Overview
Western Spindalis: Small tanager, black-gray back, dark rufous nape, rump. Throat patch is yellow, bib is red-black, breast and collar are yellow-orange, belly is white. Head is black-and-white striped. Dark gray bill. Wings are dark with white patches. Tail is black with white edges.
Range and Habitat
Western Spindalis: This species is a native of the West Indies, and occasionally wanders into southeastern Florida and Florida Keys. Preferred habitats include open montane forests, forest edges, and shrub areas in moist, tropical and subtropical areas. They are also found in degraded former forests.
Spindalises (Spindalidae)
ORDER
The spindalises are one of the one hundred and forty-two families of birds in the order PASSERIFORMES (pronounced pas-ser-i-FOR-meez); a large taxonomic order that also includes the cardinals and grosbeaks, the Old World orioles, and the New World blackbirds.
FAMILY TAXONOMY
The spindalis family, Spindalidae (pronounced THRAU-pih-dee), is a small family composed of four species in one genus restricted to the Caribbean region of the Americas.
NORTH AMERICA
There are four species of Spindalidae in one genus that occur in North America. These species are the Western, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, and Hispanolian Spindalises.
KNOWN FOR
The members of this small family are known for their common presence as garden birds in the Greater Antilles.
PHYSICAL
The spindalises are small birds with medium-length tails, fairly short wings, medium length legs, and fairly stout bills.
COLORATION
The members of this family are plumaged in combinations of olive, orange, yellow, gray, and black and white, especially on the head. Females are much duller than males.
GEOGRAPHIC HABITAT
In North America, members of the Spindalidae occur in a variety of edge and forested habitats in the Greater Antilles region of the Caribbean. The Western Spindalis occurs as a vagrant to subtropical habitats in southern Florida.
MIGRATION
None of the spindalis species are migrants although some may wander in search of new territories or get carried to areas outside of their normal range by hurricanes.
HABITS
The spindalis species usually occur in pairs or in small flocks, especially when mobbing a snake or other potential predators. They can forage at any height, mostly for fruit but also take small creatures on occasion.
CONSERVATION
The spindalises seem to be fairly common and adapt to gardens and edge habitats. None of the members of this family are threatened.
INTERESTING FACTS
There are several subspecies of Western Spindalis, most of which are restricted to islands and might be in the process of becoming species in their own right. The four species of spindalises were formerly in the tanager family and known as the “Stripe-headed Tanager”.