The pearly-eyed thrasher (''Margarops fuscatus'') is a bird in the thrasher family Mimidae. It is found on many

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

islands, from the Bahamas in the north to the

Grenadines The Grenadines is a chain of small islands that lie on a line between the larger islands of Saint Vincent and Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Nine are inhabited and open to the public (or ten, if the offshore island of Young Island is counted): ...

in the south, with an isolated subspecies on

Bonaire Bonaire (; , ; pap, Boneiru, , almost pronounced ) is a Dutch island in the Leeward Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west ( leeward) coast of the island. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao form the ABC i ...

Description

The pearly-eyed thrasher is the largest species in the Mimidae, growing to 28 to 30 cm (11 to 11.8 inches) in length.

Taxonomy

Its genus, ''Margarops'', is currently considered monotypic; formerly the

scaly-breasted thrasher The scaly-breasted thrasher (''Allenia fusca'') is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It is found throughout much of the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean Sea. Taxonomy and systematics The scaly-breasted thrasher was originally placed ...

was placed in the same genus. However, ''M. fusctaus'' is now known to be closer to the ''

Cinclocerthia Tremblers are a New World group of passerine birds related to mockingbirds and New World catbirds. Like these, they are in the family Mimidae. There are 2-4 species in one genus, ''Cinclocerthia'', which is endemic to the Lesser Antilles: * Gr ...

'' tremblers. Margarops fuscatus1

While this is not a migratory bird, considerable

gene flow In population genetics, gene flow (also known as gene migration or geneflow and allele flow) is the transfer of genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalent a ...

between populations appears to have taken place at least until fairly recently in its evolutionary history. There are four

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

, two of which can be distinguished genetically: ''M. f. fuscatus'' (the

nominate subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

, which is found between the Greater Antilles and

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda (, ) is a sovereign country in the West Indies. It lies at the juncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles, at 17°N latitude. The country consists of two maj ...

), and ''M. f. densirostris'' (occurring from

Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...

and

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

southwards). When exactly the pearly-eyed thrasher lineage diverged from its relatives cannot be said with reasonable certainty, as no fossils are known and the standard molecular clock model cannot be applied to the Mimidae, as mutation rates seem to have varied over time.

Distribution and habitat

The pearly-eyed thrasher has a somewhat

disjunct distribution In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but considerably separated from each other geographically. The causes are varied and might demonstrate either the expansion or contraction of a s ...

throughout the West Indies: it is found in the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos islands, the Dominican Republic's

Isla Beata Beata Island ( es, Isla Beata) is a small island on the Caribbean Sea, located southwest from Cape Beata. Some southwest of it lies the smaller Alto Velo Island. It is politically part of the Dominican Republic, and is roughly triangle-shaped an ...

, many of the Lesser Antilles (except Barbados and

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

, where it is extirpated), and Bonaire a special municipality in the Netherlands. Its main habitat is bushes and trees in mountain forests and coffee plantations. In Puerto Rico, as well as occupying the main island, it is also found on Mona Island. In the Bahamas, it is a breeding species on

San Salvador San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...

Exuma Exuma is a district of The Bahamas, consisting of over 365 islands, also called cays. The largest of the cays is Great Exuma, which is 37 mi (60 km) in length and joined to another island, Little Exuma, by a small bridge. The capital ...

, and

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, and probably also on

Acklins Acklins is an island and district of the Bahamas. It is one of a group of islands arranged along a large, shallow lagoon called the Bight of Acklins, of which the largest are Crooked Island () in the north and Acklins () in the southeast, and ...

Mayaguana Mayaguana (from Taíno language ''Mayaguana'', meaning "Lesser Midwestern Land") is the easternmost island and district of The Bahamas. Its population was 277 in the 2010 census. It has an area of about . About north of Great Inagua and southea ...

, and Great Inagua; in addition it is found as a wintering species on Eleuthra and Cat Island. In the Lesser Antilles, it is a breeding species in the SSS islands (the northern part of the

Netherlands Antilles nl, In vrijheid verenigd"Unified by freedom" , national_anthem = , common_languages = Dutch English Papiamento , demonym = Netherlands Antillean , capital = Willemstad , year_start = 1954 , year_end = 2010 , date_start = 15 December , ...

), Barbuda,

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

, Martinique,

St. Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...

, St. Thomas, and

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

and the

.Stattersfield ''et al.'' (1998), pp. 164–167 The subspecies ''M. f. bonairensis'' was formerly found on La Horquilla, one of the Hermanos Islands off the north coast of Venezuela, but it is now believed to be extirpated from there, having last been reported in 1908.

Ecology

The pearly-eyed thrasher is described as an aggressive, opportunistic omnivore that feeds primarily on large insects, but also feeds on fruits and berries, and will occasionally eat lizards, frogs, small crabs and other bird's eggs and nestlings. This species nests in cavities. In Puerto Rico, it is known to compete with the critically endangered

Puerto Rican amazon The Puerto Rican amazon (''Amazona vittata''), also known as the Puerto Rican parrot (Puerto Rican Spanish: ''cotorra puertorriqueña'') or ''iguaca'', is the only extant parrot endemic to the archipelago of Puerto Rico, and belongs to the Neo ...

(''Amazona vittata'') for nesting sites, and may even destroy the parrot's eggs.

References

Cited texts

* Stattersfield, Alison J., Michael J. Crosby, Adrian J. Long, and David C. Wege (1998) '' Endemic Bird Areas of the World: Priorities for Biodiversity Conservation''

External links

*El Yunque National Forest
Wildlife Facts – January 2005 – Pearly-eyed Thrasher
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2668564 pearly-eyed thrasher pearly-eyed thrasher Endemic birds of the Caribbean Birds of Hispaniola Birds of the Dominican Republic Birds of the Bahamas Birds of the Turks and Caicos Islands Birds of Puerto Rico Birds of the Lesser Antilles pearly-eyed thrasher Taxa named by Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot