- Tody
Taxobox
name = Todies
fossil_range = earlyOligocene – Recent
image_caption =Jamaican Tody
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Coraciiformes
familia = Todidae
familia_authority = Vigors, 1825
genus = "Todus"
genus_authority = Brisson, 1760
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.The todies are a family, Todidae, of
Caribbean bird s in the orderCoraciiformes , which also includes thekingfisher s,bee-eater s androller s. The family has onegenus , "Todus". These are smallnear passerine species of forests of theGreater Antilles :Puerto Rico ,Jamaica , andCuba with adjacent islands have one species each, andHispaniola has two, theBroad-billed Tody in the lowlands (includingGonâve Island ) and theNarrow-billed Tody in the highlandscite book | last = Raffaele | first = Herbert | coauthors = James Wiley, Orlando H. Garrido, Allan Keith, Janis I. Raffaele | year = 1998 | title = A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies | publisher = Princeton University Press | pages = 341-343 | isbn = 0691087369 | url = http://press.princeton.edu/birds/ident/westindies/1.html | accessdate = 2008-07-02] cite book | last=Fry | first=C. Hilary | chapter=Todies | editor=Perrins, Christopher (ed.) | title=Firefly Encyclopedia of Birds | publisher=Firefly Books | year=2003 | pages=373|isbn = 1-55297-777-3] .Description
Todies range in weight from 5 to 7 g and in length from 10 to 11.5 cm (4 to 4.5 inches). They have colourful
plumage and resemble kingfishers, with green heads, backs and wings, red throats (absent in immature Puerto Rican, Broad-billed, and Narrow-billed Todies) with a white and blue-grey stripe on each side, and yellow undertail coverts; the colour of the rest of the undersides is pale and varies according to species. The irises are pale grey. They have long, flattened bills (as do many flycatching birds) with serrated edges; the upper mandible is black, the lower red with a little black. The legs and especially feet are small. Todies are highly vocal, except that the Jamaican Tody seldom calls in the non-breeding season (August to November); they give simple, unmusical buzzing notes, beeps, and guttural rattles, puffing their throats out with every call. Their wings produce a "strange, whirring rattle", though mostly when courting or defending territory in the Puerto Rican Tody.They eat small
prey such as insects and lizards. Insects form the greater part of the diet, particularly grasshoppers and crickets, beetles, bugs, butterflies, bees, wasps and ants. Spiders and millipedes may also be taken, as is a small amount of fruit (2% of the diet).cite book | last = Kepler | first = A. K. | year = 2001 | chapter = Family Todidae |title = Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 6, Mousebirds to Hornbills | editor = J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, and J. Sargatal (eds.) | location = Barcelona | publisher = Lynx Edicions | isbn = 84-87334-30-X] Todies typically sit on a low small twig, singly or in pairs, keeping still or possibly stepping sideways likeparrot s or hopping sideways. When they see prey moving on the lower surface of a leaf, they fly a short distance (averaging 2.2 metres or 7 feet in the Broad-billed Tody, 1 metre or 3 feet in thePuerto Rican Tody ) diagonally upward to glean it. They may also take prey from the ground, occasionally chasing it with a few hops. At all times they are sedentary; the longest single flight known for the Broad-billed Tody is 40 metres (130 feet). Their activity is greatest in the morning when sunny weather follows rain, and in March and September.Like most of the Coraciiformes, todies nest in tunnels, which they dig with their beaks and feet in steep banks or rotten tree trunks. The tunnel is 30 cm long in the Cuban and Narrow-billed Todies, 30 to 60 cm in the Broad-billed and ends in a nest chamber, generally not reused. They lay about four round white eggs in the chamber. Both parents incubate but are surprisingly inattentive. The young are
altricial and stay in the nest till they can fly. Both parents also care for the nestlings, now much more attentively—indeed they may feed each chick up to 140 times per day, the highest rate known among birds.Fossil species
A prehistoric genus, "Palaeotodus", is known from
fossil s. The prehistoric species, dated to the earlyOligocene , was discovered inFrance and has also been found inGermany , suggesting the family was once far more widespread than it is today. [Mayr, R. and C.F. Knopf (2007) "A Tody (Alcediniformes: Todidae) from the Early Oligocene of Germany" "Auk" 124 (4): 1294–1304]Species list
*
Cuban Tody , "Todus multicolor"
*Broad-billed Tody , "Todus subulatus"
*Narrow-billed Tody , "Todus angustirostris"
*Jamaican Tody , "Todus todus"
*Puerto Rican Tody , "Todus mexicanus"References
External links
* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/familia.phtml?idFamilia=89 Tody videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
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