The bridled white-eye (''Zosterops conspicillatus'') (

Chamorro Chamorro may refer to: * Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific * Chamorro language, an Austronesian language indigenous to The Marianas * Chamorro Time Zone, the time zone of Guam and the Northern Mar ...

name: ''nosa'') was a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the family

Zosteropidae The white-eyes are a family, Zosteropidae, of small passerine birds native to tropical, subtropical and temperate Sub-Saharan Africa, southern and eastern Asia, and Australasia. White-eyes inhabit most tropical islands in the Indian Ocean, the ...

. It was

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 else ...

to the island of

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

in the Mariana Islands. The species' 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 ...

was 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. One traditionally recognized subspecies is endemic to the

Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...

, on the islands of

Tinian Tinian ( or ; old Japanese name: 天仁安島, ''Tenian-shima'') is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the ...

, Saipan and

Aguijan Aguiguan (also Aguigan and Aguihan, based on the Spanish rendition of the native name, Aguijan, which is still used) is a small bean-shaped coralline island in the Northern Mariana Islands chain in the Pacific Ocean. It is situated south-west of ...

. The nominate subspecies formerly occurred on the island of

, but is now considered extinct due to the invasive and predatory

brown tree snake The brown tree snake (''Boiga irregularis''), also known as the brown catsnake, is an arboreal rear-fanged colubrid snake native to eastern and northern coastal Australia, eastern Indonesia (Sulawesi to Papua), Papua New Guinea, and many islands ...

. The last known sighting was in 1983. The remaining subspecies, ''Z. (c.) saypani'', is separated as a full-species by some authorities. Until recently, this population was extremely abundant across its native range. 2007-2008 surveys estimated a population of 620,000-940,000, with approximately 534,000 birds on Saipan alone. In 2010, this species was the second most abundant breeding landbird encountered by surveyors on Saipan. The potential introduction of the brown tree snake on Saipan and U.S. military activity on Tinian are expected to result in rapid population declines on these islands, which constitutes over 50% of this bird's range. A survey into the impacts these have had on the wild populations has not yet been conducted, but as a precautionary measure the species has been classified as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

. The Saipan white-eye has a captive breeding program based at the

Sedgwick County Zoo The Sedgwick County Zoo is an AZA-accredited wildlife park and major attraction in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1971, with the help of the Sedgwick County Zoological Society, the zoo has quickly become recognized both nationally ...

and

National Aviary The National Aviary, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the only independent indoor nonprofit aviary in the United States. It is also the country's largest aviary, and the only one accorded honorary "National" status by the United States Co ...

. Formerly, the Rota white-eye was also considered as a subspecies of the bridled white-eye.

References

bridled white-eye Birds of the Northern Mariana Islands bridled white-eye Taxa named by Heinrich von Kittlitz Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Zosteropidae-stub