Jamaican tody

The Jamaican tody was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae.

[8] The Jamaican tody is now one of five species placed in the genus Todus that was introduced in 1760 by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson.

[2][10] They look very similar to the Puerto Rican tody (Todus mexicanus) but have a whitish breast that is blended with green, becoming even slightly yellow on the abdomen and under the tail-coverts.

[2] Jamaican todies are very quiet birds during nonbreeding months but can be heard more frequently during the spring and summer.

[2] The Jamaican tody is most visible during the spring and summer months, and are much more silent and easy to find during the fall and winter.

[2] They also perform bill-wiping, where they will clean both sides of their beak, from base to tip, especially after eating or preening and fluffing their feathers.

[2] Todies also preen their feathers with their flat bills and this mainly occurs in their breast and wing areas on their body.

[2] In one observation of Jamaican tody copulation, the male chased the female a short distance and once she landed, he swooped down on her and held her crown while performing 29 cloacal contacts in the span of 35 seconds.

[2][14] Their eggs are laid in unlined chambers near the end of their burrows, which are holes created in the soil on top of the hard, limestone habitats.

[2] While the burrows are generally occupied by todies, other species can sometimes be found inhabiting their homes such as spiders, field mice and lizards.

[2] The method of drinking for the Jamaican tody has not been observed but it is assumed that they get most of their water from leaf droplets and food they consume.

[2] A large number of avian habitats in Jamaica are being altered by humans for both settlement as well as farming purposes.

The Blue Mountains in Jamaica are one of the Jamaican tody's most common habitats
Jamaican tody perched on branch in tree