Pearly-eyed thrasher

The pearly-eyed thrasher is the largest species in the Mimidae, growing to 28 to 30 cm (11 to 11.8 inches) in length. ==Taxonomy==

Its genus, Margarops, is currently considered monotypic; formerly the scaly-breasted thrasher was placed in the same genus. However, M. fusctaus is now known to be closer to the Cinclocerthia tremblers. While this is not a migratory bird, considerable gene flow between populations appears to have taken place at least until fairly recently in its evolutionary history. There are four subspecies, two of which can be distinguished genetically: M. f. fuscatus (the nominate subspecies, which is found between the Greater Antilles and Antigua and Barbuda), and M. f. densirostris (occurring from Montserrat and Guadeloupe southwards). When exactly the pearly-eyed thrasher lineage diverged from its relatives cannot be said with reasonable certainty, as no fossils are known and the standard molecular clock model cannot be applied to the Mimidae, as mutation rates seem to have varied over time. ==Distribution and habitat==

The pearly-eyed thrasher has a somewhat disjunct distribution throughout the West Indies: it is found in the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the eastern Dominican Republic (as well as Isla Beata), many of the Lesser Antilles (except Barbados and Grenada, where it is extirpated), and Bonaire. In the Lesser Antilles, it is a breeding species in the SSS islands (the northern part of the Netherlands Antilles), Barbuda, Antigua, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, Saint Thomas, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The subspecies M. f. bonairensis was formerly found on La Horquilla, one of the Hermanos Islands off the north coast of Venezuela, but it is now believed to be extirpated from there, having last been reported in 1908. ==Ecology==

The pearly-eyed thrasher is described as an aggressive, opportunistic omnivore that feeds primarily on large insects, but also feeds on fruits and berries, and will occasionally eat lizards, frogs, small crabs and other bird's eggs and nestlings. This species nests in cavities. In Puerto Rico, it is known to compete with the critically endangered Puerto Rican amazon (Amazona vittata) for nesting sites, and may even destroy the parrot's eggs. ==See also==