Golden White-eye Cleptornis marchei Scientific name definitions

14 cm; 20·2 g. Unmistakable. Head is yellow to orange, with narrow pale eyering; back yellowish-green, wing and tail feathers fringed orange-yellow; golden orange-yellow below , washed cinnamon-red on flanks and undertail-coverts; iris dark brown; bill and legs orange. Sexes alike in plumage, but male longer-winged (wing 76–80 mm) and longer-billed than female (wing 71–73 mm). Juvenile has duller, paler plumage than adult, with areas of brownish-yellow on back and side of head, sometimes brownish-yellow streaks on breast; dusky bill, duller-coloured feet.

Saipan and Aguijan, in S Northern Mariana Is.

Understorey of wide variety of wooded and semi-open habitats, including strand forest and suburban areas, but generally absent from sword-grass savanna; more common in native limestone forest than in disturbed habitats. Only bird species on Saipan that is not found in L Susupe marshes.

Not known.

Generalized diet. Mostly berries with hard pits, which are swallowed whole; also fruits of Momordica (also seeds), Premna, Ficus, Melanolepsis, Psychotria (also nectar), Artocarpus, Lantana (also flowers), Carica and Muntingia, and nectar and/or flowers of Pisonia, Erythrina, Morinda and Aidia. Also invertebrates , picked from bark and leaves of trees; flying insects. Typically in family groups (with food-begging immatures) of 3–4 individuals, but sometimes travels in groups of up to twelve, frequently noisy; during foraging followed 1–2 m behind by Rufous Fantails (Rhipidura rufifrons), which seen to hawk insects disturbed from leaves by the white-eyes. Forages from ground to treetops, but predominantly in top outer portion of trees, mostly by gleaning and probing among (dead) leaves, on branches and on fruit. Despite its long legs, not a ground-feeder. Territorial, with countersinging between neighbouring pairs throughout day.

Song described as an extended rambling warble, sounding like “séé mé-can you séé mé-I can séé yóú-can you séé méé…”. Flock calls include harsh, strident, raspy “tchup” or “schick” during swift flight, and quick loud whistle; begging call of juvenile a plaintive mellow whistle; twanging calls similar to that of Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus).

Nests found in all months except Nov; song and food-begging observed throughout year, but apparently not during protracted dry season. Nest cup-shaped and unlined, composed primarily of casuarina (Casuarina) “needles”, grasses, vine tendrils and coarse hairs, placed 1·5–6·5 m above ground in tree, e.g. Casuarina equisitifolia, Guamia marinannae, Cynometra, Leucena, Citrus, Maltighia or Randia. Clutch 2 eggs, pale bluish-green, with reddish-brown splotches concentrated at wide end, 20·3 × 15·1 mm; incubation by both sexes equally, period 14 days; fledging period 10–12 days.

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED. Restricted-range species: present in Mariana Islands EBA. Confined to Saipan (122 km²), where it is abundant, with population was estimated at 71,997 individuals in 2007 (1 Camp, R. J., T. K. Pratt, A. P. Marshall, F. Amidon, and L. L. Williams (2009). Recent status and trends of the land bird avifauna on Saipan, Mariana Islands, with emphasis on the endangered Nightingale Reed-warbler Acrocephalus luscinia. Bird Conservation International 19(4):323–337. Close ), and the even smaller island of Aguijan (4 km²), where population estimated to number 1169 birds in 2010 (2 Amidon, F., R. J. Camp, A. P. Marshall, T. K. Pratt, L. L. Williams, P. Radley, and J. B. Cruz (2014). Terrestrial bird population trends on Aguiguan (Goat Island), Mariana Islands. Bird Conservation International 24(4):505–517. Close ). Extirpated from Tinian and Rota in prehistoric times. Global population therefore c. 73,000 birds BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Cleptornis marchei. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/06/2015. . Population rapidly decreasing: densities on Saipan declined from 1287 birds per km² in 1982, to 996 in 1997 and 712 birds per km² in 2007 (1 Camp, R. J., T. K. Pratt, A. P. Marshall, F. Amidon, and L. L. Williams (2009). Recent status and trends of the land bird avifauna on Saipan, Mariana Islands, with emphasis on the endangered Nightingale Reed-warbler Acrocephalus luscinia. Bird Conservation International 19(4):323–337. Close ). Considered Vulnerable until 2004. However, brown tree-snake (Boiga irregularis), recently introduced to Saipan is a major predator, and very likely to lead to massive decrease in this white-eye’s numbers, triggering uplisting to Critically Endangered. It is thought unlikely that the tree-snake will reach Aguijan BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Cleptornis marchei. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/06/2015. . By 2010, captive breeding efforts have begun in six institutions in the USA BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Cleptornis marchei. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 25/06/2015. .