Birdfinding.info ⇒ Common and easy to find throughout Cuba. Seems especially omnipresent in settled areas with palm trees, including Havana and other cities.
Cuban Blackbird
Ptiloxena atroviolacea
Endemic to Cuba, where it is widespread and common in a broad range of habitats, including urban and agricultural areas. A familiar species that thrives on human development.
Historically known only from the Cuban mainland, but in recent years has spread to the populated northern keys.
Identification
A large, robust, all-black icterid with a short, stout, slightly downcurved bill and a glossy purple and green sheen. Its shape and overall appearance are roughly intermediate between a grackle and a crow.
Usually encountered in pairs during the breeding season. Otherwise gregarious and forms large flocks, often mixed flocks with grackles and other icterids.
Cuban Blackbird. (Las Terrazas, Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve, Artemisa, Cuba; December 5, 2016.) © Jason Estep
Cuban Blackbird. (Horizontes La Ermita, Pinar del Río, Cuba; February 9, 2017.) © Joshua D. Vandermeulen
Cuban Blackbird. (Playa Pesquero, Holguín, Cuba; February 23, 2018.) © Suzanne Labbé
Cuban Blackbird. (Las Terrazas, Sierra del Rosario Biosphere Reserve, Artemisa, Cuba; February 2, 2017.) © Tresa Moulton
Voice. Common calls include alternating repetitions of its characteristic “Totí” (the Cuban name for this species), which reminds North American birdwatchers of the Tufted Titmouse, and a short series of loud chirps: When singing, often alternates between phrases, including a sharp, sparrow-like single-note series and a completely different, nasal whong-whong:
Notes
Monotypic species and genus.
References
eBird. 2018. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed October 24, 2018.)
Garrido, O.H, and A. Kirkconnell. 2000. Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, N.Y.
Jaramillo, A., and P. Burke. 1999. New World Blackbirds: The Icterids. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
Navarro, N. 2015. Field Guide to the Endemic Birds of Cuba. Ediciones Nuevos Mundos, St. Augustine, Florida.
Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.