Loxia megaplaga - The genus Loxia consists of less than 10 known species of crossbills. These birds are easily recognized through the overlapping tips of their mandibles. This features makes them specialized feeders relying solely on conifers pines with each bill shaped in a particular way to feed on a specific pine. The Hispaniolan crossbill is found only in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. It feeds exclusively on the seeds of pinus occidentalis, the Hispaniolan pine.
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The Haitian Revolution was inspired by the French Revolution and resulted in Haiti becoming the second country in the Americas to gain independence from a European power; the United States was the first. It began in 1771 as a slave revolt in the French controlled sugar and tobacco plantations. Spain and Great Britain sided with the rebel cause as an extension of the war they were fighting against France in Europe. The revolution was successful and Haiti declared its independence in 1804.
