Dulidae Palmchat
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Introduction
The Palmchat Dulus dominicus is endemic to the island of Hispaniola, where it is especially common in a variety of lowland habitats. These same habitats are heavily settled by people, so it is perhaps unsurprising that this highly social bird gets along with people quite well; it nests at the bases of palm crowns, well above the hustle and bustle of humans below. Its communal nests, built of sticks, contain the separate nests of up to 30 different females, all nesting together. Intriguingly, despite this bird’s abundance and accessibility, the behavioral and genetic complexities of these and many other aspects of its biology still remain to be discovered.
Habitat
Palmchats live in a wide variety of habitats on Hispaniola, including open forest, savanna, farmland, and even urban environments. Their preferred nesting habitat contains royal palm trees (Roystonea).
Diet and Foraging
Palmchats are almost entirely frugivorous, but they appear to supplement their diets with insects and other arthropods as well as leaves and flowers, particularly of royal palms. They typically forage in large groups, high in trees.
Breeding
Although they build large, communal nests, Palmchats appear to be monogamous, with each pair constructing its own nest chamber. These communal nests are constructed of sticks and placed at the tops of trees, most frequently in royal palms. Typically they house an average of four to ten pairs, although larger and smaller nests have been observed. A tunnel leads to each individual nest chamber, which is lined with grass and leaves. Females typically lay 2 to 7 eggs. All members of the social group participate in building the nest and maintaining it throughout the year. Incubation takes about 15 days. Both males and females provision the young, which leave the nest after about 32 days post-hatch.
Conservation Status
The Palmchat does not currently experience any conservation threats.
Systematics History
Dulidae is part of the superfamily Bombycilloidea of oscine passerines (Cibois & Cracraft 2004, Fleischer et al. 2008, Alström et al. 2014). Although Dulus superficially resembles species in the family Oriolidae, it has long been recognized as being closely related to Bombycillidae and Ptiliogonatidae. The molecular phylogenetic study with the best taxon-sampling (Spellman et al. 2008) suggests that Dulidae is likely sister to the other members of the Bombycilloidea without Elachuridae (Alström et al. 2014), though a four-family tree including Bombycillidae, Dulidae, Ptiliogonatidae, and the recently extinct Mohoidae (Fleischer et al. 2008) suggested that Dulidae was sister to Mohoidae and Ptiliogonatidae.
Conservation Status
Least Concern |
100%
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Near Threatened |
0%
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Vulnerable |
0%
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Endangered |
0%
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Critically Endangered |
0%
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Extinct in the Wild |
0%
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Extinct |
0%
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Not Evaluated |
0%
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Data Deficient |
0%
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Unknown |
0%
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Data provided by IUCN (2023) Red List. More information