[order] PASSERIFORMES | [family] Fringillidae | [latin] Loxia megaplaga | [UK] Hispaniolan Crossbill | [FR] Bec-croise d’Hispaniola | [DE] Hispaniolakreuzschnabel | [ES] Piquituerto de la Espanola | [NL]
Subspecies
| Genus | Species | subspecies | Breeding Range | Breeding Range 2 | Non Breeding Range |
| Pyrrhula | megaplaga | ||||
| Loxia | megaplaga | NA | Hispaniola |
Physical charateristics
Medium-sized finch with distinctive crossed mandibles and two white wing-bars. Male pale red with black wings. Female dull olive with blackish wings, yellowish rump and breast, and fine dark streaking on breast.
| wingspan min.: | 25 | cm | wingspan max.: | 27 | cm |
| size min.: | 15 | cm | size max.: | 16 | cm |
| incubation min.: | 12 | days | incubation max.: | 13 | days |
| fledging min.: | 0 | days | fledging max.: | 0 | days |
| broods: | 1 | eggs min.: | 2 | ||
| eggs max.: | 3 |
Range
North America : Hispaniola. Loxia megaplaga occurs primarily in Haiti and the Dominican Republic, where it was not recorded from 1930-1970. Several birds were found in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica in the early 1970s, but there have been no subsequent records. In Haiti, it is known from the Massifs de la Selle and de la Hotte, including the Macaya Biosphere Reserve where small flocks were recorded in 2004. In the Dominican Republic, it occurs mostly in the Sierra de Baoruco, with occasional records from the Cordillera Central.
Habitat
It is restricted to pine Pinus occidentalis forests, mostly at high elevations, and feeds exclusively on pine-seeds. There is a large pine-cone crop about every three years, but crops in other years are small or fail altogether. Fluctuations in pine-cone abundance are not synchronous, and birds are nomadic in response to food availability, the species has been recorded as low as 540 m and as high as 2,600.
Reproduction
It breeds between January and April, with the timing probably depending on the cone crop. The nest is usually built high up in the branches of pine trees.
Feeding habits
They feed exclusively on cones of Hispaniolan pine (Pinus occidentalis) and are restricted to remaining pine forests across the island of Hispaniola. Often found in flocks, especially at sites with abundant cones.
Conservation
This species has a very small, fragmented and declining range. Although its numbers fluctuate naturally, its available habitat is decreasing as a result of logging, small-scale agriculture and uncontrolled fires. It therefore qualifies as Endangered.
Logging has been reduced since the mid-1960s, but clearance for small-scale agriculture continues to fragment remaining habitat. This presumably isolates populations, making them susceptible to local pine-cone failures. Parasitism by Shiny Cowbird Molothrus bonariensis may be a problem, but this seems unlikely since M. bonariensis is primarily a coastal species in the Sierra de Baoruco. The principal threat may now be uncontrolled stand replacement fires, which burn more of the remaining pine habitat than can be replaced through regeneration.
Logging has been reduced since the mid-1960s, but clearance for small-scale agriculture continues to fragment remaining habitat. This presumably isolates populations, making them susceptible to local pine-cone failures. Parasitism by Shiny Cowbird Molothrus bonariensis may be a problem, but this seems unlikely since M. bonariensis is primarily a coastal species in the Sierra de Baoruco. The principal threat may now be uncontrolled stand replacement fires, which burn more of the remaining pine habitat than can be replaced through regeneration.
Migration
Resident
Distribution map
