The Cozumel Thrasher - A Unique Bird Of Mexico
by Frank D. Gardner
This unique bird is found nowhere else but in the Caribbean island however, it was deemed to be the Mexican bird that is most threatened with extinction.
Cozumel has the most beautiful coral reefs making it among the most beautiful island in the Caribbean. It is the largest and densely populated island in Mexico to have received the most number of tourists from around the world, even cruisers and short-stay. The place gave rise to the booming development tourism of Mexican Caribbean. Yet from a biological viewpoint, it has a uniqueness that numerous individuals ignore: the home of special species in the world, like the thrasher or mockingbird of Cozumel, a bird believed to be the most threatened with extinction in Mexico. Because of this, a concerted international effort has been established to better understand their situation and also guarantee their survival.
About Mexico's Unique Bird
The Cozumel thrasher of mockingbird is very popular relative of the tropical Mimus gilvus mockingbird that is the same in shape and size yet of different color and its bill is curved downward.
The Cozumel Thrasher's scientific name is Toxostomaguttatum. This is a singing bird, of melodious trills like most birds of its kind. Such specie is linked to the very well known tropical mockingbird Mimusg ilvus, which is abundant on the peninsula and even in cities. It was in 1885 that this new bird species was identified and it is only found in the island and not on the peninsula's mainland which is 20 km. away.
The reason why it had not spread to other places was mysterious like its origin. This made biologists came up with three hypotheses: initially, that's a remnant species. And that it had previously a much broader distribution however was limited to Cozumel. Another hypothesis is that it originated from a species which was around on the peninsula's mainland and encountered an evolutionary transformation which created a brand new species. The third hypothesis is that the species originated from Florida, where they're already extinct, and that some specimens arrived unintentionally at Cozumel in the distant past and created a brand new population which has continued until recently.
Pros and cons existed in these 3 hypotheses, but even if it's correct, the truth is that the mockingbirds of Cozumel's days appear to be numbered if human intervention is not able to save it. The last time a bird was captured in a net and then released was in June 1995. Since then there have been only sightings, several of them are dubious. The last sighting was in April 2006. One more, in December 2003, was noted with a camcorder; nonetheless the recording was ultimately lost or damaged.
Boa Constrictor - A Creeping Enemy
This all makes some researchers worry that the Cozumel thrasher is definitely extinguished because of a lot of factors, particularly the disruption of their habitat, deciduous forest, that is being flattened down by the construction of houses and settlements, the damage due to hurricanes, which include Wilma and Gilberto, which directly hit the island and created an environmental devastation plus the predation of birds and eggs by the Boa constrictor.
Though not venomous, the boa destroys its prey by constriction, it is feared by the birds, their eggs and also chicks simply because it easily climbs trees. The snake relatively did not exist in Cozumel until today. It was deliberately presented in 1971 when a variety of animals were brought to use in a movie, then discharged in the island. Then again, many herpetologists believe that the boas had been surviving in the island for quite a while. In either case, the reality is that now they are quite numerous and large, approximately between 1.5 to 2 meters. Yet there are places with snakes measuring 5 meters long considering their arboreal habits. They are deadly bird predators. Also, they can be a huge threat to more than 2 dozen endemic vertebrate species and subspecies in Cozumel. This indicates that they merely exist on that area and not in another place. A lot of them are the Cozumel Vireo Vireobairdii, Hummingbird Chlorostilbonforficatus, the dwarf coati Nasua badger or nelsoni, raccoon Procyonpigmaeus dwarf, and the lizard picasombra Aspidosceliscozumela.
Regardless of the fact that the island is just 500 square kilometers, the Cozumel's great bird richness can be estimated as there are more than 200 bird species which have been identified, a number equivalent to half of all the bird species found in Europe. Several of the species exist not anywhere else in the world. Several unique species and subspecies of reptiles and mammals can be found in Cozumel.
A study is being conducted and led by Christopher Gonzalez Baca and Alfredo Cuaron, from the UNAM Institute of Ecology in order to determine the magnitude of the threat posed to wildlife by the boas. And for Cozumel's mockingbird, there's a coordinated international effort that aims to determine if the species continue to exists and. If that's the case, what steps can be taken up to stop their extinction? In this endeavor, the Island-Endemic, the U.S. Villanova University and the Foundation for Parks and Museums of Cozumel are the involved scientific organizations dedicated to the protection of the fauna in various parts of the world. For the time being, whether the thrasher continually exists, the studies are meant to propose mitigation actions in order to deter more destruction of the island's vegetation, which is significantly endangered by a considerable real estate developments and golf courses constructions.
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