Birds Guide

Spindalis
Male Puerto Rican Spindalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia   Phylum: Chordata   Subphylum: Vertebrata   Class: Aves   Order: Passeriformes   Family: Thraupidae   Genus: Spindalis Jardine and Selby, 1837
Species
Spindalis zena Spindalis portoricensis Spindalis dominicensis Spindalis nigricephala

Spindalis is a non-migratory genus of tanagers (Thraupidae family) comprised of 4 species. The genus is considered endemic to the Greater Antilles; a population on Cozumel Island, off the Yucatan Peninsula's east coast, is part of that island's West Indian fauna.

Historically, the genus consisted of a single polytypic species, Spindalis zena, with eight recognized subspecies—S. z. townsendi and S. z. zena from the Bahamas,S. z. pretrei from Cuba, S. z. salvini from Grand Cayman, S. z. dominicensis from Hispaniola and Gonave Island, S. z. portoricensis from Puerto Rico, S. z. nigreciphala from Jamaica, and S. z. benedicti from Cozumel Island. In 1997, based primarily on morphological and vocalization differences, three of the subspecies (portoricensis, dominicensis and nigricephala) were elevated to species status. S. zena remained a polytypic species with five recognized subspecies—S. z. pretrei, S. z. salvini, S. z. benedicti, S. z. townsendi, and S. z. zena.^[1]

Spindalis males are characterized by bright plumage while females are duller and have a different coloration.

The nests of Spindalis are cup-shaped.^[2]

Footnotes

1. ^ Garrildo, et al, p.588-89.
2. ^ Garrildo, et al, p.587.

References

• O. H. Garrildo, K. C. Parkes, G. B. Reynard, A. Kirkcornell, and R. Sutton (December 1997). "Taxonomy of the Stripe-Headed Tanager, genus Spindalis (Aves:Thraupidae) of the West Indies" (djvu). The Wilson Bulletin 109 (4): 561-594. Retrieved on 2006-09-30.