Description wikipedia

The Bahama nuthatch (Sitta insularis) is a nuthatch species endemic to the pineyards of Grand Bahama island in the Bahamas. It may be extinct as of 2019. == Description == It has some notable differences from its closest relative, the brown-headed nuthatch (S. pusilla), including a darker brown facial stripe, a longer bill, shorter wings, and a unique warbling call. == Taxonomy == It was previously considered a subspecies of the brown-headed nuthatch by most taxonomic authorities. A 2020 study found further evidence for it being a distinct species, finding significant vocal differences based on voice recordings and a notable genetic difference from the brown-headed nuthatch that was even larger than that of some birds unanimously considered distinct species from their mainland relatives, such as the Bahama warbler (Setophaga flavescens) compared the yellow-throated warbler (S. dominica). The International Ornithological Congress has since reclassified it as a distinct species. Some previous studies considered it a subspecies of S. pusilla based on the fact that the species was only ever historically known from Grand Bahama, which only separated from the Abacos about 2,500 years ago, which would indicate they only ever colonized Grand Bahama and was too recent for total speciation to occur. However, later research using genetic markers indicates that both species likely diverged around 685,000 years ago and late Pleistocene fossil remains of S. insularis from Abaco and Long Island have since been described, indicating that it likely had a much wider distribution across the Bahamas until for unknown reasons, it was restricted to Grand Bahama by the Holocene.