Gray Trembler - BirdForum Opus

Photo by njlarsen
Soufriere on the island of St. Lucia, December 2006

Cinclocerthia gutturalis

Identification

23–26 cm
Brownish-grey upperparts, paler underparts, black mask on side of head, contrasting paler eye. Bill very long, straight lower mandible, upper mandible curved down near the tip.
Has a tendency to keep the tail erect making it reminiscent of an oversize wren.

Distribution

Endemic to St. Lucia and Martinique in the Lesser Antilles. Contrary to claims in some books, the closely related Brown Trembler (C. ruficauda) does not occur on these two islands.

Taxonomy

Two subspecies are recognized¹:

• C. g. gutturalis on Martinique
• C. g. macrorhyncha on St. Lucia

Habitat

Forests, second growth, overgrown plantations.

Behaviour

Cocks its tail and trembles frequently.

Diet

Food is mainly invertebrates found by probing leaf clusters, epiphytes, etc. They also eat small fruits from various palm trees.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, B.L. Sullivan, C. L. Wood, and D. Roberson. 2013. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.8., with updates to August 2013. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Raffaele et al. 1998. Birds of the West Indies. Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0713649054
3. BF Member observations
4. Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved May 2014)

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Gray Trembler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Gray_Trembler

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