Grey-crowned Palm-tanager

The grey-crowned palm-tanager or grey-crowned tanager (''Phaenicophilus poliocephalus'') is a Near Threatened species of bird in the family Phaenicophilidae, the Hispaniolan palm-tanagers. It is endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in both the Dominican Republic and Haiti.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2021. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2021. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ Retrieved August 25, 2021

Taxonomy and systematics

The grey-crowned palm-tanager shares its genus with the black-crowned palm-tanager (''P. palmarum''). They hybridize and have at times been considered conspecific. The genus was long included in family Thraupidae, the "true" tanagers, but it was moved in 2017.Townsend, J. M. (2020). Gray-crowned Palm-Tanager (''Phaenicophilus poliocephalus''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.gcptan1.01 retrieved October 9, 2022

The International Ornithological Committee and BirdLife International's ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' assign three subspecies to the grey-crowned palm-tanager, the nominate ''P. p. poliocephalus'', ''P. p. coryi'', and ''P. p. tetraopes''.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip retrieved August 7, 2022 The Clements taxonomy includes ''tetraopes'' within the nominate. This article follows the three-subspecies model.

Description

The grey-crowned palm-tanager is about long and weighs about . The sexes are alike. The nominate subspecies has a deep gray crown and a black "mask" with white spots in front of, above, and below the eye. Its upperparts are yellow-green. Its throat is bright white and the rest of its underparts the same dark gray as the crown. Subspecies ''P. p. coryi'' is larger than the nominate and paler overall with a white streak down the center of the breast and belly. ''P. p. tetraopes'' is slightly paler than the nominate both top and bottom.

Distribution and habitat

The grey-crowned palm-tanager's nominate subspecies is found on the Tiburon Peninsula of southwestern Haiti and the small island of Grande Cayemite off its northern shore. In the Dominican Republic, it is rarely found in the north and south slopes of the Sierra de Baoruco, as well as on the southern part of Loma de Toro and Hoyo de Pelempito. The subspecies ''P. p. tetraopes'' is found only on Île-à-Vache off the Tiburon Peninsula's south coast. ''P. p. coryi'' is found only on Gonâve Island in the Gulf of Gonâve north of the peninsula. The species inhabits every available forest type from dry to wet and open to dense. It also occurs tree plantations and in rural and urban gardens and parks. It is most easily viewed on the Massif de la Hotte towards the western end of the Tiburon Peninsula. In elevation it ranges from sea level to .

Behavior

Movement

The grey-crowned palm-tanager is a year-round resident throughout its range.

Feeding

The grey-crowned palm-tanager forages in pairs or family groups from the forest mid-level to the canopy, and also sometimes joins mixed-species foraging flocks. Its major dietary component is small arthropods with a lesser contribution from fruit. It forages for arthropods mostly by gleaning from foliage, both living and dead.

Breeding

The grey-crowned palm-tanager's breeding season is from May to July. It builds a cup nest of twigs up to about above ground. The clutch size is two to four eggs. After young fledge, the family stays together for several months. Nothing else is known about its breeding biology.

Vocalization

As of late 2022 xeno-canto had no recordings of grey-crowned palm-tanager vocalizations and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library had very few. It has "an extended melodic song" and a "''peee-u''" call.

Status

The IUCN has assessed the grey-crowned palm-tanager as Near Threatened. It has a limited range and an unknown population size that is believed to be decreasing. Deforestation in the Dominican Republic and especially Haiti has been severe and is continuing. However, the palm-tanager is common in areas of remaining habitat. "The small amount of forest left on Hispaniola is under constant pressure ut the species'generalist habits likely buffer it to some extent from the effects of deforestation".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3142836

Phaenicophilus
Birds described in 1851
Endemic birds of Hispaniola
Endemic birds of the Caribbean
Birds of Haiti
Birds of the Dominican Republic
palm-tanager, grey-crowned
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot