Celebrating Endemic Bird Festival of the Caribbean (CEBF) With us! Our theme for 2025 is “Shared Space: Creating Bird-Friendly Cities and Communities” –Bird-friendly cities and communities can highlight the key role in dealing with the decline in bird populations caused by threats such as habitat loss, predation, and climate change. Learn and enjoy the new endemic birds every day. There are coloring pages, puzzles, activities, and more. Download it for free and enjoy learning and celebrating about nature!
The Indigenous Bird of Today: Grey Tremaler
The grey tremler really knows how to wear the show! As it sings, its whole body trembles with excitement – it sags and trembles, its tail pulsating with rhythmic shaking. There is a serious movement in this bird! Stick to one signature dance, but its vocal performance is not predictable. One of its common songs is a series of Quavering whistles that slide down on the pitch. You can also get the elaborate Warbles reminiscent of cousin The Mockingbird, or switch to a simpler choat trill. It even has a cute and talked about call that sounds like it’s giving someone a good old-fashioned look!
If you want front row seating for this performance, you should visit Martinique or Saint Lucia– The only place in the world where this endemic species lives. They are residents all year round, and these islands use a variety of habitats, including lush Monatan rainforests, coastal arid forests, open forests, and even gardens. But don’t expect to find a lot of them. They are widespread, but they are by no means plentiful.
So, if you’re lucky enough to be in the right place, what should you look for other than dance? True to its name, the grey trembling is almost gray, with a slightly darker face mask that frames the yellow eyes with earrings. It features a long tail, long wings and an impressive long curved bill. Often, they find it near the forest floor and use its strong bill to flip the leaves – sometimes they can fire high into the air, or look for the gap between the grape and the trunk of the tree. What is on the menu? Snails, beetles, small lizards, frogs, even centipedes, almost anything it can catch!
We still need to learn about the breeding behavior of grey tremahlers, but here is what we know: they breed during the wet season (April to August) and lay impressive greenish-blue eggs, usually placed in two or three clutches. Their nests are located high on medium-sized trees, open cups made of dead leaves and twigs. Both parents share the job of feeding the chicks and offer a diverse diet, including fruit. And another fun fact – they seem interested in technology, but they are fascinated with drawing videos that depict cameras where nesting is used!
Grey trembling is not threatened worldwide, but it is considered Range limitbecause it was only found on two islands. This makes them particularly vulnerable to changes in the environment. One major concern is the degradation and destruction of the forests it calls home. Protecting these forests is essential not only for trembling, but also for many other unique species that live with them.
What can you do? Start small: reduce waste, recycle and avoid products that contribute to deforestation. They can also support local environmental groups, participate in planting efforts, and share stories of grey trembling and the importance of their forest habitat. All the action (bigu or small) is melting. Find out more about this kind of range, photos, phones and more. Great news! If you are in the Caribbean, thanks to Birds Caribbean, you have free access to the birds of the world and you can know moreover in Account of this bird’s complete species!
Thank you to Arnaldo Toledo of illustration and DR Jennifer Mortensen For text!
Grey trembling colour
Download the endemic bird coloring page of the West Indies. You can use the photos below as a guide, or look up bird photos online, or if you have a bird field guide, you can look up bird field guides. Post online and tag us with @birdscaribbean #cebffromthenent Share your color page
Listen to the grey trembling song
The grey Tremibler song was a slow, cluttered with unwavering, rich whistles. There are also harsh, harsh sound alarm calls.
The day’s puzzle
Click on the image below to do the puzzle. You can make your puzzles as easy or hard as you like. For example, you can make 6, 8, or 12 pieces for young children, and up to 1,024 pieces for those on the challenge!
The day’s activities
For kids: Use the information above and clues on the sheet to unlock the scramble of our words. You need to know where it lives, what to eat, and how to act. You can find all the answers here.
For kids and adults: Enjoy this video of wild grey trembling!
