Bananaquit

Bananaquit
Conservation status
Least Concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Coerebidae (but see text) Genus: Coereba Vieillot, 1809 Species: C. flaveola
Binomial name
Coereba flaveola (Linnaeus, 1758)

The Bananaquit, Coereba flaveola, is a passerine bird, the only member of the genus Coereba and the monotypic family Coerebidae. The latter used to contain other nectar-eating birds from the tropical Americas, but these have since been moved. The Bananaquit is possibly close to some American "sparrows" and "finches" but the precise phylogeny remains unresolved. The AOU thus classes it as species incertae sedis^[1]. It is resident in tropical South America north to southern Mexico and the Caribbean. It is a rare visitor to Florida, USA.

The Bananaquit is a very small bird attaining an average length of 11 cm. It has a slender, curved bill, adapted to taking nectar from flowers. It sometimes pierces flowers from the side, taking the nectar without pollinating the plant. It cannot hover like a hummingbird, and must always perch while feeding. It will also eat fruit and insects. It often visits gardens and may become very tame. Its nickname, the sugar bird, comes from its affinity for bowls or bird feeders stocked with granular sugar, a common method of attracting these birds in the USVI. Birds in the genera Cœreba, Dacnis, and allied genera belonging to the family Cœrebidæ, are all referred to as sugar birds.

Upperparts are dark grey with a black crown to the head and yellow underparts and rump. The Bananaquit has a prominent white eyestripe. Sexes are alike.

On Grenada and Saint Vincent, most Bananaquits have black plumage, suggesting divergence from other West Indian populations.

Bananaquits build spherical lined nests with a side entrance hole, laying up to three eggs.

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Coereba flaveola

References

• BirdLife International (2004). Coereba flaveola. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

1. ^ Dunn, John L. and Alderfer, Jonathan, "National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Fifth Edition" ISBN 0-7922-5314-0

External links

• Bananaquit videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Stamps (with RangeMap)
• Photo-Medium Res; Article chandra.as.utexas.edu
• Bananaquit photo gallery VIREO
• Bananaquit sounds on xeno-canto.org

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