Humblot's Flycatcher
Encyclopedia
Humblot's Flycatcher or the Grand Comoro Flycatcher (Humblotia flavirostris) is a small passerine
bird
belonging to the Old World flycatcher
family. It is the only member of the its genus. Humblot's Flycatcher is endemic
to the island of Grand Comoro in the Comoros
where it inhabits forest
on the slopes of Mount Karthala
.
The upperparts are grey-brown while the underparts are pale with dark streaks. It has a dark crown with pale streaks and the bill
and feet are yellow-orange. The bird is 14 cm long. It is often silent but has a soft trilling call.
It feeds on insect
s which it catches by making short flights from a perch low in a tree
or bush
. Often, it will feed in groups of two or three. Little is known about its breeding habits; the only known nest
was a cup built high in a tree which contained at least two young.
It is threatened because of destruction
and degradation of the forest and the spread of introduced species
. The population of 10,000-19,000 individuals is decreasing and the species is classed as endangered
.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
belonging to the Old World flycatcher
Old World flycatcher
The Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae is a large family of small passerine birds mostly restricted to the Old World. These are mainly small arboreal insectivores, many of which, as the name implies, take their prey on the wing.-Characteristics:...
family. It is the only member of the its genus. Humblot's Flycatcher is endemic
Endemism in birds
An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
to the island of Grand Comoro in the Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
where it inhabits forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
on the slopes of Mount Karthala
Mount Karthala
Karthala is an active volcano and the highest point of the Comoros at above sea level. It is the southernmost and larger of the two shield volcanoes forming Grande Comore island, the largest island in the nation of Comoros. The Karthala volcano is notoriously active, having erupted more than 20...
.
The upperparts are grey-brown while the underparts are pale with dark streaks. It has a dark crown with pale streaks and the bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
and feet are yellow-orange. The bird is 14 cm long. It is often silent but has a soft trilling call.
It feeds on insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s which it catches by making short flights from a perch low in a tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
or bush
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
. Often, it will feed in groups of two or three. Little is known about its breeding habits; the only known nest
Nest
A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
was a cup built high in a tree which contained at least two young.
It is threatened because of destruction
Habitat destruction
Habitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms that previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the purpose of...
and degradation of the forest and the spread of introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
. The population of 10,000-19,000 individuals is decreasing and the species is classed as endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
.