African blue tit

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African blue tit
Cyanistes caeruleus -Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain-8.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Paridae
Genus: Cyanistes
Species:
C. teneriffae
Binomial name
Cyanistes teneriffae
(Lesson, 1831)
Cyanistes teneriffae distribution map.png
Synonyms

Parus teneriffaeLesson, 1831

The African blue tit (Cyanistes teneriffae) is a species of bird in the family Paridae. It is found in northern Africa, Pantelleria (Italy) and the Canary Islands (Spain). Its natural habitat is temperate forests. This species and the Eurasian blue tit were formerly considered conspecific. The status of this species has not been assessed because it is noted to be common on the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria. The species has been used in many research studies due to its island populations and relevance to evolutionary hypotheses. [2]

Contents

Location

The African blue tit is found in Northern Africa, Pantelleria and the Canary Islands. It is widespread on the Islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria, but scarce in local populations on Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. [3]

Description

The African blue tit ranges from 11–12 cm (4.3–4.7 in) in size. [3] It is a small, sharp-billed, compact tit. The nominate race has a forehead and supercilium to centre of nape white, crown deep glossy blue, becoming blackish on the neck, with a blue dorsal and yellow ventral body. The song is a variable repetition of one or two notes. [3]

Diet

The species is known to consume a variety of caterpillars. [4] The diet is not significantly different from C. caeruleus .

Habitat

The African blue tit prefers temperate forests, both low and high lying. [3] [4] Lowlands area preferred on Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, but populations on Tenerife and Gran Canaria prefer montane forests.

Breeding

The species breeds from February to July, and also possibly from October to January. It usually breeds earlier at lower levels compared to in montane areas. [4] Egg-laying occurs when the photoperiod is longer, and extra-pair mates are chosen and synchronises with the highest density of caterpillars available for prey. [4] This is a resident species—juveniles remain at their natal site; they do not disperse once they fledge. [3]

Taxonomy

Canary Islands races Blue Tits Henrik Gronvold c1920.jpg
Canary Islands races
Ranges of the Canary Islands races of African blue tit
Green: teneriffae
Brown: palmensis
Blue: ombriosus
Purple: hedwigii
Yellow: degener Canary Islands Blue Tits.png
Ranges of the Canary Islands races of African blue tit
Green: teneriffae
Brown: palmensis
Blue: ombriosus
Purple: hedwigii
Yellow: degener

This species and the Eurasian blue tit were formerly considered conspecific.

Subspecies are: [2]

Research published in 2007 found that African blue tits on the eastern Canary Islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are indistinguishable from those in North Africa and so the subspecies degener should be regarded as a synonym of ultramarinus. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canary Islands</span> Spanish archipelago and region in the Atlantic Ocean

The Canary Islands, also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in Macaronesia in the Atlantic Ocean. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are 100 kilometres west of Morocco. They are the southernmost of the autonomous communities of Spain. The islands have a population of 2.2 million people and are the most populous special territory of the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Province of Las Palmas</span> Province of Spain

The Province of Las Palmas is a province of Spain, consisting of the eastern part of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, capital city of this province and of the island of Gran Canaria, is the largest city in the Canary Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canary Islands stonechat</span> Species of bird

The Canary Islands stonechat, also known as the Fuerteventura stonechat or Fuerteventura chat, and formerly known as the Canary Islands chat due to its once widespread distribution on the Canary Islands, is a sedentary resident bird found only on the island of Fuerteventura where it is known as the Caldereta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian blue tit</span> Species of bird

The Eurasian blue tit is a small passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is easily recognisable by its blue and yellow plumage and small size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lanzarote</span> Island of the Canary Islands, Spain

Lanzarote is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is located approximately 125 kilometres off the north coast of Africa and 1,000 kilometres from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.94 square kilometres, Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago. With 152,289 inhabitants at the start of 2019, it is the third most populous Canary Island, after Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Located in the centre-west of the island is Timanfaya National Park, one of its main attractions. The island was declared a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1993. The island's capital is Arrecife, which lies on the eastern coastline. It is the smaller main island of the Province of Las Palmas.

<i>Gallotia</i> Genus of lizards

The genus Gallotia are the lacertids of the Canary Islands. This genus consists of a group that has been evolving there ever since the first islands emerged from the sea over 20 million years ago. The endemic species and subspecies of this group have a number of characteristics that make them quite special within their family (Lacertidae); their only close relatives are the sandrunner lizards (Psammodromus) of the western Mediterranean region. Gallotia are characteristic for eating significant quantities of plants, and several lineages are often presented as classic examples for insular gigantism. However, a find of an even larger Gallotia species from the early Miocene of mainland Europe casts doubt on this assumption. Instead the ancestor of all modern Gallotia species of the Canary islands was probably already very large but carnivorous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabildo insular</span> Institution charged with local government and administration in Spain

A cabildo insular is the government and administration institution of each of the seven major islands in the Canary Islands archipelago: Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. The island of La Graciosa falls under the jurisdiction of the cabildo of Lanzarote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canary Islands chiffchaff</span> Species of bird

The Canary Islands chiffchaff is a species of leaf warbler endemic to the Canary Islands, Spain. Sometimes the English name is spelled Canary Island chiffchaff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of the Canary Islands</span> Autonomous Community flag of the Canary Islands

The flag of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands is a vertical tricolour of three equal bands of white, blue, and yellow. The state flag includes the Coat of arms of the Canary Islands in the central band; the civil flag omits this. The designs were made official by the Statute of Autonomy of the Canarian Autonomous Community on 16 August 1982.

<i>Canariomys</i> Extinct genus of rodents

Canariomys is an extinct genus of rodents that once existed on the islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria, part of the Canary Islands, Spain. These giant rats could reach a weight of about 1 kg (2.2 lb). They were herbivores; their diet was based on plant materials, probably soft vegetables such as roots, ferns, and berries, but not grass. C. tamarani were considered herbivores, eating everything plant-like except grass with good digging skills. While C. bravoi were considered as a rat character, because of its large size, with an omnivorous diet with good climbing skills. They were one of two groups of rodents native to the archipelago, alongside the lava mouse, which was native to Fuerteventura and Lanzarote.

The Canary Islands are an archipelago, or island chain, in the Macaronesia region of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Africa. They are one of 17 autonomous communities of Spain. The demographics of the Canary Islands are concentrated in the largest islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

Tourism is an essential part of the economy of the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean, 100 kilometres west of Morocco. Seven main islands and six islets make up the Canary Islands. They had more than 9 million foreign incoming tourists in 2007. Tourists seeking sunshine and beaches first began to visit the Canaries in large numbers in the 1960s. The Canary Islands are a leading European tourist destination with very attractive natural and cultural resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canaryfly</span> Spanish airline

Canary Fly, S.L., doing business as Canaryfly, is a Spanish airline that operates regular flights between the Canary Islands.

<i>Centrochelys burchardi</i> Extinct species of tortoise

The Tenerife giant tortoise is an extinct species of cryptodire turtle in the family Testudinidae endemic to the island of Tenerife, in the Canary Islands.

The Gran Canaria giant tortoise is an extinct species of cryptodire turtle in the family Testudinidae endemic to the island of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands.

As in the rest of Spain, the majority religion in the Canary Islands is the Catholic Church. The Catholic religion has been the majority since the Conquest of the Canary Islands in the fifteenth century. This religion would largely replace the Canarian aboriginal religion through the prohibition of the latter and syncretism. According to a survey conducted in 2019, Canary Islands is the fifth autonomous community in Spain with the highest percentage of people who declare themselves to be Catholics after the Region of Murcia, Extremadura, Galicia, Aragon, and Castile and León. 76.7% of the population is Catholic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geology of the Canary Islands</span>

The geology of the Canary Islands is dominated by volcanic rock. The Canary Islands and some seamounts to the north-east form the Canary Volcanic Province whose volcanic history started about 70 million years ago. The Canary Islands region is still volcanically active. The most recent volcanic eruption on land occurred in 2021 and the most recent underwater eruption was in 2011-12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canary Islands dry woodlands and forests</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canarian Football Federation</span>

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References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Cyanistes teneriffae". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T103761672A104117708. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T103761672A104117708.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Illera, Juan Carlos; Spurgin, Lewis G.; Rodriguez-Exposito, Eduardo; Nogales, Manuel; Rando, Juan Carlos (June 2016). "What are We Learning about Speciation and Extinction from the Canary Islands?". Ardeola. 63 (1): 15–33. doi: 10.13157/arla.63.1.2016.rp1 . ISSN   0570-7358.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "African blue tit (Cyanistes teneriffae)". www.hbw.com. Retrieved 2018-10-31.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Ziane, Nadia; Chabi, Yassine; Lambrechts, Marcel M. (December 2006). "Breeding Performance of Blue TitsCyanistes caeruleus ultramarinusin Relation to Habitat Richness of Oak Forest Patches in North-Eastern Algeria". Acta Ornithologica. 41 (2): 163–169. doi: 10.3161/068.041.0201 . ISSN   0001-6454.
  5. Kvist, Laura (2006). "Response to "Taxonomic status of 'phylogroups' in the Parus teneriffae complex (Aves)" by George Sangster". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 38 (1): 290. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.10.012.
  6. Kvist, Laura; Broggi, J.; Illera, J.C; Koivula, K. (2005). "Colonisation and diversification of the blue tits (Parus caeruleus teneriffae-group) in the Canary Islands". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 34 (3): 501–511. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.11.017. PMID   15683925.
  7. Sangster, George (2006). "Taxonomic status of 'phylogroups' in the Parus teneriffae complex (Aves): Comments on the paper by Kvist et al. (2005)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 38 (1): 288–289. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2005.10.009. PMID   16314112.
  8. Dietzen, Christian; Garcia-del-Rey, Eduardo; Delgado Castro, Guillermo; Wink, Michael (January 2007). "Phylogeography of the blue tit (Parus teneriffae-group) on the Canary Islands based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data and morphometrics". Journal of Ornithology . 149 (1): 1–12. doi:10.1007/s10336-007-0192-7.