Rufous-throated Solitaire

About the Rufous-throated Solitaire

The rufous-throated solitaire (Myadestes genibarbis) is a species of bird in the family Turdidae, the thrushes. It is found Jamaica, Hispaniola, and in the Lesser Antilles islands of Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent.

The rufous-throated solitaire was originally described in 1838 as Myidestes [sic] genibarbis with the English name "whiskered fantail". The rufous-throated solitaire has these six subspecies: M. g. solitarius Baird, SF, 1866

M. g. montanus Cory, 1881 M. g. dominicanus Stejneger, 1882 M. g. genibarbis Swainson, 1838 M. g. sanctaeluciae Stejneger, 1882 M. g. sibilans Lawrence, 1878 Subspecies M. g. sibilans was originally described as a species and is sometimes called the "St. Vincent solitaire". The American Ornithological Society and the Clements taxonomy distinguish it as a monotypic group within the species. This subspecies differs the most in appearance of the six, though M. g. solitarius is genetically most different.

The bird is nicknamed the siffleur montagne (or mountain whistler) in Dominica; a local folk group of the early 1970s, the Siffleur Montagne Chorale, named themselves after it. In the Dominican... Wikipedia →