Endemic Animals of Réunion

The Mascarene paradise flycatcher (Terpsiphone bourbonnensis ) is a species of bird in the monarch-flycatcher family Monarchidae. It is endemic to the Mascarene islands of Mauritius and Réunion. There are two subspecies recognized: the nominate subspecies from Réunion, also known as the Réunion paradise flycatcher; and T. b. desolata (Salomonsen, 1933) from Mauritius. The Mascarene paradise flycatcher was originally described in the genus Mu ...
scicapa and the subspecies T. b. desolata was originally described as a separate species. Less

The Mascarene swiftlet (Aerodramus francicus ) is a species of swift in the family Apodidae.It is found in Mauritius and Réunion, and the populations on the two islands have recently been confirmed to differ subspecifically. The nominate race francicus is found on Mauritius and the recently described race saffordi occurs on Réunion.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical high-altitude s ...
hrubland, subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, caves, arable land, and heavily degraded former forest.It is threatened by habitat loss. Less

The Réunion olive white-eye (Zosterops olivaceus ) is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is found on Réunion. Its natural habitats are boreal forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland.In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the Reunion olive white-eye in his Ornithologie based on a specimen that had been brought to Paris from Île Bourbon (now Réunion), but which Brisson mis ...
takenly believed had been collected in Madagascar. He used the French name Le grimpereau olive de Madagascar and the Latin Certhia Madagascariensis Olivaceus. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the Reunion olive white-eye. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Certhia olivacea and cited Brisson's work. He followed Brisson and gave the type location as Madagascar instead of Réunion. This species is now placed in the genus Zosterops that was introduced by the naturalists Nicholas Vigors and Thomas Horsfield in 1827. There are no recognised subspecies. Less

The Réunion bulbul (Hypsipetes borbonicus ) is a species of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is endemic to Réunion. Less

The Réunion harrier or Réunion marsh harrier (Circus maillardi ) is a bird of prey belonging to the marsh harrier group of harriers. It is now found only on the Indian Ocean island of Réunion, although fossil material from Mauritius has been referred to this species. It is known locally as the papangue or pied jaune. The Malagasy harrier (C. macrosceles ) of Madagascar and the Comoro Islands was previously treated as a subspecies of this bird bu ...
t is increasingly regarded as a separate species. The Réunion harrier appears to be declining in numbers and it is classed as an endangered species. Less

The Réunion grey white-eye (Zosterops borbonicus ) is a small passerine from the family Zosteropidae, which is native to the islands of Réunion. Less

The Réunion cuckooshrike (Lalage newtoni ) is a passerine bird in the cuckooshrike family. It is endemic to the island of Réunion, where it is restricted to two areas of mountain forest in the north of the island. Males are dark grey above and pale grey beneath, while females have dark brown upper parts and a streaked breast. The population has been declining and the range contracting, being currently about 16 square kilometres (6.2 sq mi), and the ...
International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the species as "critically endangered", with the possibility that the bird could be wiped out by a tropical storm. Conservation efforts are being made by attempting to control the cats and rats which prey on the chicks, and this seems to have resulted in the population stabilising. Less

The Mascarene petrel (Pseudobulweria aterrima ) is a medium-sized, dark petrel.Also sometimes known as the Mascarene black petrel, this species was known from four specimens found in the nineteenth century on the island of Réunion. Two birds were found dead in the 1970s, and there have been rare observations of birds in the waters south of Réunion since 1964. It is also known from subfossil remains from the island of Rodrigues. It is known to b ...
reed in very small numbers in the Grand Bassin – Le Dimitile Important Bird Area in the mountains of Réunion. The species is classified as critically endangered as it is inferred from the number of records that there is an extremely small population threatened by introduced species, such as feral cats and house rats, and light pollution. Less

The Réunion stonechat (Saxicola tectes ) is a species of stonechat, endemic to the island of Réunion. This small passerine bird is common in clearings and open mountain bushlands there. Less