Seychelles paradise flycatcher
| Seychelles paradise flycatcher | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seychelles paradise flycatcher ( Terpsiphone corvina ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Terpsiphone corvina | ||||||||||||
| ( E. Newton , 1867) |
The Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher ( Terpsiphone corvina ), also known as the Raven Paradise Flycatcher , is a rare species of bird from the monarch family that is endemic to the Seychelles .
description
There is a strong sexual dimorphism between males and females . The males reach a body length of 20 centimeters, in addition there are the two 22 to 31 centimeters long central tail feathers. The plumage is shiny blue-black. The tail is black. The brown iris is surrounded by a light blue eye ring. The beak is light blue. The legs are slate blue. The females are 17 to 20 centimeters long, they lack the elongated tail feathers. The head is black. The back, wings and tail are maroon. Throat and collar band and the underside are creamy white. The eye ring and beak are light blue. The beak is blackish with a light lower jaw. The legs are blackish. The plumage of the young birds is similar to that of the females but is more blunt and brownish.
Habitat and occurrence
The habitat of the Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher are lowland deciduous forests on the island of La Digue near marshy terrain dominated by cataphe trees and Calophyllum inophyllum . It lives in the forest areas from 2 to 17 meters above the ground.
food
The Seychelles paradise flycatcher searches for food between the catappen and calophyllum trees. Its diet consists of 90% insects and 10% spiders , which are either picked from the leaf surface or captured in flight.
Reproduction
During the monsoons in September, the males lead violent aerial battles over the borders of their territories, whereby the long tail feathers come into their own. The Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher breeds all year round. However, the peak is in the humid months between November and April. The small, bowl-shaped nest is woven at the top of the branches of the catappen and calophyllum trees. Both sexes build the nest, which consists of twigs and fibers and is reinforced with cobwebs on the nest wall. The only egg is whitish with brownish-red spots. The breeding season is 17 days. The young are fully fledged after 14 to 15 days. They will then be looked after by their parents for another two months.
status
The Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher was discovered on Praslin in 1860 . However, it was last detected here between 1945 and 1950. He was last spotted on Curieuse in 1906 and last in 1936 on Félicité . In 1970, 50 individuals were counted on La Digue. In 1977/78 there were 70 to 80 copies. In 1981 the La Digue Veuve Special Reserve was created. In 1988 there were 90 to 100 individuals. In 1995 the population had increased to 150 to 200 specimens. In a counting operation in 2000, 104 to 139 pairs were detected. In 2002 another reserve was established with an area of 21 hectares. In 1999, the rat and cat eradication programs began on the islands of Curieuse, Denis Island and Frégate . In 2005 the first specimens of the Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher were brought to Denis Island, where in 2009 the first successful young rearing outside of La Digue took place in 60 years.
Loss of habitat is considered the main threat. The existence of the Calophyllum trees fell sharply due to clearing and epidemics . Further reasons for its rarity are the tourist development, the construction of private houses, the reenactment by rats and cats as well as the brood parasitism by the Seychelles-Bülbül ( Hypsipetes crassirostris ). Hunting also played a role in the past, with the birds either caught for food or shot from the trees by teenagers with twins .
literature
- Josep del Hoyo , A. Elliot, and David A. Christie (Eds.): Handbook of the Birds of the World . Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Edicions 2006, ISBN 849655306X
- Bruce Campbell: The Great Bird Book. Eugen Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart 1976, ISBN 3-8001-7025-6
- Malcolm Penny : The Birds of the Seychelles and the Outlying Islands , Collins, London 1974, ISBN 0-00-216060-9
- Rudolf L. Schreiber , Anthony W. Diamond , Horst Stern and Gerhard Thielcke: Rettet die Vogelwelt , 1987. Ravensburger Verlag, ISBN 3-473-46160-1
- Alien mammal eradication and quarantine on inhabited islands in the Seychelles PDF Online
Web links
- Terpsiphone corvina in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed January 31 of 2009.
- ArKive - Pictures and information about the Seychelles Paradise Flycatcher
- Darwin lifeline for rare paradise flycatcher
- BirdLife Species factsheet