Puerto Rican Tody
Encyclopedia
The Puerto Rican Tody is a tody
endemic
to the archipelago
of Puerto Rico
. Despite is scientific name, Todus mexicanus, it is endemic
to Puerto Rico
. It is commonly known in the island as "San Pedrito" ("Little Saint Peter").
, with a body measuring on average 11 cm in length and weighing from 5 to 6 gram
s. Males and females can be distinguished by the coloration of their eyes: males have gray eyes while females have white eyes.
Todies are hard to spot visually but are easily identifiable by the loud nasal beep they make. Also known as papagallo, they make their nest on the face of cut ground (e.g., in road cuts created during road construction). Another way you could find their nests is on a hill side. Todies never nest in trees or man-made structures. They are active in the daytime, and mostly frequent forested habitats.
. It predominates in forested areas, specially in high altitude damp forests where insect concentrations are higher. It also can be found in forests with dense thickets and vines in the south region of the island.
s diet with fruits from the Clusia krugiana tree . It eats katydids, grasshopper
s, cricket
s, earwig
s, dragonflies
, flies
(Diptera), and beetles (Coleoptera), as well as spiders, and occasional small lizards. Todies are considered voracious eaters.
Todies sit quietly on high perches and scan the surface below with fast, jerky motions of its bill which it has the habit of tilting towards the sky. Once it find its prey it will suddenly take flight, grab the insect and sit on another perch.
have a body temperature of 40 °C, but Puerto Rican Todies can maintain a body temperature of 36.7 °C. This allows them to spend 33% less energy than other coraciiformes
. Puerto Rican Todies can lower their body temperatures by 14 °C and remain fully active, respond to stimuli and take flight.
Tody
The todies are a family, Todidae, of Caribbean birds in the order Coraciiformes, which also includes the kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers. The family has one genus, Todus...
endemic
Endemism in birds
An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
to the archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. Despite is scientific name, Todus mexicanus, it is endemic
Endemism in birds
An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
to Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. It is commonly known in the island as "San Pedrito" ("Little Saint Peter").
Description
The Puerto Rican Tody has green feathers with yellow flanks, a bright yellowish-white belly, a red throat and lower mandible and a long beak. It is the smallest representative of the order CoraciiformesCoraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...
, with a body measuring on average 11 cm in length and weighing from 5 to 6 gram
Gram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
s. Males and females can be distinguished by the coloration of their eyes: males have gray eyes while females have white eyes.
Todies are hard to spot visually but are easily identifiable by the loud nasal beep they make. Also known as papagallo, they make their nest on the face of cut ground (e.g., in road cuts created during road construction). Another way you could find their nests is on a hill side. Todies never nest in trees or man-made structures. They are active in the daytime, and mostly frequent forested habitats.
Habitat
The Puerto Rican Tody can be found throughout the main island of Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
. It predominates in forested areas, specially in high altitude damp forests where insect concentrations are higher. It also can be found in forests with dense thickets and vines in the south region of the island.
Diet
The Puerto Rican Tody is an insectivourous bird although it has been observed supplementing its hatchlingHatchling
In oviparous biology, a hatchling is the newborn of animals that develop and emerge from within hard-shell eggs. The offspring of birds are often hatched naked and with their eyes closed. The hatchling relies totally on its parents for feeding and warmth. Hatchlings precede nestlings in the chick's...
s diet with fruits from the Clusia krugiana tree . It eats katydids, grasshopper
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
s, cricket
Cricket (insect)
Crickets, family Gryllidae , are insects somewhat related to grasshoppers, and more closely related to katydids or bush crickets . They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae. There are about 900 species of crickets...
s, earwig
Earwig
Earwigs make up the insect order Dermaptera, found throughout the Americas, Africa, Eurasia, Australia and New Zealand. With 1,800 species in 12 families, they are one of the smaller insect orders...
s, dragonflies
Dragonfly
A dragonfly is a winged insect belonging to the order Odonata, the suborder Epiprocta or, in the strict sense, the infraorder Anisoptera . It is characterized by large multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong transparent wings, and an elongated body...
, flies
Fließ
Fließ is a municipality in the Landeck district and is located5 km south of Landeck on the upper course of the Inn River. It has 9 hamlets and was already populated at the roman age; the village itself was founded around the 6th century. After a conflagration in 1933 Fließ was restored more...
(Diptera), and beetles (Coleoptera), as well as spiders, and occasional small lizards. Todies are considered voracious eaters.
Todies sit quietly on high perches and scan the surface below with fast, jerky motions of its bill which it has the habit of tilting towards the sky. Once it find its prey it will suddenly take flight, grab the insect and sit on another perch.
Reproduction
The Puerto Rican Tody has an unusual nesting technique. The male and female todies excavate a long, narrow burrow in an earth bank ranging from 25 to 35 cm in length. They create their nest at the end of this burrow. This process occurs from February to June, before the start of the wet season. Females then lay from 1 to 4 bright white eggs, with an average of 2.3 eggs. Both the male and the female incubate the eggs. The incubation period has an average of 21 days. Other adult todies may assist in the development process of the chicks.Unique features
The Puerto Rican Tody has been researched extensively because of its unusual body temperature, body temperature control and temperature control abilities. Puerto Rican Todies exhibit lower body temperatures than other todies and have also exhibited heterothermy over a range of temperatures . Most coraciiformesCoraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...
have a body temperature of 40 °C, but Puerto Rican Todies can maintain a body temperature of 36.7 °C. This allows them to spend 33% less energy than other coraciiformes
Coraciiformes
The Coraciiformes are a group of usually colorful near passerine birds including the kingfishers, the Hoopoe, the bee-eaters, the rollers, and the hornbills...
. Puerto Rican Todies can lower their body temperatures by 14 °C and remain fully active, respond to stimuli and take flight.
See also
- Fauna of Puerto RicoFauna of Puerto RicoThe fauna of Puerto Rico is similar to other island archipelago faunas, with high endemism, and low, skewed taxonomic diversity. Bats are the only extant native terrestrial mammals in Puerto Rico. All other terrestrial mammals in the area were introduced by humans, and include species such as cats,...
- List of endemic fauna of Puerto Rico
- List of Puerto Rican birds
- List of Vieques birds
- El Toro WildernessEl Toro WildernessEl Toro Wilderness is a National Wilderness Preservation System located partly within El Yunque National Forest on the island of Puerto Rico...