Seychelles White-eye Zosterops modestus Scientific name definitions

10–11 cm; 11·5–13 g. Has inconspicuous white eyering with tiny gap at front; dark olive-grey to brown above, paler on yellowish-washed rump; throat dirty pale mustard-yellow, underparts pale grey, flanks with brownish wash, belly with faint ­yellowish wash; iris dark reddish-brown; bill blackish-grey; legs grey. Sexes alike in plumage, but male reported as sometimes smaller than female. Juvenile is similar to adult, but bill yellow in first few weeks, gradually changing to grey.

Introduced on Frégate I, North I and Cousine I.

Inner Is (Mahé and adjacent Conception), in NE Seychelles.

Thick-foliaged broadleaved trees and dense shrubs in well-wooded country, mixed secondary forest, especially where certain tall trees (e.g. Albizia falcataria and Pterocarpus indica on Mahé) have underlying or adjacent scrub layer, open woodland, gardens and areas with mature trees; prefers secondary habitat with alien trees and shrubs. On Conception in mixed woodland and open glacis (rocky glades) with associated vegetation; on Mahé open woodland and gardens; on Frégate (introduced from Conception) also in mixed woodland but readily adapted to mixture of gardens, glacis and rehabilitated coastal woodland. Found in residential areas on Mahé (La Misère, Grande Anse/Barbarons, Anse Boileau, Cascade). Most frequent at 300–500 m on Mahé, and common at all altitudes on Conception.

Exchanges between different subpopulations on Mahé shown by colour-ringing.

Diet largely based on invertebrates, and berries and seeds; nectar also taken. Recorded items include tiny insects such as ants (Formicidae), aphids, mealy bugs (Pseudococcus), small green caterpillars and crickets, as well as spiders; fruits include Lantana camara and cinnamon (Cinnamomum). Seen in family groups and in fast-moving flocks of 2–5 individuals on Mahé, and up to about twelve on Conception; also in mixed flocks with Red Fodies (Foudia madagascariensis) and Seychelles Sunbirds(Cinnyris dussumieri) on Mahé. Forages in scrub layer of secondary forest, as well as in tops of a large variety of native and exotic trees, including cloves (Syzygium aromaticum), cinnamon, Tabebuia, Calophyllum and Albizia; probes among leaves and into bark crevices, gleans and snatches insects from leaves. In general, does not have a strong preference for native trees, but on Conception several native small trees (e.g. Premna serratifolia, Tabernaemontana caffeoides, Canthium bibracteatum) play a very important role in diet. On Mahé, of 16 species of foraging tree, only two were indigenous and these were exploited in only 3% of observations.

Song, from perch throughout day (most often at dawn during breeding season, and sometimes throughout day), varied and pleasant, of variable complex phrases of high-pitched notes. Calls described as soft, brief, nasal “cheer” for contact (similar to those of Z. borbonicus), louder and more persistent when moving between trees and shrubs, also soft trilling note and clipped “tik tik” contact calls; also loud or soft 3-note or 4-note calls, and reportedly warbling incubation change-over calls; “chewik” and chattering trills as alarm.

Oct–Apr (sometimes from late Jul). Co-operative breeder, helpers contributing to nest-building and brood-rearing duties; complex system with large nesting families of up to eight individuals (laying up to 7 eggs in one nest) discovered on Conception. Nest a flimsy cup made largely of grass, also containing strips of bark, small dead leaves, rootlets, strands of wool or cotton, and moss, attached by spider web to 2–4 small twigs 4–20 m above ground in dense cluster of leaves at end of almost horizontal branch; recorded nesting trees Pterocarpus, Swietenia, Hevea, clove and lichi (Litchi) on Mahé, cinnamon, cashew (Anacardium) and Tabebuia on Conception. Clutch (for groups with one female) 1–2 eggs, pale greenish-blue with very faint brown spots; incubation period 13–15 days; fledging period 11–15 days.

VULNERABLE. Restricted-range species: present in Granitic Seychelles EBA. Global population estimated at 500–650 individuals in 2013 (1 Safford, R. J., and A. F. A. Hawkins, Editors (2013). The Birds of Africa. Volume 8. The Malagasy Region. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) (an increase on the 330–450 birds calculated in 2006), roughly equivalent to 330-430 mature individuals BirdLife International (2017) Species factsheet: Zosterops modestus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 04/05/2017 . Previously listed as Critically Endangered but successively downlisted following successful conservation action. Accurate census in 1999 estimated population of Conception at c. 280 (244–336) individuals; same method used in 2006 gave c. 230 (200–290) birds; in 2009 estimated at c. 340 birds BirdLife International (2017) Species factsheet: Zosterops modestus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 04/05/2017 . On Mahé, presently occurs mainly in three tiny areas (La Misère, Upper Barbarons and Cascade), each less than 5 km² in extent. In 1906 was still abundant, and reported as not infrequent in mountainous parts of the island between 330 m and 700 m around central massif; most native forests had then been cleared but supported a scattered tree growth and often thickets of cinnamon bushes. Species not recorded after 1936 until beginning of 1960s (having been thought extinct), when a small flock of about a dozen was located in the cinnamon forest at La Misère. Extremely rare (the least common bird species) on Mahé, where has declined since mid-1970s from c. 100 birds, to c. 50 birds in mid-1990s, with 34–40 individuals counted in 1999; seems now to be decreasing from 50–60 birds in 2007 to less than 40 birds censused in 2011–2013 BirdLife International (2017) Species factsheet: Zosterops modestus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 04/05/2017 . In Feb 1997 a population of this species was discovered on Conception, a small island off Mahé, inhospitable to man because of its steep slopes and absence of beaches or streams, and therefore rarely visited since abandonment of its plantation in mid-1970s. Decline in numbers on Mahé is due mainly to predation by the arboreal black rat (Rattus rattus), Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis) and Seychelles Black Bulbuls (Hypsipetes crassirostris), which are absent or less abundant (myna) on Conception. Forestry practices and commercial tea-growing on Mahé reported to be incompatible with the species’ needs in mid-1970s, and relative scarcity of native fruit trees on Mahé may have contributed to its decline. Most of Mahé population lies outside the Morne Seychellois National Park. Protection of population on dry island of Conception against fire, as well as disease, is desirable; brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) eradicated in 2007. Rat control undertaken at the two main breeding sites on Mahé since 2006. Although the populations of this white-eye on Mahé and Conception are genetically isolated, this limited differentiation is not considered of taxonomic importance, and mixing individuals from both populations in order to increase genetic variation may be beneficial for the species. As part of the Seychelles White-eye Recovery Programme, this species was introduced to Frégate I in 2001, and by 2007 a population of c. 100 birds had become established; in 2007, also introduced to North I (25 birds) and Cousine I (23 birds); North I population reached 100 birds by 2014, whereas only 5 individuals reported on Cousine I in 2013 BirdLife International (2017) Species factsheet: Zosterops modestus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 04/05/2017 . Captive breeding recommended only as a last resort for Mahé birds. Eradication of introduced predators and further introductions to suitable, predator-free islands recommended in Species Action Plan.