The Puerto Rican spindalis (''Spindalis portoricensis'') is a bird

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 elsew ...

to the island of

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 ...

, where it is commonly known as ''reina mora''. The species is widely distributed throughout the island and is an important part of the Puerto Rican

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

because of its help in

seed dispersal In Spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors, ...

and

plant reproduction Plant reproduction is the production of new offspring in plants, which can be accomplished by sexual or asexual reproduction. Sexual reproduction produces offspring by the fusion of gametes, resulting in offspring genetically different from either ...

. The Puerto Rican spindalis is the unofficial

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 Puerto Rico.

Taxonomy

The Puerto Rican spindalis was originally classified as ''Spindalis zena portoricensis'', making it a subspecies of the

western spindalis The western spindalis (''Spindalis zena'') is a songbird species. It was formerly considered conspecific with the other three species of spindalis, with the common name stripe-headed tanager. Taxonomy The spindalises were traditionally consider ...

(''

Spindalis zena The western spindalis (''Spindalis zena'') is a songbird species. It was formerly considered conspecific with the other three species of spindalis, with the common name stripe-headed tanager. Taxonomy The spindalises were traditionally consider ...

''). In 1997, an article was published which presented an extensive analysis of the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Spindalis ''Spindalis'' is a genus consisting of four non-migratory species of bird. It is the only genus in the family Spindalidae. The species are mostly endemic to the West Indies; exceptions include populations of western spindalises on Cozumel Island ...

''. The report concluded, based on differences in weight, color,

pattern A pattern is a regularity in the world, in human-made design, or in abstract ideas. As such, the elements of a pattern repeat in a predictable manner. A geometric pattern is a kind of pattern formed of geometric shapes and typically repeated l ...

, distribution, and

voice The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production in ...

, that a split of ''S. zena'' was necessary. Four distinct

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 ...

were identified—'' Spindalis dominicensis'', ''

Spindalis nigricephala The Jamaican spindalis (''Spindalis nigricephala'') is one of four species of bird in family Spindalidae. It is endemic to Jamaica. Taxonomy and systematics Historically, the genus ''Spindalis'' consisted of a single polytypic species, ''Spi ...

'', ''

Spindalis portoricensis The Puerto Rican spindalis (''Spindalis portoricensis'') is a bird endemic to the island of Puerto Rico, where it is commonly known as ''reina mora''. The species is widely distributed throughout the island and is an important part of the Puerto ...

'' and ''

''. ''S. zena'' was also subdivided into five subspecies: ''S. z. pretrei'', ''S. z. salvini'', ''S. z. benedicti'', ''S. z. townsendi'' and ''S. z. zena''. Specifically, the difference in vocalization, and

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines * Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts * Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...

, distinguish ''S. portoricensis'' from ''S. dominicensis''.

Description

The Puerto Rican spindalis exhibits

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 ...

with males being brightly colored and

female Female (Venus symbol, symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ovum, ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the Sperm, male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gamet ...

s being dully colored. Males are green colored above with an orange neck and chest. They have a black head with two white stripes running across it, with one above and one below the eyes. The

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, r ...

and

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

s are gray to black with small white stripes at the tips. In contrast, the female is a dull olive-green color with slightly noticeable white stripes. Sexual dimorphism is also noticeable in weight and size. Females are slightly heavier but smaller in length than males. The male's weight ranges from 22.5 to 37.0

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a Physical unit, unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure wate ...

s with an average of 30.8 grams while the female's ranges from 28.0 to 41.1 grams with an average of 33.5 grams. The length of the male's wings ranges from 82 to 88.5 mm with an average of 85.2 mm while the female's range from 80 to 85.5 mm with an average of 82.6 mm. The length of the male's tail ranges from 59 to 68 mm with an average of 63.3 mm while the female's range from 56 to 65.5 mm with an average of 60.6 mm.

Distribution and habitat

Distribution Map of Puerto Rican Spindalis 2004

The Puerto Rican spindalis is currently found more commonly in

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s than in their natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

, the forests of

Maricao Maricao () is a town and the second-least populous municipality of Puerto Rico; it is located at the western edge of the Cordillera Central. It is a small town set around a small square in hilly terrain, north of San Germán, Sabana Grande and ...

and the

El Yunque National Forest El Yunque National Forest ( es, Bosque Nacional El Yunque), formerly known as the Caribbean National Forest (or ''Bosque Nacional del Caribe''), is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is the only tropical rainforest in the United Sta ...

. It may also be found in gardens, scavenging for flower nectar, and other areas where fruits are grown. It can be attracted by a sugar solution. It is distributed throughout the entire main island of Puerto Rico and is rarely found above 1000

meter The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...

s in elevation.

Ecology and behavior

The Puerto Rican spindalis are usually found in pairs but may travel in small flocks. These birds also engage in a behavior called

mobbing Mobbing, as a sociological term, means bullying of an individual by a group, in any context, such as a family, peer group, school, workplace, neighborhood, community, or online. When it occurs as physical and emotional abuse in the workplace, suc ...

. This is when a flock of birds, from one or more species, attack a known

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

, usually to defend their eggs or

hatchling In oviparous biology, a hatchling is a newly hatched fish, amphibian, reptile, or bird. A group of mammals called monotremes lay eggs, and their young are hatchlings as well. Fish Fish hatchlings generally do not receive parental care, similar to ...

s. Such behavior has been observed being directed against the Puerto Rican boa by immature Puerto Rican spindalis. The vocalization of the Puerto Rican spindalis is not as complex as that of other ''Spindalis'' species; only the songs of ''S. dominicensis'' are less elaborate. As with all ''Spindalis'', the males emit high pitched sounds at 8

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

or higher, usually from treetops high above the ground. Females, on the other hand, sing "whisper songs" usually from dense areas close to the ground. The most common vocalization is described as a "continuing series of high-pitched, thin, sibilant notes, given in a rhythmic pattern." Other vocalizations include a fast ''tweet'' and a short ''chi chi chi''.

Diet

The Puerto Rican spindalis commonly eats fruit from '' Schefflera morototoni'', '' Cecropia schreberiana'', '' Cordia sulcata'', ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending in ...

'' species, ''

Phoradendron ''Phoradendron'' is a genus of mistletoe, native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Americas. The center of diversity is the Amazon rainforest.Coder, K. DAmerican mistletoe (''Phoradendron serotinum'' var. ''serotinum'') infectio ...

'' species and ''

Inga vera ''Inga vera'' is a species of tropical tree in the family Fabaceae The Fabaceae or Leguminosae,insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s and small

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

s as part of their diet.

Reproduction

The Puerto Rican spindalis builds cup-shaped nests from various plant matter. Two to four eggs are laid at a time. Eggs are usually light blue in color with brown patches around the large end, but regional variations are known to exist. They measure, on average, 23.7 by 17.3 mm.

Taxonomy

Description

Distribution and habitat

Ecology and behavior

Diet

Reproduction

See also

Notes

References

Further reading