Iphis Monarch (pomarea iphis)

Wikipedia | The Iphis Monarch (Pomarea iphis) is a species of bird in the Monarchidae family. It is endemic to French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist shrubland, and plantations .

International Union for Conservation of Nature | Status – Vulnerable – Justification This species qualifies as Vulnerable because it is confined to one tiny island and is at risk from the introduction of alien species, especially black rats.

Taxonomy |  Class:     AVES Order:     PASSERIFORMES Family:     MONARCHIDAE Scientific Name:     Pomarea iphis Common Name/s:     IPHIS MONARCH (Eng)

Geographic Range Description |     Pomarea iphis is endemic to the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. It is restricted to Ua Huka, where several hundred pairs were estimated in 1975, and 500-1,250 in 1998.

Habitat and Ecology |  On Ua Huka (c.30% forested), breeding birds were found from 30 m to 650 m (non-breeders to 840 m) in all native low- to mid-elevation moist and wet forest in the south and locally in lowland dry forest (with Pisonia grandis) on the eastern coast. It forages in dense brush, gleaning insects from branches or hawking them in dark, shaded areas beneath brush-covered canopy.

Threats |  On Ua Huka, no threats are known although black rat Rattus rattus is established on, Teuaua, a nearby motu.

Conservation measures underway |  A programme to eradicate R. rattus from Teuaua was unsuccessful, although in 1998 trapping indicated that R. rattus is still absent from Ua Huka. Eiao is a protected area, but there has been no management3.    

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BirdLife International 2006. Threatened Birds of the World 2006. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 04/05/2006.

Citation:     BirdLife International 2006. Pomarea iphis. In: IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 13 June 2008.