This species is a member of the Tanager family. This family of birds are restricted to the Western Hemisphere and mainly to the tropics. About 60% of tanagers species live in South America, and almost a third of these species live in the Andes. Most species are endemic to a relatively small area.
According to my sources the Cuban Grassquit can be found in 'subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, and heavily degraded former forests'. The last of this list of habitats closely matches my experience as I photographed these birds at the side of a farm track near a road!
The male birds have a black face and breast, while the females are paler around the face, and have chestnut tints in these areas.
When this post publishes I will be very near the end of my trip to India - so hopefully there will be lots of new birds (and other things!) coming along soon!
As ever, to join in with WBW click on the link below. Cheers SM.
