Narrow-billed Todi

All Todi are very small rounded birds with a short tail and a long flattened beak. The plumage is bright green in the upper part of the body and whitish in the lower, throat is red ^[3] . In the narrow-billed Todi, the upper part of the head has a darker plumage, turning into an emerald green color in the front. The edge of the chin and cheekbones are white. The throat spot has a carmine red color and spreads to the part of the chin, the feathers entering it have white tips. The central part of the chest and belly is white, turning into a deep gray color on the sides of the neck, chest and under the cheekbones. The sides are painted red or pink. The plumage under the tail and wings is gray-yellow. Paws are dark brownish in color ^{[4] [5]} .

In the Bulletin of the Smithsonian Institution in 1914, this species is compared with the Cuban . The author, American ornithologist Robert Ridgway , draws attention to a similar almost white plumage in the front, noting that the narrow-billed species does not have blue feathers in the ear area. In addition, the red throat spot of the narrow-billed Todi was called the brightest among all birds of the family ^[5] .

The beak of the narrow-billed Todi is twice as narrow as that of the wide-billed Todi, its upper part is painted black, the lower one is red, with a dark end; the iris is whitish ^[4] . The upper part of the beak has notches for breaking solid insects, which is a characteristic feature of all Todi ^[6] . Like other crayfish , it has partially spliced ​​front fingers, which are used to dig holes ^[5] .

The total length is 11 cm; the mass is 5.2–9 g ^[4] . Ridgway gave the following characteristics, referred to by the Encyclopedia: wing length - 42–46 mm, tail length - 31–35.5 mm, beak length 16.5–19 mm, beak width - 4–5 mm , metatarsus - 13.5-15 mm ^[7] . The authors of the (HBW) draw attention to the fact that the wing length of the narrow-billed Todi is second after the wide-billed, despite the fact that the average and maximum flight distances are 0.8 and 7 meters, respectively, which is the most a small indicator for the entire family ^[8] .

The main song of the narrow-billed Todi is constantly repeating “chik-kui” or “chip-chi” with emphasis on the second syllable, or repeating “chip-chip-chip-chip-chip” ^[4] . Like all Todi, this species can fly silently, but to protect the territory it emits a characteristic sound with wings when air quickly passes through the primary feathers ^{[9] [6]} . Previously, it was believed that this sound was due to the fact that the feathers were slightly weakened, however, upon careful examination, it turned out that these feathers did not have an altered stiffness or width. A rather loud sound, however, is difficult to record and strongly depends on weather conditions: it is heard more strongly on sunny days than on cloudy or rainy ones ^[10] .

Unlike the wide-billed Todi , the narrow-billed species lives exclusively on the island of Haiti . He prefers dense, moist, mountain forests with shady crowns at a height of 6-9 meters and copious undergrowth in the form of epiphytes , orchids , liver mosses , ferns and bamboo ( Arthrostylidium ); arid forests in the midlands; pine forests ( Pinus occidentalis ); shady coffee plantations dominated by Inga ( Inga vera ), mango ( Mangifera indica ), avocado ( Persea americana ), citrus ( Citrus ) and banana ( Musa ). They can be found on coffee plantations of the solar type ^[4] . The inhabitants of the Dominican Republic call this species, as well as the broad-toed Todi, barrancolí from the Spanish word Spanish. barranco (ravine), in Constance they use the name pichui , and in the area of the Sel mountain range - chicorette , which is an imitation of the main song of the bird ^[3] .

Of the similar birds, only the broad-toed Todi also lives in Haiti, but it has a more yellow breast with a large amount of yellow and pink, a uniformly red lower part of the beak and a dark gray iris compared to the narrow-billed. The beak of the narrow-billed Todi, compared with the wide-billed, is about two times narrower. Birds also differ in singing and habits during the hunt; in particular, narrow-billed Todi are more active ^[7] .

Narrow-billed Todi is perhaps the only species that has clear preferences in the habitat. It can be found in pine forests or in high mountain rainforests, where the undergrowth includes bamboo , climbing ferns , ferns , epiphytes , liver mosses and orchids ^[11] . They prefer to settle at an altitude of 900-2400 meters above sea level ^{[4] [12]} , although they can be found at altitudes of up to 3000 meters, as well as in swampy flocks on the Samana Peninsula in the northeast and Sierra de Baoruko in the south west, which are located at sea level ^[4] . In addition, the habitat of Todi is affected by the presence of gullies and ledges suitable for digging holes and nesting ^[11] . Studies from the 1990s showed that birds can migrate to lower altitudes for a short time during the colder months, but come back for nesting ^{[4] [13]} .

Narrow-billed Todi can join in pairs in flocks of small birds, most often insectivores, mainly during the migration of the latter through their territory ^[4] , presumably in order to improve food opportunities ^[14] . Todi does not join packs on the territory of coffee plantations ^[15] . In the Sierra de Baoruko and the Cordillera Central, narrow - billed and wide-billed Todi live together in a vertical range of at least 1200 m ^[11] ; in the case of mixing, both species change their behavior ^{[15] [14]} .

Since 1988, the narrow-billed Todi belonged to species close to vulnerable position , in 2000 the status was changed to species under the least threat ^[16] . Birds prefer shady coffee plantations that give way to fields in the open sun. The main predators are mongooses ^[4] . In addition, children hunt birds with slingshots ^{[4] [17]} .

Narrow-billed Todi feed mainly on insects, occasionally small lizards. They are usually much more active than their broad-billed neighbors. Underleaf-sally is used as the main hunting method, searching for prey above the head with its beak lifted up ^[4] . This species is the most active among all members of the family ^[18] . Its diet does not include large insects, in particular grasshoppers, crickets, locusts ( Orthoptera ) and butterflies ( Lepidoptera ), which can be hunted by wide-billed Todi. Scientists suggest that differences in diet could cause differences in beak size ^[15] .

On shady coffee plantations, the narrow-billed Todi prefers to catch insects from the leaves of the coffee itself, while the wide-billed species prefers to eat on trees that create a shadow ^[4] . In 89.4% of cases, this species catches prey precisely on leaves, not on branches or in the air, in 61.2% the target of the attack was on coffee leaves, in 73.9% horizontal attacks were used. The average distance to prey is 0.49 meters (for the broad-billed - 0.86 meters) ^[15] .

Narrow-billed Todi always hunts in dense undergrowth ^[15] . The average feeding height is 2.7 meters, dropping to 1.7 meters in shrubs and rising to 2.7 meters in rainforests. In mixed schools with wide-toed Todi, this species feeds below the latter and the average feeding height is already 2.3 meters. This division is reflected not only in the feeding height, but also in the duration and frequency of flight: the narrow-billed species practices shorter flights, captures smaller prey and has shorter rest periods between trips ^[18] . In mixed schools with other species, both Todi more often use longer sally-hover ^[15] . In this case, the narrow-billed Todi also prefers to climb higher for hunting ^[4] . In mixed schools, the activity of narrow-billed Todi increases slightly ^[15] .

The narrow-billed Todi breeds holes 30–35 cm long, 4.4 cm wide and 3.9 cm high on the eastern slopes. This species, unlike the others, prefers slopes with rich vegetation and an average height of 3.2 meters. It can nest in crevices of trees at a height of not more than 9 meters ^[4] . Digging holes, in which both male and female participate, begins in September and continues until June ^[19] .

Birds usually lay 3-4 brilliant white eggs between April and July; sometimes they can lay 5 eggs ^[4] . Todi eggs are the smallest among the representatives of crayfish; the size of the eggs of the narrow-billed species is on average smaller than that of the wide-billed species, and are 15.5 mm in length and 13.5 mm in width. Both partners hatch eggs, but the female spends more time in the nest. The incubation period is two to three weeks, as many young chicks remain in the nest, after which they begin to live separately ^{[19] [4]} .

Scientific name - Todus anguistitostris ; the bird was first described by the French ornithologist Frederic de La Frenet in 1851 ^{[16] [20]} . The description was based on a copy provided by the French entomologist Auguste Salle , who in 1857 suggested that the narrow-billed and wide-billed Todi represent the same species, and the differences are due to sexual dimorphism. In 1866, the American naturalist suggested that Todus anguistitostris and Todus dominicensis , described by La Frenet in 1847, are a narrow-bred subspecies of the Dominican Todi ^[21] . A similar point of view was held in 1892 by the American ornithologist Charles Barney Corey ^[3] . There is an assumption that the northern and southern populations of the narrow-billed Todi are evolutionarily independent over the past two million years, and possibly represent two different species ^[22] .

Until recently, it was believed that the wide-billed and narrow-billed Todi descended from the same ancestor ^[4] and, together with the Cuban species, form a treasure . Scientists believed that the migration of ancient Todi was carried out from the Yucatan Peninsula to Cuba , and then to Haiti, where the Cuban Todi , judging by the intensity of pink, blue and green in plumage, vocalization and behavior, evolved into a wide-billed look. Due to the strong differences between the broad-billed and narrow-billed species, scientists find it difficult to say whether they developed separately when the island was divided into two parts, or there were several migrations ^[22] . A number of scientists believe that the close kinship of these species explains why the narrow-billed Todi is second only to the wide-billed Todi along the length of the wing, while the distances covered by it are the smallest in the whole family ^[8] .

Phylogenetic studies of mitochondrial DNA showed that the wide-toed Todi descended from the same ancestor as Puerto Rican , while the narrow-toed Todi was closer to the Cuban one. The separation occurred from 3 to 2 million years ago ^[23] .

• Gladkov N. A., Mikheev A. V. Volume 5. Birds // Animal Life. - 2nd ed., Revised. - M .: Education, 1986. - S. 327—328. - 527 p.
• Family Todidae (Todies) / Kepler AK // Mousebirds to Hornbills. - Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, 2001. - (Handbook of the Birds of the World: [16 v.] / In: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal; 1992-2013, vol. 6). - ISBN 978-84-87334-30-6 .
• Narrow-billed Tody / Kepler AK, Kirwan GM // Mousebirds to Hornbills. - Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, 2001. - (Handbook of the Birds of the World: [16 v.] / In: J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal; 1992-2013, vol. 6). - ISBN 978-84-87334-30-6 .
• Latta SC, Wunderle JM Ecological Relationships of Two Todies in Hispaniola: Effects of Habitat and Flocking (Eng.) // The Condor: Journal. - 1996. - Vol. 98, no. 4 . - P. 769-779. - DOI : 10.2307 / 1369857 .

• Kepler AK Family Todidae (Todies) Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (10 September 2014). Date of appeal September 8, 2018.
• Kepler AK, Kirwan GM Narrow-billed Tody . Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (11 May 2018). Date of appeal September 8, 2018.
• Overton LC Narrow-billed Tody . Neotropical birds online (2011). Date of treatment March 13, 2018.