Cuban tody, Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, Cuba

© Bruno D'Amicis/Minden Picture

Cuban tody, Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, Cuba

The tiny, colourful Cuban tody can only be found on Cuba and its neighbouring islands. Its vibrant outfit gives it a unique look: sparkling green back, pale grey underparts, red throat, pink flanks, blue ear patches and a black and red beak. Despite their colourful plumage, their size makes them hard to see; however, they are easy to hear. The soft sound of 'pprreeee-pprreeee' or a short 'tot-tot-tot-tot' will tell you there's a tody somewhere nearby.

The species are mostly found in or near evergreen forests, coastal vegetation, dry lowlands and around rivers. One of their habitats, Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, is the biggest and best-preserved zone of forested landscape in the Caribbean. The park is considered important for its endemic flora as it is one of the most biologically varied tropical island locations on Earth.