Mascarene Martin

Identification

Adult Mascarene martins of the nominate subspecies are 15 cm (5.9 in) long with wings averaging 117 mm (4.6 in) and weigh 23.9 g (0.84 oz). This small hirundine has dark brown-grey upperparts with faint streaking. It has grey-brown underparts becoming white on the throat and lower abdomen, all being heavily streaked with black. The slightly forked tail averages 54.6 mm (2.15 in) long and has white edges to the brown undertail coverts. The wings are blackish-brown and the bill and legs are black. The eyes are dark brown and the black bill averages 11.3 mm (0.44 in) long. The sexes are similar, but juvenile birds have more diffuse breast streaking, and white tips to the feathers covering the closed wing. The Madagascan subspecies is overall paler and larger-billed than the nominate form. It has denser streaking on the breast, but only very fine lines on the lower abdomen and on the white undertail. It is distinctly smaller than the nominate subspecies, 12–14 cm (4.7–5.5 in) in length with an average weight of 20.6 g (0.73 oz). This martin moults in December and January on Mauritius, and Madagascan breeders wintering on the African mainland moult in June and July.<p>The Mascarene martin is a relatively quiet bird, but it has a warbled siri-liri siri-liri song given in flight or when perched; some calls given by perched birds end in a glissando. Other vocalisations may be used during mating or displays of aggression. There is a chip contact call, and the young birds produce a fast twittering sound when begging for food. Birds wintering in mainland Africa are usually silent.<p>No other streaked swallow species occur within the island breeding range of the Mascarene martin, and in Africa the lesser striped swallow is larger, has a deeply forked tail and a very different plumage, with dark blue upperparts, a red rump and a chestnut head. The brown-throated sand martin has similar structure and plumage colour to the Mascarene martin, but has plain, unstreaked underparts. The small Mascarene swiftlet has longer, narrower wings than the martin, and a much lighter flight. The Brazza's martin is smaller, has a plainer back and finer dashing on the throat and chest, but there is no range overlap.

Taxonomy

The Mascarene martin was first formally described in 1789 as Hirundo borbonica by German zoologist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his 13th edition of Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. Gmelin based his account on "La grande hirondelle brune à ventre tacheté" that had been described in 1779 by the French polymath, the Comte de Buffon in his multi-volume work Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. It is likely that the species had previously been described by French naturalist Philibert Commerson who died in Mauritius in 1773. His huge collection of specimens and notes was sent back to the Paris Museum in 1774, but destroyed by sulphur fumigation in about 1810. French biologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte moved the martin to his newly created genus Phedina in 1855. The genus name is derived from the Greek phaios (φαιός) "brown" and the Italian rondine "swallow", and the species name refers to the Île de Bourbon (old French name for Réunion). There are two subspecies, nominate P. b. borbonica on Mauritius and Réunion, and P. b. madagascariensis in Madagascar.<p>Phedina is placed within the Hirundininae subfamily, which comprises all swallows and martins except the very distinctive river martins. DNA sequence studies suggest that there are three major groupings within the Hirundininae, broadly correlating with the type of nest built. These groups are the "core martins", including burrowing species like the sand martin; the "nest-adopters", which are birds like the tree swallow that utilise natural cavities; and the "mud nest builders", such as the barn swallow, which build a nest from mud. Mascarene martins nest in burrows and therefore belong to the "core martins".<p>The genus Phedina is thought to be an early offshoot from the main swallow lineage, although the striped plumage suggests a distant relationship with streaked African Hirundo species. The Brazza's martin, P. brazzae, formerly was included in this genus, but now is included in its own genus, Phedinopsis, due to the significant differences in vocalisations and nest type from its relative. German ornithologist Gustav Hartlaub separated the Madagascan population of the Mascarene martin as a full species, P. madagascariensis, but more recent authorities have considered it to be only a subspecies, P. b. madagascariensis.

Scientific name

Phedina borbonica

Authority

(Gmelin, JF, 1789)

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Hirundinidae

Genus

Phedina

Range and habitat

The Mascarene martin's breeding range is restricted to Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands. The nominate subspecies breeds on Mauritius and Réunion and P. b. madagascariensis occurs in Madagascar. It may also nest on Pemba Island where it has been seen in the breeding season. Breeding habitat can be anywhere with suitable sites for constructing a nest, such as ledges, buildings, tunnels, caves or amongst rocks. The martin is found on the east side of Réunion between 200–500 m (660–1,640 ft), and on the south and west coasts of Mauritius. It also occurs on inland cliffs on Mauritius.<p>The subspecies P. b. borbonica is resident on Mauritius and Réunion, although there are local seasonal movements on these islands, but the Madagascan subspecies is migratory. The Imerina Plateau is deserted from April to September, the martins moving to lower ground or to the African mainland. It is normally uncommon and local in coastal Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi and Pemba Island, and very rare in Kenya and mainland Tanzania, although large numbers sometimes winter in Mozambique or Malawi. It has also been recorded from Comoros and other Indian Ocean locations including at least four islands in the Seychelles. As of 2012, a total of eight birds had been sighted in the Seychelles, occurring in both the spring and autumn migration periods. Some of these records may be due to vagrant birds carried by cyclones. There are unsubstantiated claims of occurrences in the Transvaal.

Breeding range

AF, IO : Madagascar and w, c Mascarenes

Non-breeding range

e AF

Migration

Complete migrants

Behavior

Migration pattern: Complete migrants.

Conservation

Population trend: stable.

Population trend

stable