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The paradise flycatcher, Seychelles
Conservation Around the World
311
(Stizostedion vitreum), and Small-mouth Bass (Mieropterus dolomieui). The area may have considerable archaeological interest, as scrapers, knives, millstones, and broken pieces of earthenware, dating back to 200 B.c., have been unearthed. Prehistoric petrographs (rock paintings, etc.) are found on the steep cliffs of Lake Wapizagonke. The zoning plan for La Mauricie places more than half the Park (57.1 per cent) in the wilderness recreation zone, 35.2 per cent as natural environment, 2-9 per cent as general outdoor recreation where major activity areas, access roads, and camp-grounds, will be located, and 4.8 per cent as special preservation. In this last category are the petrographs, a Moose wintering ground, and several stands of White Pine (Pinus strobus). Forillon and La Mauricie will be under development until the mid- 1970s, although temporary facilities for visitors have been provided since 1971. DOROTHY GRAHAM, Information Services, Conservation Group, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
THE PARADISE FLYCATCHER, SEYCHELLES
Fig. 2. Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) in Forillon National Park. These remarkable birds nest on the north coast of the Park. lutea), White Birch (Betula papyrifera), Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum), and Red Maple (Acer rubrum), are the commonest species. The forests provide ideal habitats for a variety of wildlife. Some Moose and White-tailed Deer are found, as well as Black Bear, Wolf (Canis lupus), Red Fox, and Lynx. Mink, River Otter, Muskrat, and Beaver, inhabit the shores of the ponds, lakes, and rivers. About 150 species of birds are found in the Park, including many birds of prey. Brook-trout are the most common fish in the lakes of La Mauricie, and Lake-trout (Salvelinus namaycush) are also found. The St Maurice and Mattawin Rivers abound in Pike (Esox lucius), Walleye Pike
The Paradise Flycatcher, Tchitrea corvina (Newton) called locally the 'Veuve', is only known with certainty to exist on the tiny Seychelles island of La Digue. It is an endearing bird, slightly larger than a canary, and neatly plumaged. The nickname 'Veuve' is said to come from the two long black central feathers in the male's tail (Fig. 1), which resemble the black ribbon traditionally worn by French widows in the 19th century. The islanders still speak a French patois dating from French colonial days more than 150 years ago. The male is a shiny, metallic blue-black all over, with black legs, a sky-blue beak, and a comical expression. The female has the same blue-black head, but her back wings and normal tail are chestnut and her breast is creamy-white (Fig. 2). In 1955, when Ridley & Percy visited the Seychelles to advise on the decline of sea-birds through excessive cropping of eggs, they reported that the Veuve was one of six species or subspecies in danger of extinction (Ridley & Percy, 1958). Shortly afterwards, their gloomy warning was thought to have been proved correct. However, ten years later, the Bristol Seychelles Expedition counted 28 birds, all in the low-lying, heavily-wooded flat land on the west coast of La Digue.
312
Biological Conservation
There is no doubt that the destruction of so many forests in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the introduction of rats and domestic animals, have threatened the survival of the Paradise Flycatcher and several other unique Seychelles birds (Percy, 1970). A fine of one rupee on the spot and the confiscation of the weapon has removed the greatest threat: children with catapults !
Fig. 1. Male Paradise Flycatcher (Tchitrea corvina) on the Seychelles island of La Digue. Note the two long black central feathers of the male's tail. Photo: Tony Beamish.
I was therefore delighted when I stayed on La Digue in 1971 to see quite a number of these fearless birds, singly and in pairs, and to watch them catching flies on the wing and searching for cockroaches, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and other insects, under leaves or occasionally on the ground. They are busy and restless but far from shy, and a colony of three pairs visited my wife on the beach near the landing stage at La Passe. My guess is that there are now at least 50, and perhaps as many as 80, Paradise Flycatchers on La Digue. Rumour has it, too, that a small colony
Fig. 2. Female Paradise Flycatcher at nest. This is thought to be the first photograph ever to be taken of this rare endemic species. Photo: Tony Beamish.
lives on the south-west coast of neighbouring Praslin, the home of the Black Parrot (and of the Seychelles Scops Owl, unless my ears deceived me). Loustau-Lalanne reported (1962) that the breeding season of the Veuve is from October to March, but in the past two years nests with young have been seen in eleven months of the year, so the bird seems to be a non-annual breeder. He also stated flatly that it normally lays clutches of two or three eggs, which are off-white with brown spots. Each of the half-dozen or so nests I examined last October, however, held only one egg, and local opinion confirmed that this is normal. All the nests I saw were within 10 and 30 feet (ca 3-9 m) from the ground, in small forks near the end of the outer branches of Badamier (Terminalia sp.) or Takamaka (Calophyllum sp.) trees (Fig. 2), where they were safe from predators but subject to violent buffeting when the north-west winds blew. They were neatly built of interwoven fibres of coconut shucks and fronds and Casuarina needles, lined with dry rootlets, leaves, an occasional feather of the charming Fairy Tern (Anous alba monte), and sometimes bonded with bits of sticky spiders' webs. Males and females share the chores of building nests and feeding the young, but I only saw females sitting on eggs. One gallant Veuve must have had two wives, as I saw one female take over a nest from another for a few minutes, only to perch close by on the real mother's return, ready to help out again when needed. This is unique in my experience. Incubation normally takes twelve days, and the young leave the nest about three weeks after hatching. Now that the airport on Mah6 is open, the Seychelles will inevitably become a great tourist attraction. With this in mind, the Seychelles Government sought the advice of a conservation expert, Mr John Procter, and published late in 1971 a 'white paper' based on his recommendations (Government of Seychelles, 1971). Not only is La Digue, perhaps the lovelist of all the islands, to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, but the Veuve's main habitat on the west coast is to be a Special Reserve, specifically for its protection. Its homes will no longer be destroyed by the uncontrolled felling of trees for boat-building and housing, and a warden, Abraham Niole, has been engaged jointly by the Seychelles government and the International Council for Bird Preservation which owns the neighbouring Cousin Island Nature Reserve (Percy, 1970). So when I revisit La Digue and pay a courtesy call on the Paradise Flycatcher, I shall expect to find it in increasing numbers. With so much world-wide anxiety about the extinction of rare species this, at least, promises to be a success story.
Conferences&Meetings
References GOVERNMENTOF SEYCHELLES(1971). Conservation Policy in the Seychelles. Government Printer, Union Vale, Mah6: i + 10 pp. LOUSTAU-LALANNE, Philippe (1962). Land Birds of the Granitic Islands of the Seychelles. Seychelles Society, Occasional Publication No. l, Government Printer, Seychelles, 32 pp. PERCY, Lord Richard (1970). Cousin Island Nature Reserve in the Seychelles, Indian Ocean. Biological Conservation, 2(3), pp. 225-7, illustr.
313
RIDLEY, M. W. & PERCY, R. (1958). The exploitation of sea birds in Seychelles. Colonial Research Studies, No. 25, HM Stationery Office, London: viii + 78 pp., illustr.
COL. SIR TUFTON BEAMISH, M.C., D.L., M.P.
(Past-President, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds); House of Commons, Westminster, London, S W1, England.
CONFERENCES & MEETINGS TENTH ANNIVERSARYCELEBRATIONSOF THE WORLD WILD- on using its financial resources on direct conservation of LIFEFUND, HELDIN LAUSANNE~SWITZERLAND,11 SEPTEMBER wild species and places--'a cause in which we are irreplace1971 able and already the leader'. Notable efforts and achievements in the conservation The World Wildlife Fund's resources for conservation sphere were marked by the election as Members of Honour received a big boost during its tenth anniversary celebra- of Nell Armstrong of the United States (the first man on tions in Lausanne on 11 September 1971. While the Fund's the Moon), Max Nicholson of Britain, Dr Boonsong President, The Prince of the Netherlands, was addressing Lekagul of Thailand, Judge Russell E. Train of the United the anniversary gathering at the Beau-Rivage Palace Hotel, States, and Victor Stolan of Britain. Gold Medals were he was handed a letter which enclosed a cheque for one presented to John Owen for his work as Director of million Swiss francs (£100,000 sterling or $420,000) from Tanzania National Parks, to Dr Valverde for his contribuan anonymous source. Other donations during the celebra- tion to saving the Coto Donafia and other conservation tions brought the total for the day to 1,530,000 Swiss work in Spain, and to Miss Phyllis Barclay-Smith (to francs (£153,000 sterling or $367,200), which will carry on mark a lifetime's devotion to bird preservation, and, more the work to which over 31,622,970 Swiss francs (£3,067,939 recently, to the battle against pollution of the seas). sterling or $7,363,052) have been devoted over the past ten The World Wildlife Fund came into existence in 1961 years. after the issue of the Morges Manifesto,* and the tenth The occasion served for a review of achievements and a anniversary was marked by the issue of the Second Morges look at the challenges of the future. British naturalist Peter Manifesto, which declared that ' M a n . . . has accelerated Scott, Vice-President, and one of the inspirers of the Fund, the wanton destruction of his heritage.'1" told the gathering of over 500 distinguished people of the PETER F. R. JACKSON, many natural areas--forests, wetlands, and wildlife Director of lnformation, sanctuaries--that had been conserved all over the world Worm Wildhfe Fund International, through the efforts of the Fund. He also stressed the 1110 Morges, contribution made to the survival of many species-Switzerland. especially the Javan Rhino, the Vicufia, the Arabian Oryx, the Hawaiian Goose, the Orang-Utan and Morelet's Crocodile--saying that 'These projects looked at singly * Quoted in full in Biological Conservation, Vol. 1, No. 3, p. 193, April 1969.--Ed. may seen to be mostly rather small and unimportant. . . . But I submit that, taken in aggregate, they amount to solid t Quoted in full in our last issue, p. 184. Readers may be conservation achievement.' He also stressed the great interested to note the large proportion of persons mentioned impact which W W F was having by bringing influence to in this report who are among our Consulting Editors and/or bear at the highest levels of governments to promote nature contributors.--Ed. conservation. Dr Luc Hoffman, Executive Vice-President of WWF, gave a reminder that this was no time to be self-satisfied about what had been achieved. The Fund's strength and effectiveness must be increased if the mission to save the FIRST MEETINGOF THE COMMITTEEON THE IMPROVEMENT world from progressive degradation was to succeed. But OF CULTURALLANDSCAPES,HELD IN CRACOW, POLAND, the F u n d could not have the resources to carry out all the 7 OCTOBER 1971 work of conservation itself: the major responsibility lay with governments which must be encouraged to act. W W F A new body, entitled the 'Committee on the Improvemust campaign itself and support others, in the battles for ment of Cultural Landscapes', was established on 7 October control of pollution; at the same time it had to concentrate 1971 in Cracow, Poland. In respect of its organization and
311
(Stizostedion vitreum), and Small-mouth Bass (Mieropterus dolomieui). The area may have considerable archaeological interest, as scrapers, knives, millstones, and broken pieces of earthenware, dating back to 200 B.c., have been unearthed. Prehistoric petrographs (rock paintings, etc.) are found on the steep cliffs of Lake Wapizagonke. The zoning plan for La Mauricie places more than half the Park (57.1 per cent) in the wilderness recreation zone, 35.2 per cent as natural environment, 2-9 per cent as general outdoor recreation where major activity areas, access roads, and camp-grounds, will be located, and 4.8 per cent as special preservation. In this last category are the petrographs, a Moose wintering ground, and several stands of White Pine (Pinus strobus). Forillon and La Mauricie will be under development until the mid- 1970s, although temporary facilities for visitors have been provided since 1971. DOROTHY GRAHAM, Information Services, Conservation Group, Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
THE PARADISE FLYCATCHER, SEYCHELLES
Fig. 2. Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) in Forillon National Park. These remarkable birds nest on the north coast of the Park. lutea), White Birch (Betula papyrifera), Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum), and Red Maple (Acer rubrum), are the commonest species. The forests provide ideal habitats for a variety of wildlife. Some Moose and White-tailed Deer are found, as well as Black Bear, Wolf (Canis lupus), Red Fox, and Lynx. Mink, River Otter, Muskrat, and Beaver, inhabit the shores of the ponds, lakes, and rivers. About 150 species of birds are found in the Park, including many birds of prey. Brook-trout are the most common fish in the lakes of La Mauricie, and Lake-trout (Salvelinus namaycush) are also found. The St Maurice and Mattawin Rivers abound in Pike (Esox lucius), Walleye Pike
The Paradise Flycatcher, Tchitrea corvina (Newton) called locally the 'Veuve', is only known with certainty to exist on the tiny Seychelles island of La Digue. It is an endearing bird, slightly larger than a canary, and neatly plumaged. The nickname 'Veuve' is said to come from the two long black central feathers in the male's tail (Fig. 1), which resemble the black ribbon traditionally worn by French widows in the 19th century. The islanders still speak a French patois dating from French colonial days more than 150 years ago. The male is a shiny, metallic blue-black all over, with black legs, a sky-blue beak, and a comical expression. The female has the same blue-black head, but her back wings and normal tail are chestnut and her breast is creamy-white (Fig. 2). In 1955, when Ridley & Percy visited the Seychelles to advise on the decline of sea-birds through excessive cropping of eggs, they reported that the Veuve was one of six species or subspecies in danger of extinction (Ridley & Percy, 1958). Shortly afterwards, their gloomy warning was thought to have been proved correct. However, ten years later, the Bristol Seychelles Expedition counted 28 birds, all in the low-lying, heavily-wooded flat land on the west coast of La Digue.
312
Biological Conservation
There is no doubt that the destruction of so many forests in the 18th and 19th centuries, and the introduction of rats and domestic animals, have threatened the survival of the Paradise Flycatcher and several other unique Seychelles birds (Percy, 1970). A fine of one rupee on the spot and the confiscation of the weapon has removed the greatest threat: children with catapults !
Fig. 1. Male Paradise Flycatcher (Tchitrea corvina) on the Seychelles island of La Digue. Note the two long black central feathers of the male's tail. Photo: Tony Beamish.
I was therefore delighted when I stayed on La Digue in 1971 to see quite a number of these fearless birds, singly and in pairs, and to watch them catching flies on the wing and searching for cockroaches, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and other insects, under leaves or occasionally on the ground. They are busy and restless but far from shy, and a colony of three pairs visited my wife on the beach near the landing stage at La Passe. My guess is that there are now at least 50, and perhaps as many as 80, Paradise Flycatchers on La Digue. Rumour has it, too, that a small colony
Fig. 2. Female Paradise Flycatcher at nest. This is thought to be the first photograph ever to be taken of this rare endemic species. Photo: Tony Beamish.
lives on the south-west coast of neighbouring Praslin, the home of the Black Parrot (and of the Seychelles Scops Owl, unless my ears deceived me). Loustau-Lalanne reported (1962) that the breeding season of the Veuve is from October to March, but in the past two years nests with young have been seen in eleven months of the year, so the bird seems to be a non-annual breeder. He also stated flatly that it normally lays clutches of two or three eggs, which are off-white with brown spots. Each of the half-dozen or so nests I examined last October, however, held only one egg, and local opinion confirmed that this is normal. All the nests I saw were within 10 and 30 feet (ca 3-9 m) from the ground, in small forks near the end of the outer branches of Badamier (Terminalia sp.) or Takamaka (Calophyllum sp.) trees (Fig. 2), where they were safe from predators but subject to violent buffeting when the north-west winds blew. They were neatly built of interwoven fibres of coconut shucks and fronds and Casuarina needles, lined with dry rootlets, leaves, an occasional feather of the charming Fairy Tern (Anous alba monte), and sometimes bonded with bits of sticky spiders' webs. Males and females share the chores of building nests and feeding the young, but I only saw females sitting on eggs. One gallant Veuve must have had two wives, as I saw one female take over a nest from another for a few minutes, only to perch close by on the real mother's return, ready to help out again when needed. This is unique in my experience. Incubation normally takes twelve days, and the young leave the nest about three weeks after hatching. Now that the airport on Mah6 is open, the Seychelles will inevitably become a great tourist attraction. With this in mind, the Seychelles Government sought the advice of a conservation expert, Mr John Procter, and published late in 1971 a 'white paper' based on his recommendations (Government of Seychelles, 1971). Not only is La Digue, perhaps the lovelist of all the islands, to be designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, but the Veuve's main habitat on the west coast is to be a Special Reserve, specifically for its protection. Its homes will no longer be destroyed by the uncontrolled felling of trees for boat-building and housing, and a warden, Abraham Niole, has been engaged jointly by the Seychelles government and the International Council for Bird Preservation which owns the neighbouring Cousin Island Nature Reserve (Percy, 1970). So when I revisit La Digue and pay a courtesy call on the Paradise Flycatcher, I shall expect to find it in increasing numbers. With so much world-wide anxiety about the extinction of rare species this, at least, promises to be a success story.
Conferences&Meetings
References GOVERNMENTOF SEYCHELLES(1971). Conservation Policy in the Seychelles. Government Printer, Union Vale, Mah6: i + 10 pp. LOUSTAU-LALANNE, Philippe (1962). Land Birds of the Granitic Islands of the Seychelles. Seychelles Society, Occasional Publication No. l, Government Printer, Seychelles, 32 pp. PERCY, Lord Richard (1970). Cousin Island Nature Reserve in the Seychelles, Indian Ocean. Biological Conservation, 2(3), pp. 225-7, illustr.
313
RIDLEY, M. W. & PERCY, R. (1958). The exploitation of sea birds in Seychelles. Colonial Research Studies, No. 25, HM Stationery Office, London: viii + 78 pp., illustr.
COL. SIR TUFTON BEAMISH, M.C., D.L., M.P.
(Past-President, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds); House of Commons, Westminster, London, S W1, England.
CONFERENCES & MEETINGS TENTH ANNIVERSARYCELEBRATIONSOF THE WORLD WILD- on using its financial resources on direct conservation of LIFEFUND, HELDIN LAUSANNE~SWITZERLAND,11 SEPTEMBER wild species and places--'a cause in which we are irreplace1971 able and already the leader'. Notable efforts and achievements in the conservation The World Wildlife Fund's resources for conservation sphere were marked by the election as Members of Honour received a big boost during its tenth anniversary celebra- of Nell Armstrong of the United States (the first man on tions in Lausanne on 11 September 1971. While the Fund's the Moon), Max Nicholson of Britain, Dr Boonsong President, The Prince of the Netherlands, was addressing Lekagul of Thailand, Judge Russell E. Train of the United the anniversary gathering at the Beau-Rivage Palace Hotel, States, and Victor Stolan of Britain. Gold Medals were he was handed a letter which enclosed a cheque for one presented to John Owen for his work as Director of million Swiss francs (£100,000 sterling or $420,000) from Tanzania National Parks, to Dr Valverde for his contribuan anonymous source. Other donations during the celebra- tion to saving the Coto Donafia and other conservation tions brought the total for the day to 1,530,000 Swiss work in Spain, and to Miss Phyllis Barclay-Smith (to francs (£153,000 sterling or $367,200), which will carry on mark a lifetime's devotion to bird preservation, and, more the work to which over 31,622,970 Swiss francs (£3,067,939 recently, to the battle against pollution of the seas). sterling or $7,363,052) have been devoted over the past ten The World Wildlife Fund came into existence in 1961 years. after the issue of the Morges Manifesto,* and the tenth The occasion served for a review of achievements and a anniversary was marked by the issue of the Second Morges look at the challenges of the future. British naturalist Peter Manifesto, which declared that ' M a n . . . has accelerated Scott, Vice-President, and one of the inspirers of the Fund, the wanton destruction of his heritage.'1" told the gathering of over 500 distinguished people of the PETER F. R. JACKSON, many natural areas--forests, wetlands, and wildlife Director of lnformation, sanctuaries--that had been conserved all over the world Worm Wildhfe Fund International, through the efforts of the Fund. He also stressed the 1110 Morges, contribution made to the survival of many species-Switzerland. especially the Javan Rhino, the Vicufia, the Arabian Oryx, the Hawaiian Goose, the Orang-Utan and Morelet's Crocodile--saying that 'These projects looked at singly * Quoted in full in Biological Conservation, Vol. 1, No. 3, p. 193, April 1969.--Ed. may seen to be mostly rather small and unimportant. . . . But I submit that, taken in aggregate, they amount to solid t Quoted in full in our last issue, p. 184. Readers may be conservation achievement.' He also stressed the great interested to note the large proportion of persons mentioned impact which W W F was having by bringing influence to in this report who are among our Consulting Editors and/or bear at the highest levels of governments to promote nature contributors.--Ed. conservation. Dr Luc Hoffman, Executive Vice-President of WWF, gave a reminder that this was no time to be self-satisfied about what had been achieved. The Fund's strength and effectiveness must be increased if the mission to save the FIRST MEETINGOF THE COMMITTEEON THE IMPROVEMENT world from progressive degradation was to succeed. But OF CULTURALLANDSCAPES,HELD IN CRACOW, POLAND, the F u n d could not have the resources to carry out all the 7 OCTOBER 1971 work of conservation itself: the major responsibility lay with governments which must be encouraged to act. W W F A new body, entitled the 'Committee on the Improvemust campaign itself and support others, in the battles for ment of Cultural Landscapes', was established on 7 October control of pollution; at the same time it had to concentrate 1971 in Cracow, Poland. In respect of its organization and