Coereba flaveola ssp. - Cambacica / Bananaquit (Linnaeus, 1758)

Aves: Psittacopasserae: Passeriformes: Passeri: Passerida: Thraupidae: Coerebinae

Coereba flaveola is the sole species in the genus Coereba and belongs in the class Aves, superorder Psittacopasserae, order Passeriformes, suborder Passeri, parvorder Passerida, superfamily Passeroidea, family Thraupidae and subfamily Coerebinae.

Adults possess brighter colors compared to the dull color of the young. Sexual dimorphism is very subtle; the head of females might be slightly darker, the chest slightly brighter, the belly with a slightly more olivaceous yellow coloring.

5 of the 41 subspecies can be found in Brazil:

Coereba flaveola alleni (Lowe, 1912): Mato Grosso (Brazil) and Bolivia;
Coereba flaveola chloropyga (Cabanis, 1850): Southern Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil e Northeastern Argentina;
Coereba flaveola intermedia (Salvadori & Festa, 1899): Southwest Colombia, Northern Peru, Southwestern Venezuela, Western Brazil;
Coereba flaveola minima (Bonaparte, 1854): Eastern Colombia, Southern Venezuela, Guyanas, Northern Brazil;
Coereba flaveola roraimae (Chapman, 1929): Tepuis of Southeastern Venezuela, Northwestern Brazil e Southwestern Guyana.

I'm unaware how accurate the subspecies distribution information is, and I'm unaware which subspecies is the one portrayed.

They measure approximately 10,8cm and weight around 10 grams. They are often mistaken with Pitangus sulphuratus (Linnaeus, 1766) ("Great Kiskadee") due to their appearance but can be easily differentiated through a closer look. Both the males and the females of Coereba flaveola possess a characteristic yellow belly with a black stripe going from neck to beak, a whitish-grey stripe above the aformentioned stripe, and the top of the head is black. The neck, excluding those stripes, is whitish-grey and the wings are a darker grey than the neck. The dorsal area is brownish and there are dark parts on the edges of the wings. Some individuals may present flavism, which is the partial absence of melanine, making the bird have lighter colors.

They are very active birds and perform acrobatic movements when foraging for food sources, which include nectar (hence why they are sometimes mistaken with hummingbirds), Arthropods and fruits. Their method of extracting nectar is aggressive and invasive in which the beak pierces the calyx of the flower, potentially damaging it. Fruits appreciated by this bird includes banana (hence the common name "bananaquit"), papaya and watermelon.

The nest is spherical and built high by the couple for reproduction or for night time roosting. Two to three whitish-yellow eggs with reddish-brown dots are laid at a time and incubation is done exclusively by the female. They reproduce year round.

They have a habit of constantly cleaning themselves due to the contact with their food sources. They usually live a nomad, lonely life or in pairs. They can threaten potential enemies by stretching itself upwards and vibrating the wings. This bird is very aggressive. The acrobatic movements performed include hanging upside down and in many other positions like the example of the subject portrayed.

Differently from hummingbirds, the Coereba flaveola possess short, down-curved beaks, hence why they need to pierce the flower to obtain the nectar. They can be found in anthropic environments as well as rural backwater towns and after often visitors to gardens with flowers. Hotspots for hummingbirds are usually hotspots for Coereba flaveola. Outside the anthropic environments, they also inhabit scrubland to tropical lowland forest edges. I have documented both a male and a female of Thalurania glaucopis moments before documenting this Coereba flaveola. They like creeping vegetation to hang on. In rural towns they tend to be much less aggressive. I could get close to some of them during my stay in Santa Catarina and they didn't seem to care.

Bottles of water are not generally recommended to feed hummingbirds, as most people don't know how to use them correctly and it can cause damage to the hummingbird. Consequently, the Coereba flaveola can also assimilate a place as a hotspot for nourishment and keep visiting the water bottles that, when incorrectly used, will also harm the health of the Coereba flaveola.

The differentiation between the 41 recognized subspecies is done through the color of the throat (usually white, grey or black), the presence or absence of a white spot on the wing, the length of the bill, the extent of yellow on the underparts, etc. In the West Indies an entirely sooty color morph is frequent. In some cases, they can be found in small groups.

Sources:

https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/banana/overview/

http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22722080/0

http://passarinhando.com.br/index.php/component/k2/item/330-cambacica-coereba-flaveola

https://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=B78F2D6F0E30160C

http://www.wikiaves.com.br/cambacica

http://apassarinhologa.com.br/cambacica-coereba-flaveola/

Date: 12th of September, 2017 at 02:49:48pm.