Also known as: Cigua Palmera (ES); Oiseau Palmiste (FR).
The Cigua Palmera
The Palmchat (Dulus dominicus), known in Spanish as the Cigua Palmera, is endemic to the island of Hispaniola and the nearby Île de la Gonâve and Isla Saona. It is the national bird of the Dominican Republic and is taxonomically remarkable as the only species in its own family, Dulidae.
It is a noisy, conspicuous bird, easily seen in flocks in the treetops throughout the island.
Identification
A chunky bird of about 20 cm, dark brown above with an olive wash on the wings, and a cream-coloured belly marked with heavy brown streaking. Adults have a red iris and a strong, pale bill. Juveniles show brighter bills and darker irises than adults.
Behaviour and nesting
Palmchats are highly social and famous for building large communal stick nests, typically in royal palms, where several pairs maintain separate chambers within one bulky structure. They are vocal year-round, producing an array of call notes, and breed mainly between March and June.
The communal nest is the species’ most remarkable feature. A single bulky mass of twigs, sometimes large enough to be obvious from a distance, can house several families at once, each with its own entrance and chamber — an unusual arrangement among songbirds and a reliable way to recognise that Palmchats are present in an area.
Status and where to see it
The Palmchat is common and widespread across Hispaniola, from gardens and farmland to open woodland, and is assessed as Least Concern. As the national bird of the Dominican Republic it is a familiar sight, frequently seen perched in palms and feeding on fruit and flowers. Its abundance makes it one of the easiest Hispaniolan endemics for visitors to encounter, a useful introduction to the island’s remarkable bird life and to a bird family — Dulidae — that exists nowhere else on Earth. For many people arriving in the Dominican Republic or Haiti, the noisy, palm-dwelling Palmchat is the first endemic they notice, and its large communal nests are a constant feature of the Hispaniolan landscape from the coast to the foothills.
