DistributionRead full entry
Range DescriptionTachycineta cyaneoviridis breeds on Grand Bahama, Great Abaco and Andros in the northern Bahamas (AOU 1998, Raffaele et al. 1998). It may be extinct as a breeding bird on New Providence (Raffaele et al. 1998), but a few birds are seen each breeding season suggesting the presence of a relict but severely threatened population (A. White in litt. 1999). The winter distribution is poorly defined, but there are a number of records from the southern Bahamas and eastern Cuba, and small numbers appear to be resident on the breeding islands (A. White in litt. 1999). On migration, it occurs irregularly in the lower Florida Keys and through southern Florida, USA (AOU 1998). The area of breeding habitat is c.2,000 km2 (Allen 1996), and a population of 2,400 pairs was crudely estimated in the late 1980s (Smith and Smith 1989). There are no empirical data to confirm population trends, but anecdotal reports suggest that the species has declined considerably in numbers and is now a scarce species even in suitable habitat (J. Lloyd in litt. 2009, D. Moore in litt. 2009, F. Rivera-Milan in litt. 2009).