Fiji Woodswallow
A species of Wood-swallows Scientific name : Artamus mentalis Genus : Wood-swallows
Fiji Woodswallow, A species of Wood-swallows
Botanical name: Artamus mentalis
Genus: Wood-swallows
Content
Description General Info
Photo By Lars Petersson 
Description
The Fiji woodswallow (Artamus mentalis) is a species of woodswallow in the family Artamidae. It is endemic to most of the islands of Fiji, although it is absent from Kadavu Archipelago and the Lau Archipelago. The species was once considered a race of the white-breasted woodswallow, which breeds from Australia, New Caledonia and Vanuatu through to Borneo and the Philippines. Some authors retain it in that species. The Fiji woodswallow is a chunky bird 18 centimetres (7 in) long with a heavy black-tipped blue bill. The plumage is sooty dark above, with a white belly, rump and throat. It is distinguished from the white-breasted woodswallow by the amount of white on the throat, which in the Fiji woodswallow comes up to the level of the bill. 
Size
17 cm
Nest Placement
Tree
Feeding Habits
Fiji Woodswallow predominantly consumes insects such as moths, butterflies, dragonflies, and grasshoppers. It employs hawking tactics from perches and rarely lands to capture prey, often dismembering larger catches before consumption. Unique behaviors include stripping dragonfly wings and familial feeding during breeding or convalescence.
Habitat
The fiji Woodswallow is typically found in open habitats with a preference for regions that have features such as cultivation fields and savannas. Commonly inhabiting the drier areas of larger islands, this species also adapts to urban environments. The natural habitat includes both lowland areas and, although excluded from this description, varying elevations elsewhere.
Dite type
Insectivorous
General Info
Feeding Habits
Bird food type
Behavior
Fiji woodswallows are highly social and will often form clusters on perches. At night groups habitually roost in the forks of a nesting/roosting tree, except during storms when they roost further down the tree. Fiji woodswallows are preyed upon by the Fiji race of the peregrine falcon and the young are vulnerable to the Fiji goshawk. Fiji woodswallows are highly aggressive and will attack these raptors, often at risk to themselves, as well as introduced mammals such as cats and dogs. They will also harass the introduced common myna and red-vented bulbul to drive away from nesting and roosting sites, but display less aggression towards other harmless native species such as the Fiji parrotfinch.
Distribution Area
The Fiji woodswallow is endemic to the major islands of Fiji, namely Viti Levu, Vanua Levu and Taveuni. It is absent from the fourth largest island, Kadavu, but is present on smaller Gau in the Lomaiviti Archipelago. Its natural habitat is tropical moist lowland forests and savannahs, but it has adjusted to human-altered habitats and also lives in cultivated areas; there are even urban populations in Suva and Nadi. In Viti Levu it is found in the highlands, but not on the highlands of Taveuni. Unlike the nomadic populations of Australian white-breasted woodswallows, the Fiji woodswallow is sedentary. Family groups will occupy a tree in which they roost and nest in over several years. It is thought that this is because the climatic conditions in Fiji are less extreme.
Photo By Lars Petersson 
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Perching birds Family
Woodswallows Genus
Wood-swallows Species
Fiji Woodswallow 
Download Picture Bird
Identify any bird by photo or sound in seconds
Identify any bird by photo or sound in seconds
