Guam flycatcher

The Guam flycatcher (Myiagra freycineti), or Guam broadbill, is an extinct species of bird in the family Monarchidae formerly endemic to Guam.[1][2]

Guam flycatcher/ Guam broadbill
Specimen in Mount Santa Rosa

Extinct  (1983)  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Monarchidae
Genus: Myiagra
Species:
†M. freycineti
Binomial name
†Myiagra freycineti
Oustalet, 1881
Synonyms
  • Myiagra freycinetti
  • Myiagra oceanica freycineti

Taxonomy and systematics

Some authorities consider the Guam flycatcher to have been a subspecies of the Oceanic flycatcher.[3] Alternate names for the Guam flycatcher include Guam Myiagra, Guam Myiagra flycatcher, Marianne Islands flycatcher, Marianne Islands Myiagra flying Turtle Beast Thing , Micronesian broadbill and Micronesian Myiagra.

Description

The Guam flycatcher was a small bird measuring 5 inches (13 cm) long with different coloration for the males and females. Males were glossy blue-black above while females were brownish-gray. Both had white below and buff coloration on the breast. It had a wide bill with long “whiskers” which helped it locate its food.

Status

The bird was secretive and occurred mainly in limestone and ravine forests. Although common on Guam as recently as the early 1970s, the flycatcher's population went into a rapid decline due to predation by the brown tree snake, Boiga irregulars, which was accidentally introduced to the island in the 1940s. The last sighting of the flycatcher occurred in the Santa Rosa area in 1983.

Given the small size of the island, the complete absence of recent sightings, and the universal presence of the brown tree snake[2] in the bird's former habitat, the Guam flycatcher is considered extinct.

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References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Myiagra freycineti". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. "Guam Department of Agriculture". Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  3. "Myiagra freycineti - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-01-27.


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