This is the Abstract from a recently published paper describing a new species of snake for Cuba. I have blogged about this before but it has now been formally described and given a name. I have blogged about it before here but then it had not been described.

"The genus Arrhyton is endemic to Cuba, with eight currently known species. A new species, Arrhyton albicollum sp. nov., is described from the karst areas of Gibara, Holguín Province. The new species is closely related to A. redimitum, another eastern species, according to morphology and molecular phylogeny. It differs from all other species of the genus by having a conspicuous, white nuchal band, a contrasting black pattern on the head, a gray-colored body with faint stripes, and a high number of ventral and subcaudal scales. Additional comments on other species include new locality records and information on morphology and relationships."

The curator of the Cuban National Museum of Natural History, Luis Manuel Diaz Beltran, informed on his Facebook account about the finding in the limestone platform of the municipality of Gibara by Alexis Silva Garcia and Jose Raul Suarez Bauza on January 7, 2010.

The new species is barely 350 millimeters long and has a white collar that contrasts with the black of the dorsal surface of the head and the gray to pale grayish-brown body, with lines that are difficult to observe. Likewise, it is genetically related to the Arrhyton redimitum, also from the eastern region, but its look is unique among all the snakes in Cuba, and like the rest, it is harmless and non toxic.

Diaz Beltran pointed out that another characteristic is the conical projection of the rostral scale (that is, right at the tip of the snout).

'The only place where Arrhyton albicollum is known so far is quite impacted by local garbage dumping, the use of caves for various purposes, and the proliferation of invasive plants,' he added.
In his opinion, it is possible that the snake could spread, at least, along the coastal and sub-coastal strip between Puerto Padre (Las Tunas) and the municipality of Banes in the province of Holguin.
The Arrhyton genus is exclusive to Cuba and comprises 20.5% of the snake fauna, which is the largest snake family existing in any of the Antillean islands.

There are five species of Goatsuckers (Caprimulgidae) that have occurred in Cuba. I have blogged about the two species that breed on the island which are the Cuban Nightjar and the Antillean Nighthawk. In addition to those are Common Nighthawk which is a transient in spring and autumn on its way to winter in South America, the Eastern Whip-poor-will which has only occurred once or twice as a vagrant, and Chuck-will's-widow which occurs as both a transient and a winter resident. Roberto Jovel took some wonderful photos of one near Baracoa last December here and the picture above was taken by Jorge Uría. Thank you Jorge.
Chuck-will's-widow breed in the south-east of North America down to Florida. During winter they move south to the Caribbean, central America and as far as Venezuela. They are the largest in the family in North America and eat mainly flying insects like moths, dragonflies and beetles including June beetles, scarabs, long-horn beetles, and click beetles. Very occasionally, they have been seen eating birds such as Hooded, Palm, Yellow, and Cape May Warblers, Common Yellow-throat, Swamp Sparrow, Carolina Wren, Cuban Emerald as well as bats (All About Birds)!

The Oriente Warbler is the eastern sister species of the Yellow-headed Warbler that is found in the west of Cuba extending along the south coast as far east as Cienfuegos. Both are endemic to Cuba and both occupy a similar niche feeding on insects, spiders and small reptiles. Thank you Roberto.

The Butterfly Bat Nyctiellus lepidus is the smallest bat in Cuba and the third smallest on the planet. It lives exclusively in Cuba and the Bahamas, a nocturnal insectivore that can easily be confused with a moth. It is also known as Gervais's Funnel-eared Bat, in honour of the French naturalist Paul Gervais who discovered it for the first time in 1837, according to Gilberto Silva Taboada in his book The Bats of Cuba.

It belongs to the Natalidae family and weighs about 2 grams. Females are larger than males. It has 38 teeth, a wide and short snout and the tail is long relative to its size. Its extended wingspan measures between 186 and 213 mm and the flight is very similar to butterflies, hence the common name. The fur is generally a yellow-brown colour, though there are populations that have more of an orange hue. They only roost in caves and are found to congregate in the warmest, most humid sections. They feed mainly on insects such as aphids, leaf hoppers, flies and mosquitos.
 
​Text by Yamilé Luguera Gonzalez and photos by Raudel Del Llano.

And here is the summary of a recent paper written by Carlos A. Mancina about the surprising longevity of this bat.
"Over the last two decades there have been several longevity records of bats that have exceeded 20 years, mostly corresponding to Holarctic hibernating species, whereas such data of tropical bats is still scarce. Here we report the first longevity record for the Gervais´s Funnel-eared Bat, Nyctiellus lepidus (Gervais, 1837) (family Natalidae). We recaptured a male individual that had been banded 16.9 years previously in the same cave in Central Cuba. This species is endemic to Cuba (including Isla de la Juventud) and the Bahamas and is an obligate cave-dwelling bat. Weighing nearly 2 grams, N. lepidus is one of the world’s smallest bats. Based on longevity quotient (the ratio of observed to predicted longevity), we estimate that its lifespan is 3.9 times longer than expected for its body mass. This longevity record constitutes one of the longest in a non-hibernating insectivorous bat." Thank you Carlos.

​Of the 27 species of Bats that are found in Cuba, 20 eat insects, 4 feed on nectar or pollen, 2 eat fruit and one catches fish from the sea, lakes and rivers: this last is called Noctilio leporinus and is one of the few Cuban bats that possesses a common name: the Fishing Bat.
It is found throughout the Cuban archipelago, including the Island of Youth, but it also lives in Mexico, Central America, the north of South America and the Greater and Lesser Antilles.
It is the largest of the Cuban bats; the male is larger than the female and can reach up to 87 grams in weight and has a wing extension of 71 centimetres.

​It's head is wide and short, but projected. The fur is very short and varies in colour from dark brown to reddish brown, and from pale to orange. The great naturalist Juan Christopher Gundlach (1810-1896) wrote in 1872: ′′ This species varies greatly in the colour of its fur ".
Just occasionally a large daytime roost can be found in caves. It commonly gathers in smaller groups in hollow palm trunks and other trees, and it can also be often found singly.
It feeds mostly on small fish of 70 to 80 mm, both in freshwater or coastal areas. It also feeds on water beetles.
In Cuba, scientists have made observations of the Noctilio leporinus fishing in marshes. Gundlach also referred to having observed it “flying slowly after dusk over lagoons".
The robustness and flight characteristics of Fishing Bats have suggested to scientists, their ability to withstand long-distance flights. Studies conducted showed that individuals from a certain colony managed to return after being released within 30 miles of it. 

​Many of these facts are collected in the book ′′ The Bats of Cuba ", written by Gilberto Silva Taboada in 1979, a researcher and a speleologist who has dedicated his life to the study of these interesting creatures. In the Parque Nacional Caguanes, declared by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve, also known as Cayo Caguanes, with more than 30 remarkable caves, in one of which is located a colony of this species.
Their large size and the confined space where they gather together means there is a strong smell of rotting fish, as their droppings are not dry like those of other bats, underneath the daytime roost can be found a moist and glittery cone-shaped hill of guano.
At the other extreme in size, there is also a large population of Butterfly Bats in Caguanes, which are the smallest bat to be found in Cuba - and the world's third smallest.  We'll talk about that in another article.

Text by Yamilé Luguera Gonzalez and photos by Raudel Del Llano. My thanks go to both.

The American Flamingo is quite a common permanent but declining resident on the Cays along the north coast of Cuba, and some of the islets off the south coast as well though these are harder to get to. These wonderful photos at the nest were taken by Manual Acosta Cao back in 2015 at Cayo Cristo - off the north coast of Villa Clara Province. The birds build nests of mud and plant matter and lay a single large white egg. Rainfall is the most important cue for nesting to start.

The American Flamingo P. ruber was split from the Greater Flamingo P. roseus about twenty years ago. It is found through the Caribbean area, the Yucatan peninsular and the Galapagos whilst P. roseus is found from Western Europe eastwards through the Middle East and India to China.
As the effects of Climate Breakdown caused by man's use of fossil fuels and the release of carbon into the atmosphere causes climate warming and greater and more frequent extremes of weather the chances for the continued existence of these wonderful birds will become more of a lottery. We heard when we visited Cayo Coco in 2019 that Hurricane Irma in 2017 had devastated the flamingos there and they were only slowly recovering their numbers.
Thank you Manuel for allowing me to share your pictures.

The breeding habitat of the Long-billed Curlew is the grasslands of west-central North America. They winter in the southern states of the US and in Mexico.
It is a very rare vagrant in Cuba having occurred there just six times up to 2000 (Garrido & Kirkconnell) and I don't know if this is the seventh record or whether there have been others earlier this century.
This bird was photographed on 18 August 2021 by Jorge Uría at Guanabo Rincon which is about 10km east of Habana. Well done Jorge on a great find.

I couldn't resist adding this beautiful photo of a Hermit Crab in the shell of Ligus fasciatus. What I don't know is how many species of Hermit Crab there are in Cuba, even if there is just one or if there are several. I have never seen one before with a large purple claw like this so perhaps there is more than one. Congratulations to Jorge Uria on a great photo.