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Mascarene Paradise-Flycatcher Terpsiphone bourbonnensis Scientific name definitions

Kees Moeliker
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2006

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

15–20 cm. Lacks the long central tail feathers common to most paradise-flycatchers. Male nominate race has black cap, thin grey neckband, dull chestnut upperparts, including upperwing and tail, grey throat and underparts; iris dark brown, eyering wattle deep blue; bill bright blue with black tip; legs greyish. Female is smaller than male, bill paler, has cap dark grey. Immature male has dark grey cap. Race desolata is slightly larger than nominate, with plumage much brighter.

Systematics History

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Recent molecular study (1) suggests races represent separate evolutionarily significant units. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies

SUBSPECIES

Terpsiphone bourbonnensis bourbonnensis Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Reunion.
SUBSPECIES

Terpsiphone bourbonnensis desolata Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Mauritius.

Distribution

Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Habitat

Primary forest, forest edge, secondary growth, plantations, sometimes gardens. On Mauritius, race desolata largely restricted to remaining native evergreen vegetation, concentrated on escarpment S of C plateau; in a plantation area in NE it favours stands of tall (more than 15 m), mature evergreen shade-bearers (mainly Araucaria cunninghamii and A. columnaris), very open under canopy, with shrubby understorey of mainly Cassia fistula, Leucena glauca and saplings of the plantation trees. Good visibility and still air beneath closed canopy with ample but not dense undergrowth seem key factors in habitat choice. On Reunion occurs up to tree-line; very catholic in choice of forest type, most abundant in low and mid-altitude mixed forest (from sea-level to 500–600 m), but also in cloudforest, and in Tamarix plantations 15–25 years old.

Movement

Resident. On Mauritius, at least in 1970s, juveniles dispersed over relatively large distances.

Diet and Foraging

Insects; no detailed studies, but beetles (Coleoptera), flies (Diptera), lacewings (Neuroptera), dragonflies (Odonata), moths (Lepidoptera), grasshoppers (Orthoptera) and mayflies (Ephemeroptera) recorded as eaten. Commonest foraging method hawking, in which bird perches on shrub or sapling in understorey, or lower branch of tree, and sallies out for insects, often sweeping downwards (rather than upwards or outwards), or hovers to seize prey; other techniques include “sally-gleaning” (taking prey from leaf surface while on the wing) and gleaning items from leaf surface while perched. Feeds by hawking (flycatching) under the canopy and gleaning within it. Feeds solitarily; on Reunion often joins passing feeding parties of Mascarene White-eyes (Zosterops borbonicus), then gleans and sally-gleans, but only occasionally associates with Zosterops on Mauritius.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Three types of vocalization known: male song a descending whistled trill with notes grouped in threes; buzz-song, in which notes (with marked stroke elements at beginning) shorter than in song, with longer inter-note intervals, the “buzz” notes coming between the song notes, given mostly in territorial interactions by male (probably also by female); buzz-call, a “buzz”, typical of genus, described also as “zweet”, singly or in long series, the most widely used vocalization by both sexes, given e.g. during change-over at nest. Sonagrams of song and calls indicate delicate differences between the two races. Song heard all year, but rarely in mid-winter; vocalizations most conspicuous at dawn and dusk, but sings throughout daylight hours.

Breeding

Season Aug–Jan/Feb (peak Oct–Nov) on Mauritius at sea-level (no data for upland areas); on Reunion breeds Sept–Dec, with young both in full juvenile plumage and completed post-juvenile moult in Jan–Feb (peak possibly later at high altitude, as indicated by family party at 1650 m still together at end of Mar). Territorial. Nest a cone-shaped cup of soft green moss, with pale patches of lichens (Reunion) or spider egg cases (Mauritius), held together by finely woven individual threads of spider web, external diameter 45–52 mm, internal depth 30–39 mm; usually placed in upright fork of branch generally 1·2–3·7 m (Reunion) or 1·8–2·4 m (Mauritius) above ground in small tree, occasionally as low as 0·3 m and as high as 9·1 m (if undergrowth not available); nests on Mauritius have generally very slender supporting branches, whereas thicker branches used on Reunion (where favourite tree Doratoxylon apetalum); territory very small, 2–3 ha on Mauritius. Clutch 2–3 eggs, on Reunion (nominate race) pinkish-white or cream-coloured, with irregular rusty and grey spots forming dense band at larger end, on Mauritius (desolata) white, densely spotted with rusty brown; on Mauritius, incubation by both sexes, period 14–16 days, young fed by parents for a further 5 weeks (when post-juvenile moult completed), leave parental territory 8–9 weeks after fledging. Survival and mortality not well studied: six adults ringed Mar 1974 still alive 9 months later, but none found 4 years later.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. CITES III. Restricted-range species: present in Réunion EBA and Mauritius EBA. On Reunion, common and widespread in 19th century, some retreat from lowlands and larger towns in 20th century, but in 1970s still common; no recent population estimates. In areas of average density on Reunion, 10 pairs/km². Far less common on Mauritius, where distribution has contracted and numbers have dropped dramatically; in 1974 population was 250 pairs at most, and in 1993 the figure was 100–300 individuals, declining more than habitat destruction would predict. In 1974/75 two birds caught on Mauritius showed symptoms of birdpox. Susceptibility to cyclones suspected.
Distribution of the Mascarene Paradise-Flycatcher - Range Map
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Distribution of the Mascarene Paradise-Flycatcher

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Recommended Citation

Moeliker, K. (2020). Mascarene Paradise-Flycatcher (Terpsiphone bourbonnensis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.mapfly2.01
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