Zosterops brunneus
The Fernando Po Speirops, *Zosterops brunneus*, is a captivating and unique passerine endemic to the cloud-shrouded montane forests of Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. Measuring approximately 12-13 cm in length with a weight typically ranging from 10-15 grams, this small songbird is characterized by its uniform dark olive-brown upperparts and slightly paler, brownish-olive underparts. Its most distinctive field mark, and indeed a taxonomic paradox, is the *absence* of the prominent white eye-...
This species primarily inhabits montane and submontane forests, including forest edges and dense shrubland, typically found at elevations between 1,000 and 3,000 meters above sea level on Bioko Island.
Its diet primarily consists of insects, which it gleans from vegetation, supplemented by small fruits and nectar.
The Fernando Po Speirops is a highly active and often gregarious species, typically observed foraging in pairs or small, mixed-species flocks in the middle to upper canopy layers of the montane forest. They employ an agile foraging strategy, gleaning insects from foliage and bark with their fine,...
The Fernando Po Speirops is strictly endemic to Bioko Island, which is part of Equatorial Guinea, located in the Gulf of Guinea off the coast of West Africa. Its distribution is confined to the higher elevations, primarily found in the montane and submontane forest zones of Pico Basile and the Mo...
Endangered
- This species is remarkable for *lacking* the prominent white eye-ring characteristic of most species in the 'white-eye' family (Zosteropidae). This unique trait is what once led to its classification in a separate genus, *Speirops*. - The Fernando Po Speirops is a true island endemic, found now...