| Todies | |
|---|---|
.JPG) | |
| Cuban tody (Todus multicolor) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Coraciiformes |
| Family: | Todidae Vigors, 1825 |
| Genera | |
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| Global range (in green) | |
Thetodies are afamily,Todidae, of tinyCaribbeanbirds in the orderCoraciiformes, which also includes thekingfishers,bee-eaters androllers. The family has one livinggenus,Todus, and one genus known from the fossil record,Palaeotodus.
The todies were originally placed in the kingfisher genusAlcedo before being placed in the genusTodus in 1760 byMathurin Jacques Brisson. They have been linked to a large number of potential relatives since then, including nightjars, trogons, barbets, jacamars, puffbirds, kingfishers, motmots and even some passerine species such as broadbills, cotingas and flowerpeckers. The todies were placed in their own order, Todiformes, before being placed in the Coraciiformes.[2]
Genetic analysis of the extant (living) species suggests that they diversified between 6-7 million years ago. The fossil record of the family is sparse, but three species of tody have been described from fossils found in North America, Germany and France, showing that the family was once more widespread than it is today. Species from the fossil genus,Palaeotodus, are larger than living species and may have been closer in size to thetody motmot.[2][3]
The phylogenetic relationship between the six families that make up the order Coraciiformes is shown in the cladogram below.[4][5][6] The number of species in each family is taken from the list maintained byFrank Gill,Pamela C. Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of theInternational Ornithological Committee (IOC).[7]
| Coraciiformes |
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The todies are endemic to the islands of the Caribbean. These are small,near passerinespecies of forests of theGreater Antilles:Puerto Rico,Jamaica, andCuba, with adjacent islands, have one species each, andHispaniola has two: thebroad-billed tody (Todus subulatus) in the lowlands (includingGonâve Island), and thenarrow-billed tody (Todus angustirostris) in the highlands.[8][9]
Todies range in weight from 5 to 7 g and in length from 10 to 11.5 cm. They have colourfulplumage, and resemble kingfishers in their general shape. They have green heads, backs and wings, red throats (absent in immature Puerto Rican, broad-billed, and narrow-billed todies)[8] with a white and blue-grey stripe on each side, and yellow undertail coverts; the colour of the rest of the undersides is pale and varies according to species. The irises are pale grey. They have long, flattenedbills (as do many flycatching birds) with serrated edges; the upper mandible is black and the lower is red with a little black. The legs, and especially the feet, are small.[9] Todies are highlyvocal, except that the Jamaican tody seldom calls in the non-breeding season (August to November);[8] they give simple, unmusical buzzing notes, beeps, and guttural rattles, puffing their throats out with every call.[9] Their wings produce a "strange, whirring rattle", though mostly when courting or defending territory in the Puerto Rican tody.[8]
Todies eat smallprey such as insects and lizards. Insects, from 50 families have been identified in their diet, particularly grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, bugs, butterflies, bees, wasps, and ants, form the greater part of the diet. Spiders and millipedes may also be taken, as is a small amount of fruit (2% of the diet).[2]
Their preferred habitat for foraging is in the forestunderstory. Todies typically sit on a low, small branch, singly or in pairs, keeping still or stepping or hopping sideways. When they see prey moving on the lower surface of a leaf, they fly a short distance (averaging 2.2 m in the broad-billed tody and 1.0 m in thePuerto Rican tody),[8] diagonally upward toglean it. They may also take prey from the ground, occasionally chasing it with a few hops. Todies are generally sedentary; the longest single flight known for the broad-billed tody is 40 m.[8][9] Their activity is greatest in the morning when sunny weather follows rain, and in March and September.[8]
Todies are highly territorial but will joinmixed-species foraging flocks composed of resident species and migrants from North America, when they pass through their territories.[2]
Like most of the Coraciiformes, todies nest in tunnels, which they dig with their beaks and feet in steep banks[9] or rotten tree trunks.[8] The tunnel is 30 cm long in the Cuban and narrow-billed todies, 30 to 60 cm in the broad-billed tody,[8] and ends in a nest chamber, generally not reused. They lay about four round white eggs in the chamber. Both parents incubate but are surprisingly inattentive to the eggs. The young arealtricial and stay in the nest until they can fly. Both parents also care for the nestlings, much more attentively; they may feed each chick up to 140 times per day, the highest rate known among birds.[9]
