White-chested White-eye
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| Zosterops albogularis Gould, 1837 |
The White-chested White-eye (Zosterops albogularis) also known as Norfolk White-eye is a passerine from the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to Norfolk Island between New Caledonia and New Zealand and it is regarded as one of the rarest birds in the world.
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[edit] Description
It reaches a length up to fourteen centimetres and therefor it is one of the largest white-eyes. The wingspan is 7.5 cm and the weight is about 30 grams. Its appearance is characterized by a pale green head, an olive green coloured neck and white throat and belly parts. A further feature is a conspicious eye ring of white feathers. Males and females are coloured similarly. Its diet consists of fruits, berries, nectar, and insects. Its only habitat is a 5 km² large forested area around Mount Pitt on Norfolk Island where it lives solitary. In the breeding season from October to December the couple build a cup-shaped nest in which two white eggs are layed. The incubation time lasts eleven days and another eleven days later the juveniles became fully fledged.
[edit] Threats
The largests threats are habitat destruction and invasive speces. The decline of the White-chested White-eye began as the introduced Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) became native on Norfolk Island. It displaced the White-chested White-eye from its breeding range. From the 1940s rats destroyed the nests and clearing of the forests led to a severely decline of the population to only 50 individuals in 1962. In the 1970s the Norfolk Island National Park was established to save this bird from extinction but due to the fluctuation of this species surveys remained often unsuccessful. In 1978 only four individuals where monitored, a sighting in 2000 resulted in one individual. Another survey in 2005 was also resulted in one individual.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Zosterops albogularis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 13 August 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is critically endangered
