Palmchat | Dulidae

Palmtapuit | Cigua palmera

This family contains a single species, the Palmchat, found only on Hispaniola and a few small offshore islands. It is a stocky songbird of almost twenty centimetres with olive-brown upperparts, a greenish tinge on the rump and wings, and creamy white underparts densely streaked with brown. The bill is short, heavy and yellowish, and the eye is red. Palmchats live year-round in noisy groups in open country with scattered palms, in gardens, parks and dry forest, from the lowlands up to middle elevations. Their food consists mainly of fruit, berries and flowers. The communal nest is characteristic: a large mass of twigs, often in the crown of a royal palm, in which several pairs each have their own chamber with a separate entrance. Constant chattering and squabbling can be heard around such a nest. The family is considered to be related to the waxwings and silky-flycatchers. In the region the combination of heavy bill, streaked breast and group behaviour makes the species unmistakable.