Green-tailed Warbler
Encyclopedia
The Green-tailed Warbler (Microligea palustris), also known as the Green-tailed Ground Warbler, is a species of songbird
endemic to the island of Hispaniola
(Dominican Republic
and Haiti
) and adjacent islets.
The bird is 12–14 cm long, with a long tail, olive green upper-parts, grayish head, face and throat. Under-parts are off-white. The eye, which is red in adults and brown in juveniles, is surrounded by an incomplete white eye-ring. Populations on higher ground tend to be larger and darker than those in lowlands.
Generally placed in the New World "warbler" family
Parulidae, it constitutes a monotypic
genus
Microligea. Recently it has turned out to be too distant from the Parulidae proper to be included there with good justification, while including it Thraupidae has been accepted since DNA evidence supports that it belongs in the same clade as its sister genus Xenoligea, and the Phaenicophilus
palm-tanagers.
The bird is insectivorous and usually rummages close to ground level and in the underbrush. Its natural habitat
s are subtropical or tropical dry forest
s, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and heavily degraded former forest, ranging in altitude from sea level to montane highs of over 2,500 meters. The population of Beata Island
is thought to be an endemic subspecies: M. palustris vasta.
Songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds . Another name that is sometimes seen as scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin oscen, "a songbird"...
endemic to the island of Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
(Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
) and adjacent islets.
The bird is 12–14 cm long, with a long tail, olive green upper-parts, grayish head, face and throat. Under-parts are off-white. The eye, which is red in adults and brown in juveniles, is surrounded by an incomplete white eye-ring. Populations on higher ground tend to be larger and darker than those in lowlands.
Generally placed in the New World "warbler" family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Parulidae, it constitutes a monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Microligea. Recently it has turned out to be too distant from the Parulidae proper to be included there with good justification, while including it Thraupidae has been accepted since DNA evidence supports that it belongs in the same clade as its sister genus Xenoligea, and the Phaenicophilus
Phaenicophilus
Phaenicophilus is a genus of bird in the Thraupidae family.It contains the following species:* Black-crowned Palm-tanager * Grey-crowned Palm-tanager...
palm-tanagers.
The bird is insectivorous and usually rummages close to ground level and in the underbrush. Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s are subtropical or tropical dry forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and heavily degraded former forest, ranging in altitude from sea level to montane highs of over 2,500 meters. The population of Beata Island
Beata Island
Beata Island is a small island on the Caribbean Sea, located 7 km southwest from cape Beata, the southernmost point of the island Hispaniola. Some 12 km SW of it lies the smaller Alto Velo Island...
is thought to be an endemic subspecies: M. palustris vasta.