Order Passeriformes Higher classification Myiagra | Phylum Chordata Family Monarchidae Scientific name Myiagra freycineti Rank Species | |
 | ||
Similar Bird, Myiagra, Kākāwahie, Colombian grebe, Red‑moustached fruit dove | ||
Guam flycatcher
The Guam flycatcher (Myiagra freycineti), or Guam broadbill, is an extinct species of bird in the family Monarchidae formerly endemic to Guam.
Contents
Taxonomy and systematics
Some authorities consider the Guam flycatcher to have been a subspecies of the Oceanic flycatcher. Alternate names for the Guam flycatcher include Guam Myiagra, Guam Myiagra flycatcher, Marianne Islands flycatcher, Marianne Islands Myiagra flycatcher, Micronesian broadbill and Micronesian Myiagra.
Description
The Guam flycatcher was a small bird measuring 5 inches (13 cm) long with different coloration for the males and females. Males were glossy blue-black above while females were brownish-gray. Both had white below and buff coloration on the breast. It had a wide bill with long “whiskers” which helped it locate its food.
Status
The bird was secretive and occurred mainly in limestone and ravine forests. Although common on Guam as recently as the early 1970s, the flycatcher's population went into a rapid decline due to predation by the brown tree snake, Boiga irregulars, which was introduced to the island in the 1940s. The last sighting of the flycatcher was in 1983.
Given the small size of the island, the complete absence of recent sightings, and the universal presence of the brown tree snake in the bird's former habitat, the Guam flycatcher is considered extinct.