Humblot's flycatcher (''Humblotia flavirostris'') or the Grand Comore flycatcher, is a small

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

belonging to the

Old World flycatcher The Old World flycatchers are a large family, the Muscicapidae, of small passerine birds restricted to the Old World (Europe, Africa and Asia), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, bluethroat (''Luscinia svecica'') and north ...

family. It is the only member of its genus. Humblot's flycatcher is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to the island of Grand Comoro in the

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

where it inhabits

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

on the slopes of

Mount Karthala Mount Karthala or Karthola ( ''Al Qirṭālah'') is an active volcano and the highest point of the Comoros at above sea level. It is the southernmost and larger of the two shield volcanoes forming Grande Comore island, the largest island in the ...

. The scientific name commemorates the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

naturalist Léon Humblot.

Description

The upperparts are grey-brown while the underparts are pale with dark streaks. It has a dark crown with pale streaks and the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pl ...

and feet are yellow-orange. The bird is long. It is often silent but has a soft trilling call. It differs from ''

Muscicapa ''Muscicapa'' is a genus of passerine birds belonging to the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapidae, and therein to the typical flycatchers of subfamily Muscicapinae. They are widespread across Europe, Africa and Asia with most species occurri ...

'' and other flycatchers in having plumage with a very soft and fluffy texture, and by having distinctive feathers on the crown that are a modification that represents the beginnings of the formation of a crest.

Ecology

Humblot's flycatcher feeds on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s which it catches by making short flights from a perch low in a

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

or bush. Often, it will feed in groups of two or three. Little is known about its breeding habits; the only known

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

was a cup built high in a tree which contained at least two young.

Status

Humblot's flycatcher has a very restricted range and is threatened because of

destruction Destruction may refer to: Concepts * Destruktion, a term from the philosophy of Martin Heidegger * Destructive narcissism, a pathological form of narcissism * Self-destructive behaviour, a widely used phrase that ''conceptualises'' certain kin ...

and degradation of the forest and the spread of

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

such as the

strawberry guava ''Psidium cattleyanum'' (World Plants: ''Psidium cattleianum''), commonly known as Cattley guava, strawberry guava or cherry guava, is a small tree ( tall) in the Myrtaceae (myrtle) family. The species is named in honour of English horticulturis ...

(''Psidium cattleyanum''), which could overwhelm native species, the

common myna The common myna or Indian myna (''Acridotheres tristis''), sometimes spelled mynah, is a bird in the Family (biology), family Sturnidae, native to Asia. An omnivorous open woodland bird with a strong territorial instinct, the common myna has ada ...

(''Acridotheres tristis'') and rats which may raid the nests. The population of 10,000-19,000 individuals is decreasing and the species is classed by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

as vulnerable.

References

* BirdLife International (2006)
Species factsheet: Humblotia flavirostris
'. Downloaded from on 27/2/2007 *Ian Sinclair & Olivier Langrand (1998)
Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands
', Struik, Cape Town. * del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors). (2006). ''

Handbook of the Birds of the World The ''Handbook of the Birds of the World'' (HBW) is a multi-volume series produced by the Spanish publishing house Lynx Edicions in partnership with BirdLife International. It is the first handbook to cover every known living species of bird. ...

''. Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Edicions. . {{Taxonbar, from=Q1587380 Humblot's flycatcher Endemic birds of the Comoros Grande Comore Humblot's flycatcher