Nauru reed warbler
Nauru reed warbler | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Acrocephalidae |
Genus: | Acrocephalus |
Species: | A. rehsei
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Binomial name | |
Acrocephalus rehsei (Finsch, 1883)
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Location of Nauru | |
Synonyms | |
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The Nauru reed warbler (Nauruan: itsirir) (Acrocephalus rehsei) is a passerine bird endemic to the island of Nauru in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of only two native breeding land-birds on Nauru and it is the only passerine found on the island. It is related to other Micronesian reed warblers, all of which evolved from one of several radiations of the genus across the Pacific. Related warblers on nearby islands include the Caroline reed warbler, with which the Nauru species was initially confused, and the nightingale reed warbler, which was formerly sometimes considered the same species.
A medium-sized
Taxonomy and systematics
Otto Finsch was the first naturalist to visit the island of Nauru, stopping for six hours on 24 July 1880 while travelling from the Marshall Islands to the Solomon Islands. His 1881 report included a warbler he initially identified as the Caroline reed warbler. By 1883 he considered it to be a new species, Calamoherpe rehsei.[2] The generic name Calamoherpe is now recognised as a synonym of Acrocephalus,[3] leading to the current binomial name. The generic name Acrocephalus derives from the Greek akros, meaning "topmost", and kephale, meaning "head". The akros part of the name may have been given through confusion with acutus, and taken to mean "sharp-pointed", referring to the angular head shape typical of this genus.[4] The synonym Calamoherpe is from the Greek kalamos, meaning "reed", and herpes, meaning "creeping thing".[3] Finsch named the species after Ernst Rehse, a German ornithologist and collector and one of Finsch's travelling companions.[5][6] Since the original descriptions, little has been written about the species,[7] and details about its ecology and behaviour are poorly known.[1][8]
Though the Nauru reed warbler is generally accepted as a species, some authorities, such as H. E. Wolters in Die Vogelarte der Erde (1980) and Howard and Moore in A Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World (1991), have considered it a subspecies of Acrocephalus luscinius, the
A 2009
The pattern of colonisation of the Pacific islands and eventually Australia by the Acrocephalus warblers from Asia was complex, with multiple colonisations of even remote archipelagos. Although the Hawaiian islands were colonised about 2.3 million years ago, the other islands were reached much more recently, in the mid-Pleistocene (between 0.2–1.4 million years ago) or even later.[10] The nearest other warblers geographically to Nauru are the Carolinian reed warbler and the nightingale reed warbler.[8][14]
Description
The Nauru reed warbler is a medium-sized and warmly coloured reed warbler, with a relatively light build. The entirety of the upperparts are dark brown, with the rump and
The underparts are much lighter, darkening towards the vent and undertail coverts. The chin is a dull cream, merging with the throat, which then browns towards the base. The centre of the breast is a dull brown-yellow, while the sides are a reddish brown. The upper mandible of the beak is dark grey with pink edges, while the lower mandible is pink, darkening towards to the tip. The legs and feet are dark grey. The bird measures up to 15 centimetres (5.9 in), with a wingspan of 6.7 to 7.2 centimetres (2.6 to 2.8 in).[8]
The species exhibits no sexual dimorphism, and characteristics of the young are unknown. As the only passerine on the island, there is no chance that this species may be confused with any other. The Nauru reed warbler is slightly smaller than the Caroline reed warbler, which is also lighter in colour, with a more contrasting eyebrow. The nightingale reed warbler is substantially larger,[8] and the Oriental reed warbler has a duller colouration, with whiter underparts.[15]
Distribution and habitat
The Nauru reed warbler is
The species is sedentary, meaning that the birds do not naturally leave Nauru.
Behaviour and ecology
External audio | |
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Nauru reed warbler call, recorded by Donald Buden, 22 Dec 2006. Macaulay Library, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University. |
Nauru reed warbler nests are cup-shaped and woven from grasses and twigs. They sometimes include
Finsch described the warbler as insectivorous, feeding primarily on
Status
The
Unlike other birds on the island, the species is not hunted, and is protected under Schedule 1 of Nauru's Wild Birds Preservation Ordinance 1937.[23][24] For conservation purposes, the IUCN recommends regular surveys of the population and the establishment of a monitoring programme through training local people. It also proposed raising conservation awareness by increasing the profile of the bird.[1]
See also
Notes
- ^ . Retrieved 13 November 2021.
- ^ Buden 2008a, p. 8.
- ^ a b Jobling 2010, p. 84.
- ^ Jobling 2010, pp. 30–31.
- ^ Finsch 1883, p. 142.
- ^ Jobling 2010, p. 332.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Buden 2008a, p. 16.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7136-6022-7.
- ^ a b c Bocheñski, Zygmunt; Kuœnierczyk, Piotr (2003). "Nesting of the Acrocephalus warblers" (PDF). Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia. 46 (2): 97–195. See p. 160.
- ^ S2CID 73674812.
- ^ Dyrcz, Andrzej (2006). "Family Sylviidae (Old World Warblers)". In del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Christie, David (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Editions. p. 628.
- PMID 19393746.
- S2CID 86499982.
- ^ a b Spenneman 2006, p. 258.
- ^ Finsch 1883, p. 143.
- ^ Spenneman 2006, p. 257.
- ^ Spenneman 2006, p. 259.
- ^ Spenneman 2006, p. 260.
- JSTOR 40327588.
- ^ Buden, Donald W. (2008b). "First records of Odonata from the Republic of Nauru" (PDF). Micronesica. 40 (1/2): 227–232.
- ^ Buden 2008a, p. 9.
- ^ Hildyard 2001, pp. 1620–1621.
- ^ Buden 2008a, pp. 16–17.
- ^ Administrator of Nauru. "Wild Birds Preservation Ordinance 1937". Administration of Nauru. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
Cited texts
- Buden, Donald W. (2008a). "The birds of Nauru" (PDF). Notornis. 55 (1): 8–19.
- .
- Hildyard, Anne, ed. (2001). Endangered Wildlife and Plants of the World. Vol. 12: Umb-zor. ISBN 978-0-7614-7206-3.
- Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names (PDF). ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- Spennemann, Dirk H. R. (2006). "Extinctions and extirpations in Marshall Islands avifauna since European contact; a review of historic evidence" (PDF). Micronesica. 38 (2): 253–266. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2016.
Further reading
- Buden, Donald W.; Franhert, Sylke (2008). "The overlooked collection of Ludwig Kaiser and a little-known report on birds of Nauru". Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. 128 (4): 260–263.
- Buden, Donald W.; Franhert, Sylke (2010). "Birds collected by Otto Finsch in the Republic of Nauru, with notes on the history and current locations of the syntypes and other specimens of the Nauru Reed-Warbler, Acrocephalus rehsei (Finsch, 1883)". Journal of Afrotropical Zoology(Special Issue): 31–35.