref Encyclopedia.com. (2022, March 19). ." Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. . encyclopedia.com. 28 Feb. 2022 .Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved March 18, 2022, from https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/palmchats-dulidae
External links
Don Roberson's Bird Families of the World
{{Taxonbar, from=Q845457
Birds described in 1766
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Endemic birds of Hispaniola
Birds of Hispaniola
Endemic birds of the Caribbean
Endemic fauna of Hispaniola
Birds of the Dominican Republic
Birds of Haiti
Higher-level bird taxa restricted to the West Indies
National symbols of the Dominican Republic
Bombycilloidea
Extant Miocene first appearances