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Palmchat
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{{Short description|Species of bird endemic to Hispaniola}} {{speciesbox | name = Palmchat | image = Cigua-palmera-ave-nacional-dominicana.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Dulus dominicus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22708129A94150155 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22708129A94150155.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref> | grandparent_authority = [[Philip Sclater|P.L. Sclater]], 1862 | genus = Dulus | parent_authority = [[Louis Pierre Vieillot|Vieillot]], 1816 | display_parents = 3 | species = dominicus | authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766) | synonyms = ''Tanagra dominica'' {{small|Linnaeus, 1766}} | range_map = Dulus dominicus map.svg }} The '''palmchat''' ('''''Dulus dominicus''''') is a small, long-tailed [[passerine]] [[bird]], the [[Monotypic taxon|only species]] in the genus '''''Dulus''''' and the family '''Dulidae''' [[endemic]] to the [[Caribbean]] island of [[Hispaniola]] (split between the [[Dominican Republic]] and [[Haiti]]). It is related to the [[waxwing]]s, family [[Bombycillidae]]. Its name reflects its strong association with [[Arecaceae|palms]] for feeding, roosting, and nesting. The palmchat is the [[national bird]] of the [[Dominican Republic]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120103102657/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2230.html CIA World Factbook: National Symbols]</ref> ==Taxonomy== In 1760 the French zoologist [[Mathurin Jacques Brisson]] included a description of the palmchat in his ''Ornithologie'' based on a specimen collected from the French colony of [[Saint-Domingue]], modern Haiti. He used the French name ''Le tangara de S. Dominigue'' and the Latin ''Tangara Dominicensis''.<ref name=brisson>{{ cite book | last=Brisson | first=Mathurin Jacques | author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson | year=1760 | title=Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés | volume=3 | language=French, Latin | place=Paris | publisher=Jean-Baptiste Bauche | pages=37–38, Plate 2 fig 4 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35952986 }} The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen.</ref> Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial system]] and are not recognised by the [[International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature]].<ref name=allen>{{cite journal |last=Allen | first=J.A. | author-link=Joel Asaph Allen | year=1910 | title=Collation of Brisson's genera of birds with those of Linnaeus |journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History |volume=28 | pages=317–335 | hdl=2246/678 }}</ref> When the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] updated his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' for the [[12th edition of Systema Naturae|twelfth edition]] in 1766, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson,<ref name=allen/> with one of them being the palmchat. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the [[binomial name]] ''Tanagra dominica'' and cited Brisson's work.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1766 | title=Systema naturae : per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | edition=12th | volume=1, Part 1 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | place=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | page=316 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42946512 }}</ref> The palmchat is the only species placed in the genus ''Dulus'' that was introduced by the French ornithologist [[Louis Pierre Vieillot]] in 1816.<ref>{{cite book | last=Vieillot | first=Louis Pierre | author-link=Louis Pierre Vieillot | title=Analyse d'une Nouvelle Ornithologie Élémentaire | publisher=Deterville/self | year=1816 | location=Paris | page=42 | language=French| url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k9745205x/f48.image }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2018 | title=Waxwings and allies, tits, penduline tits | work=World Bird List Version 8.1 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/waxwings/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=16 May 2018 }}</ref> The species is [[monotypic]].<ref name=ioc/> ==Description== Palmchats are about {{convert|20|cm|0|abbr=on}} in length. They are olive-brown above, and heavily streaked with brown below. Their rumps, as well as the edges of their primary [[feather]]s, are dark yellow-green. They have strong yellow [[beak|bills]] and [[russet (color)|russet]] eyes. They lack the soft silky [[plumage]] of the waxwings or [[silky-flycatcher]]s. Adults show no [[sexual dimorphism]]; immature birds have dark throats.{{cn|date=August 2022}} ==Distribution and habitat== The species is endemic to the island of Hispaniola (in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and the adjacent [[Saona Island|Saona]] and [[Gonâve Island]]s, where it is common and widespread. It inhabits areas from sea level to 1500 m [[above mean sea-level|asl]] where palm [[savanna]]s can be found, or other open areas with scattered trees. Where its food trees are present, it has adapted well to city parks and gardens.{{cn|date=August 2022}} ==Behaviour== Palmchats are very sociable birds, often seen in small flocks containing several pairs, which will roost closely together with their bodies in contact. ===Breeding=== The breeding season is mainly from March to June. The birds build large, messy, communal [[Bird nest|nests]] of twigs in the crowns of [[Arecaceae|palms]] (mainly [[Roystonea borinquena|Puerto Rico royal palms]], ''Roystonea borinquena''). Occasionally, in the absence of palms, other trees or even [[telephone pole]]s may be used. The whole nesting structure may be up to 2 m across, containing up to 30 adjoining nests with their own separate chambers and entrances. The females lay [[clutch (eggs)|clutches]] of 2-4 thickly spotted, grey-purple [[Bird egg|eggs]].{{cn|date=August 2022}} ===Food=== Palmchats feed on [[fruit]]s and berries, including those of palms and of the [[Bursera simaruba|gumbo-limbo tree]], as well as on [[flower]]s, especially those of [[epiphyte|epiphytic]] [[orchid]]s.{{cn|date=August 2022}} ===Voice=== They are voluble and noisy birds, with a large repertoire of gurgling and cheeping sounds constantly used in their social behaviour.{{cn|date=August 2022}} With their loud whistles, they are able to imitate the calls of hawks and kestrels which may be a surprise coming from their tiny bodies. They are typically classified as songbirds, but hardly ever make a coherent song.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia|last=Fernandez|first=Eladio M.|title=Palmchats (Dulidae)|via=Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/palmchats-dulidae|access-date=28 December 2022|editor-last=Grzimek|editor-first=Bernhard|year=2019}}</ref> ==Conservation== The palmchat is a common species within its range of about {{convert|75000|km²|0|abbr=on}}, and highly adaptable. As it is not approaching the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations), it has been evaluated as being of Least Concern.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" /> ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://montereybay.com/creagrus/palmchat.html Don Roberson's Bird Families of the World] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20091027111933/http://www.geocities.com/cuyaya/endemics.html The Endemic Birds of Hispaniola] {{Passerida|M.|state=collapsed}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q845457}} [[Category:Birds described in 1766]] [[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]] [[Category:Endemic birds of Hispaniola]] [[Category:Endemic birds of the Caribbean]] [[Category:Endemic fauna of Hispaniola]] [[Category:Birds of the Dominican Republic]] [[Category:Birds of Haiti]] [[Category:Birds of the Greater Antilles]] [[Category:Birds of the Lesser Antilles]] [[Category:National symbols of the Dominican Republic]] [[Category:Bombycilloidea]] [[Category:Extant Miocene first appearances]]
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