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Feature: Emeraldines


 Barbalaetidae is a small family of songbirds endemic to Novasola consisting of five species in two genera, Barbalaetus and Barbaminor, commonly known as Emeraldines and Goldthroats. All members of the family are best distinguished by the presence of a colorful arrangement of specialized feathers extending from the malar and throat area in males called a “beard” or “bib”, similar to gorgets in hummingbirds. The genus name Barbalaetus translates from Latin roughly to “joyful beard”, in reference to these unique structures and their songs. Beards are only found on mature males, and vary in shape and color between species, though all are brilliantly colorful and iridescent. Beards are present year-round, though their function seems to be directly related with breeding.

Most members of the family engage in complex mating rituals that involve displaying the beards along with intricate dances. All barbalaetids also build ornate nest structures out of sticks and woven fibers like grass or hair. These structures are often left standing well after the breeding season, and indeed can often stay intact for many years afterwards. The structures are usually so durable that they might remain intact for multiple years, offering shelter to other animals that might use them like small mammals, other birds, some amphibians and even snakes. The nests have an almost man-made quality that confused early settlers of Novasola, who assumed they were the product of otherworldly spirits, sprites, sorcery, or witchcraft. Indeed, emeraldine nests have earned their own names among inhabitants including “witch huts”, “elf huts”, “faerie homes”, “pixie houses” and “feyadoms”, which comes from the Russian for “fairy home”. The term feyadom has become a widely accepted one for these structures, especially when referring to those made by Grand Emeraldines.   

The family is comprised of two genera, with four and one species in each, respectively. The placement of Barbalaetidae in the avian tree is contentious; it was previously believed that barbalaetids were most closely related to New World Sparrows in the family Passerellidae, while other scientists placed them with bowerbirds of Australia and Oceania in the family Ptilonorhynchidae for their architect behaviors, but more recent genetic studies have shown strong relationships with New World Blackbirds in the group Icteridae.

Barbalaetus- True Emeraldines (4 species)

Barbalaetus species are commonly called emeraldines, ranging in size from 15-26 centimeters in length, with the Farr’s Emeraldine the smallest and the Grand Emeraldine as the largest. All members of the genus are extremely similar in appearance, usually brownish above and gray below, with greenish iridescent beards in males and faint streaking in females. All four species build elaborate nest structures and perform courtship dances.




ID tips:

Grand Emeraldine 

    •  Field Marks - Largest emeraldine, robin-sized but slender with especially long tail, heavy bill. Chocolate brown. Males have large, forked beard and forked iridescent crown. 
    • Voice - Song is a series of 3 buzzy trills raising in pitch followed by a short, two-note monotone phrase. Males have a “dance call” which is a short rattle. 
    • Habitat - Forests and forest edges, prefers thick understory and canopy. Often found higher in canopy than other emeraldines.
    • Location - West of the divide, and Kosatka Island. Winters at lower elevations.
    • Nest Structure - 12in tall, 24in diameter, rounded stick tipi covered in moss and leaves. Large, well-camouflaged.  
    • Behaviors - Forages at any height, from ground to understory to canopy. Only emeraldine to spend significant time in the canopy, and also the least wary and thus the most easily observed.

 
Common Emeraldine 
    •  Field Marks - Medium sized emeraldine. Dull brown with gray cheeks and gray shoulders, with white eye-ring. Males have emerald-colored beard.
    • Voice - Very vocal, frequently singing or calling. Song is a series of 3-4 buzzy trills raising in pitch followed by a short warble. Males have a “dance call” which is a short rattle. 
    • Habitat - Forests and forest edges, prefers thick understory and canopy. Occasionally in open ecosystems like shrubland or meadow. Most common emeraldine in suburban areas.
    • Location - Found across Novasola except the interior prairie, Francis Islands, and elevations above 9,000 ft.
    • Nest Structure - 12in tall, 12in diameter, rounded stick tipi. Similar to Grand Emeraldine, but smaller and not covered in vegetation.  
    • Behaviors - Sticks to understory or subcanopy cover, difficult to observe, but the most vocal of emeraldines and often heard singing throughout the day. 

 

Yellow Emeraldine 
    •  Field Marks - Medium sized emeraldine. Yellow-brown with yellow-green beard. Otherwise plain.
    • Voice - Song is a series of two buzzy trills raising in pitch followed by a third, shorter descending trill. 
    • Habitat - Prefers open grassland and meadow ecosystems with dense understory. Will also use chaparral, oak scrub, and wetlands. Avoids areas without thick understory. More common in less woody areas like grasslands than other emeraldines.
    • Location - Interior prairie, Francis Islands, and infrequent in the Twin River Basin. Avoids altitudes higher than about 6,000 ft.
    • Nest Structure - 6-12in tall, 12in diameter, rounded grass dome. Grasses often left rooted. 
    • Behaviors - Uncommon throughout range. Only emeraldines to build their nest structures entirely out of grasses and non-woody vegetation. Spends most of time on the ground, more than other emeraldines.

 

Farr's Emeraldine 
    •  Field Marks - Smallest emeraldine. Yellow-brown with emerald-green beard. Males have black crown and cheeks, females have dark forehead.
    • Voice - Least vocal emeraldine. Song is a series of 2-3 buzzy trills raising in pitch.
    • Habitat - Prefers open ecosystems with dense understory, especially chaparral, scrub, grasslands, and forest edges. Will also use meadows, wetlands, and open dry forests.
    • Location - Interior prairie, Francis Islands, and infrequent in the Eastern Range. Avoids altitudes higher than about 7,000 ft.
    • Nest Structure - 6-10in tall, 12in long, complex tent-like structure with ridge pole and slanted sides. 
    • Behaviors - They prefer more wooded habitats than the Yellow Emeraldine which shares much of their range and are most common in the scrub and chaparral surrounding Fairweather Sound. Courtship dance is slower and less complicated than other emeraldines. Decorates the ground around the dance perch by surrounding it with brightly colored objects like berries, flowers, rocks, and litter. Individual birds have different preferences for colors or object types to decorate with, even including man-made objects like litter. Males are more involved with incubation than in other emeraldines.  

Barbaminor - Goldthroat  

The only member of its genus, the Goldthroat was originally considered a bunting in the family Emberizidae, then later an Icterid blackbird, but was eventually placed with Barbalaetus in Barbalaetidae. Different from true emeraldines, the Goldthroat lacks their characteristic beard, but does have a brightly colored throat. Its courtship rituals are less intricate than true emeraldines, as is its nest-building, though it does still build a complex structure.

ID tips:

Goldthroat - Unlike true emeraldines. Brown, streaked above, gray below, bright yellow throat. Usually found in marshes/wetlands. Nest is a woven grass structure.


Original Reichwald sketches, 1905



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