Todies | Todidae

Todies | Barrancolíes

Todies are one of the bird families confined entirely to the Caribbean: the five species of the single genus occur only in the Greater Antilles, one on Cuba, one on Jamaica, one on Puerto Rico and two on Hispaniola. Within the kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers the todies stand closest to the motmots. They are small, compact birds of about ten centimetres, bright green above with a red throat, pale underparts and a long, flat bill that is usually red below and has finely serrated edges. They sit still on a thin twig, bill angled upwards, and take insects and spiders from the undersides of leaves with a short sally. The voice consists of short beeping or harsh notes, and in some species the wings make a rattling sound in flight. The nest is a tunnel dug by the birds in an earth bank or riverbank, ending in a chamber for the white eggs.