Day 78: Puerto Rican Tody

Today's bird, the Puerto Rican Tody, is one of the cutest birds I have ever seen! This tiny bird is endemic to the island of Puerto Rico, so we were really excited to see it (though it was pretty plentiful).

The Puerto Rican Tody has bright green feathers with a white belly and red throat. It's only 11 cm in length and weighs 5 or 6 grams. Evidently, males and females can be distinguished by the coloration of their eyes; males have gray eyes and females have white eyes.

When we were out hiking, these little birds were fairly hard to spot (they blended in well with the surrounding green), but we always knew when one was around by its loud nasal chirp. They are insectivores and will eat a number of kinds of insects, as well as spiders and lizards.