The Fiji shrikebill (''Clytorhynchus vitiensis'') is a
songbird
A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 500 ...
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Monarchidae
The monarchs (family Monarchidae) comprise a family of over 100 passerine birds which includes shrikebills, paradise flycatchers, and magpie-larks.
Monarchids are small insectivorous songbirds with long tails. They inhabit forest or woodland a ...
. It is found in
American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...
,
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
, and
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
. Its natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
is subtropical or tropical moist lowland
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
s.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Fiji shrikebill was originally described as belonging to the genus ''
Myiolestes''. Alternate names include the lesser shrikebill and uniform shrikebill.
Subspecies
Twelve
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
are recognized:
* Rotuman lesser shrikebill (''C. v. wiglesworthi'') -
Mayr
Mayr is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Andrea Mayr (born 1979), Austrian female long-distance runner
* Ernst Mayr (1904–2005), German American evolutionary biologist
* Georg Mayr (1564–1623), Bavarian Jesuit pri ...
, 1933: Found on
Rotuma Island
Rotuma is a Fijian dependency, consisting of Rotuma Island and nearby islets. The island group is home to a large and unique Polynesian indigenous ethnic group which constitutes a recognisable minority within the population of Fiji, known as ...
(northern Fiji)
* ''C. v. brunneus'' -
( Ramsay, EP, 1875): Found on
Kadavu,
Ono and Vanua Kula (south-western Fiji)
* ''C. v. buensis'' -
( Layard, EL, 1876): Originally described as a separate species in the genus ''
Myiolestes''. Found on
Vana Levu and
Kioa
KIOA (93.3 FM) is a commercial radio station in Des Moines, Iowa. It is owned by the Des Moines Radio Group subsidiary of Saga Communications and airs a Classic Hits radio format. The station's studios are located at 1416 Locust Street along w ...
(northern Fiji)
* ''C. v. vitiensis'' -
( Hartlaub, 1866): Found in western Fiji
* ''C. v. layardi'' -
Mayr, 1933: Found on
Taveuni
Taveuni (pronounced ) is the third-largest island in Fiji, after Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, with a total land area of . The cigar-shaped island, a massive shield volcano which rises from the floor of the Pacific Ocean, is situated to the east of ...
(central Fiji)
* ''C. v. pontifex'' -
Mayr, 1933: Found on
Qamea
Qamea (pronounced ) is one of three islets lying to the east of Thurston Point on the island of Taveuni, Fiji, the others being Matagi and Laucala.
Geography
Qamea lies some 2.5 kilometers east of Thurston Point and covers an area of 34 square k ...
and
Rabi Rabi may refer to:
Places
* Rábí, a castle in the Czech Republic
* Rabí, a village in the Czech Republic
* Räbi, a village in Estonia
* Rabi, Panchthar, a village development committee in Nepal
* Rabi Island, a volcanic island in northern F ...
(northern Fiji)
* Vanuatu lesser shrikebill (''C. v. vatuanus'') -
Mayr, 1933: Found on northern
Lau Islands
The Lau Islands aka little Tonga (also called the Lau Group, the Eastern Group, the Eastern Archipelago) of Fiji are situated in the southern Pacific Ocean, just east of the Koro Sea. Of this chain of about sixty islands and islets, about thirty a ...
(eastern Fiji)
* ''C. v. nesiotes'' -
( Wetmore, 1919): Originally described as a separate species. Found on southern Lau Islands (eastern Fiji)
* Futuna lesser shrikebill (''C. v. fortunae'') -
(Layard, EL, 1876): Originally described as a separate species in the genus ''
Myiolestes''. Found on
Futuna and
Alofi
Alofi is the capital of the Pacific Ocean island nation of Niue. With a population of 597 in 2017, Alofi has the distinction of being the second smallest national capital city in terms of population (after Ngerulmud, capital of Palau). It consi ...
(north-east of Fiji)
* ''C. v. heinei'' -
( Finsch & Hartlaub, 1870): Originally described as a separate species in the genus ''
Myiolestes''. Found on central
Tonga Islands
Located in Oceania, Tonga is a small archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, directly south of Samoa and about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand. It has 169 islands, 36 of them inhabited, which are in three main groups – Vavaʻu ...
* ''C. v. keppeli'' -
Mayr, 1933: Found on
Niuatoputapu
Niuatoputapu is a high island in the island nation of Tonga, Pacific Ocean. Its highest point is , and its area is . Its name means ''sacred island''. Older European names for the island are Traitors Island or Keppel Island.
Niuatoputapu is ...
and
Tafahi
Tafahi is a small () island in the north of the Tonga archipelago, in fact closer to Savaii (Samoa) than to the main islands of Tonga. It is only north-northeast away from Niuatoputapu, and fishermen commute in small outboard motorboats almost d ...
(northern Tonga)
* Manu’a shrikebill (''C. v. powelli'') -
( Salvin, 1879): Originally described as a separate species. Found on Samoa but may have gone
extinct
Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
in the 1990s due to
habitat destruction
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
References
Clytorhynchus
Birds of Fiji
Birds described in 1866
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Taxa named by Gustav Hartlaub
{{Monarchidae-stub