Tody is any of a group of small Caribbean birds with plump bodies, large heads, and tiny legs and feet. They grow about 4 inches (10 centimeters) in length. Both sexes have bright green plumage with a bright red throat patch that puffs out when they make their calls.
Todies feed on insects and other small animals. The birds are quick and acrobatic in flight. They often fly from their perch and snatch prey from a leaf. They then carry the food back to another perch to eat it. When in flight, todies can make a whirring noise with their wings. They sometimes use this noise as a signal to defend territory.
Todies often dig nest burrows in roadside soil slopes or in natural ground banks. They use their long, flattened beaks to dig the burrows. Females generally lay from two to five eggs. Both males and females incubate the eggs and feed the young. Tody parents feed their chicks up to 140 times per day, more than any other recorded bird species.
