#microligea

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Warbler Showdown; Bracket 10, Poll 3

Green-tailed Warbler (Microligea palustris)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: resident; highlands of Hispaniola, as well as a new location of xeric lowlands in the southwest Dominican Republic

Habitat: montane broadleaf and pine forests, with a dense understory; one subspecies occurs in xeric (dry) scrub in the lowlands

Subspecies: 2

Gray-throated Chat (Granatellus sallaei)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: resident; southern Mexico, especially the Yucatan, as well as Belize and Guatemala

Habitat: lowland forests and their edges in dry and semi-humid areas

Subspecies: 2

Image Sources: GTWA (Dusan Brinkhuizen) GTCH (Luke Seitz)

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Microligea palustris

By Ron Knight, CC BY 2.0

Etymology: Small Warbler

First Described By: Cory, 1884

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Inopinaves, Telluraves, Australaves, Eufalconimorphae, Psittacopasserae, Passeriformes, Eupasseres, Passeri, Euoscines, Passerides, Core Passerides, Passerida, Passerid Clade, Phaenicophilidae

Status: Extant, Least Concern

Time and Place: Within the last 10,000 years; in the Holocene epoch of the Quaternary period 

The Green-Tailed Warbler is known  entirely from within the island of Hispaniola

Physical Description: Microligea, the Green-Tailed Warbler, is a small warbler - about 12 to 14.5 centimeters in length, a little smaller than a house sparrow. They have grey heads and white bellies, with green backs, wings, and tails. Their tails are fairly short, and a little more yellowish than the rest of the body. Both sexes are alike in coloration, and juveniles are slightly duller in color. They have short, pointed beaks. There is also a distinctive green crescent above the eye, which is reddish.

Diet: The Green-Tailed Warbler mainly feeds on insects and forages in the dense undergrowth and thickets close to the ground.

Behavior: These birds forage together in mixed-species flocks, though they are also known to travel alone, or in pairs. They do not migrate, but stay within their limited range year-round. They make a short, rasping, and squeaky call, and their song sounds like ‘sip sip sip’ repeatedly.

They breed from May to June in mountain environments, making nests out of a cup of vegetable material usually about 2 meters up from the ground, within shrubs and thicket. They lay about two to four green, spotted eggs, which hatch potentially within one month. The Green-Tailed Warbler then goes on to live for about seven years in total.

Ecosystem: The Green-Tailed Warbler primarily lives in mountain forests, especially pine and broadleaf forests, that feature dense understories. They are sometimes seen in semi-arid scrubland as well. Their babies are a major source of food for other animals; very few chicks survive to adulthood due to predation.

Other: Despite its restricted range, this bird is not threatened with extinction.

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources under the cut 

Curson, J. & Kirwan, G.M. 2018. Green-tailed Warbler (Microligea palustris). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.

Jobling, J. A. 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. Christopher Helm Publishing, A&C Black Publishers Ltd, London.

[birdstudies]

October 3, 2022 - Green-tailed Warbler or Green-tailed Ground-Tanager (Microligea palustris)

Found in thickets and scrub in and around forests on the island of Hispaniola, these birds have been classified at various times as warblers, tanagers, or neither. They eat mostly insects, foraging in the undergrowth, alone, in pairs, or in mixed-species flocks. Breeding mostly between May and June, they build cup-shaped nests in shrubs, thickets, or cacti. Females lay clutches of two to four eggs.

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Green-tailed Warbler (Jay McGowan)

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Green-tailed Warbler (Johannes Nelson)

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Green-tailed Warbler (Volker Hesse)

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Genus: Xenoligea

White-winged Warbler (John C Sullivan)

White-winged Warbler is currently the sole member of its own genus, but it used to share a genus with Green-tailed Warbler (Microligea). It's most likely the etymology behing Xenoligea is a reference to that: Xenos 'stranger' and ligea 'wood-nymph', a reference to the original genus. This split occurred at the same time these two species were removed from the wood-warbler family (Parulidae) and were instead placed into family Phaenicophilidae. The two original members of this family, often referred to as Hispaniolan tanagers, belong to the genus Phaenicophilus. The addition comes from genetic analysis, but as the four birds of Phaenicophilidae are all endemic to the island of Hispaniola, it makes sense why they're grouped together.

[proton-wobbler]

Genus: Microligea

Green-tailed Warbler (Ron Knight)

The original genus for Green-tailed and White-winged Warbler (Xenoligea montana) now belongs to this single species. The etymology comes from mikros 'little' and ligea 'wood-nymph', though there is a ligeia which also alludes to nightingales. However, while naming the genus, the scientist referred to it as 'little wood-nymph'.

More recently, this genus, along with Xenoligea, were moved into the family of Phaenicophilidae and out of the wood-warbler family (Parulidae). The four birds in this family are referred to as Hispaniolan tanager and are all endemic to the island of Hispaniola.