Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This newly-recognised species was known with certainty only from Marianne Island in the Seychelles, although it may also have occurred on Praslin, La Digue, Silhouette Island and Mahé. The only specimen collected after the type series appears to have been in April 1890 by Doctor W.L. Abbott (Ridgway 1896). It became Extinct between then and 1940, most likely before 1900.
Population justification
No extant population remains.
Trend justification
Very little is known about this recently described species. The last specimen was taken in 1890 (Ridgley 1896, cf. Lionnet 1984), and it is thought to have become extinct by 1900 (Hume 2017). The main drivers of decline was likely deforestation, competition with introduced birds, and predation by introduced black rats Rattus rattus (Hume 2017).
This newly-recognised species was known with certainty only from Marianne Island, Seychelles, although it may also have occurred on Praslin, La Digue, Silhouette Island and Mahé (Hume 2017).
Little is known, but Marianne is a small, granitic island with a maximum altitude of 130 m. The species was likely gregarious and lived in small flocks (Hume 2017).
The cause of extinction is unknown, but deforestation was likely the main cause, as natural forest cleared for coconut plantation (Skerrett et al. 2001), with competition with introduced birds, and predation by introduced black rats R. rattus playing a role (Hume 2017).
Text account compilers
Richardson, L.
Contributors
Symes, A.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Marianne White-eye Zosterops semiflavus. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/marianne-white-eye-zosterops-semiflavus on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.