February 2005
The Cuban Tody is endemic to Cuba and is thought to be the oldest surviving member of the Tody family which is confined to the Greater Antilles and comprises 5 species. It is found in a variety of habitats mainly forest and woodland where it feeds on caterpillars, insects and spiders.
It is bright green above and pale grey below and has a bright red throat patch which bristles out when it is making its hard, chattering call. Its eyes are blue and there is a blue patch on the side of the neck as well as some blue on the shoulder of the wing. The flanks are pink.
It nests in burrows in earth or sand banks or holes in rotten logs where it lays 3 white eggs.
There is a very comprehensive article on this species at Neotropical Birds. (Farnsworth, Andrew 2009.Cuban Tody (Todus multicolor), Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
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