Spindalidae: Spindalises
Hispaniolan Spindalis. © Kenny Diaz
The spindalises are a newly recognized family of songbirds endemic to the Caribbean region. Formerly classified as “tanagers” (i.e., as members of the Thraupidae), they generally resemble many of the birds that still bear that name.
Notable characteristics of the family include their thin, high-pitched voices and phlegmatic habits. The spindalises have been reclassified as a separate family based largely on genetic studies of relatedness showing that they diverged from their nearest relatives about ten to twelve million years ago.
Taxonomy
The spindalises were traditionally regarded as races of a single species, the Stripe-headed Tanager, as the males share similar plumage patterns dominated by bold black-and-white stripes on the head, with splashes of richer color on the nape, rump, and breast. There are, however, conspicuous differences among them, including the details of those colorful patches, their vocalizations, and the female plumages.
The Spindalidae are now regarded as comprising at least four species, and potentially as many as eight depending on further consideration of the divergent forms of Western Spindalis. As the following series of photos shows, there are noticeable differences among the males of the five forms currently classified as subspecies of Western Spindalis:
Western (“Dark-backed”) Spindalis. © Duncan Mullis
Western (“Black-backed”) Spindalis. © Andrew Spencer
Western (“Cuban”) Spindalis. © Kenneth Pinnow
Western (“Grand Cayman”) Spindalis. © Peter Davey
Western (“Cozumel”) Spindalis. © Luke Berg
Western Spindalis (Spindalis zena)
“Dark-backed Spindalis” (S. z. townsendi)
“Black-backed Spindalis” (S. z. zena)
“Cuban Spindalis” (S. z. pretrei)
“Grand Cayman Spindalis” (S. z. salvini)
“Cozumel Spindalis” (S. z. benedicti)
Jamaican Spindalis (Spindalis nigricephala)
References
Barker, F.K., K.J. Burns, J. Klicka, S.M. Lanyon, and I.J. Lovette. 2013. Going to extremes: contrasting rates of diversification in a recent radiation of New World passerine birds. Systematic Biology 62:298-320.
Barker, F.K., K.J. Burns, J. Klicka, S.M. Lanyon, and I.J. Lovette. 2015. New insights into New World biogeography: An integrated view from the phylogeny of blackbirds, cardinals, sparrows, tanagers, warblers, and allies. Auk 132:333-348.
Roberson, D. 2017. Bird Families of the World: Spindalises & Allies: Spindalidae, http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/spindalises.html. (Posted May 18, 2017. Accessed August 23, 2018.)