Long-billed white-eye

Long-billed white-eye
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Zosteropidae
Genus:Rukia
Species: R. longirostra
Binomial name
Rukia longirostra
(Taka-Tsukasa & Yamashina, 1931)

The long-billed white-eye (Rukia longirostra) is a species of bird in the Zosteropidae family. It is endemic to the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia.

Its natural habitats are subtropical and tropical moist forests, and plantations. It is threatened by habitat loss.

It has a curious nuthatch-like behavior of creeping along large tree limbs, and seems particularly specialized in using its long, slightly decurved bill to extract arthropods from the severed ends of branches.

Long-billed white-eye seems quite distinct in both plumage, structure, and habits from other Rukia and may deserve a change of genus, possibly to Zosterops.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Rukia longirostra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.