The Mascarene martin was first formally described in 1789 as Hirundo borbonica. The nominate subspecies occurs on Mauritius and Réunion. The smaller Madagascan subspecies is migratory and has been recorded wintering in East Africa or wandering to other Indian Ocean islands. It is classed as a species of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
About Mascarene martin in brief
The Mascarene martin was first formally described in 1789 as Hirundo borbonica by German zoologist Johann Friedrich Gmelin. The nominate subspecies occurs on Mauritius and Réunion. The smaller Madagascan subspecies is migratory and has been recorded wintering in East Africa or wandering to other Indian Ocean islands. It nests in small colonies anywhere with suitably sheltered sites for constructing a nest, such as ledges, buildings, tunnels, caves or amongst rocks. The nest is a shallow cup of twigs and other plant material, and the normal clutch is two or three brown-spotted white eggs. It is classed as a species of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Its legal protection ranges from none on the French overseas department of Réunion to a status on Mauritian as a’species of wildlife’ It is thought to be an early offshoot from the main swallow lineage, although the striped plumage of its two species suggests a distant relationship with streaked African species. The Phedina swallows are placed within the Hirundininae subfamily, which comprises all swallows and martins except the very distinctive river martins. The nearest relation is the banded martin Riparia cincta, which appears not to be closely related to the other members of its current genus and resembles Brazza’s martin in its nesting habits and calls.
The current Association of European Rarities Committees -recommended practice is to move the banded martin to its own genus as Neophedina brazzae, rather than merge it into the Phedina chedina. The other member of the genus is the Brazza martin Phedinopsis, although in the past it has sometimes been suggested that it should be moved to Phed inopsis due to the significant differences in vocalisations and nest type from the two Phedins. It has a heavy flight with slow wingbeats interspersed with glides, and frequently perches on wires. In eastern Africa, open habitats such as deforested areas are frequently used for hunting. A number of internal and external parasites have been detected in this species. It feeds on insects in flight, often hunting low over the ground or vegetation. The species name refers to the Île de Bourbon and the genus name is derived from the Greek phaios \”brown\” and the Italian rondine \”swallow\”, and the name of the bird’s habitat is Bourbon Island, which is located on the island of Mauritius. There are two subspecies, nominate P. borbonica Borbonica and P. b. madagascariensis in Madagascar.
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This page is based on the article Mascarene martin published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 02, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
