Seychelles dajal
| Seychelles dajal | ||||||||||||
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Female Seychelles jayfish on cousin, Seychelles |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Copsychus Sechellarum | ||||||||||||
| A. Newton , 1865 |
The Seychelles dajal ( Copsychus Sechellarum, English Seychelles Magpie Robin ) is a very rare species of bird that is endemic to the Seychelles . The species is preferred in coastal forests with a closed canopy and little undergrowth, but leaf litter rich in insects. The bird was given the English name Magpie Robin because with its white stripes on the wings and the blue-black body it is reminiscent of a magpie , although it belongs to the family of the flycatcher (Muscicapidae).
In addition to the Seychelles scops owl , the Seychelles reed warbler and the Mahé spectacled bird , the Seychelles dajal is another species of the Seychelles that could only be saved from extinction with great effort. It has meanwhile been resettled on several Seychelles islands. The population has recovered to such an extent that, since 2005 , the IUCN has no longer classified the Seychelles eel as critically endangered, but only classified it as critically endangered.
Appearance and way of life
In appearance, size and way of life, the Seychelles eel is similar to the European blackbird. Seychelles dajals reach a body length of about 25 centimeters. The plumage is glossy black. There is a white wing mirror on each of the wings. For their height, Seychelles' eelers reach an unusually old age and can live to be at least ten years old.
The habitat of the Seychelles eel are forests, plantations and densely overgrown gardens. They are busily looking for insects on the dark forest floor . However, since the density of prey on the nutrient-poor granite rock is very low, the Seychelles' eeljals have developed a strategy to noticeably increase their food quantity: They accompany the giant tortoises , which also occur in the Seychelles , which with their slow gait permanently push aside fallen leaves and thus constantly spiders Exposing millipedes and insects. The pair bond is very strong in this species.
Distribution area and existence
The bird lives on the Seychelles islands Aride , Cousin , Cousine and Frégate . Until about 200 years ago, the bird species was widespread on several of the small granite islands of the Seychelles, the clearing of forests and the introduction of cats and rats to the islands almost wiped it out. By 1960 there were only about 10 Dajal pairs left on the tiny island of Frégate. That the species has survived at all borders on a miracle: Frégate happened to remain rat-free and at the beginning of the 20th century all cats introduced there died out of a disease. However, for decades it was not possible to increase the population of this species on Frégate, despite the most intensive conservation efforts. In the meantime, 41 specimens were counted in 1978, but in the following years the population collapsed again to 20 individuals.
In 1990 there were still 22 individuals when the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and BirdLife Seychelles finally started an extensive rescue program. Since then, the bird has been resettled on the two protected islands of Cousin and Cousine. Then there were also reintroductions on Aride, which initially failed, but were then successful. In 2003 there were a total of 110 specimens of the endangered species on the islands, in 2006 there were 178 birds (82 on Frégate, 46 on Cousin, 32 on Cousin and 18 on Aride). The rescue program seems to have been quite successful so far.
Web links
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Copsychus Sechellarum in the Internet Bird Collection
literature
- Dominic Couzens : Rare birds: survivors, evolution losers and the missing. Haupt Verlag, Bern 2011, ISBN 978-3-258-07629-4 .
Single receipts
- ↑ Couzon, p. 30
- ↑ Couzon, p. 31
- ↑ Couzon, p. 30
- ^ Copsychus Sechellarum in the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species . Retrieved January 29, 2012.