Blue-black Grassquit
Volatinia jacarina
Fairly common little bird of weedy and brushy fields, farmland, and other open grassy areas in tropical lowlands and foothills. Note the very small size, brown plumage, and streaky breast, plus the pointed conical bill. Male’s blue-black breeding plumage is worn only in the summer wet season; molting birds and immatures are patchy blue-black and brown. In song display, male leaps into the air from grass stalk or fence, uttering a short buzzy phrase, repeated over and over.
Identification
Adult blue-black grassquits are 10.2 cm (4.0 in) long and weigh 9.3 g (0.33 oz). They have a slender conical black bill. The male is glossy blue-black, with a black tail and wings; the white inner underwing is visible in flight or display. Female and immature birds have brown upperparts and dark-streaked buff underparts.
Taxonomy
The blue-black grassquit was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1766 in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Tanagra jacarina. Linnaeus based his description on the "Jacarni" that was described in 1648 by the German naturalist Georg Marcgrave in his Historia Naturalis Brasiliae. The type locality is eastern Brazil. The specific epithet jacarina is derived from the Tupi language and was used for a type of finch. The blue-black grassquit is now the only species placed in the genus Volatinia and was introduced in 1850 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach. The genus name is a diminutive of the Latin volatus meaning "flying".<p>Within the tanager family Thraupidae the blue-black grassquit is in the subfamily Tachyphoninae and is a member of a clade that contains the genera Conothraupis and Creurgops.<p>The blue-black grassquit was formerly placed with the buntings in the subfamily Emberizinae rather than with the tanagers in Thraupinae within an expanded family Emberizidae.<p>Three subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Volatinia jacarina
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Volatinia
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Social monogamous, extra-pair fertilizations, intraspecific parasitism, and quasi-parasitism are commonly found. During the breeding season, males defend small territories, about 13,0 - 72,5 m2, dominant males are normally lighter. The male has a jumping display, often performed for long periods, which gives rise to the local name "johnny jump-up". This is accompanied by a persistent wheezing jweeee call, jumping several times in a minute. The extravagant display also has a cost of calling attention of the predator, thus displaying increased nest predation. Predation is the main cause of breeding failure, and predator vocalizations can cause an immune-related reaction to this species. Nests are small cups of rootlets (diameter about 7.5 cm) found in herbaceous vegetation 10–50 cm high, clustered at a landscape, and placed preferably at high complex habitat spots. Nests are built by both sexes.<p>Blue-black grassquits will often form flocks when not breeding. They eat seeds, mostly on the ground.
Conservation
- Population trend
- rising
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Vanellus tectus
An attractive lapwing with a black-and-white head, a brown back, and pale underparts. There is a thin black crest and a black line down the center of the breast. In flight, reveals broad white bands across the wings. Found in dry savanna habitats. Mostly active at night, early in the morning, and late in the day. Often in pairs or small groups. Not easily confused with other lapwings. The call is a strident, wooden, repeated “krep.”
Pavonine Quetzal
Pharomachrus pavoninus
Stocky green-and-red quetzal of lowland rainforest. Perches in the mid story of mature rainforest, where most common in upland (terra firme) areas and areas around water. Compared to trogons, is larger and chunkier, with a red bill and without a prominent eye ring. The green uppertail coverts are long, extending down the back side of the tail to just past the tail tip. Listen for its song, a repeated two note series of a breathy whistle followed by a soft note, “wheeew … tuck … wheeew … tuck …”.
Grenada Flycatcher
Myiarchus nugator
A medium-sized “fly-catching” species of open woodlands and scrub including towns, preferring areas near palms; often sits still on perch for long periods of time before leaping forth in pursuit of insects. Grenada Flycatcher has a dull brown back and a yellow belly that contrasts with its gray chest and throat. The Caribbean Elaenia is passingly similar but is smaller with a proportionately small bill, and it has bold wingbars and dull, low-contrast underparts. Vocalizations include an emphatic low “whip” given in a slow series and sometimes followed by a rolling “pit-it-oooo.” Also, this species gives a shrill “whee,” singly or in series.
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