Bananaquit

The bananaquit was formally described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Certhia flaveola.{{sfn|Linnaeus|1758|p=[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727024 119]}} Linnaeus based his description on the "black and yellow bird" described by John Ray and Hans Sloane,{{ cite book | last=Ray | first=John | author-link=John Ray | year=1713 | title=Synopsis methodica avium & piscium | volume=Avium | language=la | place=London | publisher=William Innys | page=187, No. 45 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6355453 }}{{ cite book | last=Sloane | first=Hans | author-link=Hans Sloane | year=1725 | title=A Voyage to the Islands Madera, Barbados, Nieves, S. Christophers and Jamaica : with the natural history of the herbs and trees, four-footed beasts, fishes, birds, insects, reptiles, &c. of the last of those islands | volume=2 | location=London | publisher=Printed for the author | page=307, [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/188770 Plate 259 fig. 3] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/188478 }} and the "Black and Yellow Creeper" described and illustrated by George Edwards in 1751.{{ cite book | last=Edwards | first=George | author-link=George Edwards (naturalist) | year=1750 | title=A Natural History of Uncommon Birds | place=London | publisher=Printed for the author at the College of Physicians | volume=Part 3 | page=122, Plate 122 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/50196198 }} The bananaquit was reclassified as the only member of the genus Coereba by Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1809.{{sfn|Vieillot|1809|p=[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47004957 70]}} The genus name is of uncertain origin but may be from a Tupi name Güirá for a small black and yellow bird. The specific epithet flaveolus is a diminutive of the Latin flavus meaning "golden" or "yellow".{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages=113, 160}}

Before the development of techniques to sequence DNA, the relationship of the bananaquit to other species was uncertain. It was variously placed with the New World warblers in the family Parulidae,{{ cite book | editor-last=Paynter | editor-first=Raymond A. Jr | year=1970 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=13 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=87 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14481288 }} with the buntings and New World sparrows in the family Emberizidae,{{ cite book | author=Committee on Classification and Nomenclature| year=1983 | title=Check-list of North American Birds | edition=6th | location=Washington, DC | publisher=American Ornithologist's Union | isbn=0-943610-32-X | page=641 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34735856 }} or in its own monotypic family Coerebidae.{{ cite book | author=Committee on Classification and Nomenclature| year=1998 | title=Check-list of North American Birds | edition=7th | location=Washington, DC | publisher=American Ornithologist's Union | isbn=1-891276-00-X | page=569 | url=https://americanornithology.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/AOSChecklistSturn-Estril.pdf }} Based on the results of molecular phylogenetic studies, the bananaquit is now placed in the tanager family Thraupidae and belongs with Darwin's finches to the subfamily Coerebinae.{{Cite journal | last1=Burns | first1=K.J. | last2=Hackett | first2=S.J. | last3=Klein | first3=N.K. | date=2002 | title=Phylogenetic relationships and morphological diversity in Darwin's finches and their relatives | journal=Evolution | volume=56 | issue=6 | pages=1240–1252 | doi=10.1111/j.0014-3820.2002.tb01435.x | pmid=12144023 | doi-access=free| bibcode=2002Evolu..56.1240B }}{{cite journal| last1=Burns | first1=K.J. | last2=Shultz | first2=A.J. | last3=Title | first3=P.O. | last4=Mason | first4=N.A. | last5=Barker | first5=F.K. | last6=Klicka | first6=J. | last7=Lanyon | first7=S.M. | last8=Lovette | first8=I.J. | year=2014 | title=Phylogenetics and diversification of tanagers (Passeriformes: Thraupidae), the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution| volume=75| pages=41–77 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2014.02.006 | pmid=24583021 | bibcode=2014MolPE..75...41B | url=https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3613&context=biosci_pubs }}{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=July 2020 | title=Tanagers and allies | work=IOC World Bird List Version 10.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/tanagers/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=17 November 2020 }}

It is still unclear if any of the island subspecies should be elevated to species, but phylogenetic studies have revealed three clades: the nominate group from Jamaica, Hispaniola, and the Cayman Islands, the bahamensis group from the Bahamas and Quintana Roo, and the bartholemica group from South and Central America, Mexico (except Quintana Roo), the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico.{{harvnb|Seutin|Klein|Ricklefs|Bermingham|1994}}{{harvnb|Bellemain|Bermingham|Ricklefs|2008}} Several taxa were not sampled, but most of these are easily placed in the above groups based on zoogeography alone. Exceptions are oblita (San Andrés Island) and tricolor (Providencia Island), and their placement is therefore uncertain. In February 2010, the International Ornithological Congress listed bahamensis and bartholemica as proposed splits from C. flaveola.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/updates-PS.html |title=Updates: Candidates |work=IOC World Bird List |access-date=21 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100618055751/http://www.worldbirdnames.org/updates-PS.html |archive-date=June 18, 2010}}

There are 41 currently recognized subspecies:

{{div col|colwidth=22em|small=yes}}

• C. f. bahamensis (Reichenbach, 1853): Bahamas
• C. f. caboti (Baird, 1873): east Yucatan Peninsula and nearby islands
• C. f. flaveola (Linnaeus, 1758): nominate, Jamaica
• C. f. sharpei (Cory, 1886): Cayman Is.
• C. f. bananivora (Gmelin, 1789): Hispaniola and nearby islands
• C. f. nectarea Wetmore, 1929: Tortue I.
• C. f. portoricensis (Bryant, 1866): Puerto Rico
• C. f. sanctithomae (Sundevall, 1869): north Virgin Is.
• C. f. newtoni (Baird, 1873): Saint Croix (south Virgin Is.)
• C. f. bartholemica (Sparrman, 1788): north and central Lesser Antilles
• C. f. martinicana (Reichenbach, 1853): Martinique and Saint Lucia (south central Lesser Antilles)
• C. f. barbadensis (Baird, 1873): Barbados
• C. f. atrata (Lawrence, 1878): St. Vincent (south Lesser Antilles)
• C. f. aterrima (Lesson, 1830): Grenada and the Grenadines (south Lesser Antilles)
• C. f. uropygialis von Berlepsch, 1892: Aruba and Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles)
• C. f. tricolor (Ridgway, 1884): Providencia I. (off east Nicaragua)
• C. f. oblita Griscom, 1923: San Andrés I. (off east Nicaragua)
• C. f. mexicana (Sclater, 1857): southeastern Mexico to western Panama
• C. f. cerinoclunis Bangs, 1901: Pearl Is. (south of Panama)
• C. f. columbiana (Cabanis, 1866): eastern Panama to southwestern Colombia and southern Venezuela
• C. f. bonairensis Voous, 1955: Bonaire I. (Netherlands Antilles)
• C. f. melanornis Phelps & Phelps, 1954: Cayo Sal I. (off Venezuela)
• C. f. lowii Cory, 1909: Los Roques Is. (off Venezuela)
• C. f. ferryi Cory, 1909: La Tortuga I. (off Venezuela)
• C. f. frailensis Phelps & Phelps, 1946: Los Frailes and Los Hermanos Is. (off Venezuela)
• C. f. laurae Lowe, 1908: Los Testigos (off Venezuela)
• C. f. luteola (Cabanis, 1850): coastal northern Colombia and Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago
• C. f. obscura Cory, 1913: northeastern Colombia and western Venezuela
• C. f. minima (Bonaparte, 1854): eastern Colombia and southern Venezuela to French Guiana and north central Brazil
• C. f. montana Lowe, 1912: Andes of northwestern Venezuela
• C. f. caucae Chapman, 1914: western Colombia
• C. f. gorgonae Thayer & Bangs, 1905: Gorgona I. (off western Colombia)
• C. f. intermedia (Salvadori & Festa, 1899): southwestern Colombia, western Ecuador and northern Peru east to southern Venezuela and western Brazil
• C. f. bolivari Zimmer & Phelps, 1946: eastern Venezuela
• C. f. guianensis (Cabanis, 1850): southeastern Venezuela to Guyana
• C. f. roraimae Chapman, 1929: tepui regions of southeastern Venezuela, southwestern Guyana and northern Brazil
• C. f. pacifica Lowe, 1912: eastern Peru
• C. f. magnirostris (Taczanowski, 1880): northern Peru
• C. f. dispar Zimmer, 1942: north central Peru to western Bolivia
• C. f. chloropyga (Cabanis, 1850): east central Peru to central Bolivia and east to eastern Brazil, northern Uruguay, northeastern Argentina and Paraguay
• C. f. alleni Lowe, 1912: eastern Bolivia to central Brazil

{{div col end}}

Two Bananaquits (4458804963).jpg|C. f. aterrima ("normal" and dark morph), Grenada

Coereba flaveola -Andros, Bahamas-8 (1).jpg|C. f. bahamensis, Bahamas

Coereba flaveola ( Sucrier à ventre jaune ).jpg|C. f. bartholemica, Guadeloupe

Flickr - Dario Sanches - CAMBACICA (Coereba flaveola) (8).jpg|C. f. chloropyga, São Paulo, Brazil

Coereba flaveola flaveola, Orange Bay, Jamaica 1.jpg|C. f. flaveola, Jamaica

Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola luteola).jpg|C. f. luteola, Trinidad

Bananaquit (7060538435).jpg|C. f. mexicana, Costa Rica

Bananaquit 01-2010g PuertoRico.jpg|C. f. portoricensis, Puerto Rico

Banaquit, StJohn2 RWD.jpg|C. f. sanctithomae, Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Coereba flaveola uropygialis.jpg|C. f. uropygialis, Aruba

File:Banaquit juvenile StJohn RWD.jpg

The bananaquit is a small bird, although there is some degree of size variation across the various subspecies. Length can range from {{convert|10|to|13|cm|in|abbr=on}}.{{Cite web |url=http://www.anywherecostarica.com/flora-fauna/bird/bananaquit |work=anywherecostarica.com|title= Bananaquit |access-date=21 October 2011}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=BD0577|work=enature.com|title=Bananaquit|access-date=21 October 2011|archive-date=19 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319221500/http://www.enature.com/fieldguides/detail.asp?recNum=BD0577|url-status=dead}} Weight ranges from {{convert|5.5|to|19|g|abbr=on}}.{{Cite web |url=http://www.birdingguide.com/bird_families/bananaquits.htm |work=birdingguide.com |title=Bananaquits |access-date=21 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111118111422/http://www.birdingguide.com/bird_families/bananaquits.htm |archive-date=18 November 2011 |url-status=dead }}{{harvnb|Diamond|1973}}

Most subspecies of the bananaquit have dark grey (almost black) upperparts, black crowns and sides of the head, a prominent white eyestripe, grey throat, white vent, and yellow chest, belly, and rump. Coloration is heavily influenced by melanocortin 1 receptor variation.{{cite journal | last1=Eizirik | first1=Eduardo | last2=Trindade | first2=Fernanda J. | title=Genetics and Evolution of Mammalian Coat Pigmentation | journal=Annual Review of Animal Biosciences | publisher=Annual Reviews | volume=9 | issue=1 | date=2021-02-16 | issn=2165-8102 | doi=10.1146/annurev-animal-022114-110847 | pages=125–148| pmid=33207915 | s2cid=227065725 | doi-access=free }}

The sexes are alike, but juveniles are duller and often have partially yellow eyebrows and throat.

In the subspecies bahamensis and caboti from the Bahamas and Cozumel, respectively, the throat and upper chest are white or very pale grey,{{harvnb|Raffaele|Wiley|Garrido|Keith|1998}}{{harvnb|Howell|Webb|1995}} while ferryi from La Tortuga Island has a white forehead.{{harvnb|Restall|Rodner|Lentino|2006}} The subspecies laurae, lowii, and melanornis from small islands off the coast of northern Venezuela are overall blackish, while the subspecies aterrima and atrata from Grenada and Saint Vincent have two plumage morphs, one "normal" and another blackish. The pink gape is usually very prominent in the subspecies from islands in the Caribbean Sea.

The tongue is paddle-shaped, with an extremely long paddle section.

File:Bananaquit nest, Costa Rica.JPG, Costa Rica]]

It is resident in tropical South America north to southern Mexico and the Caribbean. It is found throughout the West Indies, except for Cuba. Birds from the Bahamas are rare visitors to Florida.

It occurs in a wide range of open to semi-open habitats, including gardens and parks, but it is rare or absent in deserts, dense forests (e.g. large parts of the Amazon rainforest), and at altitudes above {{convert|2000|m|ft|abbr=on}}.

Bananaquit nests are known to be used by frog species, such as the Common coquí. "The Ecology of Eleutherodactylus coqui". issg Database. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2006.

File:Coereba flaveola MHNT 228 Martinique.jpg]]

File:Bananaquit feeding on orange.jpg National Park in Dominica]]

The bananaquit has a slender, curved bill, adapted to taking nectar from flowers, including mistletoes.{{cite journal | last=Watson | first=David M. | author-link=David M. Watson | title=Mistletoe—A Keystone Resource in Forests and Woodlands Worldwide | journal=Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics | publisher=Annual Reviews | volume=32 | issue=1 | year=2001 | issn=0066-4162 | doi=10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.32.081501.114024 | pages=219–249| bibcode=2001AnRES..32..219W }} Nectivory is probably an independent innovation in Coereba.{{cite journal | last=Pauw | first=Anton | title=A Bird's-Eye View of Pollination: Biotic Interactions as Drivers of Adaptation and Community Change | journal=Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics | publisher=Annual Reviews | volume=50 | issue=1 | date=2019-11-02 | issn=1543-592X | doi=10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-110218-024845 | pages=477–502| s2cid=202854049 }} Since then C. flaveola{{'}}s tongue shape has shown convergent evolution with other birds feeding on the same flowers, and its source flowers have shown convergence to accommodate its tongue. It sometimes pierces flowers from the side, taking the nectar without pollinating the plant - known as nectar robbing.{{harvnb|Dunning|2001}}{{cite journal | last1=Irwin | first1=Rebecca E. | last2=Bronstein | first2=Judith L. | last3=Manson | first3=Jessamyn S. | last4=Richardson | first4=Leif | title=Nectar Robbing: Ecological and Evolutionary Perspectives | journal=Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics | publisher=Annual Reviews | volume=41 | issue=1 | year=2010 | issn=1543-592X | doi=10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.110308.120330 | pages=271–292}} It also feeds on fruits - including mistletoe fruits, other berries, and ripe bananas (hence the common name and bananivora for the Hispaniolan subspecies).{{harvnb|De Boer|1993|page=105}}{{Cite web|url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Coereba_flaveola/|title=Coereba flaveola (Bananaquit)|website=Animal Diversity Web }}{{cite journal|title=Bananaquit Coereba flaveola |author=Steven Hilty |author2=David Christie|editor-first1=Josep |editor-first2=Andrew |editor-first3=Jordi |editor-first4=David |editor-first5=Eduardo |editor-last1=Del Hoyo |editor-last2=Elliott |editor-last3=Sargatal |editor-last4=Christie |editor-last5=De Juana |url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/banana/cur/introduction |website=Birds of the World |version=1.0 |date=March 4, 2020|doi=10.2173/bow.banana.01}} It has been observed taking fruits' sweet juices by puncturing fruit with its beak and it will also eat small insects (such as ants and flies), their larvae, and other small arthropods (such as spiders) on occasion.{{cite web|url=https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Coereba_flaveola%20-%20Bananaquit%20or%20Sugar%20Bird.pdf|title=Coereba flaveola (Bananaquit or Sugar Bird)|access-date=12 April 2023|work=The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago}} While feeding, the bananaquit must always perch, as it cannot hover like a hummingbird.

The bananaquit is known for its ability to adjust remarkably to human environments. It often visits gardens and may become very tame. Its nickname, the sugar bird, comes from its affinity for bowls or bird feeders stocked with granular sugar, a common method of attracting these birds. The bananaquit builds a spherical lined nest with a side entrance hole, laying up to three eggs, which are incubated solely by the female.{{harvnb|Monteiro Pereira|2008|p=120}} It may also build its nest in human-made objects, such as lampshades and garden trellises. The birds breed all year regardless of season and build new nests throughout the year.

== References ==

{{Reflist|21em}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite journal |doi=10.1186/1471-2148-8-240 |last1=Bellemain |first1=Eva |last2=Bermingham |first2=Eldredge |first3=Robert E. |last3=Ricklefs|year=2008|title=The dynamic evolutionary history of the bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) in the Caribbean revealed by a multigene analysis |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=8 |issue=1 |page=240 |pmid=18718030 |pmc=2533019 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2008BMCEE...8..240B }}
• {{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=Coereba flaveola |volume=2016 |page=e.T22722080A94747415 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22722080A94747415.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}
• {{cite journal|last=Diamond|first=A. W.|journal=The Auk |url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v090n03/p0610-p0618.pdf|volume=90|issue=3|pages=610–618|year=1973|title=Altitudinal variation in a resident and migrant passerine on Jamaica |jstor=4084159 |doi=10.2307/4084159}}
• {{Cite book|last=Dunning |first=John B. Jr |year=2001|contribution=Bananaquit |pages=[https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_227/page/n509 510]–511 |title=The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior|url=https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_227 |url-access=limited |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf|editor=Elphick, Chris|editor2=Dunning, John B. Jr.|editor3=Sibley, David Allen|location=New York|isbn=978-1-4000-4386-6}}
• {{cite book|last1=Howell|first1=S. N. G.|last2=Webb|first2=S.|year=1995|title=A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=London|isbn=0-19-854012-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/guidetobirdsofme0000howe}}
• {{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=C. | author-link=Carl Linnaeus |title=Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. | language=la|publisher=Laurentius Salvius |location=Stockholm | year=1758 |quote=C. nigra, uropygio pectoreque luteo, superciliis macula alarum rectricumque apicibus albis.|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/542 }}
• {{cite book|first=José Felipe|last=Monteiro Pereira|title=Aves e Pássaros Comuns do Rio de Janeiro|trans-title=Common Birds of Rio de Janeiro|year=2008|location=Rio de Janeiro|publisher=Technical Books|isbn=978-85-61368-00-5|language=pt}}
• {{cite book|first=Bart A.|last=De Boer|title=Our Birds|year=1993|location=Willemstad|publisher=Stichting Dierenbescherming Curaçao|isbn=978-99904-0-077-9}}
• {{cite book |last1=Raffaele |first1=Herbert |first2=James |last2=Wiley |first3=Orlando |last3=Garrido |first4=Allan |last4=Keith |first5=Janis |last5=Raffaele |year=1998 |title=A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton |isbn=978-0-691-08736-8}}
• {{cite book|last1=Restall|first1=R. L. |last2=Rodner|first2=C.|last3=Lentino|first3=M.|year=2006|title=Birds of Northern South America – An Identification Guide|publisher=Christopher Helm|location=London|isbn=0-7136-7242-0}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Seutin|first1=G|first2=N. K. |last2=Klein|first3= R. E. |last3=Ricklefs |first4= E. |last4= Bermingham |year=1994 |title=Historical biogeography of the bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) in the Caribbean region: a mitochondrial DNA assessment |jstor=2410365 |journal=Evolution |volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=1041–1061 |doi=10.2307/2410365 |pmid=28564451}}
• {{cite book | author-link=Louis Pierre Vieillot|last=Vieillot |language=fr|first=Louis Pierre|title=Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de l'Amérique septentrionale |trans-title=Natural History of the Birds of Northern America|year=1809 |publisher=Desray|location=Paris }}

{{refend}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{ cite book | last=Skutch | first=Alexander F. | date=1962 | title=Life Histories of Central American Birds | series=Pacific Coast Avifauna, Number 31 | location=Berkeley, California | publisher=Cooper Ornithological Society | pages=404–420 | url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/pca/pca_031.pdf | ref=none }}

{{refend}}

{{Commons category|Coereba flaveola}}

{{Wikispecies|Coereba flaveola}}

• {{InternetBirdCollection|bananaquit-coereba-flaveola|Bananaquit}}
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20000831194721/http://www.bird-stamps.org/cspecies/20000100.htm Bananaquit Stamps]}} (with range map) at {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/19990428065259/http://www.bird-stamps.org/ bird-stamps.org]}}
• {{xeno-canto species|Coereba|flaveola|the Bananaquit}}
• {{VIREO|Bananaquit|Bananaquit}}
• {{NeotropicalBirds|banana|Bananaquit}}
• {{IUCN_Map|22722080/137082125|Coereba flaveola}}

{{Passeroidea|T.|state=collapsed}}

{{Taxonbar |from=Q228125}}

Category:Thraupidae

Category:Birds of Central America

Category:Birds of the Caribbean

Category:Birds of the Dominican Republic

Category:Birds of South America

Category:Birds described in 1758

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus