In the Air: Birds

Lesser Antillean bullfinch

Loxigilla noctis

Jumplinks:

About

A frequent visitor to the many bird feeders of Saba, the Lesser Antillean bullfinch is, as its name implies, only found on this small archipelago. At first glance, males and females may appear to be different species: Males are dark black with characteristic red throats and rears, while females are a drab brown with faint tan bars on their wings. Young are raised in dome-shaped nests that are masterfully woven by the females, and which can only be entered through a small hole in the side. This bit of avian architecture helps shield their vulnerable young from adverse weather, in addition to thwarting predators.

These small birds aren’t shy around humans, and can often be found close to human settlements. Their thick bills allow them to eat a varied diet consisting of seeds and grains, insects, and fruits. As generalists, they’re able to thrive all over the island, from the cloud forests of Mount Scenery to the scrubby lowlands around Cove Bay.

Despite their name, the Lesser Antillean bullfinches aren’t finches as all. They’re actually a species of tanager, and are closely related to Darwin’s finches in the Galapagos (which are also technically tanagers), and black-faced grassquits, another small, sparrow-shaped bird found on Saba.

Header image by @zahnerphoto (CC-BY-NC).

This species is:
Endemic to the Lesser Antilles

Why that matters:
Endemic species aren’t just native, they’re species found nowhere else in the world — and high rates of endemism are part of what make islands like Saba so special. In fact, islands hold the greatest concentration of biodiversity on Earth. And when we consider that 75% of all recent bird, reptile, amphibian, and mammal extinctions on our planet have happened on islands, the need to better protect these incredible places is clear.

Credit: @darfio, iNaturalist (CC-BY-NC).

iNaturalist Observations

Lesser Antillean bullfinch

iNaturalist user @greglasley (CC-BY-NC)

iNaturalist user @neild (CC-BY-NC)

iNaturalist user @yellobird (CC-BY-NC)

Where locals, researchers, and visitors have seen this species.

Saba Island Map and Pins: iNat Taxonomy ID 10019

This map shows geotagged observations of this species made on iNaturalist, the world’s largest community-science platform.

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Observations of land species in water:
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Missing observations:
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Ask a Scientist

Question: Why do male and female Lesser Antillean bullfinches look so different?

Answer: We often see in birds that the males are more brightly colored than the females. The males often want to be more showy — they’re up defending their territories and singing — whereas the females are the ones that often spend more time raising the young and working in the nest. They don’t want to be seen, they don’t want to draw predators to the nest. So they tend to adopt this more drab coloration.

Dr. Jack Dumbacher
Curator of Ornithology & Mammalogy, California Academy of Sciences