Fatu Hiva monarch

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Fatu Hiva monarch
Fatuhiva Monarch imported from iNaturalist photo 395655088 on 22 August 2024.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Monarchidae
Genus: Pomarea
Species:
P. whitneyi
Binomial name
Pomarea whitneyi
Murphy & Mathews, 1928

The Fatu Hiva monarch (Pomarea whitneyi) is a large flycatcher in the family Monarchidae. It is endemic to Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. It lives in the native dense forest at elevations up to 2300 feet. Adults are a glossy purplish-black with plush-like feathers on their foreheads and grow to around 7 ½ inches. [1]

Contents

Taxonomy and systematics

The binomial name commemorates the US philanthropist Harry Payne Whitney. Alternate names include the Fatu Hiva flycatcher, large flycatcher and large monarch.

Status

The Fatu Hiva monarch is assessed as critically endangered, following a decline in excess of 90% over 21 years (three generations). The population is now thought to be as small as 17 birds. This decline is primarily attributed to the introduction of black rats, which were first observed in February 2000 and strongly correlates with the decline and near extinction of the Fatu Hiva monarch. The population decline is also due to feral cats. Recent predator control has happened on Fatu Hiva, though it reduced the rate of territory loss from 60% in 2007–2009 to 30% in 2009–2011.

In July 2023 the Ornithological Society of Polynesia announced a joint program with Auckland Zoo to save the species from extinction. [2] Eggs will be collected for incubation and hatching, and fledglings raised in a predator-proof aviary. [2]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fatu-Hiva</span> Commune in French Polynesia, France

Fatu-Hiva is the southernmost island of the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. With Motu Nao as its closest neighbour, it is also the most isolated of the inhabited islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohotani</span> Island in French Polynesia

Mohotani is an uninhabited island southeast of Hiva Oa and east of Tahuata in the southern Marquesas Islands. It has an area of 15 km2. Much of the island's sparse vegetation has been destroyed by feral goats and sheep, to the extent that following its rare rains, the sea around it is stained red from runoff. Early reports describes the island as fertile, with forest and fields. When Thor Heyerdahl visited the island in 1938, there were only a few goats and remains of deserted huts and villages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuku Hiva imperial pigeon</span> Species of bird

The Nuku Hiva imperial pigeon, also known as the Marquesan imperial pigeon or Upe, is a pigeon which is endemic to Nuku Hiva in the Marquesas Islands of French Polynesia. This pigeon is only found in some valleys in the western part of that island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultramarine lorikeet</span> Species of bird

The ultramarine lorikeet is a species of parrot in the family Psittaculidae, endemic to the Marquesas Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest and plantations. It is critically endangered, threatened mainly by introduction of the black rat and by deforestation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rarotonga monarch</span> Species of bird

The Rarotonga monarch, also known as the Rarotonga flycatcher or Kākerōri, is a species of bird in the monarch flycatcher family Monarchidae. It is endemic to Rarotonga, Cook Islands, and has been introduced to Atiu, Cook Islands.

<i>Pomarea</i> Genus of birds

Pomarea is a genus of birds in the monarch flycatcher family Monarchidae. The genus is restricted to the islands of Polynesia. The monarchs of this genus are around 15–19 cm long and most have sexually dimorphic plumage.

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The Ua Pou monarch is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae, endemic to the French Polynesian island of Ua Pou. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and heavily degraded former forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tahiti monarch</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maupiti monarch</span> Extinct species of bird

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The Ornithological Society of Polynesia, also known as Manu, a Polynesian word for "bird", is an environmental non-governmental organization dedicated to the conservation of birds and their habitats in Polynesia. It was founded in July 1990 by bird enthusiasts in French Polynesia, for which it is the BirdLife International partner organisation. Its emblem is the red-tailed tropicbird.

Large flycatcher may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marquesas tropical moist forests</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2019). "Pomarea whitneyi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2019: e.T22707192A155462058. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22707192A155462058.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Biologists in race against time to save endangered Pacific bird". RNZ. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2023.