- Torreornis inexpectata
Identification
16.5cm (6.5 in)
- Grey and yellow plumage
- Dark reddish-brown crown
- Olive-grey upperparts
- White throat with black moustachial streaks
- Yellow breast and belly
- Greyish-olive flanks
Distribution
Caribbean: found in the Zapata Swamp, Cayo Coco and Guantánamo province on Cuba.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 3 subspecies[1]
- T. i. inexpectata:
- South-western Cuba (arid Zapata Peninsula)
- T. i. sigmani:
- Arid coastal south-eastern Cuba
- T. i. varonai:
- Cayo Coco (off northern Cuba)
Habitat
Sawgrass swamps at Zapata. On Cayo Coco, they prefer forests, forest clearings and shrubbery. Subspecies varonai are found in arid areas with cacti and thorn scrub.
Behaviour
Diet
They have a varied diet which includes flowers, seeds and insects and spiders. Birds in the Zapata swamp also eat small lizards and the eggs of apple snails.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved October 2014)
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2023) Zapata Sparrow. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 4 December 2023 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Zapata_Sparrow
