Taxonomic Revision of the Greater Antillean Pewee

The Greater Antillean Pewee (Contopus caribaeus) has mutually exclusive dawn songs in Hispaniola, Jamaica, Cuba, and the Bahamas. In Hispaniola, dawn songs are fast, emphatic, and loud, with one single and three paired syllables rising in pitch from ca 1.9-3.0 kHz. In Jamaica, dawn songs are weaker, having two and three syllable phrases, usually given alternately, and ranging from ca 2-4 kHz. In Cuba and the Bahamas, dawn songs are high-pitched, squeaky whistles, ascending and descending, and ranging from ca 3.0-5.5 kHz. These differences readily are discerned by ear and in sonograms. None of the vocalizations in the Bahama-Cuba region, Jamaica, or Hispaniola was duplicated in either of the other two populations. Most plumage differences among these populations are subtle, but birds in Cuba and the Bahamas have a striking, white, crescent-shaped "post-ocular spot" not found on pewees in Jamaica or Hispaniola. Pewees in Jamaica have smaller masses, and shorter tails, tarsi, wings, and exposed culmen than birds in Cuba. Dawn songs and measurements indicate that these populations of the Greater Antillean Pewee are sufficiently different to be recognized as separate species.