The first bird on my St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands agenda is the bananaquit. For me, it’s a Life Bird so I’m excited to see one. I fear it will soon become “ho hum,” though, because it’s so common on the island.
The bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) is a small, non-migratory bird — only the size of a black and white warbler — but it moves much faster than the warbler. Can you say “hyper-active?”
Its beak is curved because it eats nectar for a living just like other tropical nectar-eaters: hummingbirds, sunbirds and honeycreepers.
Ornithologists have tentatively placed the bananaquit in the Tanager family but its family relations are often disputed. Scientists argue about where to place this bird; these two argue about where to place themselves.
They were photographed at Campo Limpo Paulista, Brazil by Leon Bojarczuk.
(photo by Leon Bojarczuk via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons license. Click on the image to see the original)
I just saw banaquits for the first time on St Maarten. It wasn’t so ho-hum in the end because they are pretty delightful birds. They are much smaller than I had imagined and was interested to see one very up close scavenging in a tiki-bar restaurant. It was odd to see a warbler-like bird up that close and scavenging.
Have fun, Kate, and good luck! Thinking of you while I’m shoveling snow.
Those two little fellers look like they’re carrying on quite an intensive dialogue!
I did see the Bananaquit. Yay! Eight life birds in the first 24 hours. More to come I’m sure. Meanwhile my husband tells me there’s a lot of snow in Pittsburgh.
(* means not in my Sibley N.American field guide)
Brown Booby
White-cheeked Pintail
Zenaida Dove (*)
Gray Kingbird
Pearly-eyed Thrasher (*)
Bananaquit
Black-faced Grassquit (*)
Lesser Antillean Bullfinch (*)
— as of 1/28, 4 more birds —
Scaly-naped Pigeon (*)
Green-throated Carib (*)
Antillean Crested Hummingbird (*)
Smooth-billed Ani
— as of 1/30/15, one more —
Mangrove Cuckoo