Overview
The Puerto Rican Tody (Todus mexicanus), known locally as the ‘San Pedrito,’ is a diminutive, jewel-like coraciiform bird endemic to the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. Characterized by its vibrant emerald-green upperparts, brilliant scarlet throat gorget, and oversized straight bill, this charming woodland resident belongs to an ancient family of tiny insectivorous birds restricted entirely to the Greater Antilles.
Biology and Physical Characteristics
Despite its minute stature weighing barely five to six grams, the Puerto Rican Tody exhibits distinct predatory morphology. It boasts an intense apple-green crown and back, crisp white underparts washed with delicate pale yellow along the flanks, and an iridescent carmine-red throat bib bordered by fine silver plumes. Its flattened, dagger-shaped mandible features serrated tomial edges that provide a secure grip on chitinous prey. Unusually among small tropical birds, todies maintain variable body temperatures, entering brief bouts of nocturnal torpor during cool montane nights to conserve vital metabolic energy.
Behavior and Ecology
Puerto Rican Todies are perch-and-sally aerial foragers that utilize an upward hunting technique known as the ‘under-leaf sally.’ Perched motionless on thin, shaded horizontal twigs with their bills tilted inquisitively upward, they scan the undersides of overhanging foliage with rapid, jerky head turns before exploding into flight to snap up insects from beneath leaf surfaces. Monogamous breeding pairs excavate unique subterranean nesting burrows, using their beaks and diminutive feet to tunnel up to twenty-four inches into exposed vertical clay banks or roadside earthen cuttings.
Conservation and Human Impact
Currently evaluated as Least Concern, the Puerto Rican Tody remains ubiquitous across varied habitats from sea-level mangrove fringes to high-elevation cloud forests within El Yunque National Forest. While historically resilient to habitat fragmentation, nesting tunnels excavated into roadside embankments leave eggs and altricial chicks vulnerable to predation by introduced small Indian mongooses and domestic cats, as well as catastrophic mudslides triggered by intense tropical hurricanes.
Interesting Factoid
Despite being fully capable of powered flight, the Puerto Rican Tody frequently roosts in underground tunnels that the breeding pair excavates into vertical earthen banks using only their tiny beaks and feet.
Last updated: October 2026