Mahé spectacle bird

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Mahé spectacle bird
Mahé spectacle bird, above Marianne spectacle bird, below

Mahé spectacle bird, above
Marianne spectacle bird , below

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily : Sylvioidea
Family : Spectacled birds (Zosteropidae)
Genre : Zosterops
Type : Mahé spectacle bird
Scientific name
Zosterops modestus
Newton , 1867

The Mahé spectacled bird ( Zosterops modestus ), also known as the Seychelles spectacled bird , is a rare warbler-like songbird from the family of spectacled birds (Zosteropidae). It is endemic to the Seychelles .

description

This bird, 10 to 11 cm tall, has plumage with an olive gray top and a paler colored underside. It is further characterized by a white, narrow eye ring, a rather long, dark gray tail and a small, sharp beak.

Way of life

Its diet consists of insect larvae, grasshoppers and grasshoppers, as well as berries and seeds. The breeding season is from September to April and two to seven eggs are laid in the bowl-shaped nest. The incubation period is 13 to 15 days and the young fledglings after 11 to 16 days. They will then be looked after by their parents for a further 2 months. The melodious and complex song of the Mahé spectacled bird consists of nasal sounds. Due to its way of life in the canopy of tall trees, it is difficult to observe.

Danger

The Mahé spectacled bird was thought to be extinct between 1935 and 1960, until it was rediscovered in the Mahé highlands . In 1996 it was still considered one of the rarest birds in the world with a known population of 25 to 35 individuals. This drastic decline was mainly caused by deforestation, competition from introduced bird species such as the shepherd's maina and rats. In 1997 about 250 specimens were rediscovered on the Seychelles island of Conception . In 1998 the population on Mahé had risen to 50 again. Today the population on Conception is between 244 and 336 specimens. In 2001 and 2003 a release campaign was started on Frégate . Today there are 60 birds on this island.

literature

  • Joseph Del Hoyo, Andrew Elliot, David A. Christie (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 13: Penduline-Tits to Shrikes. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2008, ISBN 978-84-96553-45-3 .

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