Galapagos Ruby Tyrant
| Galapagos Ruby Tyrant | ||||||||||||
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Galapagos Ruby Tyrant ( Pyrocephalus nanus ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pyrocephalus nanus | ||||||||||||
| Gould , 1838 |
The Galapagos Vermilion Flycatcher ( Pyrocephalus nanus ) is a passerine bird of the family of tyrants (Tyrannidae). It is endemic to the Galapagos Islands. Described as an independent species by John Gould in 1838, it was considered a subspecies of the Ruby Tyrant ( Pyrocephalus rubinus ) for a long time . However, a DNA study from 2016 came to the conclusion that the two Galapagos forms Pyrocephalus nanus and Pyrocephalus dubius differ from the mainland form in terms of both plumage and vocalizations . Therefore, a species status is supported by the IOC checklist and the HBW checklist (including IUCN and BirdLife International ).
features
The Galapagos Ruby Tyrant is shorter than the Ruby Tyrant with a body length of 13 to 14 cm. Its beak is also smaller. The back is very dark. The underside of the male Galapagos Ruby Tyrant is duller pink than that of the male Ruby Tyrant. In the female of the Galapagos Ruby Tyrant, the breast stripes are reduced or completely absent, while the breast stripes in the female Ruby Tyrant are dense and wide. The throat and the tip of the tail are white. The chest and stomach area is yellow-brown.
Vocalizations
There are differences between the Galapagos Ruby Tyrant and the Ruby Tyrant in both singing and courtship flight. Males observed on Santa Cruz demonstrated undulating flight, including short gliding flights, approximately five meters above the ground. The flight begins from a control room with a loud chew wit sound, which is played at the height of every wave movement, and is followed by a sharp mechanical crack. While the bird is sitting in its control room, next to the same song as in flight, a rattle of beak with sharp pew sounds can be heard.
Occurrence
The Galapagos Ruby Tyrant is found on all of the larger islands in the archipelago, including San Salvador , Santa Cruz , Pinta , Marchena , Rábida , Pinzón , Fernandina , Isabela , Floreana and Wolf . On San Cristóbal an independent form could develop, the now extinct San Cristóbal Ruby Tyrant ( Pyrocephalus dubius ).
Habitat and way of life
The Galapagos Ruby Tyrant inhabits similar habitats as the Ruby Tyrant. However, it is limited to the wetter regions in the highlands, which are dominated by plants of the genera Scalesia , Tournefortia and Zanthoxylum . The Galapagos Ruby Tyrant's diet consists of insects that it prey on either in flight or on the ground. The breeding season is between December and May in the wet season. The nests are built in trees or bushes and are made of moss and lichen. The clutch consists of three eggs. No more is known about its reproductive behavior.
literature
- David W. Steadman and Steven Zousmer: Galapagos: Discovery on Darwin's Islands. Smithsonian Institution Press, 1988, ISBN 0874748828 , pp. 180-181
- Josep del Hoyo , Nigel Collar , Guy M. Kirwan : Little Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus nanus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, DA & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, 2017. (retrieved from HBW Alive on April 5, 2017).
Web links
- Galapagos Conservation Trust: Vermilion Flycatcher
- Pyrocephalus nanus inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.3. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
- BirdLife International: Species Factsheet - Pyrocephalus nanus
Individual evidence
- ^ O. Carmi, CC Witt, A. Jaramillo, and JP Dumbacher. 2016. Phylogeography of the Vermilion Flycatcher species complex: Multiple speciation events, shifts in migratory behavior, and an apparent extinction of a Galápagos-endemic bird species. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 102 (2016) 152-173.