Finding a lifer is always exciting but when the lifer is a
mega-rare bird it even better. That what
happened on Saturday, August, 24th, which just happened to be the
day of our, my wife Sophia and myself, 17th wedding
anniversary. The bird I saw was a Cuban
Martin (Progne cryptoleuca), a close relative of our Caribbean
Martin (Progne dominicensis), was seen at Bruce Vale, St. Andrew. The
most noticeable difference between the two Martins is the Caribbean shows a white underpart while the male Cuban shows very dark underparts. I at first incorrectly identified the bird as
a Purple Martin (Progne subis), another close member of the
Martin family, but this was amended when the images were shown to author of the
book Endemic
Birds of Cuba: A Comprehensive Field Guide and expert on Cuban endemics
– Mr. Nils Navarro. Here is an excerpt of his response:
On this picture you can see:
- Male and female in typical plumage, Males completely dark and female with a brown breast like in Cubans.
- If you see the male close is possible to see the white section of the feathers in the abdomen, that is typical in Cuban Martin, due its specific name cryptoleuca, I have seen close and they have the same white area of the Caribbean Martins, but the tip of the feathers are dark and by this reason they look like completely dark, but the molting immature males in 1st year or less looks like the Caribbean with black markings and flecks...
This could be the
second confirmed record of this species on the island, the first was seen in
October 2002, at Newcastle St. John. (The Birds of
Barbados – P.A. Buckley, Edward Massiah
et. al.)
What a way to end the month of August with a Mega.
No comments:
Post a Comment