Striped head tangs

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Striped head tangs
Cuba striped head tangerine (Spindalis zena)

Cuba striped head tangerine ( Spindalis zena )

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
without rank: Passerida
Superfamily : Passeroidea
Family : Spindalidae
Genre : Striped head tangs
Scientific name of the  family
Spindalidae
Barker , Burns , Klicka , SM Lanyon & Lovette , 2013
Scientific name of the  genus
Spindalis
Jardine & Selby , 1837

The striped head tangars ( Spindalis ) are a genus from the order of the passerine birds (Passeriformes). They were previously considered to be representatives of the Tangaren (Thraupidae), but have been regarded as an independent family Spindalidae since 2013. The four known species are found in the Caribbean and are resident birds .

features

Jamaican striped head tangerine ( Spindalis nigricephala )
Puerto Rican striped head tangerine ( Spindalis portoricensis )

The medium-sized striped head tanglers reach body lengths of 15 to 18 cm. The body shape is cylindrical-egg-shaped. The head is medium in size and the neck is medium in length and thick. The short beak is robust and sharp. The wings and tail are medium in length. Legs and feet are short and sturdy. The males have a striking black and white patterned head with a wide white stripe over the eyes and another on the cheeks. The neck, throat, chest, and stomach are orange, yellow, or reddish in color. The females are generally dull olive green.

species

A distinction is made between the following types:

Systematics

The striped head tangars are among the songbirds with nine visible hand-swing feathers that are common in the New World . As with several other families re-established in the 2010s that were traditionally considered part of the large, diverse family of tanagers within the superfamily Passeroidea, a molecular genetic study found that the striped- head tangarians form a clade with other tanagar-like birds from the Caribbean. F. Keith Barker, Kevin J. Burns, John Klicka, Scott M. Lanyon and Irby Lovette therefore established the new family Spindalidae in 2013 and classified the newly established family Nesospingidae with the breast-spotted island tangar ( Nesospingus speculiferus ) as the only species as a sister group . Both families form the sister group of another Caribbean family, the palm tangar (Phaenicophilidae).

Historically, the genus consisted of a single polytypic species, Spindalis zena with the eight subspecies S. z. townsendi and S. z. zena from the Bahamas , S. z. pretrei of Cuba , S. z. salvini from Grand Cayman , S. z. dominicensis from Hispaniola and Île de la Gonâve , S. z. portoricensis from Puerto Rico , S. z. nigricephala of Jamaica and S. z. benedicti of Cozumel . In 1997 three of the subspecies ( portoricensis , dominicensis and nigricephala ) were raised in the species status due to differences in morphology and vocalizations. Spindalis zena remained a polytypic species with the five recognized subspecies S. z. pretrei , S. z. salvini , S. z. benedicti , S. z. townsendi and S. z. zena .

habitat

Striped head tangars inhabit a wide variety of habitats, including bushy secondary vegetation, open woodland, mountain forests and plantations.

Eating behavior

Striped head tangars are primarily fruit-eaters and feed on berries in particular . Other food components include leaves, buds, insects and other invertebrates. The striped head tangars go foraging in all vegetation levels.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ F. Keith Barker, Kevin J. Burns, John Klicka, Scott M. Lanyon and Irby J. Lovette: Going to extremes: Contrasting rates of diversification in a recent radiation of New World passerine birds. Systematic Biology 62 (2), 2013, pp. 298-320. doi : 10.1093 / sysbio / sys094
  2. ^ OH Garrido, KC Parkes, GB Reynard, A. Kirkcornell & R. Sutton: Taxonomy of the Stripe-Headed Tanager, genus Spindalis (Aves: Thraupidae) of the West Indies . The Wilson Bulletin. 109 (4), 1997, pp. 561-594.