Breitschnabeltodi

Bestimmung

The broad-billed tody is a small, rotund bird with a short tail, distinctive bright green feathers on its back, head and wings, as well as a plain white breast tinged with yellow. Additionally, it has a striking red throat, pale pink flanks, slate-colored irises and bright yellow on its underside, where its body meets its tail. The broad-billed tody has the widest bill of the tody family, measuring 0.6 centimeters wide and 2.1 centimeters long, the upper part of which is black, while its lower part is entirely red. The broad-billed tody has short, rounded feathers that are not streamlined for efficient flight. Its body measures 11.5 centimeters tall and it weighs approximately 7.5 grams, making it the largest bird in the genus Todus. The females and males are nearly indistinguishable, though the juveniles can be distinguished by the absence of the red throat, instead having pale yellow throats somewhat tinged with red, as well as shorter bills and gray-streaked breasts. Tody eggs are the smallest eggs of the Coraciiformes, measuring 1.6 centimeters by 1.4 centimeters and weighing approximately 1.4 grams. The eggs are glossy white, with no markings, though they often pick up a reddish tint from dirt stains, as well as a rosy tinge from the large orange/red yolk inside, necessary to sustain their unusually long incubation time.

Taxonomie

The broad-billed tody is one of five species in the genus Todus, which is the only genus in the monotypic family Todidae. Originally, it was thought that broad-billed and narrow-billed todies shared a common ancestor and then split into two species, as they are the only tody species that share an island. However, mitochondrial DNA analysis has shown that the broad-billed tody descended from the Puerto Rican tody, while the narrow-billed tody descended from the Cuban tody, which was native to the island first. The ancestors of the broad-billed tody migrated to the island two to three million years ago, meaning they have always been distinct species. There has also been a question about where to place the todies among other taxonomic groups, due to their similarities with other birds, such as the nightjars, the trogons, the puffbirds, among others. In 1790, the genus Todus was established, to separate the todies from the kingfishers of genus Alcedo, with the order "Todiformes" being proposed in 1882 but rejected. Currently, in combination with DNA, geographical and evolutionary analysis, it is firmly believed that todies belong to the order Coraciiformes.

Wissenschaftlicher Name

Todus subulatus

Autorität

Gray, GR, 1847

Ordnung

Coraciiformes

Familie

Todis

Gattung

Todus

Verbreitung und Lebensraum

The broad-billed tody is endemic to the island of Hispaniola, which is split between Dominican Republic and Haiti. It shares the island with the narrow-billed tody, although the two species are geographically separated for much of the island, excluding specific pine forests and mangroves, where the two species can be seen flocking together. The broad-billed tody inhabits primarily low elevations, ranging from sea level to 1700 meters, and is also more prevalent in the Dominican Republic than Haiti. It prefers arid habitats containing low-land scrubs, sub-desert habitats with plentiful cacti and agave, as well as shaded coffee plantations and pine forests. Despite being a tropical bird, it is rarely seen in dense rainforest and dislikes wet conditions. The broad-billed tody is not a migratory species, and is instead completely sedentary. During the breeding season, the breeding pair will remain within the same territory for the duration of the season, though during the non-breeding months, the tody will forage slightly further from its home range and may join a mixed flock with the narrow-billed tody temporarily. When the breeding season begins again, the tody will stay close to its original territory and maintain it year to year. The juveniles also do not travel far once they leave the next. The first suitable territory that they will claim will be only a few kilometers away from their original home.

Zugverhalten

Standvogel

Verhalten

Zugverhalten: Standvogel.

Schutzstatus

Bestandstrend: rückläufig.

Bestandstrend

rückläufig