Endemic birds of Madagascar and western Indian Ocean islands

This article is one of a series providing information about endemism among birds in the world's various zoogeographic zones. For an overview of this subject see Endemism in birds.

Patterns of endemism

This region is notable not just for the high number of endemic species, but for endemism in higher-level taxonomic groupings too.

Order-level endemism

Two orders are endemic to Madagascar or the wider region:

  • Mesites are placed within the Mesitornithiformes, an order containing three species in two genera.
  • The cuckoo-roller is placed in the monotypic order Leptosomiformes. It is endemic to the wider region, as its single species is present on both Madagascar and Comores.

Family-level endemism

The following three families are endemic to Madagascar:

  • Ground-rollers, a family within the Coraciiformes, containing five species in three genera.
  • Asities, a passerine family within the Old World suboscines, containing four species in two genera
  • Malagasy Warblers, a passerine family within the Old World oscines, containing eleven species in eight genera.

One other family is endemic to the wider region:

  • The vangas, an oscine passerine family, containing sixteen species in eleven genera are endemic to the region. All but one species are confined to Madagascar, the sole exception being the Comoro blue vanga, restricted to Comores.

Subfamily-level endemism

Genus-level endemism

In addition to genera in the families above, the following genera are endemic to the region (M indicating a genus endemic to Madagascar):

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
  • the jeries Neomixis (three species) and Hartertula (one species) M

In addition in the following genera, high proportions of the member species are endemic to Madagascar:

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
  • the rock-thrushes, Monticola, in which three of the 13 species are endemic to Madagascar (these three are sometimes separated into their own genus, Pseudocossyphus).

Endemic Bird Areas

BirdLife International has defined a number of Endemic Bird Areas and Secondary Areas in Madagascar and the western Indian Ocean islands.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

List of species

Species endemic to Madagascar

The following is a list of species endemic to Madagascar.

Non-passerines

Passerines

Note that:

  • Madagascar partridge is endemic as a native species to Madagascar, but has been introduced on the Mascarenes
  • Madagascar buttonquail is endemic as a native species to Madagascar, but has been introduced on the Mascarenes
  • Madagascar turtle dove is endemic as a native species to Madagascar, but is thought to be an introduced species on the other islands in the region
  • Grey-headed lovebird is endemic as a native species to Madagascar, but has been introduced to the Comoro Islands
  • Madagascar fody is endemic as a native species to Madagascar, but has been introduced to many of the other islands in the region
  • The Elephant bird is now extinct.

Species endemic to other islands or island groups in the region

The following is a list of species endemic to other islands.

Species endemic to the Mascarene group

Species endemic to the Comoros

Species endemic to central Seychelles

Species endemic to the Aldabra islands

There are native Madagascar turtle doves in the Aldabra group (separate races from those found on Madagascar); they may represent a separate species.

Other species endemic to the region

The following is a list of species which are not endemic to a specific island (or island group) but are endemic to the region as a whole.

  • Madagascar sacred ibis (Aldabra, western coast of Madagascar)
  • Réunion harrier (Madagascar, Comoros, Mascarenes)
  • Frances's sparrowhawk (Madagascar, Comoros)
  • Madagascar kestrel (Madagascar, Aldabra)
  • Comoro blue pigeon (Comoros, Aldabra)
  • Greater vasa parrot (Madagascar, Comoros)
  • Lesser vasa parrot (Madagascar, Comoros)
  • Madagascar coucal (Madagascar, Aldabra)
  • Madagascar scops owl (Madagascar, Comoros)
  • Madagascar nightjar (Madagascar, Aldabra)
  • Madagascar black swift (Madagascar, Comoros)
  • Madagascar spine-tailed swift (Madagascar, Comoros)
  • Madagascar kingfisher (Madagascar, Comoros)
  • Madagascar bee-eater (Madagascar, Comoros)
  • Madagascar cuckoo-roller (Madagascar, Comoros)
  • Mascarene martin (Madagascar, Mascarenes)
  • Madagascar bulbul (Madagascar, Comoros, Aldabra)
  • Madagascar paradise flycatcher (Madagascar, Comoros)
  • Madagascar cisticola (Madagascar, Aldabra group)
  • Madagascar brush-warbler (Madagascar, Mohéli, Anjouan)
  • Madagascar white-eye (Madagascar, various other islands)
  • Madagascar green sunbird (Madagascar, Mohéli)
  • Souimanga sunbird (Aldabra, Madagascar)
  • Crested drongo (Madagascar, Anjouan)

Near-endemics

The following is a list of species endemic to the region as breeding species:

  • Madagascar squacco heron (breeding endemic on Madagascar & Aldabra, migrates to East Africa)
  • Madagascar lesser cuckoo (endemic to Madagascar in the breeding season, winters in East Africa).

Two Western Palearctic falcons winter entirely (Eleonora's falcon) or mainly (sooty falcon) on Madagascar.

The following restricted-range species are also found in the region:

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

The following seabirds are restricted to the region as breeders:

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

References
  • Sinclair, Ian and Olivier Langrand (2003) Birds of the Indian Ocean Islands
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