San Cristóbal vermilion flycatcher

San Cristóbal vermilion flycatcher
Not evaluated
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Suborder: Tyranni
Family: Tyrannidae
Genus: Pyrocephalus
Species: P. rubinus
Subspecies: P. rubinus dubius
Trinomial name
Pyrocephalus rubinus dubius
Gould, 1839
Synonyms
  • Pyrocephalus dubius Gould, 1839
  • Pyrocephalus minimus Ridgway, 1890

The San Cristóbal vermilion flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus dubius) is an extremely rare or possibly extinct subspecies of the vermilion flycatcher. It is or was endemic to San Cristóbal Island in the Galápagos Islands. The taxon was discovered during Charles Darwin's Galapagos voyage in 1835 and described as full species Pyrocephalus dubius by John Gould in 1839.

Description

The San Cristóbal vermilion flycatcher reaches a length between 10.8 and 11 cm. The crown of the male is glossy dark vermilion red. The underparts are pale red shading to a brighter hue at the throat and a more intensive red at the breast. The chin is reddish shading to white. The lores, the ear coverts and the upperparts are generally dark brown.

Status

During a survey in 1929 ornithologist Albert Kenrick Fisher found this bird rather abundant all along the arid western coast to the settlement of Progreso in the highlands. During the next sixty years invasive plants replaced a large part of the endemic vegetation which led to the decline of the insects which were dependent on the endemic plants. When David and Lee Steadman visited San Cristobal Island in the 1980s they described the San Cristóbal vermilion flycatcher as extremely rare. Finally, a six-month expedition in 1998, failed to find any birds. Reasons for the decline of the San Cristóbal vermilion flycatcher might have been the vanishing of the food insects, avian pox, and the avian malaria.

References


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