Jamaican blackbird
| Jamaican blackbird | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Icteridae |
| Genus: | Nesopsar P.L. Sclater, 1859 |
| Species: | N. nigerrimus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Nesopsar nigerrimus (Osburn, 1859)
| |
The Jamaican blackbird (Nesopsar nigerrimus) is a species of
endemic to Jamaica, where it is restricted to Cockpit Country, some central areas and the Blue and John Crow Mountains
.
Description
The Jamaican blackbird is a small icterid with all black plumage.[4] It has a short tail that is often flayed.
Habitat
It is strictly arboreal and has a wheezing
epiphytes
and mosses on the trees. The Jamaican blackbird's habitats are confined to areas of above 575m and are rarely seen in lowland areas.
Ecology
In the absence of specialised tree probers such as the
bromeliads. It has shorter legs and longer claws that typical icterids, uses its tail for support when climbing tree trunks, both of which are adaptations to its niche, and has a longer bill and stronger jaw muscles than other New World blackbirds used for probing, spreading and hammering. It utilises a different niche from the other (semi) endemic icterid, the Jamaican oriole
, which forages mainly in the outer branches of the trees.
Conservation
The principal threat to the Jamaican blackbird is
bauxite mining
in Cockpit Country.
References
- . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-521-82502-3.
- ^ Johnson, Kevin & and Scott M. Lanyon (1999) "Molecular Systematics of the Grackles and Allies, and the Effect of Additional Sequence (Cyt B and ND2)." Auk 116 (3): 759-768
- ^ a b BirdLife International (2008) Species factsheet: Nesopsar nigerrimus. Downloaded 2 July 2008
- ^ Cruz, Alexander (1978) "Adaptive evolution in the Jamaican Blackbird Nesopsar nigerrimus." Ornis Scandinavia 9: 130-137. From abstract: "Nesopsar's feeding habit probably evolved on the island in the absence of species of Dendrocolaptidae and Furnariidae specialized for arboreal rummaging. Compared with other icterids, Nesopsar has shorter legs and more curved claws, which are advantageous in arboreal (trunk) foraging."