tody

to·dy

T0243000 (tō′dē)n. pl. to·dies Any of various small, mostly insectivorous birds of the genus Todus of the West Indies, having colorful, predominantly green plumage and a bright red throat.

[Probably from French todier, from New Latin Todus, genus name, from Latin *todus, assumed singular (used as the genus name for the todies by 18th-century naturalists) of plural todī, small birds of a certain kind.]

tody

(ˈtəʊdɪ) n, pl -dies (Animals) any small bird of the family Todidae of the Caribbean, having a red-and-green plumage and long straight bill: order Coraciiformes (kingfishers, etc)[C18: from French todier, from Latin todus small bird]

Thesaurus

Noun

tody - tiny insectivorous West Indian bird having red-and-green plumage and a long straight billcoraciiform bird - chiefly short-legged arboreal nonpasserine birds that nest in holesgenus Todus, Todus - type genus of the Todidae

tody

(tō`dē), common name for small (3–4 in./9–10 cm) West Indian birds of the family Todidae, comprising the single genus Todus. Bright green above with red throats, they are forest birds called robins by Jamaicans, although not related to the robin.

They are typically divided into four lowland species, one each on the islands of Jamaica (T. todus), Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Hispaniola. A fifth mountain species is found also on Hispaniola. The lowland species are distinguished chiefly by call and breast coloration, and it has been suggested that they might be best considered as geographic races in a single species. The narrow-billed tody (T. angustrirostris) differs from the others in preferring high, humid forests.

Tody bills are typically broad and flattened, with serrated edges and stiff, whiskerlike rictal bristles. Typically observed perched in pairs on branches, todies wait until they spy prey, then quickly fly off to catch an insect on the wing or a small lizard on the ground. In flight, their wings make a loud, whirring noise which the birds can control and which is often associated with the mating season.

Todies nest in narrow ground tunnels, laying two to three, rarely four, white eggs per clutch. The nestlings are born gray-throated but soon molt to red. In Haiti, tody eggs are eaten.

Todies are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Coraciiformes, family Todidae.

tody

to·dy

tody

tody

tody

tody

Words related to tody

noun tiny insectivorous West Indian bird having red-and-green plumage and a long straight bill

Related Words