Seychelles warbler

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Seychelles warbler
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Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Acrocephalidae
Genus: Acrocephalus
Species:
A. sechellensis
Binomial name
Acrocephalus sechellensis
(Oustalet, 1877)
Acrocephalus sechellensis distribution map.png
Synonyms

Bebrornis sechellensis [2]

The Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis), also known as Seychelles brush warbler, [2] is a small songbird found on five granitic and corraline islands in the Seychelles. It is a greenish-brown bird with long legs and a long slender bill. It is primarily found in forested areas on the islands. The Seychelles warbler is a rarity in that it exhibits cooperative breeding, or alloparenting, which means that the monogamous pair is assisted by nonbreeding female helpers.

Contents

A few decades ago the Seychelles warbler was on the verge of extinction, with only 26 birds surviving on Cousin Island in 1968. Due to conservation efforts there are more than 2500 of the species alive today with viable populations on Denis, Frégate, Cousine and Aride Islands, as well as Cousin Island. [3]

Taxonomy and systematics

The Seychelles warbler is closely related to the Rodrigues warbler (Acrocephalus rodericanus) and the two species have sometimes been placed in their own genus, Bebrornis. The two species have also been considered allied to the Malagasy genus Nesillas . A 1997 study confirmed, however, that the two species were part of a clade of Afrotropical warblers within Acrocephalus that also includes the Madagascar swamp warbler, the greater swamp warbler, the lesser swamp warbler and the Cape Verde warbler. [4] [5] [6]

Description

The Seychelles warbler is a small, plain Acrocephalus warbler, between 13 and 14 cm (5.1–5.5 in) in length and with a wingspan of 17 cm (6.7 in). [7] It has long grey-blue legs, a long horn-coloured bill, and a reddish eye. Adults show no sexual dimorphism in their plumage. The back, wings, flanks and head are greenish-brown and the belly and breast are dirty white. The throat is a stronger white and there is a pale supercilium in front of the eye. Juvenile birds are darker with a more bluish eye.

The voice of the Seychelles warbler is described as rich and melodious, [7] similar to a human whistle. Its structure is simple and is composed of short song sequences delivered at a low frequency range. [8] The lack of a wide frequency range sets it apart from other species in its genus, such as the reed warbler, its song is similar to its closest relatives in Africa such as the greater swamp warbler.

Behaviour

The Seychelles warbler naturally occurs in dense shrubland and in tall forests of Pisonia grandis . It is almost exclusively an insectivore (99.8% of its diet is insects), and obtains 98% of its prey by gleaning small insects from the undersides of leaves. It does occasionally catch insects on the wing as well. [9] Most of the foraging occurs on Pisonia, Ficus reflexa and Morinda citrifolia . [10] Studies of the foraging behaviour found that Seychelles warblers favour Morinda and spend more time foraging there than in other trees and shrubs; the same study found that insect abundance is highest under the leaves of that shrub. [11] The planting of Morinda on Cousin Island, and the associated improved foraging for the warbler, was an important part of the recovery of the species.

Cooperative breeding habits

Seychelles warblers demonstrate cooperative breeding, a reproductive system in which adult male and female helpers assist the parents in providing care and feeding the young. [12] The helpers may also aid in territory defense, predator mobbing, nest building, and incubation (females only). [13] Breeding pairs with helpers have increased reproductive success and produced more offspring that survived per year than breeding pairs with the helpers removed. [14] Helpers only feed the young of their parents or close relatives and do not feed unrelated young. This is evidence for the kin-selected adaptation of providing food for the young. The indirect fitness benefits gained by helping close kin are greater than the direct fitness benefits gained as a breeder. This could be evidence for the kin-selected adaptation of providing food for the young.

On high-quality territories where there is more insect prey available, young birds were more likely to stay as helpers rather than moving to low-quality territories as breeders. [15] On low quality territories, having a helper is unfavorable because of increased resource competition. Females are more likely to become helpers, [16] which may explain the adaptive sex ratio bias seen in the Seychelles warblers. On high quality territories, females produce 90% daughters; on low quality territories, they produce 80% sons. Clutch sex ratio is skewed towards daughters overall. [17] When females are moved to higher quality territories, they produce two eggs in a clutch instead of a single egg, with both eggs skewed towards the production of females. This change suggests that Seychelles warblers may have pre-ovulation control of offspring sex ratio, although the exact mechanism is unknown.

Related Research Articles

<i>Acrocephalus</i> (bird) Genus of birds

The Acrocephalus warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus Acrocephalus. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh and tree warbler family Acrocephalidae. They are sometimes called marsh warblers or reed warblers, but this invites confusion with marsh warbler and reed warbler proper, especially in North America, where it is common to use lower case for bird species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sedge warbler</span> Species of bird

The sedge warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is a medium-sized warbler with a brown, streaked back and wings and a distinct pale supercilium. Sedge warblers are migratory, crossing the Sahara to get from their European and Asian breeding grounds to spend winter in Africa. The male's song is composed of random chattering phrases and can include mimicry of other species. The sedge warbler is mostly insectivorous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsh warbler</span> Species of bird

The marsh warbler is an Old World warbler currently classified in the family Acrocephalidae. It breeds in temperate Europe and the western Palearctic and winters mainly in southeast Africa. It is notable for incorporating striking imitations of a wide variety of other birds into its song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great reed warbler</span> Eurasian bird

The great reed warbler is a Eurasian in the passerine genus Acrocephalus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-throated blue warbler</span> Species of bird

The black-throated blue warbler is a small passerine bird of the New World warbler family. Its breeding ranges are located in the interior of deciduous and mixed coniferous forests in eastern North America. Over the cooler months, it migrates to islands in the Caribbean and Central America. It is very rarely found in western Europe, where it is considered to be a non-indigenous species. The black-throated blue warbler is sexually dimorphic; the adult male has a black face and cheeks, deep blue upperparts and white underparts, while the adult female is olive-brown above and light yellow below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cerulean warbler</span> Species of bird

The cerulean warbler is a small songbird in the family Parulidae. It is a long-distance migrant, breeding in eastern North American hardwood forests. In the non-breeding season, it winters on the eastern slope of the Andes in South America, preferring subtropical forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex ratio</span> Ratio of males to females in a population

A sex ratio is the ratio of males to females in a population. As explained by Fisher's principle, for evolutionary reasons this is typically about 1:1 in species which reproduce sexually. However, many species deviate from an even sex ratio, either periodically or permanently. Examples include parthenogenic species, periodically mating organisms such as aphids, some eusocial wasps, bees, ants, and termites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Verde warbler</span> Species of bird

The Cape Verde warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus. It is also known as the Cape Verde cane warbler or Cape Verde swamp warbler, and in Creole as tchota-de-cana or chincherote. It breeds on Santiago, Fogo, and São Nicolau in the Cape Verde Islands. It previously bred on Brava. This species is found in well-vegetated valleys, avoiding drier areas. It nests in reedbeds, two to three eggs being laid in a suspended nest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siberian jay</span> Species of bird

The Siberian jay is a small jay with a widespread distribution within the coniferous forests in North Eurasia. It has grey-brown plumage with a darker brown crown and a paler throat. It is rusty-red in a panel near the wing-bend, on the undertail coverts and on the sides of the tail. The sexes are similar. Although its habitat is being fragmented, it is a common bird with a very wide range so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".

Cousin Island is a small granitic island of the Seychelles, lying 2 km (1.2 mi) west of Praslin. It is a nature reserve protected under Seychelles law as a Special Reserve. It is managed by Nature Seychelles, a national nonprofit organization and Partner of BirdLife International, by which it has been identified as an Important Bird Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian reed warbler</span> Species of bird

The Australian reed warbler is an Old World warbler in the genus Acrocephalus and is the only Acrocephalus species native to Australia. It has also been observed in Papua New Guinea and nearby islands. The name Acrocephalus refers to the peaked crown found on reed warblers in this genus and can be translated to mean "topmost head" in Greek. The species name australis is translated to mean "southern" in Latin, and refers to the species range, Australia. In its western range the Australian reed warbler is also known as "Koordjikotji" in the local Aboriginal language of Perth and its surrounds.

Sex allocation is the allocation of resources to male versus female reproduction in sexual species. Sex allocation theory tries to explain why many species produce equal number of males and females.

Cousine Island is a small granitic island 30 ha in the Seychelles 6 km (4 mi) west of Praslin Island. It is a combination luxury resort and since 1992 a nature preserve.

Cooperative breeding is a social system characterized by alloparental care: offspring receive care not only from their parents, but also from additional group members, often called helpers. Cooperative breeding encompasses a wide variety of group structures, from a breeding pair with helpers that are offspring from a previous season, to groups with multiple breeding males and females (polygynandry) and helpers that are the adult offspring of some but not all of the breeders in the group, to groups in which helpers sometimes achieve co-breeding status by producing their own offspring as part of the group's brood. Cooperative breeding occurs across taxonomic groups including birds, mammals, fish, and insects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seychelles white-eye</span> Species of bird

The Seychelles white-eye is a rare warbler-like perching bird from the family of white-eyes (Zosteropidae). It is endemic to the Seychelles. At one time thought to be extinct, it was rediscovered and is now listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown songlark</span> Species of bird

The brown songlark, also Australian songlark, is a small passerine bird found throughout much of Australia. A member of the family Locustellidae, this species is notable for sexual size dimorphism, among the most pronounced in any bird. It is a moderate-sized bird of nondescript plumage; the female brownish above and paler below, the larger male a darker brown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acrocephalidae</span> Family of birds

The Acrocephalidae are a family of oscine passerine birds, in the superfamily Sylvioidea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little grassbird</span> Species of bird

The little grassbird is a species of Old World warbler in the family Locustellidae. It is found in Australia and in West Papua, Indonesia. These sexually monomorphic birds are found in reed beds, rushes, lignum swamps and salt marshes of Southeastern Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-winged fairywren</span> Australian species of bird

The white-winged fairywren is a species of passerine bird in the Australasian wren family, Maluridae. It lives in the drier parts of Central Australia; from central Queensland and South Australia across to Western Australia. Like other fairywrens, this species displays marked sexual dimorphism and one or more males of a social group grow brightly coloured plumage during the breeding season. The female is sandy-brown with light-blue tail feathers; it is smaller than the male, which, in breeding plumage, has a bright-blue body, black bill, and white wings. Younger sexually mature males are almost indistinguishable from females and are often the breeding males. In spring and summer, a troop of white-winged fairywrens has a brightly coloured older male accompanied by small, inconspicuous brown birds, many of which are also male. Three subspecies are recognised. Apart from the mainland subspecies, one is found on Dirk Hartog Island, and another on Barrow Island off the coast of Western Australia. Males from these islands have black rather than blue breeding plumage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oriental reed warbler</span> Species of bird

The Oriental reed warbler is a passerine bird of eastern Asia belonging to the reed warbler genus Acrocephalus. It was formerly classified as a subspecies of the great reed warbler of the western Palearctic.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2016). "Acrocephalus sechellensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22714882A94431883. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22714882A94431883.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 Penny, M. (1974): The Birds of Seychelles and the Outlying Islands
  3. Johnson, Thomas F.; Brown, Thomas J.; Richardson, David S.; Dugdale, Hannah L. (2018). "The importance of post-translocation monitoring of habitat use and population growth: Insights from a Seychelles Warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis) translocation". Journal of Ornithology. 159 (2): 439–446. doi: 10.1007/s10336-017-1518-8 . S2CID   4519848.
  4. Leisler, Bernd; Petra Heidrich; Karl Schulze-Hagen; Michael Wink (1997). "Taxonomy and phylogeny of reed warblers (genus Acrocephalus) based on mtDNA sequences and morphology". Journal of Ornithology. 138 (4): 469–496. doi:10.1007/BF01651381. S2CID   40665930.
  5. Helbig, Andreas; Ingrid Seibold (1999). "Molecular Phylogeny of Palearctic–African Acrocephalus and Hippolais Warblers (Aves: Sylviidae". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 11 (2): 246–260. doi:10.1006/mpev.1998.0571. PMID   10191069.
  6. Bairlein, Franz; Alström, Per; Aymí, Raül; Clement, Peter; Dyrcz, Andrzej; Gargallo, Gabriel; Hawkins, Frank; Madge, Steve; Pearson, David; Svensson, Lars (2006), "Family Sylviidae (Old World Warblers)", in del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Christie, David (eds.), Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 11, Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, p. 635, ISBN   978-84-96553-06-4
  7. 1 2 Skerrett A, Bullock I & Disley T (2001) Birds of Seychelles. Helm Field Guides ISBN   0-7136-3973-3
  8. Dowset-Lemaire, Francoise (1994). "The song of the Seychelles Warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis and its African relative". Ibis. 136 (4): 489–491. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1994.tb01127.x.
  9. Richardson D. (2001) Species Conservation Assessment and Action Plan, Seychelles Warbler. Nature Seychelles.
  10. "Seychelles Warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis". BirdLife International . Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  11. Komdeur J, Pels M (2005). "Rescue of the Seychelles warbler on Cousin Island, Seychelles: The role of habitat restoration". Biological Conservation. 124: 15–26. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2004.12.009.
  12. Komdeur, Jan (1994). "The Effect of Kinship on Helping in the Cooperative Breeding Seychelles Warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis)" (PDF). Proceedings: Biological Sciences. 256 (1345): 47–52. Bibcode:1994RSPSB.256...47K. doi:10.1098/rspb.1994.0047. JSTOR   49592. S2CID   54796150.
  13. Komdeur, J. (1994). "The Effect of Kinship on Helping in the Cooperative Breeding Seychelles Warbler" (PDF). Proceedings of the Royal Society. 256 (1345): 47–52. doi:10.1098/rspb.1994.0047. S2CID   54796150.
  14. Komdeur, J. (1992). "Experimental Evidence for helping and hindering by previous offspring in the cooperative-breeding Seychelles warbler Acrocephalus sechellensis" (PDF). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 34 (3): 175–186. doi:10.1007/BF00167742. S2CID   35183524.
  15. Komdeur, J. (1992). "Importance of habitat saturation and territory quality for evolution of cooperative breeding in the Seychelles warbler". Letters to Nature. 358 (6386): 493–495. Bibcode:1992Natur.358..493K. doi:10.1038/358493a0. S2CID   4364419.
  16. Davies, N. B., Krebs J. R., West, S. A. (2012). An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology. Fourth Edition. West Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell.
  17. Komdeur, J.; Magrath, M. J.; Krackow, S (2002). "Pre-ovulation control of hatchling sex ratio in the Seychelles warbler". Proceedings of the Royal Society. 269 (1495): 1067–1072. doi:10.1098/rspb.2002.1965. PMC   1690984 . PMID   12028765.