IUCN Species of the Day: Seychelles Paradise-flycatcher
Photo credit: Jason Houston
The Seychelles Paradise-flycatcher Terpsiphone corvina, is listed as ‘CRITICALLY ENDANGERED‘ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. This elegant flycatcher is endemic to the Seychelles, where it is known in Creole as ‘Veuve’, from the French for ‘widow’, owing to its all black plumage.
The only viable population of the Seychelles Paradise-flycatcher is now restricted to La Digue. Habitat loss, due to tourism and private housing developments, has been the major cause of the precipitous decline in the population, and continues to be the greatest threat to this species. Recently, a disease affecting Takamaka trees, leading to increased woodland clearance, has provided further cause for concern.
Owing to various management measures, including the designation of a small reserve and a public awareness programme, the Seychelles Paradise-flycatcher population has shown a small increase in recent decades. In order to expand this species’ range and thus reduce its vulnerability, translocations to other islands in the archipelago are under way, with 23 birds reintroduced to the now restored Denis in 2008 which bred there the following year.
Geographic Range of the Seychelles Paradise-Flycatcher
Credit: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™
To learn more about the Seychelles Paradise-flycatcher, click here. Or visit the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ by clicking their logo below.
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