Rufous-throated Solitaire and Yellow Warbler Chit Chatting!!

Janice Mathurin-Poleon

Rufous-throated solitaire: Hey! You there yellow bird, what is your name?

Yellow warbler: Why do you want to know my name?

Rufous-throated solitaire: Because I’ve never seen you around here.

Yellow warbler: In that case then, I’m Yellow warbler. I am an endemic subspecies of many Caribbean islands; Bahamas, Cuba, Martinique, Dominica, St. Lucia and others. I am known scientifically as dendroica petechia babad a mouthful I know. Just call me sucrier mang as the locals do. It’s much easier.

Rufous-throated solitaire: Why are you here in the rainforest? Where do you live?

Yellow warbler: I got distracted and found myself here. My home is confined to mangroves such as Makote, Vieux Fort and coastal scrub forests areas like Praslin. I eat mainly insects although sometimes I’ll eat small berries too. I build a neat cup-shaped nest low down in a bush or low tree.

Rufous-throated solitaire: Are you male or female?

Yellow warbler: I am male. I am 11.5-13.5cm (4.5-5.25 in). As you can see I am mostly all yellow, including patches on my outer tail feathers. My upperparts are greenish-yellow though with reddish streaks at my breast and sides. My head is yellow but with this cool, distinct reddish-brown cap.

My wife is similar to me, but she has faintly reddish streaks below with no reddish brown crown. She lays 2-3 spotted, greenish-white eggs mainly between February and June. I have told you so much about me would you mind telling me about yourself?

Rufous-throated solitaire: I am Rufous-throated solitaire, endemic subspecies of St Vincent, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Dominica, Martinique but specifically the myadestes genibarbis sanctaelucia is unique only to St Lucia. Commonly I am known here as siffleur morne.

Yellow warbler: Hey, we’re found on some of the same islands! Is this all?

Rufous-throated solitaire: I grow to a length of 19cm (7.5in). I am mostly grey above, with white chin; reddish brown throat, neck and undertail coverts; light grey breast; yellow feet; and a tail with white outer feathers. I live in the dense mountain forest of Quillesse, Micoud and Edmund Forest Reserve, Soufriere. I build my nest cup-shaped in a crevice, center of a tree fern or bromeliad. My lady love lays two eggs, bluish-white or blue with white spots during the months April to August.

Yellow warbler: I bet you love living in this tranquil environment.  It is cool and private.

Rufous-throated solitaire: Yes I do. I feel quite at peace.  The mangrove sounds like a good place but as far as I have heard, people do not understand let alone appreciate the value of your habitat. Maybe we should educate these humans on the importance of protecting and conserving the mangroves of our island.

You know they think they know everything and they just keep destroying our environment but what they don’t know is that they are destroying themselves also.

Yellow warbler: It was sure nice meeting you. Hope to see you around some time if I get distracted. Have a pleasant day.

Pere Noir (male) et Maisson (female)

 I often wonder how many of us actually take note of our environment and the different species of animals and plants that are all around us.  We often see plants and animals but do not know them by their local name let alone their scientific name.  Let’s see how well we observe them by solving the common name of this bird.

The scientific name of this bird is Loxigilla noctis sclateri and is also one of the endemic subspecies of our island. The local name is Pere Noir for male and Maisson for female.  Can you guess the Common name?

This bird is seen everywhere, they fly in your homes and business places feeding on food scrapes.  The male is black with a reddish-brown patch to the chest area unlike the female that has dark olive-grey upperparts, some brown on the wings and grayish under parts. 

It builds a round nest with a side entrance in a bush or low tree.  It usually lays two or three spotted eggs during the months of February to August.  It feeds mainly on seeds but also thrives on buds and petals of flowers as well as fruits. Pere Noir has a sharp shrill or a sharp tseep-tseep as its call. 

Have you guessed what bird I have just described or do you want to solve this simple puzzle to find out the common name?

Solve:  The numbers provided corresponds to the letters in the alphabet.

              B   I     R   D

Example:  2 – 9 – 18 - 4  

 _    _  _   _ _   _        _  _   _  _  _   _  _  _  _       _  _    _   _ _  _  _  _ _

12 -5-19-19-5-18       1-14-20-9-12-12-5-1-14               2 -21-12-12-6-9-14-3-8

Say Hi to the Lesser Antillean Flycatcher (Myiarchus oberi sanctaeluciae) Pipirite Gros Tête

By: Nicole La Force (Forestry Department)

For the past weeks we have been writing about our endemic and sub-endemic birds. We hope that it has been an eye opener and that your appreciation for the beautiful birds found here is growing.

Birds serve many wonderful functions which enrich our ecosystems and our lives. Birds are great pollinators as well as seed dispersers ensuring the continuity of our plant species; not only locally but also regionally. Regional ecosystems develop diversity as this process continues. It can be seen as a mutual relationship, as well, because the migratory birds will help to build and maintain an area where they can feed and nest.

Birds also play a role in the predator/prey relationship in forest ecosystems. Though the majority of bird species eat only fruit, some eat insects and larger birds kill live prey to eat. These omnivorous and carnivorous species play an important role in maintaining healthy populations of small mammals and reptiles. In forest ecosystems that lack adequate bird populations, these smaller animals begin to overtake the area, causing disturbance in the food chain and overall ecosystem.

Today we are going to meet the Lesser Antillean Flycatcher or Pipirite Gros Tête as it is locally called. It is a beautiful bird which is a bit elusive. It grows to a length of 19–22cm (7.5–8.5 in) with mostly yellow underparts from the upper belly to the undertail coverts. The tail feathers have reddish inner webs. It has a loud voice with a mournful whistle peeu-wheeet and also a short whistles oo-ee, oo-ee, or e-oo-ee. Its head is relatively larger in proportion to its body hence the name Pipirite Gros Tête.

Locally it is found in the transition forest at medium elevation and in the rainforest in the interior of the Castries Water Works Reserve, Quilesse, Edmund Forest and Millet areas.

The breeding season is from March to July.  The nest is made of loose plant fibers, feathers and is built in a tree cavity, where the female lays 3 to 4 creamy buff eggs, heavily spotted and scrawled with purplish-brown and violet-grey. 

Flycatchers are agile fliers who catch their prey while flying. They feed extensively on true flies caterpillars, other winged insects and also beetles. These birds are premiere pest insect controllers.

So go out in nature and enjoy the beautiful birds and appreciate their wondrous song!!

Beauty Queens Scaly-breasted Thrasher & Carib Grackle.

By: Jeannette Victor & Khervelle Pamphile

It’s here once again the most anticipated show of the year; The National Bird Beauty Pageant. Come one come all, this show will be an exciting and extravagant one. Miss it and you miss out on all the excitement!!!!!!

Carib Grackle:  My girl, you eh see the poster for the Beauty Pageant yet?

Scaly- breasted Thrasher: What poster? What Beauty Pageant? What you talking about  deh girl?

                             

Carib Grackle: The Annual Beauty Pageant that will be held next Saturday. You know, the show most people look forward to every year.

Scaly-breasted Thrasher: Oh!  You mean the show that full of excitement and various beauties put their all to capture the crown.

Carib Grackle: Yes pal, “that show”.  This year I want to take part so I will need some help to practice my intro, will you be kind enough to do so?

Scaly-breasted Thrasher : Hmmm, you are not the only one who wants that title. I’m entering too. So we work as a team and help each other with our weak areas.                                 

                 

Carib Grackle: What a brilliant idea! If either of us wins we could bask in the ambience of winning and as friends celebrate together.

Scaly-breasted Thrasher: Well let’s not waste any more time. Let’s work on our intro You go first.

Carib Grackle:  Good evening distinguished guest, ladies and gentlemen of the Animal Kingdom, I am known scientifically as Quiscalus lugubris inflexirostris, locally as Blackbird or Carib Grackle or Merle.  I am quite handsome with my jet black feathers and a violet, green or steel-blue gloss. To compliment my appearance I have a yellowish-white iris and a long V shaped tail. My chaperon who is also my companion is smaller and dark- grey overall.  I must say that I cherish her for she lays three to four greenish-blue eggs with black scrawls in our home, a bulky structure made of grass, plant fibers and leaves with a deep central cup that sits on a tree.  We thrive on insects and could be seen almost everywhere in St. Lucia.  Thanks for coming out to support me and will be sure not to disappoint you my fans.

Scaly-breasted Thrasher: Short, sweet and straight to the point. Wonderfully said.  Let me see if I could do    better .  Protocol established I will forge ahead.  Though I may be considered a shy individual I will wow you the audience this evening.  Margarops     fuscus     schwartzi is the name those scientists refer to me as but  you know me as Scaly-breasted Thrasher and your elders as Grieve. I belong to the Thrasher family which consists of three of us. My under-part is white and heavily   scaled  with grayish-brown from my Throat to my belly. I have one white wing-bar, yellow-brown eye and a   Black bill with white tail tips. I live comfortably in a rough cup-shape nest built in a tree in which my wife lays two or three greenish-  blue eggs. I may not have the looks but I sure have the talent to walk away with this Crown tonight.  So sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.

               

Carib Grackle:  Looks like the competition will be tight so I am off to put some finishing touches on my costume and evening wear.  Good luck and see you after the pageant.

Scaly-breasted Thrasher:  Thanks. Good luck to you too and may the best bird win!

Gabriel “Coco” Charles - St. Lucia’s First Chief Forest Officer

Nicole La Force


On a week like this in August of 1993 St. Lucia lost one of its conservation pioneers, in the person of Gabriel Charles affectionately called “Coco” Charles. It was the 31st of August, mid morning in 1993 at the Desruisseaux junction when Coco Charles’ vehicle overturned on the side of the road. Cause of death as it was later revealed, was a heart attach. And at 58 a son of the soil who impacted greatly the protection and conservation of our flora and fauna, was gone.

Many young people today may have no idea who Coco Charles was and I as a new forester have come to appreciate the work he has done and have enjoyed the various anecdotes that those who worked with him shared and in some ways I envy them.

He was an inspiring character who in many respects was a ‘community activist’ for the cause of sustainable development, though the term was hardly known or used back then. He preached about the potential negative effects of poor land management practices, a situation that unfortunately characterizes much of our development today. One of his principle concerns was the need to ensure sustainable livelihoods of grassroots people and local communities through education and active participation. As a result he became involved in many community environmental programmes and inspired the formation of many local environmental groups and their leadership.

Coco Charles was instrumental in the passing of many of today’s laws and legislation which now serves to protect our flora and fauna, one of which enabled the protection of and the naming of the Amazona versicolor “Jacquot” as St. Lucia’s national bird in 1980, a year after St. Lucia gained independence. He along with Paul Butler led the national campaign which restored the bird from the brink of extinction.

Regionally Coco Charles was considered an iconic figure that elevated the status of forestry to a more embracing profession of environmental conservation and management.

During his life, Gabriel Coco Charles received the prestigious Fred Packard Award and was named a Member of the British Empire and was nominated to the United Nation’s Global 500 list of people who have made an outstanding contribution in the field of conservation. He received this in 1988 alongside the world famous Jacques Cousteau and upon his death was RARE Center’s Assistant Director for Conservation Education.

For his zeal and passion with regards to environmental protection and sustainability he should always be remembered. He has left a great legacy on which we as foresters, environmentalists and citizens of this fair Helen should build upon and emulate.

Meet the Thrashers

Jeannette Victor

Khervelle Pamphile

Pearly-eyed, Scaly-breasted and White-Breasted; huh?! Do you know what category of animals they belong to?  Maybe not but I am here to share some information with you, so worry not. They are part of the thrasher family which is birds.

The Pearly-Eyed Thrasher is the largest of the thrasher family as well as the most aggressive.  Margarops fuscatus klinikowski is how this bird is referred to by scientists but your grandparents may know it as Gros-Grieve.

How can you distinguish this thrasher from the others?

The Pearly-eyed Thrasher grows up to 28-30cm (11-12 in) and has many harsh calls including “Chook Chook”.  The upper-parts are light brown while the under-parts are white with brown streaks.  The white eye, white patches to the tail and the yellowish bill all contribute to this thrasher’s distinguished appearance.

What are this thrasher’s behavioral pattern, habitat and diet?

Often seen in confrontation with the St.Lucia Parrot since they are both cavity nesters making their homes in the forest.  They are omnivores surviving on fruits, berries and lizards.

What are their Reproductive practices?

Their nests are bulky and made up of twigs, dry grasses and roots that are placed in a cavity but rarely in bush or on trees.  In there they lay 2 or 3 glossy blue-green eggs mainly during March and July which would hatch within two weeks.

What are the Threats / Status and Protection Polices regarding this Thrasher?

This bird is fortunately not threatened with extinction but is a known predator to many birds of the forests because it sometimes feed on the eggs and nestlings of other birds including that of the St. Lucia Parrot. The Pearly-eyed Thrasher is an endemic sub-species to St.Lucia therefore it’s a protected species.

St. Lucia Wren (Troglodytes aedon mesoleucus)

By Janice Mathurin-Poleon

The St. Lucia Wren is considered an endemic subspecies of the House Wren (Troglodytes aedon). It is the rarest of the remaining Lesser Antillean House Wrens and can be found as a common resident in Dominica, locally in lowlands of Grenada and uncommonly in St. Vincent.

The St. Lucia Wren locally known as rossignol is a small, active brown bird with black bars on its wings and tail, an indistinct pale stripe above the eye with a relatively large head. St. Lucia’s subspecies is slightly paler below than that of St. Vincent and Dominica. Rossignol has a moderately long tail which it sometimes cocks upwards in the manner typical of wrens. It is 11.5-13cm (4.5-5 in) in length and this species has a rich, loud bubbling song like other wrens. There is a distinct variation in the dialect between the St. Lucia race and that of the other islands.

This bird can be found in the northeast coast of St. Lucia and Gros Piton. It feeds mainly on insects but will eat small lizards. The female lays two to six whitish eggs, heavily speckled brownish-red during the breeding season May to August.

The wren is an endangered species which faces many threats especially that of habitat loss. Its population decline is also related to predation by rats and mongooses as well as brood parasitism by the shiny cowbird.

The need for conservation and protection of our endangered species can never be overemphasized.