The Natewa silktail (''Lamprolia klinesmithi'') is a species of bird

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

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 ...

. This beautiful bird looks superficially like a diminutive

bird-of-paradise The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species are found in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Australia. The family has 44 species in 17 genera. The members of this ...

but it is actually closely related to the

fantail Fantails are small insectivorous songbirds of the genus ''Rhipidura'' in the family Rhipiduridae, native to Australasia, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Most of the species are about long, specialist aerial feeders, and named as " ...

s. The species name ''kleinschmidti'' is named for

Theodor Kleinschmidt Theodor Kleinschmidt (6 March 1834 in Wolfhagen – 10 April 1881 in Utuaia, Bismarck Archipelago) was a German trader, explorer and naturalist. Biography Kleinschmidt studied commerce and went to the United States of America in 1843. ...

, a collector from

Museum Godeffroy The Museum Godeffroy was a museum in Hamburg, Germany, which existed from 1861 to 1885. The collection was founded by Johann Cesar VI. Godeffroy, who became a wealthy shipping magnate a few years after the expansion of the trade towards Austral ...

in Hamburg, who obtained the first specimens.

Description

The silktail is a small black bird, measuring around and weighing . It is a small, dumpy bird with long rounded wings, and a short rounded tail. The

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

of the male is velvet black with metallic blue

iridescent Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, feathers, butterfl ...

spangling on the crown and breast, and silky white lower-back patch that travels most of the length down the tail. The margin of the tail is black, sometimes this tip has the same iridescence as other parts of the body. The female is similar to the male, except less glossy, and immature birds are duller than the adults and may have buffy rumps and backs. The irises of this species are dark, and the legs and bill are blackish. The bill is heavy and slightly hooked at the end. The legs are long and the feet strong. It is smaller than the

Taveuni silktail The Taveuni silktail (''Lamprolia victoriae'') is a species of bird endemic to Fiji. This beautiful bird looks superficially like a diminutive bird-of-paradise but it is actually closely related to the fantails. Finsch named the species after Vi ...

and has more iridescence plumage.

Distribution and habitat

The silktail is

to forests of

Vanua Levu Vanua Levu (pronounced ), formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of and a population of 135,961 . Geology Fiji lies in a tectonically ...

, where it only occurs in the east of the island on the Natewa Peninsula. It occurs in mature wet rainforests, as well as forest patches, and is also found in human-modified habitats such as logged forests and in plantations near patches of natural forest.

Behaviour

It can be quite elusive and difficult to see, but may also be confiding and approachable. It is usually very active at dawn, and is encountered either singly or in small flocks. The diet consists mainly of insects, worms and

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

Status and conservation

The silktail is a restricted range species. It is absent from apparently suitable habitat on

, where it only occurs on the Natewa Peninsula. Forest clearance for

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

plantations and general forest clearance within its range have led to the species being listed as vulnerable in 1994, however this was downgraded to

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

in 2006. While its habitat is being lost, it is not yet severely fragmented. The population is estimated at around 3,000-6,000 pairs. A reserve for the species has been proposed, but has not yet been gazetted.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q31874728 Lamprolia Endemic birds of Fiji Birds described in 1876