Meet the Kalinago Wren, Dominica’s newest endemic bird

Young Kalinago Wren which had just left its nest, Elmshall, over 20 years ago. Photo by A James

For many years now we have been hearing, reading, or being told by officials from the Forestry, Wildlife and Parks Division that Dominica has only two endemic species of birds. Endemic species (of plants or animals) are plants and/or animals that can only be found in a single country, or region, and nowhere else in the world. The Bwa Kwayib
(formerly Sabinea carinalis) – our National Flower – is our best-known endemic plant while, until recently, the Sisserou Parrot (Amazona imperialis) and the Jaco Parrot (A. arausiaca) were our only two endemic bird species. We also have endemic snakes, lizards, snails, stick insects, a bat, butterflies, and other creatures in our country.

The SIsserou is one of Dominica’s three endemic birds

However, recently, the American Ornithological Society added one more species to our short list of endemic birds, increasing the number by 50% from two to three; ornithology is the scientific study of birds.

Many people in Dominica’s rural areas, and even some in suburban areas such as Kings Hill, Elmshall, and other areas, would be familiar with a little brown songbird that is known by several local names such as ‘syòl’, ‘sinyòl’, ‘wòsinyòl’, ‘èsiyòl’, ‘òsiyòl’ and madam tètchyen’ (Dominica’s Birds, 2005); that bird also has a yellow bill.

That bird was originally assigned the scientific name, Troglodytes aedon and it occurred from Canada to the southernmost South America including several other Caribbean islands. Recently, however, that species, Troglodytes aedon was split into seven, including four new endemic Caribbean house wren species, each being unique to a particular Caribbean island, viz. Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines and Dominica. The wren [that] exists on The Nature Isle has been assigned a new scientific name, Troglodytes martinicensis rufescens, and given the common name Kalinago Wren.

According to an article in the BirdsCaribbean News edition of 25 th September 2024, “Say Hello to the Caribbean’s Six Newest Avian Endemics!”, “The Kalinago Wren, named in honor of the island’s Indigenous Kalinago people… Unfortunately, this species has disappeared from Martinique and Guadeloupe. The remaining population on Dominica
stands out with its rich rufous coloration and a long, mostly yellow bill. Its song has been described as loud and ebullient, distinctly different from that of mainland House Wrens, adding to its unique charm.”

According to BirdsCaribbean, the four new Caribbean endemic house wrens [have] brought the number of endemic species of birds in the Caribbean to an impressive 185. Hence, our Kalinago Wren joins the Sisserou Parrot, the Jaco, ‘zanndoli’, ‘abòlò’, ‘zanndoli kléwant’, ‘tètchyen’, Bwa Kwayib, and a few other species of plants and animals as being uniquely Dominican!

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2 Comments

  1. Arlington James
    November 24, 2024

    May be interesting to note that four of the six “new” Caribbean endemic species, i.e. the house wrens, are restricted to the Windward Islands, with one each on Grenada, St. Vinent, St. Lucia and Dominica respectively.

  2. BenTyson
    October 11, 2024

    wow. very well written AJ. Plenty to learn and unpack too. I often wondered exactly how had it occurred that almost each Caribbean Island had its unique parrot 😱. Now we have our own “Kalinago Wren”. Without this piece this likely would have gone unnoticed. Keep up the great work Sir..

    Well-loved. Like or Dislike: Thumb up 5 Thumb down 0

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