Birdfinding.info ⇒ Easily found at Zapotén and Los Arroyos. Other reliable sites include Cachote, Ébano Verde, and the middle elevations of Alcoa Road. In Haiti, common in La Visite National Park and Píc Macaya Biosphere Reserve.
Hispaniolan Spindalis
Spindalis dominicensis
Endemic to Hispaniola and Gonâve, where it is locally common in wet montane forests, and rare or sporadic in dry and lowland forests. Found in all of the major mountain ranges on Hispaniola, but appears to be numerous only in wetter parts of the Cordillera Central, Sierra de Nieba, Sierra de Bahoruco, Massif de la Hotte, and Massif de la Selle.
Identification
Male is unmistakable: its striking black-and-white head pattern, yellow-orange nape, orange breast, and chestnut bib are unique in its range.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male. (Sierra de Neiba, Dominican Republic; October 21, 2017.) © Francisco Alba S.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male. (Arroyo Frío, Dominican Republic; December 1, 2012.) © Dax M. Román E.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male. (Ébano Verde Scientific Reserve, Dominican Republic; March 20, 2016.) © Kenny Diaz
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male. (Monseñor Nouel, Dominican Republic; December 5, 2011.) © Pericles Brea Torrens
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male. (Ébano Verde Scientific Reserve, Dominican Republic; March 28, 2014.) © Dax M. Román E.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male. (Ébano Verde Scientific Reserve, Dominican Republic; July 21, 2012.) © Dax M. Román E.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male. (Ébano Verde Scientific Reserve, Dominican Republic; May 10, 2014.) © Dax M. Román E.
Female is nondescript: olive-gray above, dingy gray below, faintly streaked, with whitish highlights in the wings. In some lighting conditions, the dark eye stands out prominently on pale face.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, female. (La Vega, Dominican Republic; February 11, 2012.) © Dax M. Román E.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, immature male. (Dominican Republic; June 15, 2017.) © Francisco Alba S.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male molting into adult plumage. (Ébano Verde Scientific Reserve, Dominican Republic; February 1, 2014.) © Dax M. Román E.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male. (La Vega, Dominican Republic; November 16, 2012.) © Dax M. Román E.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male. (Dominican Republic; July 7, 2018.) © Dax M. Román E.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male. (Boucan Chat, Haiti; February 14, 2014.) © Jim Tietz
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male. (Ébano Verde Scientific Reserve, Dominican Republic; February 23, 2014.) © Dax M. Román E.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male. (Zapotén, Dominican Republic; August 31, 2013.) © Dax M. Román E.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male. (Ébano Verde Scientific Reserve, Dominican Republic; January 20, 2016.) © Dax M. Román E.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male. (Ébano Verde Scientific Reserve, Dominican Republic; January 20, 2016.) © Dax M. Román E.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, leucistic male. (Dominican Republic; November 10, 2013.) © Rafael Arvelo C.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, female or immature. (Zapotén, Dominican Republic; August 31, 2013.) © Dax M. Román E.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male molting into adult plumage. (Ébano Verde Scientific Reserve, Dominican Republic; February 28, 2014.) © Dax M. Román E.
Hispaniolan Spindalis, male molting into adult plumage. (Ébano Verde Scientific Reserve, Dominican Republic; February 1, 2014.) © Dax M. Román E.
Voice. Song is a thin, high-pitched whistle. Commonly heard calls are high-pitched notes interspersed with outbursts of twittering:
Notes
Monotypic species. All spindalises were formerly considered to comprise a single species, the Stripe-headed Tanager, S. zena.
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 11, 2018.)
Latta, S., C. Rimmer, A. Keith, J. Wiley, H. Raffaele, K. McFarland, and E. Fernandez. 2006. Birds of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
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.