The Seychelles White-eye (Zosterops modestus) is a rare warbler-like perching bird from the family of white-eye

White-eye

White-eye can refer to:*White-eye , a large family of birds.*White-eye , a species of fish.*White-eye mutation, a mutation in Drosophila melanogaster linked to the X chromosome, found by reciprocal cross breeding experiments in 1906.*A lioness member of the Marsh Pride of lions that have featured...

s (Zosteropidae). It is endemic to the Seychelles

Seychelles

Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....

.

Description

This ten to eleven centimetre long bird has a plumage with olive grey upperparts and dull coloured underparts. It is further characterized by a white narrow eye-ring, a rather long dark grey tail and a small sharp bill. Its diet consists of insect larvaes, locusts, and grasshoppers as well as berries and seeds. The breeding season is from September to April and a clutch of two to seven eggs is laid into a cup-shaped nest. The incubation time is thirteen to fifteen days and the young are fully fledged after eleven to sixteen days. After that the parents are looking after them another two months. Its melodious and complex song consists of nasal tones. Due to its ecology and foraging in the canopy of high trees it is difficult to observe.

Threats

It was thought to be extinct between 1935 and 1960 until it was rediscovered in the highland of Mahé

Mahé, Seychelles

Mahé is the largest island of the Seychelles, lying in the north east of the nation. The population of Mahé is 80,000. It contains the capital city of Victoria and accommodates 90% of the country's total population...

. Even in 1996 it was considered as one of the rarest birds in the world with a population of only 25 to 35 individuals. The dramatically decline was caused by the extensive forest clearings and the competition of introduced bird species like the Common Myna

Common Myna

The Common Myna or Indian Myna also sometimes spelled Mynah, is a member of family Sturnidae native to Asia. An omnivorous open woodland bird with a strong territorial instinct, the Myna has adapted extremely well to urban environments...

 and the preying through rats. In 1997 there was a rediscovery of about 250 individuals on the Seychelles island of Conception

Conception Island, Seychelles

Conception Island is a small island in the Seychelles 2 km west of Mahé. Conception contained a coconut plantation until the mid 1970s; today it is uninhabited. Conception Island, along with its sister island Thérèse Island, is part of Port Glaud district of Mahé, the main island of the...

. In 1998 the population on Mahé was increased to 50. Currently the population on Conception Island consists between 244 and 336 individuals. In 2001 there was a reintroducing project on the Seychelles island of Frégate

Fregate Island

Frégate Island or sometimes Frigate Island is a private island and is the easternmost of the granitic Inner Islands of the Seychelles. It is only and is primarily known as a secluded, private luxury resort and its Anse Victorin beach was voted "The World's Best Beach" by The Times. It was named...

. Currently there is a population of 60 specimens on that island.

External links

• Seychelles White-eyes transferred to North and Cousine (Engl.)
• Seychelles White-eyes on the move (Engl.)
• Seychelles White-eyes news (Engl.)