The grey trembler (''Cinclocerthia gutturalis'') is a

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Mimidae, the mockingbirds and thrashers. It is found only on

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 th ...

and

Saint 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 Amerindian ...

in 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 betwe ...

of 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 ...

Taxonomy and systematics

The grey trembler was formerly thought to be

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organ ...

with the brown trembler (''Cinclocerthia ruficauda''), the only other member of its genus. It has two subspecies, the nominate ''C. g. gutturalis'' and ''C. g. macrorhyncha''.Cody, M. L. and E. de Juana (2020). Gray Trembler (''Cinclocerthia gutturalis''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.gratre1.01 retrieved August 2, 2021

The "Mascarene starling"

In 1898 a unique skin (accession number D1792 (S)) was discovered in the

World Museum Liverpool World Museum is a large museum in Liverpool, England which has extensive collections covering archaeology, ethnology and the natural and physical sciences. Special attractions include the Natural History Centre and a planetarium. Entry to the ...

. This specimen was obtained by

Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby (21 April 1775 – 30 June 1851), KG, of Knowsley Hall in Lancashire (styled Lord Stanley from 1776 to 1832, known as Baron Stanley of Bickerstaffe from 1832-4), was a politician, peer, landowner, bui ...

from bird collector

Jules Verreaux Jules Pierre Verreaux (24 August 1807 – 7 September 1873) was a French botanist and ornithologist and a professional collector of and trader in natural history specimens. He was the brother of Édouard Verreaux and nephew of Pierre Antoine Dela ...

in 1850 and was on display in the Liverpool Museum since then. It was believed to be an extinct

starling Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus ''Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...

from

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, or the

Mascarenes The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Their ...

, described by

Henry Ogg Forbes Henry Ogg Forbes LLD (30 January 1851 – 27 October 1932) was a Scottish explorer, ornithologist, and botanist. He also described a new species of spider, '' Thomisus decipiens''. Biography Forbes was the son of Rev Alexander Forbes M.A. (182 ...

under the name ''Necropsar leguati'' and sketched by bird illustrator

John Gerrard Keulemans Johannes Gerardus Keulemans (J. G. Keulemans) (8 June 1842 – 29 March 1912) was a Dutch bird illustrator. For most of his life he lived and worked in England, illustrating many of the best-known ornithology books of the nineteenth century. Bi ...

. It was thought to be a close relative of the

Rodrigues starling The Rodrigues starling (''Necropsar rodericanus'') is an extinct species of starling that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Rodrigues. Its closest relatives were the Mauritius starling and the hoopoe starling from nearby islands; all thr ...

. A vernacular name for this supposed species was "white Mascarene starling". However, in April 2000 analysis of DNA from that specimen by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

showed that the it was actually a misidentified and mislabeled

albinistic Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and pink or blue eyes. Individuals with the condition are referred to as albino. Varied use and interpretation of the term ...

example of ''C. g. gutturalis''.

Description

The grey trembler is long and weighs . The species has a long, slightly downcurved bill, the female's longer than the male's. Adults of the nominate subspecies have warm gray-brown upperparts with a somewhat darker face and wings. The throat and the middle of the breast and abdomen are buffy white. The sides of the breast are a lighter gray brown and the flanks browner with an olive tinge. Juveniles are browner and have a mottled chest. ''C. g. macrorhyncha'' has a grayer buffy breast and pale cinnamon flanks.

Distribution and habitat

''C. g. gutturalis'' is found only on Martinique and ''C. g. macrorhyncha'' on Saint Lucia. Both mostly inhabit wet mature forest but are also found in dryer scrub and open woodland.

Behavior

Tremblers derive their name from a typical behavior "in which the wings both are drooped and angled slightly away from the body...making very rapid vertical and lateral motions.

Feeding

The grey trembler forages from the ground to the forest canopy, tearing open tangles and probing

epiphyte 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 ...

clusters. Its diet has not been studied in detail but includes insects and other invertebrates, fruits, and occasionally small lizards.

Breeding

The grey trembler breeds in March and April. Two types of nest have been described, an open cup made from thin twigs and dead leaves, and a dome made of dried grass. The clutch size is two or three.Sibbald, E. (2020). Brown Trembler (''Cinclocerthia ruficauda''), 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.brotre1.01 retrieved August 3, 2021

Vocalization

The grey trembler's song is " peated notes and phrases, harsh to melodic, quavering whistles".

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has assessed the grey trembler as being of

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

. Though it is found only on two islands, it is fairly common on both. No threats are known "other than those implicit in its very restricted geographical range."