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Copyright © 2005 Ecostudies Institute
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Conservation of the Brown-headed Nuthatch in the Bahamas
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A nonprofit organization committed to ecological research and conservation
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Current Research
Ecostudies Institute, along with Dr. Tony Metcalf of California State University, has received funding
from the National Geographic Society to support a thorough genetic analysis to verify the preliminary
findings that suggest this nuthatch is a unique species. We will also use these funds to support
surveys that will be used to reveal the distribution, abundance, and remaining population size of the
Brown-headed Nuthatch on Grand Bahama and to initiate research on habitat associations. Completing
these objectives will represent a significant step towards developing a plan for the recovery and
conservation of this species, as well as the habitat on which it depends.
Overview
Grand Bahama Island is home to a unique nuthatch. Long
considered a subspecies of the Brown-headed Nuthatch
(Sitta pusilla) that occurs in the southeastern United States
(in fact, the subspecies, S. p. insularis, was named by noted
ornithologist James Bond, the namesake for Ian Fleming’s
fictional spy), new evidence (Hayes et al. 2004) suggests
that nuthatches on Grand Bahama Island may in fact be a
distinct species, which likely would be known as Bahama
Nuthatch (S. insularis). If so, this new species is
unfortunately also one of the world’s most threatened
species. With perhaps fewer than 1,800 individuals,
nuthatch populations on the Bahamas appear to have been
hit hard by the loss of their pine forest habitat to logging
and development.
As possibly only the fourth endemic bird species currently
inhabiting the Bahamas, great excitement has accompanied
the preliminary findings about the status of the
Brown-headed Nuthatch in the Bahamas (Birdlife
International press release). However, efforts to craft
recovery and conservation plans for these nuthatches are
stymied by a lack of information: we know little of their
current distribution on the island, we know nothing of the
habitat elements necessary for survival and reproduction,
and we have only crude estimates of remaining population
size. Yet, without a vigorous conservation effort, the
Bahama Nuthatch is almost certain to become extinct, and
with them will vanish a unique and irreplaceable piece of
nature.
Links
Project update
We conducted systematic surveys on 46 one-kilometer long transects on Grand Bahama Island during
April 2007. We found only two Brown-headed Nuthatches, or less than 1 individual per square
kilometer; contrast that with the 17 nuthatches per square kilometer reported by John Emlen during
his study of birds on Grand Bahama Island in the late 1960s. Using recorded vocalizations and
intensive searches as a supplement to our transect surveys, we managed to locate an additional 13
Brown-headed Nuthatches. In total, we found 16 adults and 7 juveniles. One pair of adults was
attending to nestlings.
We trapped 2 adults, and now have blood samples from a total of 3 individuals. Our collaborator at
California State University, Dr. Tony Metcalf, will be comparing patterns of variation at several
mitochondrial and nuclear DNA loci to estimate the degree to which nuthatches on Grand Bahama
Island have diverged from individuals in mainland populations. Results are expected in late summer of
2007.
Please contact project leader Dr. John Lloyd with any questions, or come visit us at our poster
presentation at the 2007 annual meeting of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean
Birds!
If you can't make it to Puerto Rico to see our poster in person, you can download a copy (as a
Microsoft PowerPoint file) here.
