Maori Ygons
| Maori Ygons | ||||||||||||
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Maori ygone ( Gerygone igata ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Gerygone igata | ||||||||||||
| ( Quoy & Gaimard , 1830) |
The Gray Warbler ( Gerygone igata , in New Zealand Gray Gerygone , Gray warbler or Riroriro ) is a New Zealand songbirds in the genus Gerygone within the family of acanthizidae .
features
The birds weigh about 6.5 grams and become 11 cm long. The upper side of the plumage in the male is gray-brown with a tendency to olive green. The face, throat and chest are dull gray. The abdomen is off-white with a yellow tinge. The tail is white below and dark brown above. The white tips of the feathers become visible during flight. The eye is ruby red.
The female's plumage is similar, but remains smaller. The juveniles are lighter and without a yellow tinge, their eyes are brown.
The male's singing often begins with a series of three squeaks and then turns into a characteristic long-drawn trill that rises and falls. They sing all year round, but mostly during the spring breeding season. They can usually be heard rather than seen.
Occurrence
The species lives on both of New Zealand's main islands and many offshore islands. However, it is absent in open areas and in the alpine zone. The species lives in forests in the temperate climate zone, wherever there is cover by trees or bushes.
behavior
The insectivores mainly eat spiders, insects and their larvae. They are very active and keep jumping from branch to branch.
Reproduction
The species is the only one in New Zealand to build a pear-shaped nest with a side entrance near the top. Although the male collects material, the nest is built by the female alone from grass, leaves, roots and moss, which are held together with cobwebs. The nest can be between 50 cm and 7.5 m above the ground and is lined with feathers and other soft material. It is attached to the top of a branch, but is often additionally attached to the back or sides. The male is also not involved in the breeding business, but does feed the young. The 3 to 7 eggs are laid every 2 days and are pink-white with small red-brown spots. They weigh 1.5 grams and are about 17 mm long and 12 mm wide. The breeding season is 19 days, the young spend another 15 to 19 days in the nest.
In the breeding season from August to January they usually have two litters, but the second is often destroyed by the bronze cuckoo ( Chrysococcyx lucidus ), which removes the eggs and lays its own egg in the nest.
Individual evidence
- Gerygone igata onthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species .
- The Secretive Songster. NZ Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, November 2003, archived from the original on July 25, 2008 ; Retrieved May 4, 2013 .
- Gerygone flaviventris. - (Gray Warbler.) | NZETC
