The Caribbean elaenia (''Elaenia martinica'') is a species of bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family

Tyrannidae The tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae) comprise a Family (biology), family of passerine birds which is found virtually throughout North America, North and South America. It is the world's largest family of birds, with more than 400 species, and is ...

, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in the West Indies, in parts of Central America, and on islands just off the northern South American coast.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, G. Del-Rio, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 27 July 2024. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved July 28, 2024

Taxonomy and systematics

In 1760, the French zoologist

Mathurin Jacques Brisson Mathurin Jacques Brisson (; 30 April 1723 – 23 June 1806) was a French zoologist and natural philosophy, natural philosopher. Brisson was born on 30 April 1723 at Fontenay-le-Comte in the Vendée department of western France. Note that page 14 ...

included a description of the Caribbean elaenia in his ''Ornithologie'' based on a specimen collected on the island of

Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...

. He used the French name ''Le gobe-mouche hupé de la Martinique'' and the Latin ''Muscicapa Martinicana cristata''. The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the

binomial system The binomial system () is a voting system that was used in the legislative elections of Chile between 1989 and 2013. The binomial system is the D'Hondt method with an open list where ''every'' constituency returns ''two'' (hence the name) rep ...

and are not recognised by the

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries. Orga ...

. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

updated his ''

Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the Orthographic ligature, ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Sweden, Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the syste ...

'' for the

twelfth edition Twelfth can mean: *The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution *The Twelfth, a Protestant celebration originating in Ireland In mathematics: * 12th, an ordinal number; as in the item in an order twelve places from the beginning, follo ...

, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson including the Caribbean elaenia. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

''Muscicapa martinica'' and cited Brisson's work. This species is now placed in the genus ''Elaenia'' that was introduced by the Swedish zoologist

Carl Jakob Sundevall Carl Jakob Sundevall (22 October 1801 in Högestad – 2 February 1875) was a Sweden, Swedish zoologist. Sundevall studied at Lund University, where he received a Ph.D. in 1823. After traveling to East Asia, he studied medicine, graduating as a ...

in 1836. The Caribbean elaenia has these seven

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

: * ''E. m. riisii''

Sclater Philip Lutley Sclater (4 November 1829 – 27 June 1913) was an English lawyer and zoologist. In zoology, he was an expert ornithologist, and identified the main zoogeographic regions of the world. He was Secretary of the Zoological Society ...

, 1860 * ''E. m. martinica'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...

, 1766) * ''E. m. barbadensis''

Cory As a given name, Cory is used by both males and females. It is a variation of the name Cora, meaning "(the) Maiden", which is a title of the goddess Persephone. The name also can have origins from the Gaelic word ''coire'', which means "in a cauldr ...

, 1888 * ''E. m. remota'' Berlepsch, 1907 * ''E. m. chinchorrensis'' Griscom, 1926 * ''E. m. cinerescens'' Ridgway, 1884 * ''E. m. caymanensis'' Berlepsch, 1907 The

Clements taxonomy ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 202 ...

groups ''E. m. riisii'', ''E. m. martinica'', and ''E. m. barbadensis'' as the Caribbean elaenia (Caribbean) and the other four subspecies as the Caribbean elaenia (Chinchorro).Clements, J. F., P.C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2023. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2023. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved October 28, 2023 Some authors have suggested that the groups represent separate species.Hosner, P. (2020). Caribbean Elaenia (''Elaenia martinica''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.carela1.01 retrieved September 26,2024 Caribbean Elaenia in Puerto Rico

Description

The Caribbean elaenia is long and weighs . It is largish elaenia and has a bushy crest. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the

nominate subspecies In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...

''E. m. martinica'' have a dull olive to brownish olive crown with a white stripe in the middle of the crest. They have whitish lores and a faint whitish eyering on an otherwise mottled gray-brown face. Their upperparts are dull olive to brownish olive. Their wings are dusky with yellowish to whitish edges on the flight feathers and tips on the

coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are small feathers behind t ...

; the latter show as two wing bars. Their tail is dusky. Their throat is sooty gray, their breast pale gray, their belly whitish to dull yellowish, and their undertail

yellowish to whitish. The other subspecies of the Caribbean elaenia differ from the nominate and each other thus: * ''E. m. riisii'': smaller and overall paler than nominate * ''E. m. barbadensis'': larger than nominate with darker underparts * ''E. m. remota'': smaller than nominate with a browner rump and grayer throat and breast * ''E. m. chinchorrensis'': dark brownish (less greenish olive) upperparts than nominate with no yellow on the belly * ''E. m. cinerescens'': larger than nominate with a stronger yellow wash on the belly * ''E. m. caymanensis'': between ''riisii'' and nominate in size and overall paler than nominate Both sexes of all subspecies have a dark brown iris, a black bill with a dusky pinkish base to the

mandible In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

, and black legs and feet.

Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of the Caribbean elaenia are found thus: * ''E. m. riisii'':

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

and its offshore islands, the

Virgin Islands The Virgin Islands () are an archipelago between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Caribbean Sea, geographically forming part of the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, Caribbean islands or West Indie ...

Anguilla Anguilla is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Sa ...

, St. Martin,

St. Bartholomew Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Most scholars today identify Bartholomew as Nathanael, who appears in the Gospel of John (1:45–51; cf. 21:2). New Testament references The name ''Bartholomew ...

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

Barbuda Barbuda (; ) is an island and dependency located in the eastern Caribbean forming part of the twin-island state of Antigua and Barbuda as an autonomous entity. Barbuda is located approximately north of Antigua. The only settlements on the i ...

, and

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

Bonaire Bonaire is a Caribbean island in the Leeward Antilles, and is a Caribbean Netherlands, special municipality (officially Public body (Netherlands), "public body") of the Netherlands. Its capital is the port of Kralendijk, on the west (Windward an ...

, and

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

in the

Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles (, ; ), also known as the Dutch Antilles, was a constituent Caribbean country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of the islands of Saba (island), Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten in the Lesser Antilles, ...

(see (1) below) * ''E. m. martinica'':

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...

from

Saba Saba may refer to: Places * Saba (island), an island of the Netherlands located in the Caribbean Sea * Sabá, a municipality in the department of Colón, Honduras * Șaba or Șaba-Târg, the Romanian name for Shabo, a village in Ukraine * Saba, ...

and

St. Eustatius Sint Eustatius, known locally as Statia, is an island in the Caribbean. It is a special municipality (officially "public body") of the Netherlands. The island is in the northern Leeward Islands, southeast of the Virgin Islands. Sint Eustatius ...

south to

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

* ''E. m. barbadensis'':

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

* ''E. m. remota'': Culebra Cay and

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 ...

, Holbox, Meco, and Mujeres islands of

Quintana Roo Quintana Roo, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, constitute the 32 administrative divisions of Mexico, federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into municipalities of ...

, southeastern Mexico * ''E. m. chinchorrensis'': on Great Cay Island off Quintana Roo, on

Half Moon Caye Half Moon Caye is an island and natural monument of Belize located at the southeast corner of Lighthouse Reef Atoll. This natural monument was the first nature reserve to have been established in Belize under the National Park Systems Act in 1 ...

, Middle Caye, Glover’s Reef,

Caye Caulker Caye Caulker ( Spanish: Cayo Caulker) is a small limestone coral island off the coast of Belize in the Caribbean Sea measuring about (north to south) by less than (east to west). The town on the island is known by the name Caye Caulker Village. ...

, and

Ambergris Caye Ambergris Caye ( ; Spanish: Cayo Ambergris), is the largest island of Belize, located northeast of the country's mainland, in the Caribbean Sea. It is about long from north to south, and about wide. Many parts of the island have been modified ...

off

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

, and as a vagrant on the Belizean mainland (but see (2) below) * ''E. m. cinerescens'': San Andrés, Providéncia, and Santa Catalina islands off Nicaragua (but see (3) below) * ''E. m. caymanensis'':

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located so ...

(1) A

vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of wandering homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants usually live in poverty and support themselves by travelling while engaging in begging, scavenging, or petty theft. In Western countries, ...

photographed and audio recorded in northwestern Florida, though not definitively, is possibly an individual of ''E. m. riisii''. It is listed by the Florida Ornithological Society as "Elaenia species". (2) The Clements taxonomy states that the population on the Belizean cayes may belong to ''E. m. remota''. (3) The

Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina The Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina (, ), or San Andrés and Providencia, is one of the departments of Colombia, and the only one located geographically in Central America. It consists of two island groups in the Caribb ...

is a department of Colombia but is east of Nicaragua and closer to that country than to mainland Colombia. The Clements taxonomy assigns the population there to ''E. m. cinerescens'' but places the archipelago "east of Honduras". Another taxonomic system does not name the archipelago but places ''E. m. cinerescens'' on "islands off Honduras". A third system places the archipelago's population in the "Caribbean" group without naming a subspecies. The Caribbean elaenia inhabits most of the lowland landscapes within its range. It is found in the canopy and on the edges of humid

evergreen forest An evergreen forest is a forest made up of evergreen trees. They occur across a wide range of climatic zones, and include trees such as conifers and holly in cold climates, eucalyptus, live oak, acacias, magnolia, and banksia in more temperate zo ...

, in deciduous woodland, scrublands, parks and gardens, open land with a scattering of trees and shrubs, and coastally in mangroves. It also occurs in the mountains of the southern

. In elevation it ranges from sea level to about .

Behavior

Movement

The Caribbean elaenia is a year-round resident almost everywhere it occurs. Numbers on Puerto Rico fluctuate greatly, suggesting some dispersal to other islands. It occurs on Ambergris Caye only in winter.

Feeding

The Caribbean elaenia feeds on insects and fruit. It usually forages singly or in pairs and mostly in the lower to middle levels of its habitat. It captures prey and plucks fruit by gleaning while perched and while briefly hovering.

Breeding

The Caribbean elaenia breeds between January and September. Its nest is "a flimsy shallow cup" made of twigs, typically placed in a tree or shrub up to about above the ground. Its clutch is two or three eggs that are creamy white to creamy buff with darker markings. The incubation period, time to fledging, and details of parental care are not known.

Vocalization

The Caribbean elaenia's song is a "drawn-out ''pee-wee-reereeree''". Its call is a repeated "''jui-up, wit-churr''".

Status

The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

has assessed the Caribbean elaenia as being of Least Concern. It has a large range; its estimated population of at least 500,000 mature individuals is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. It is considered "generally common and widespread" in most of its range though rare in the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina. It is also considered "apparently less common" in the Netherlands Antilles.

References

External links

* (for

Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda is a Sovereign state, sovereign archipelagic country composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and List of islands of Antigua and Barbuda, numerous other small islands. Antigua and Barbuda has a total area of 440 km2 (170 sq mi), ...

Montserrat Montserrat ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, wit ...

Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...

, and

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

) *
Caribbean elaenia photo gallery
VIREO {{Taxonbar, from=Q1273672

Caribbean elaenia The Caribbean elaenia (''Elaenia martinica'') is a species of bird in subfamily Elaeniinae of family Tyrannidae, the tyrant flycatchers. It is found in the West Indies, in parts of Central America, and on islands just off the northern South Ame ...

Birds of the Caribbean Birds of the Cayman Islands

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot