Narrow-billed tody

The narrow-billed tody is a captivating bird of the Todidae family, found exclusively on the island of Hispaniola, where it coexists with the broad-billed tody. These birds flourish in subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and even in regions where forests have been degraded.

In terms of classification, the narrow-billed tody belongs to the genus *Todus*, within the family Todidae, suborder Alcedines, order Coraciiformes, and class Aves. Intriguingly, it was once believed that the narrow-billed and broad-billed todies shared a common ancestor. However, genetic studies have revealed that the broad-billed tody actually descends from the Puerto Rican tody, while the narrow-billed tody has its origins in the Cuban tody. The ancestors of the broad-billed tody arrived on Hispaniola about two to three million years ago, highlighting that these two tody species have always been distinct.

There has been some debate regarding the placement of the Todidae family within the bird classification system due to their similarities to other birds like nightjars, trogons, and puffbirds. The genus *Todus* was established in 1790 to differentiate todies from kingfishers. Although an order called "Todiformes" was proposed in 1882, it was eventually rejected. Thanks to modern DNA, geographical, and evolutionary studies, todies are now unequivocally placed in the order Coraciiformes.