Pemba spectacle bird
| Pemba spectacle bird | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Zosterops vaughani | ||||||||||||
| Bannerman , 1924 |
The pemba spectacled bird ( Zosterops vaughani ) is a species of bird in the spectacled family . It is endemic to the East African island of Pemba near Zanzibar . The kind epithet honors John Henry Vaughan, a British ornithologist and attorney general on the island of Zanzibar.
features
The Pemba spectacle bird reaches a size of 10 to 10.5 centimeters. He has a distinctive line of reins and a very narrow inconspicuous white eye ring. The bright yellow color of the forehead extends over the reins and the eyes and turns into a greenish tint at the head. The top is yellowish green. The wings of the hand are blackish-brown with narrow yellowish edges; the inner flags are tinted green. The umbrella feathers are brown with greenish-yellow edges. The alula is blackish-brown. The hand covers are brown with a greenish tinge. The tail feathers are predominantly black-brown, only the middle pair of control feathers is yellowish-green. The outer flags have narrow greenish edges towards the base. The underside of the trunk is yellow; the flanks are washed out greenish-olive. The axillary feathers are light yellow. The under wing-coverts are whitish with a yellowish tint.
The iris is dark brown to blackish. The bill is black with a gray-gray base on the lower mandible. The legs are blackish or slate gray. The sexes look the same. The immature birds resemble adults.
The singing is a shrill and lovely “ se-weet-sureeteet-trwerila-eeta-eet ” or “ weet-su-weeet-see-sur-seeiwee-see ”.
habitat
The Pemba spectacled bird inhabits forested regions, mangrove forests, bushland, thickets on coral rock, undergrowth and hedges in the grasslands, clove plantations and gardens.
food
The diet of the Pemba spectacled bird consists mainly of fruits and berries from taxa such as Margaritaria discoidea and Antidesma venosum , from the fruit juice of the black mulberry , from the flower buds of the paprika , from seeds of the East Indian arrowroot and from insects. The Pemba spectacled bird goes foraging in pairs or in groups of more than 20 individuals.
Reproduction
The breeding season is between August and March, but mainly from October to December. The Pemba spectacled bird nests in a small, open, bowl-shaped nest that is made of fine grass or palm fibers. The nest is usually one to three meters above the ground in branches of bushes or small trees. The clutch consists of two light blue eggs. Information on the incubation period and the nestling period are not yet available.
Existence and endangerment
The Pemba spectacled bird is one of the most common bird species on Pemba. He is not in danger.
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 .
Web link
- Zosterops vaughani onthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved December 5, 2013.