Reunion Cuckooshrike

The Reunion Cuckoo-shrike is a small arboreal bird. The plumage is dimorphic between the sexes. The male is grey coloured with a darker back and lighter underside; the face is darker and has the impression of a mask. The female is quite different, being dark brown above and striped underneath with a white eye-line. The call of the species is a clear whistled tui tui tui, from which is derived its local Réunion Creole/French name, tuit-tuit.

The Reunion Cuckooshrike is classified as Critically Endangered (CR), facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

Implementation of the Reunion Cuckooshrike Coracina newtoni action plan is producing rapid results Control of predatory rats and cats is a key recommendation of the plan, and already in Réserve Naturelle de La Roche Ecrite in northern La Réunion (Indian Ocean) it has led to four out of five pairs of cuckooshrike successfully rearing chicks, compared to just two out of six pairs raising young at a nearby site without control. More

species in Reunion Paradise-flycatcher, Reunion Cuckooshrike, Reunion Stonechat, Reunion Bulbul and Reunion Olive White-eye. Species shared with Mauritius, but more numerous on Reunion, include Mascarene Swiftlet, and the closely related Reunion Grey White-eye. Open areas with scrub and brush attract near endemic species in Reunion Harrier and Mascarene Martin. We can visit St Pierre on the south coast for close observations of the critically endangered Barau’s Petrel as it flies inland to its nesting sites on the edge of an extinct volcano. More

The Reunion Cuckooshrike is the most threatened endemic passerine bird on Reunion island (21''06'S; 55''32'E). Its population is currently estimated at 100 territorial males, confined to an area of about 16km= in the north of the island. The birds appear to be in suboptimal habitat, at a higher attitude than in the past. The number of singing mates has declined from 1990 to 2003. Most of the bird's current range was declared a nature reserve in 1999. More

solitarius Reunion Cuckooshrike Coracina newtoni Reunion Stonechat Saxicola tectes Olivaceous Bulbul Hypsipetes borbonicus Reunion Olive White-eye Zosterops olivaceus useful reading Bird Sounds of Madagascar, Mayotte, Comoros, Seychelles, Reunion, Mauritius and Rodrigues CD - P Huget and C Chappuis Series: AFRICAN BIRD SOUNDS SERIES 116 pages, 4 CD's. Societ? d'Etudes Ornithologiques de France 2003 ISBN: 145891 Buy this book from NHBS. More

Although the population of Reunion Cuckooshrike remained fairly constant at around 120 pairs between the 1970s and the 1990s, it has been declining over the last decade. Currently males outnumber females by almost two to one, and the remaining population is estimated at fewer than 50 pairs and the species is classified as Endangered. More

Alternate common name(s): Reunion Cuckooshrike, Reunion Graybird, Reunion Greybird Old scientific name(s): None known by website authors Photographs No photographs are available for this species Range W. Mascarene Is.; Restricted range; Nw. Reunion. Videos No videos are available for this species Sounds No sounds are available for this species References Clements, James F. More