Samoa Spectacled Bird

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Mascarene spectacle bird
Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Family : Spectacled birds (Zosteropidae)
Genre : Zosterops
Type : Mascarene spectacle bird
Scientific name
Zosterops samoensis
Murphy & Mathews , 1929

The Samoa spectacle bird ( English Samoan white-eye , German Samoa white-eye; Zosterops samoensis ) is a species of bird from the family of spectacled birds . It is endemic to Savai'i in Samoa .

features

Like other species of spectacled birds, the species reaches lengths of 10 centimeters. The plumage and the front head are yellowish green. The parting and upper side are dark citrine-colored. The hand wings and tail feathers are brown-black. Throat and under tail are light yellow and the flanks under wing-coverts are whitish. The flanks are yellowish green with traces of ocher. The beak is brown on top and yellow on the underside; the feet are gray or greenish. The eponymous, narrow white ring around the yellowish-white iris is more or less open towards the front. The difference to the closely related single-color spectacle bird (Zosterops sanctaecrucis) is the white eye ring, the pale iris, the shorter foot and the smaller size. The sexes do not differ, young animals are not described.

Lute

The calls consist of high tchee or cheeer sounds, occasionally with gurgling elements, similar to the house sparrow (Passer domesticus). The calls are made almost constantly by the groups pulling away and an evening song consists of double notes that are similar to the calls, but are composed in sequences of 3–5 pairs: “tee-deer, tee-dee, tee-deer, tee-dee , tee-deer “.

Habitat and way of life

The birds inhabit woodlands , forests and gardens at altitudes over 900  m , occasionally up to 780  m . After a cyclone in 1991, it was also observed in bushland. Its diet consists of insects, fruits and nectar. When foraging for food, it moves in small groups of six to twenty individuals in the treetops. The breeding season is in the southern summer, until May.

Hazard and protection

The species is severely restricted to a limited area with an area of ​​520 km². The total population is estimated at around 2500 specimens. The remaining habitats are endangered by shifting cultivation and timber harvesting. In addition, the development has led to a stronger colonization of the habitat and foreign predators as well as introduced related species (Z. japonicus, Z. lateralis) are viewed as a further threat. The species occurs in three national parks, including Mount Silisili Park .

literature

source

  • B. van Balen, CJ Sharpe (2019): Samoan White-eye (Zosterops samoensis). 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. [2] March 18, 2019.

further reading

  • Anon. (2007) Globally threatened birds - family Zosteropidae (white-eyes). Species factsheets, BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK, URL: http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html (download April 20, 2008).
  • Atherton, J. & Jefferies, B. eds. (2012) Rapid biodiversity assessment of upland Savai'i, Samoa. SPREP, Apia, Samoa.
  • Baker, RH (1951) The avifauna of Micronesia. Its origin, evolution, and distribution. Univ. Kansas Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist. 3 (1): 1-359.
  • Beichle, U. & Baumann, S. (2003) The land birds of the Samoa Islands. Yearbook 10, Übersee-Museum, Bremen, Germany.
  • Bellingham, M. & Davis, A. (1998) Forest bird communities in western Samoa. Notorious 35: 117-128.
  • Butchart, SHM & Stattersfield, AJ eds. (2004) Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  • Butler, D. (2012) Report on the birds of Upland Savai'i. Pp. 85-109 in: 670881 * Collar, NJ, Crosby, MJ & Stattersfield, AJ (1994) Birds to Watch 2: the World List of Threatened Birds. BirdLife Conservation Series 4. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  • DuPont, JE (1976) South Pacific Birds. Delaware Museum of Natural History Monograph Series 3. 218 pp.
  • Evans, SM, Fletcher, FJC, Loader, PJ & Rooksby, FG (1992) Habitat exploitation by landbirds in the changing Western Samoan environment. Bird Conserv. Int. 2 (2): 123-129.
  • Mayr, E. (1945) Birds of the Southwest Pacific - a Field Guide to the Birds of the Area between Samoa, New Caledonia, and Micronesia. The MacMillan Company, New York.
  • Mayr, E. (1967) Family Zosteropidae. Indo-Australian taxa. Pp. 289-326 in: Paynter (1967).
  • Mees, GF (1969) A systematic review of the Indo-Australian Zosteropidae (Part III). Zool. Negotiate Sorrow 102: 1-390.
  • Murphy, RC & Mathews, GM (1929) Birds collected during the Whitney South Sea Expedition. 7. Zosteropidae. American Museum Novitates 356: 1-14.
  • Pratt, HD & Mittermeier, JC (2016) Notes on the natural history, taxonomy, and conservation of the endemic avifauna of the Samoan archipelago. Wilson J. Orn. 128 (2): 217-241.
  • Pratt, HD, Bruner, PL & Berrett, DG (1987) A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
  • Snouckaert van Schauburg, R. (1931) Les Zostéropides. Alauda 3: 13-27. In French.
  • Stattersfield, AJ & Capper, DR eds. (2000) Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions & BirdLife International, Barcelona & Cambridge.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ In other languages: French Zostérops des Samoa German , Spanish Anteojitos de Samoa
  2. ^ Van Balen, B. & Sharpe, CJ (2019). Samoan White-eye (Zosterops samoensis). 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. [1] June 21, 2019.

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