Sangihe White-eye
The Sangihe White-eye ( Zosterops nehrkorni ), also referred to as Nehrkorn White-eye, is a rare songbird of the family of white-eyes. Its distribution is limited to the Sangihe Islands. The specific epithet refers to the German ornithologists Adolph Nehrkorn.
Description
The Sangihe White-eye reaches a length of 12 centimeters. The top is intense olive green. The striking rump is yellowish green and the tail dark green black. The forehead is black. The iris is surrounded by a broad white eye-ring. Chin, throat and under tail-coverts are bright yellow. The rest of the underside is pearly white. The flanks are gray. Bill and legs are orange.
Way of life
Of his life little is known. Its habitat is dominated by pandanus primary deciduous forests on mountain slopes at altitudes 750-1000 m. He lives on the middle tree layer and the canopy. Its food consists of insects and fruits.
Status
The Sangihe White-eye was long known only by the collected by Carl Constantin Platen type specimen from 1886 until it was rediscovered in 1996. In August 1996 the ornithologist Frank Lambert was able to prove three copies at Gunung Sahendaruman. Three other specimens were observed by Jim C. Wardill at Gunung Sahengbalira in November 1996. The last confirmed sighting was in November 1998 at the Gunung Batu Tukade Sahendaruman. In February 1999, It was again the singing of birds three glasses are included. An observation of the birds but was unsuccessful. BirdLife International estimates the total stock to less than 50 copies. Due to the strong deforestation on Sangihe the habitat of the Sangihe glasses bird only today includes an area of 8 km ². 1996 called the British- Indonesian conservation organization " Action Sampiri " the Sangihe and Talaud Conversation Project launched to make the local population aware of the danger to the Sangihe glasses bird and to achieve better protection.
Taxonomy
The Sangihe White-eye was described in 1888 by Wilhelm Blasius nehrkorni as an independent species Zosterops. 1931 classified him Erwin Stresemann as a subspecies of Wallace goggles bird ( Zosterops atrifrons ). In 2000, the American ornithologist Pamela C. Rasmussen told both taxa based on morphological differences in the independent species Zosterops atrifrons and Zosterops nehrkorni on.