Cuban Martin - Mega-rare

Cuban Martin (Progne cryptoleuca)

Finding a rarity is always exciting but when it is a mega-rare bird, even better.  That is what happened on Saturday, August, 24^th at Bruce Vale in St. Andrew. The bird I saw was a Cuban Martin (Progne cryptoleuca), a close relative of our Caribbean Martin (Progne dominicensis).  The most noticeable difference between the two Martins is the Caribbean shows a white underpart while the male Cuban shows very dark underparts.  I at first incorrectly identified the bird as a Purple Martin  (Progne subis), another close member of the Martin family, but this was amended when the images were shown to author of the book Endemic Birds of Cuba: A Comprehensive Field Guide and expert on Cuban endemics – Mr. Nils Navarro. Here is an excerpt  of his response:

On this picture you can see:

1. Male and female in typical plumage, Males completely dark and female with a brown breast like in Cubans. 
   
2. If you see the male close is possible to see the white section of the feathers in the abdomen, that is typical in Cuban Martin, due its specific name cryptoleuca (hidden white), I have seen close and they have the same white area of the Caribbean Martins, but the tip of the feathers are dark and by this reason they look like completely dark, but the molting immature males in 1st year or less looks like the Caribbean with black markings and flecks...

This could be the second confirmed record of this species on the island, the first was seen in October 2002, at Newcastle St. John.(The Birds of Barbados – P.A. Buckley, Edward Massiah et. al.)

What a way to end the month of August with a Mega.

This is an informative article on Cuban/Purple Martin Identification