Celebrate the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival (CEBF) with us! Our theme in 2021 is “Sing, Fly, Soar—Like a Bird!” Have fun learning about a new endemic bird every day. We have colouring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download for free and enjoy nature with your family at home.
Endemic Bird of the Day: Hispaniolan Oriole
One of its Dominican names is “Platano Maduro.” In Haiti, people call it the “Bananann mí.” These local names for the Hispaniolan Oriole mean “Ripe Plantain” because of its black and yellow colors, as well as the mottled appearance of juveniles – and because it is quite long and slender, just like a plantain (20 to 22 cm). In the DR it is also called “Cigua Canaria.”
Indeed, this handsome, conspicuous jet-black bird with bright yellow shoulders, rump and lower belly is a real find! It is not a common bird, restricted to more remote areas. But when you see it, it really stands out, whether it is feeding on orange maguey (agave) flowers, flying across open fields, or perched on trees in open woodlands or treelines
The Hispaniolan Oriole mostly feeds on nectar, fruit, and other flowers, but it can also be found searching for insects under palm fronds. These fronds are also where it attaches its nest, a shallow basket woven of palm fibers. The oriole’s song is an jumble of squeaky and metallic notes and whistles. Its calls include a sharp “check” and scratchy sounding “jrrrt.”
The Hispaniolan Oriole is found in a variety of habitats island-wide: in highland forests of the Central Mountain range in the Dominican Republic, in shade coffee and fruit plantations in the foothills of San José de Ocoa, and also at sea level where there are palms including Las Dunas de Baní, the beaches of Miches and Punta Cana, Los Haitises National Park, and on offshore islands like Saona. It is regularly seen in the Puerto Escondido Valley on the north slope of the Sierra de Bahoruco, where abundant ficus trees and maguey provide food.
Although listed as “Least Concern” by the IUCN, the population may be declining due to loss of habitat caused by increased agricultural activities in its favored habitat. Another threat is the increasing numbers of the invasive Shiny Cowbirds, brood parasites who lay their eggs in the oriole’s nests, displacing the oriole’s eggs. Learn more about this species, including its range, photos, and calls here.
Colour in the Hispaniolan Oriole
Download our West Indies Endemic Bird colouring page. Use the photos below as your guide, or you can look up pictures of the bird online or in a bird field guide if you have one. Share your coloured-in page with us by posting it online and tagging us @BirdsCaribbean #CEBFfromthenest
Listen to the song of the Hispaniolan Oriole
The song of the Hispaniolan Oriole is a jumble of squeaky and metallic notes and whistles. Calls include a scratchy sounding “jrrrt” and metallic “zhwee.”
Puzzle of the Day
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. You can make the puzzle as easy or as hard as you like – for example, 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, all the way up to 1,024 pieces for those that are up for a challenge!
Activity of the Day
FOR KIDS AND ADULTS: How much can you remember about the birds we have featured during the Caribbean Endemic Bird Festival 2021? Test your memory of your newly gained knowledge of these wonderful birds with our 2021 Caribbean Endemic Bird Quiz! Today we have Part Two of a two-part bird trivia quiz. Try to answer all the questions without checking back to our posts or looking up the answers online or in your bird guides! But just in case you do get stuck you or if you want to do some studying before you try the quiz you can read about all our featured endemic birds here or take a browse on ebird. Did you miss Part One of our quiz? You can find it here.
There are two different ways for you to try tackling our bird-themed questions. You can download a fun and interactive version of the quiz as a PowerPoint file here. If you don’t have PowerPoint you can also open the quiz in google slides here. Read the instructions (given before the questions start) carefully and remember to view the quiz in presentation / slide show mode to play interactively! OR if want to, you can download a pdf version of the quiz here, as printable question sheets. An answer sheet to go with this is available here, but don’t look till you’ve tired to answer all the questions! This is a great activity to try by yourself or with a group of friends and family, either in person or online! If you play in a group remember to designate one person as the ‘host’ who will read the questions, keep score and give the correct answers (if you play with the printable version). Have fun!
Who remembered the most? Which team got highest score over the two parts of the quiz? Who can claim the title of Caribbean endemic bird expert 2021? !