Birds

This chapter will be limited to the most remarkable and endemic birds.

The omnipresent bird is

Acridotheres tristis  or Indian Mynah also Common Mynah. Introduced in the 19^th century as a pet, now a real danger for the local fauna (geckos, chameleons, skinks, frogs caecilians and all sorts of invertebrates), also feeds on fruits and seeds. His aggressive behaviour towards other birds is probably one of the main reasons of the decreasing number of magpie robins in Seychelles. 

People staying in the hotel will also be taken with the zebra dove Geopelia striata begging for food at breakfast and lunch. 

Also often seen in the hotel garden is Foudia madagascariensis. The Madagascar fody has the size of a small sparrow, is normally brown, but during the mating season the males get a red head and breast. It is a very active bird, prefering open lowlands. There is still some confusion if it is introduced or not. In 1866 it was recorded for the first time, but was probably already present when man colonized the islands although in small numbers, and after the land was cleared for agriculture and housing they increased sensational. Feeds mainly on seeds (grass), but also begs for rice and bread crumbs around houses.

Nectarinia dussumieri the Seychelles sunbird can be seen in the hotel area on flowering plants. It is a little bird with a long curved bill. They resemble, also in their nectar feeding behaviour, the better-known hummingbirds, but are not at all related. Female sunbirds (left) are quiet plain in colour, and lack the glittering blue throat gorged of the males (right). They breed all year round but they lay only one egg. This is probably the only endemic bird in Seychelles taking advantage from the presence of men, providing more food by the introduction of flowering plants

Hypsipetes crassirostris or Seychelles bulbul  Endemic

Common on Silhouette, from the coast to the higher woodlands, prefering the mature forest. It has a particular call, often imitated by the Indian mynah.

Falco araea or Seychelles kestrel   Endemic (lenght 18-22cm, wingspan 40-45cm)

Endangered specie, before occurring on all the granite islands, but at the present only on Mahe(370 pairs), Silhouette(40), and a few on Praslin(10). It is the smallest from all kestrels. Its diet consists mainly of geckos and skinks 92% of which 65% are phelsumas. he completes his meal with chameleons, frogs, young birds and insects. The lack of habitat, but certainly the introduction of cats and rats, reducing their food supply, is the main reason for the decreasing number of this endemic bird.

Very rare and in danger of extinction is

Otus insularis or the Seychelles scops owl. This very rare owl was presumed to be extinct from the late 18 hundreds till 1960, when a local naturalist, Phillipe Loustau-Lalanne, rediscovered this dwarf owl in the mountains of Mahe. Very little is known about this bird, but its number is decreasing till less than 200 at this moment. Before it occured on most of the higher islands like Mahe Praslin and Silhouette, but during the last years only seen on Mahe, but also heard on the 2 other islands in the near past.

In the evening, during dinner, it happens that a barn owl Tyto alba flies through the restaurant of the hotel lodge. It has been introduced in the early fifties to reduce the rat population, but endemic birds and reptiles were an easier catch, and the rats were hardly touched. After 10 years realising their mistake a price from 30 Rupees was put on its head.

Alectroenas pulcherrima or Seychelles blue pigeon; From time to time this bird can be seen in the tree-tops of the dead takamaka trees in front of the bungalows from the hotel lodge. The picturesque Creole name is worth mentioning “pizon olande sesel”, named after the Dutch flag. Feeds on fruit like the takamaka marbles, guavas and berries.

Hovering graceful with their long white tails, high above the mountain rainforest you have to admire the Phaethon lepturus or white-tailed tropicbird.

This tropic bird is a large bird, with a total length from about 80 cm and  a wingspan from nearly one meter. Like all tropicbirds he only comes on land to breed. He nests in the higher egions of the mountain forest. He mainly feeds on fish and squids, and to catch his pray he dives from a considerable height.

Psittacula krammeri or ring-necked parakeet

Walking through La Passe you often see a green parakeet. There is only one specimen, probably imported as a pet but escaped, like there are many in Europe. There are colonies of 3 to 400 birds in Holland and Germany. It is sometimes confused with the extinct Psittacula wardi or Seychelles parakeet, extinct on Mahe since 1866, and the last birds were seen on Silhouette in June 1881.