Expedition to Cuba

In Cuba's most biologically diverse region, a team of Cuban and American biologists discovered new wildlife and found some of the world's most endangered birds

By Eduardo Iñigo-Elias with Miyoko Chu

Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, with high concentrations of migratory birds from North America. It provides key wintering habitats for 284 migratory bird species that breed in the United States, many of which are species of conservation concern. Cuba also has 21 endemic bird species, among them some of the most endangered species in the world, including the Cuban Kite, Gundlach?s Hawk, and Giant Kingbird. For these reasons, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the Chicago Field Museum have been working with Cuban biologists to conduct Rapid Biological Inventories and provide training in wildlife-monitoring techniques.

In 2004, we conducted an expedition to the Humboldt National Park and Cuchillas de Toa Biosphere Reserve on the northeast side of the island. This region represents only 15 percent of the country by area but contains about 80 percent of the Cuban biodiversity.

February 11, 2004--Staging the expedition

After months of paperwork to receive permission from the United States and Cuban governments, we finally met our expedition team in Santiago de Cuba. Five of us from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology were joined by scientists from the Chicago Field Museum, Cuba?s Eastern Center for Biodiversity and Ecosystems (BIOECO), and the National Museum of Natural History, as well as biologists and park rangers from the National Center for Protected Areas of Cuba. Our team of 30 included experts on all kinds of plants and animals, including snails, wasps, spiders, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals.

February 12--River trek and Cuban Crows, Jaguani River, Humboldt National Park

From Santiago de Cuba, it took 10 hours by truck to reach the small town of Melba. At the Jaguani River, we loaded the heavy equipment onto two oxen and carried everything else in our backpacks. There were no trails, so we hiked in and along the river, surrounded by tropical evergreen forest and mountains on either side. After about five hours we reached our base camp, exhausted. But in the late afternoon we had a pleasant surprise?our camp turned out to be right below a roosting site for Cuban Crows, one of the rare endemic species we had come to find.

It was amazing to see the crows looking for royal palm fruits and investigating nesting sites in the trees. In the afternoon hundreds and hundreds of them came to perch and spend the night. In the morning they would take off again. They are very social crows, and gathering in large numbers is crucial for them to be able to find mates and resources. To conserve this species we must ensure that the birds can continue to gather in large flocks.

Click here to see video footage of a Cuban Crow.
Click here to listen to a recording of a Cuban Crow.

February 13--A vanished kite

Everybody woke up early and split up into teams for the day. Greg Budney (curator of the Macaulay Library?s sound collection) and Tim Barksdale (Lab associate) hoped to record sounds and video footage of two rare, endemic species, the Cuban Parakeet and Cuban Parrot. Ken Rosenberg (the Lab?s director of Conservation Science) and Andrew Farnsworth (a graduate student advised by Lab director John Fitzpatrick) went to higher elevations to document the diversity of migratory birds.

I followed the Jaguani upriver, looking for any trace of the Cuban Kite, one of the most endangered species in the world. Its natural history remains undocumented, and there have been no confirmed sightings of the species since 1992. It feeds on Polymita picta snails, which live in the forest. I hiked almost all the way back to where we had left the trucks the previous day, but I saw no Cuban Kites. I did see other raptors?Red-tailed Hawks performing their breeding displays high in the air, locking talons and tumbling upside down, a Broad-winged Hawk carrying nest material, and a Gundlach?s Hawk, another endangered endemic species.

Near a small village I encountered a huge flock of about 60 to 80 Cuban Parakeets and 40 to 50 Cuban Parrots fighting and chasing each other in the crowns of trees. They were eating nectar from the bases of red flowers of coral trees and feeding on fruits. Because these species are declining in Cuba, I was amazed to see these healthy populations. The park?s environmental education programs seem to be working. In all the tiny villages we passed through along the Jaguani, I never saw anyone with pet parrots.

February 14-16--Parakeets, parrots, and highland birds

On February 14 Tim, Greg, and I went back to look for the parakeets and parrots. Greg and Tim made good recordings, including footage of a Gundlach?s Hawk coming out of the forest, trying to catch some of the Cuban Parakeets. The parakeets were very fast, and they all got away. The next day we found 30 to 40 parrots among some orange trees on an abandoned farm. They were perching on top of the fruit and using their bills to get into the center of the orange for the seeds.

Along the Jaguani River, we saw Pied-billed Grebes, Great Blue Herons, Least Bitterns, Belted Kingfishers, abundant Green Herons, and at least 10 Broad-winged Hawks. In more open areas, we saw resident American Kestrels, some of which belonged to a very pale morph. We saw migratory warblers?Black-throated Blue Warblers, Common Yellowthroats, and American Redstarts were amazingly abundant. We also saw Louisiana Waterthrushes along the river. The endemic Cuban Green Woodpecker was common and we saw about 30 Cuban Emeralds, an endemic hummingbird. Click here to see video footage of a Cuban Emerald. At night, we heard Cuban Pygmy-Owls calling everywhere, and the raspy calls of Cuban Screech-Owls. Click here to see video footage of a Cuban Pygmy-Owl.

On February 16, I went to the highlands to take notes on the crows and record their calls. The next day, two Cuban biologists, Freddy Santana and Gerardo Begue, joined us for a long day of point counts and surveys. We saw at least 50 species of birds, including 7 Gundlach?s Hawks and hundreds of Cuban Crows. On the top of the hills at the end of the day, we saw 56 Cuban Parrots flying past in pairs or small groups over the course of an hour, all traveling east toward their roosting place.

February 20-23--Giant Kingbirds

We arrived on the Iberia plateau, an area with villages, domestic animals such as sheep and cows, coffee and cacao plantations, and a forest with Hibiscus elatus trees that are logged for timber. At the base of the plateau we looked for the Giant Kingbird in a royal palm forest interspersed with coffee plantations.

The Giant Kingbird is endemic to Cuba and is listed by the IUCN (The World Conservation Union) and BirdLife International as one of the most critically endangered species in the world. It is the largest flycatcher in existence, about 10 inches long (our Eastern Kingbird is about 8.5 inches).

The first morning, Greg, Freddy, Gerardo, Nicasio Viña, and I found a pair of Giant Kingbirds. They were perching and calling around 5:00 in the morning. The kingbirds would fly up to the royal palm trees like flycatchers, but glean fruit from the palm instead of insects. In the next few days we found two more pairs, and Andrew and Ken found another six or eight pairs. It was really exciting for everybody to see that the birds were getting ready for the breeding season. The team identified this site as an important region for conservation.

February 24-25--A wealth of findings

Together with the Chicago Field Museum and our Cuban counterparts, we presented our findings to the public in the cities of Santiago de Cuba and Guantanamo. In just two weeks the expedition members found 267 species of ferns, including 28 species previously undocumented in the park and 5 of them new records to science. They found 6 flowering plants never before documented in that province of Cuba. There were 11 species of Polymita snails, all of them endemic to Cuba. The surveys yielded 155 species of spiders, 28 of them endemic to the park, and 18 of which were new to science. The expedition turned up 50 species of Hymenoptera (ants, bees, and wasps) and a family of spiders entirely new to science. Our team also documented different preferences of male and female migrant songbirds in their wintering habitats and elevations.

Although we did not find the Cuban Kite this time, we were happy to document rare birds such as Cuban Parakeet, Cuban Parrot, Cuban Crow, Gundlach?s Hawk, Giant Kingbird, and Bee Hummingbird. Our observations of migratory birds highlighted the importance of Cuba as a wintering ground and stopover area. Our estimates indicate, for example, that about 80 percent of the entire population of Black-throated Blue Warblers from the United States winters in Cuba or passes through during migration. These findings can be used to advocate for better legal protections of migratory species. Although 284 of the species that breed in the United States and spend time in Cuba are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, they lose protections beyond the borders of the United States and Mexico. Therefore, international collaboration is essential for the conservation of these species.

Using results from biological surveys, Cuban scientists and local groups can also communicate to their government about the importance of the biodiversity in the region. Parts of the lowlands are mined for nickel and other minerals for export, and the industry is interested in continuing exploration within the Humboldt National Park. By documenting the biodiversity found at these higher elevations, we can help in future management decisions.

The sound and video recordings brought back to our Macaulay Library will also be used for research and education. We hope that footage from the expedition will be used to produce documentaries for Cubans and others around the world to show the island?s beautiful landscapes and their importance to wildlife.

Eduardo Iñigo-Elias is coordinator of the Lab?s Neotropical Bird Conservation program.

The expedition to Cuba was conducted with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to the Chicago Field Museum and Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Video footage:
Cuban Tody
Oriente Warbler
Cuban Crow
Cuban Parrot
Giant Kingbird perched
Giant Kingbird perched and vocalizing
Cuban Emerald
Cuban Pygmy-Owl
Black-and-white Warbler


Sounds:
Cuban Crow
Giant Kingbird
Bee Hummingbird

 

For permission to reprint all or part of this article, please contact Laura Erickson, editor, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Rd., Ithaca, NY, 14850. Phone: (607) 254-1114. email: lle24@cornell.edu