St Lucia Black

St Lucia Black Finch 

Melanospiza richardsoni

Photographed is the wild, Island of St Lucia Apr 2012

This species qualifies as endangered because it has a very small population; suitable habitat is declining through clearance for agriculture and introduced predators are also reducing numbers

This finch is a small, black to brown finch with a, black bill. Males are entirely black with pink legs and the Females are brown above with contrasting grey crown and buffy below.

Endemic to the Island of St Lucia in the Lesser Antilles, where it is most numerous in the mountains. Surveys in 1987 failed to find any large populations and noted that much apparently suitable habitat was unoccupied, although due to its broad habitat tolerance its range is probably not severely fragmented.

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