Tremblers (''Cinclocerthia'') are a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

perching bird A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

s in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Mimidae that are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

to the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc bet ...

. They are medium-small, mostly brown or grey birds with long beaks and tails that typically are held cocked. Most recent authorities recognize two species in the genus, but some split each into two species, bringing it to four species: *

Grey trembler The grey trembler (''Cinclocerthia gutturalis'') is a songbird species in the family Mimidae, the mockingbirds and thrashers. It is found only on Martinique and Saint Lucia in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean Sea. Taxonomy and systematic ...

(Martinique trembler), ''Cinclocerthia (gutturalis) gutturalis'' ** Saint Lucia trembler, ''Cinclocerthia (gutturalis) macrorhyncha'' *

Brown trembler The brown trembler (''Cinclocerthia ruficauda'') is a species of bird in the family Mimidae, the mockingbirds and thrashers. It is found on the islands of Saba, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica and St. Vincent in the Lesse ...

(Southern brown trembler), ''Cinclocerthia (ruficauda) ruficauda'' ** Northern brown trembler, ''Cinclocerthia (ruficauda) tremula'' Among other living birds, they are apparently most closely related to the

pearly-eyed thrasher The pearly-eyed thrasher (''Margarops fuscatus'') is a bird in the thrasher family Mimidae. It is found on many Caribbean islands, from the Bahamas in the north to the Grenadines in the south, with an isolated subspecies on Bonaire. Descripti ...

.Hunt ''et al.'' (2001), Barber ''et al.'' (2004) Their common name comes from their peculiar behavior: if excited, they will show a much more exaggerated version of the wing-flicking also seen in other mimids such as the

northern mockingbird The northern mockingbird (''Mimus polyglottos'') is a mockingbird commonly found in North America. This bird is mainly a permanent resident, but northern birds may move south during harsh weather. This species has rarely been observed in Europe ...

s. The tremblers do not just flick their wings, but shake their entire bodies in a trembling motion.

Footnotes

References

* Barber, Brian R.; Martínez-Gómez, Juan E. & Peterson, A. Townsend (2004): Systematic position of the Socorro mockingbird ''Mimodes graysoni''. '' J. Avian Biol.'' 35: 195–198. (HTML abstract) * Hunt, Jeffrey S.; Bermingham, Eldredge; & Ricklefs, Robert E. (2001): Molecular systematics and biogeography of Antillean thrashers, tremblers, and mockingbirds (Aves: Mimidae). ''

Auk An auk or alcid is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the murres, guillemots, auklets, puffins, and murrelets. The word "auk" is derived from Icelandic ''álka'', from Old Norse ''alka'' (au ...

'' 118(1): 35–55. DOI:10.1642/0004-8038(2001)118 035:MSABOA.0.CO;2HTML fulltext without images
Birds of the Greater Antilles Endemic birds of the Caribbean Taxa named by George Robert Gray {{Mimidae-stub