Jamaican Tody
Todus todus
A small, gemlike, woodland species usually found in pairs. Its rather large head, long bill, and short tail create a unique profile. Also note the shimmering green upperparts and red throat. No similar species occur within its range. It usually hunts from low-to-middle level perches, sitting nearly still before leaping upwards to snatch prey. Vocalizations include a scratchy “zheh,” given in series at a rate of about one per second and a brief rapid rattle.
Identification
The Jamaican tody is a small, chunky bird that averages about 9 cm (or 4.25”) in size. The wing size for all tody species ranges between 42.8mm and 50.3mm. The Jamaican tody's wing size is intermediate between these sizes (about 46mm) compared to the Cuban and Puerto Rican todies, which tend to have smaller wings, and the broad-billed tody, which has the largest. The wing size of the Jamaican tody correlates with their average flight distance, which is about 1.5m, and their maximum flight distance, which is 26m. The average weight of the Jamaican tody is around 6.4 grams. They have a bright green head, red throat and a long, broad and flat red bill. They look very similar to the Puerto Rican tody (Todus mexicanus) but have a whitish breast that is blended with green, becoming even slightly yellow on the abdomen and under the tail-coverts. The Jamaican tody also has blue-gray subauricular feathers. Their legs and feet are reddish brown. Todies are generally a sexually monomorphic genus. However, some tody species have different eye colors between males and females, but in the Jamaican tody, this iris color is undistinguishable. Jamaican todies are very quiet birds during nonbreeding months but can be heard more frequently during the spring and summer. The vocalizations of the Jamaican tody are predominately a loud beep sound and a throat-rattle. (see external link below) The loud beep is a nasal sounding note that is similar in length to the loud beep of the Puerto Rican tody. The throat-rattling is a rapid, harsh-sounding noise that is produced often in territorial defense.
Taxonomy
It was thought that the genus Todus was established in 1760, after the split from the kingfisher from the genus Alcedo. However, the exact historical relationship between the genus Todus and other close relatives was not confirmed until around 2004 when a paper was published on the molecular phylogenic relationships for the tody species. Mitochondrial DNA and nuclear gene sequences were used to discover the heterogeneity among genes in these species. Genus Todus is monophyletic and a relatively old group based on divergence approximations. Todies are closer to the Baryphthengus and Hylomanes genera, from the family Momotidae, than the Ceryle and Chloroceryle genera, from the family Alcedinidae. The family Todidae likely derived from a motmot-like ancestor during the Oligocene period. Palaeotodus emryi is the only tody that is known to be from the late Pleistocene, and it is a close relative of the tody motmot (Hylomanes momotula), the primitive genus of the Momotidae and possibly the closest living relative to the todies. It is believed that the Todidae were once widespread across North America but when there was a decrease in tropical conditions there, it is thought that this led to the confinement of the motmot-tody group to the Neotropics.<p>The Jamaican tody is a member of the genus, Todus, which is composed of five species restricted to the Greater Antilles. All five species are very similar morphologically. The Cuban tody (Todus multicolor) is confined to the island of Cuba and can be found throughout the island, but tends to be more concentrated in shoreline habitats. The narrow-billed tody (Todus angustirostris) and the broad-billed tody (Todus subulatus) are both endemic to Hispaniola, composed of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The narrow-billed tody is mainly found in very humid montane forest while the broad-billed tody generally inhabits very dry forest and sub-desert areas. However, both of these species can be found in either habitat and are most equally distributed in dry, lower montane forests. The Puerto Rican tody (Todus mexicanus) is only found on the island of Puerto Rico. Similar to other tody species, they can be found in a variety of habitats ranging from the moist, Luquillo Rainforest to the more dry, limestone forest.
- Scientific name
- Todus todus
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Coraciiformes
- Family
- Todidae
- Genus
- Todus
Range and habitat
The Jamaican tody is endemic to Jamaica. They are found all around the island and can be seen near the semi-arid coast or in the humid mountains. They generally travel in pairs and can be found most commonly in forested areas, occurring in second-growth, untouched habitats, including mesic limestone forests, arid limestone forests, montane forest, shaded coffee plantations and even mangroves. The Jamaican tody is most visible during the spring and summer months, and are much more silent and easy to find during the fall and winter.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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