Birds
Tody
Todus · also called todies
A tody sits tilted and alert on a low perch, bright green above and flashed with red at the throat, watching the air around it with an intensity that looks almost exaggerated for a bird barely bigger than a hummingbird. The moment an insect passes close enough, that stillness breaks into a single, quick sideways lunge, and then it is still again.
Overview
The tody, genus Todus, is a tiny insectivorous bird found only across specific islands of the Caribbean, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. Each of the five recognised species is restricted to its own island, making the entire genus a true Caribbean endemic.
An island specialist five times over
Rather than one widespread species, the tody exists as five separate island specialists, each confined to its own patch of Caribbean forest, a level of geographic restriction that makes every tody species inseparable from the specific island it calls home.
Status
Least Concern collectively — common and widespread within each species’ island range, though naturally limited total distribution leaves any single species vulnerable to habitat loss on its home island.
Tody: common questions
Where can you find a tody in the wild?
All five recognised tody species are found only on specific islands of the Caribbean, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, with each species restricted to its own particular island or small group of islands, making the entire genus an endemic Caribbean specialty found nowhere else in the world.
How does a tody catch its insect prey?
A tody typically perches quietly while watching for prey, sometimes adopting a distinctive alert, tilted posture, before launching a sudden, quick sideways or upward lunge to snatch a flying insect or spider, a hunting technique that relies on a short, precise strike rather than sustained aerial pursuit.
Why does a tody's flight sound like it buzzes?
A tody's wing structure can produce an audible buzzing or whirring sound during flight, an incidental byproduct of how the wings move through the air, giving the bird a distinctive sound alongside its bright green and red colouration that can help alert observers to its presence even before it is seen.
Are all tody species the same?
No, there are five recognised tody species, each restricted to its own specific Caribbean island or small group of islands, and while they share a broadly similar bright green and red appearance and insect-catching lifestyle, each species is considered genetically and geographically distinct from the others.