Smooth Billed Ani
Grand Cayman Island
2015

Grand Cayman is the largest of the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. George Town, its capital, is home to the Cayman Islands National Museum, dedicated to Caymanian heritage. The city is also a major cruise-ship port and site of the ruins of colonial-era Fort George. Beaches and vibrant coral reefs are the island’s hallmarks.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smooth-billed_ani


The smooth-billed ani is a bird in the cuckoo family. It is a resident breeding species from southern Florida, the Caribbean, parts of Central America, south to western Ecuador, Brazil, northern Argentina and southern Chile.


It measures 30-3 6cm and weights some 100 g; males are slightly larger than females. Smooth-billed anis have an even black plumage with iridescent speckles in neck and nape. The beak is laterally compressed, the culmen resembles a blade. Unlike other members of this genus, it does not have furrows or protuberances in the bill. Its wings are short and the tail is long. Legs, feet, beak and iris are black. Males and females look alike. Juveniles have dull blackish plumage, smaller and straight beaks (until approx. age of 9 month). Smooth-billed anis is social, forming groups that range in size from 8 to 25 individuals. Groups of up to 60 individuals have been registered for Galapagos. Smooth-billed anis has a complex vocal system including five different calls: contact, alarm, gathering, threat and high-pitch alarm.
The first recorded was on Isabela in 1962, Santa Cruz in 1966 and Santiago in 1967. It has been recorded in other Islands. The results of eradication efforts on Marchena are not yet clear. When there is plenty of rainfall, the population increases.