From Opus

Photo by njlarsen
Locality: Dominica.

Cinclocerthia ruficauda

[edit] Identification

23-25.5cm. Dark olive brown upperparts, grey-brown underparts, black-brown crown, rufous rump, orange-brown belly, light yellow iris, long, slender, decurved black bill, brown legs. Juvenile - spotted breasts.

[edit] Distribution

Endemic to the islands of Saba, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Vincent & Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. Does not occur in St. Lucia & Martinique contrary to the claims in some books. Several recent reports indicate presence on Antigua.

[edit] Taxonomy

Four subspecies are recognized¹: ruficauda, pavida, tremula, and tenebrosa.

Hunt et al. 2001 present results that indicate that the Brown Tremblers from Guadeloupe/Montserrat (and probably from islands north of there) and the ones from Dominica/St. Vincent probably represent two different species, both separate from the already widely accepted Gray Trembler.

[edit] Habitat

Main habitat is wet forest, sometimes found in second growth, edges, and drier habitat.

[edit] Behaviour

Famous for its trembling, which looks similar to the behavior young birds of some other species (e.g. House Sparrow) make when they beg for food or which females make at initiation of mating. However, the Brown Trembler trembles a lot more and in other situations as well.

[edit] References

1. Clements, James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019

[edit] External Links