| Western Chat-tanager | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
|
NR
|
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Thraupidae |
| Genus: | Calyptophilus |
| Species: | C. tertius |
| Binomial name | |
| Calyptophilus tertius Wetmore, 1929 |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Calyptophilus frugivorus tertius |
|
The Western Chat-tanager (Calyptophilus tertius) is a passerine bird belonging to the tanager family, Thraupidae. It is endemic to the island of Hispaniola in the West Indies. It was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the Eastern Chat-tanager (C. frugivorus) but is now usually considered to be a separate species. There is a high degree of divergence between the two in mitochondrial DNA and intron sequences. Speciation is likely to have occurred at a time when present-day Hispaniola consisted of two separate islands.[1]
It is 20 centimetres long. The upperparts are dark brown. The breast and throat are white shading into the grey-brown belly and flanks. There is a yellow patch between the eye and bill. The tail is long and rounded. The bird has whistling and buzzing calls. The Eastern Chat-tanager is similar but has a bare yellow ring around the eye and is smaller at 17 centimetres.
The Western Chat-tanager inhabits wet forest in mountainous areas. It occurs in southern Haiti and in the Sierra de Bahoruco in the south-west of the Dominican Republic. It mainly forages on the ground.