The Cozumel thrasher (''Toxostoma guttatum'') is a

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

from the mockingbird

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

( Mimidae), which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the island of

Cozumel Cozumel (; ) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucatán Channel. The ...

off the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. It is believed to be the most critically endangered species of bird in Mexico – if it indeed still exists, which is probable but not certain.ENS (2004) This bird is closely related to the long-billed and

brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

thrashers. It has been generally described as shy, but there have been descriptions to the contrary. It was once abundant throughout Cozumel before two hurricanes greatly affected its numbers.

Invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

are also thought to have impacted the population of the thrasher.

Taxonomy

The Cozumel thrasher was first described as ''Harporhynchus guttatus'' by

Robert Ridgway Robert Ridgway (July 2, 1850 – March 25, 1929) was an American ornithologist specializing in systematics. He was appointed in 1880 by Spencer Fullerton Baird, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, to be the first full-time curator of birds ...

in 1885. It has been described as a subspecies to its relative the long-billed thrasher (''Toxostoma longirostre''), but was considered a separate species when it was determined in a 1998 study that it differed genetically more than five percent from both the long-billed and

brown thrasher The brown thrasher (''Toxostoma rufum''), sometimes erroneously called the brown thrush or fox-coloured thrush, is a bird in the family Mimidae, which also includes the Catbird, New World catbirds and mockingbirds. The brown thrasher is abundant ...

s (''T. rufum''). In the same study it was determined to be the basal member of the ''rufum'' group of ''Toxostoma'' thrashers. The bird is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

Description

The thrasher is in length. The adult has a brown

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

, back, shoulders, and rump that becomes more red in its tint on its lower back and rump. Greater and lesser coverts are a warm brown with concealed white tips, preceded with a black bar.

Primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

and secondaries are grayish-brown with warm rufous-brown outer webs. The

rectrices Flight feathers (''Pennae volatus'') are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired pennaceous feathers on the Bird wing, wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges (), singular remex (), while those ...

are also have a warm brown color. The lores and ear-coverts are a mottled grey brown. The chin and throat are an off-white color with a blackish partial malar stripe. The chest is a buffy-white in color with stark black teardrop shaped spots. The belly is off-white, and the flanks have larger black spots. Its

vent Vent or vents may refer to: Science and technology Biology *Vent, the cloaca region of an animal *Vent DNA polymerase, a thermostable DNA polymerase Geology *Hydrothermal vent, a fissure in a planet's surface from which geothermally heated water ...

is buffy and an underwing that is buffy-white with darker markings. The iris is yellow, the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

is grayish-brown, and the legs are brown with a dull tint. Juveniles'

plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...

have not been recorded, but presumably is similar in development to adulthood like the long-billed and brown thrasher.

Similar species

The Cozumel thrasher is similar in appearance to the long-billed thrasher (''Toxostoma longirostre'', in length), but is smaller, darker in color, has a blacker bill, and the markings are more sharply defined. No other thrasher species coexist on the island, but the Cozumel thrasher may be confused with the migratory

wood thrush The wood thrush (''Hylocichla mustelina'') is a North American passerine bird in the family Turdidae and is the only species placed in the genus ''Hylocichla''. It is closely related to other thrushes such as the American robin and is widely di ...

(''Hylocichla mustelina''). The wood thrush differs in lacking wing bars, a shorter beak, and a different shape.

Distribution and habitat

The distribution of the thrasher is restricted to Isla Cozumel which is 45 km long and 20 km wide. The habitat preferences for the thrasher is thought to be in low and medium deciduous and semi-deciduous forests. It may have once been most abundant in forest edges adjacent to clearings.

Behavior and ecology

The thrasher is predominately terrestrial and elusive and as with all members of the genus ''Toxostoma'', it may resort to running instead of flying when startled. Ornithologists

Ludlow Griscom Ludlow Griscom (June 17, 1890 – May 28, 1959) was an American ornithologist known as a pioneer in field ornithology. His emphasis on the identification of free-flying birds by field marks became widely adopted by professionals and amateurs. M ...

and Raymond A. Paynter, Jr. had noted its secretive behavior, but

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

did not. The song is described as a rich varied warbling, slightly scratchy with little repetition. Bond described its alarm note being similar to the brown thrasher.

Status

The numbers of this bird declined rapidly when

Hurricane Gilbert Hurricane Gilbert was the second most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Atlantic basin in terms of barometric pressure, only behind Hurricane Wilma in 2005. An extremely powerful tropical cyclone that formed during the 1988 Atlantic hurri ...

hit this island on September 14, 1988. Until it was sighted in June 2004, this bird had last been seen in 1995, the same year that

Hurricane Roxanne Hurricane Roxanne was a rare and erratic tropical cyclone that caused extensive flooding in Mexico due to its unusual movement. The seventeenth storm, tenth hurricane, and the fifth and final major hurricane of the very active 1995 Atlantic hurri ...

hit Cozumel on October 11, and it was widely believed to have become

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

. It is still unclear what damage the impact of Hurricanes

Emily Emily may refer to: * Emily (given name), including a list of people with the name Music * "Emily" (1964 song), title song by Johnny Mandel and Johnny Mercer to the film ''The Americanization of Emily'' * "Emily" (Dave Koz song), a 1990 song ...

and Wilma in 2005 caused; it seems that the bird was not found anymore during a survey in December 2006. Inquiry from the local population had suggested that the species would likely be encountered near the

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

ruins of San Gervasio. The last – unconfirmed – sightings were in April 2006, where an apparent ''T. guttatum'' was sighted at the Cozumel Golf Club; in October and December 2007, thrashers were also seen but could not be reliably identified as ''T. guttatum''. Relocation efforts continue; though at least a few birds seem to survive, the continuing existence of this species had not been verified as of January 2008.Curry (2008) Some scientists believe that other factors must have contributed to the bird's decline, because the Cozumel thrasher likely survived hurricanes for millennia.

Introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

, including predatory

boa constrictor The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also known as the common boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the Family (b ...

s—which were released on the island in 1971 and are now abundant—may also have had a detrimental effect.

Footnotes

References

* Curry, Robert L. (2007)
''El cuitlacoche de cozumel'' - The endemic thrasher of Cozumel Island
Version of 2008-JAN-28. Retrieved 2008-FEB-12. *Environment News Service (2004)
The Cozumel Thrasher: One Bird Away From Extinction
Includes habitat photo. Version of 2004-JUL-09. Retrieved 2007-FEB-08. *Surfbird News (2006)

Version of 2006-DEC-28. Retrieved 2008-FEB-12.

External links

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

Cozumel Thrasher Species Factsheet
Retrieved 2007-FEB-08. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1585778 Cozumel thrasher Birds of the Yucatán Peninsula Endemic birds of Southern Mexico Endemic fauna of Cozumel Critically endangered biota of Mexico Cozumel thrasher Taxa named by Robert Ridgway