Bananaquit (Coereba flaveola) - HBW 16, p. 328

Taxonomy: Certhia flaveola Linnaeus, 1758, Jamaica.
Taxonomic placement long disputed. Has often been placed in its own family, Coerebidae, and sometimes with New World warblers (Parulidae) or with buntings and New World sparrows (Emberizidae), sometimes as a subfamily. Recent molecular-genetic data do not support historically recognized family Coerebidae, but do show strong support for a monophyletic grouping that includes present genus, Tiaris, the Galapagos finches, and several Caribbean genera (especially Euneornis), all usually placed in Emberizidae but now thought to belong clearly within the thraupine lineage; genetic variation between species in this clade comparable to that within most avian genera, despite marked differences in bill morphology and feeding behaviour. Within present species, molecular-phylogenetic studies reveal three clades, “bahamensis group” (Quintana Roo region of SE Mexico, and Bahamas), “flaveola group” (Cayman Is, Jamaica and Hispaniola), and “bartholemica group” (Puerto Rico, Lesser Antilles, Mexico except Quintana Roo, and Central and South America), and these may be better treated as three separate species; several taxa not yet sampled, but should fall within with one of above groups on basis of distribution; placement of SW Caribbean island races oblita (San Andrés) and tricolor (Providencia) remains uncertain. Recent molecular-genetic studies point to an origin in Greater Antilles, this followed by multiple expansion phases resulting in island to mainland colonization as the species extended its range. Remarkable geographical variation, especially in Caribbean islands. Number of races likely subject to revision, some races (or groups of races) perhaps worthy of species status and others poorly separated genetically; for example, roraimae could be subsumed in guianensis and alleni in chloropyga. Forty-one subspecies currently recognized.