Mount Cameroon speirops

Speirops melanocephalus

Photo by Morten Venaas (Internet Bird Collection)

Common name:
Mount Cameroon speirops (en); olho-branco-dos-Camarões (pt); zostérops du Cameroun (fr); anteojitos del Camerún (es); Kamerunbrillenvogel (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Zosteropidae

Range:
This species is endemic to the slopes of Mount Cameroon, in south-western Cameroon.

Size:
These birds are 13 cm long and weigh 9-12,5 g.

Habitat:
The Mount Cameroon speirops in mostly found in open, moist tropical forests, forest clearings, and in areas with scattered trees within grassland or scrubland. They generally avoid denser, closed-canopy areas. They occur al altitudes of 1.800-3.000 m.

Diet:
They feed mainly on insects, also taking berries and other vegetable matter.

Breeding:
These birds possibly breed in November-March. There is no further information on the reproduction of this species.

Conservation:
IUCN status - VU (Vulnerable)
This species has a small breeding range and the global population is estimated 6.000-15.000 individuals. The population is suspected to be stable in the absence of evidence for any declines or substantial threats, but the regular burning of grassland by hunters, which extend to destroy large areas of forest, may peril the habitat of the species within its narrow altitudinal belt. Since 2009, most of the breeding range of the Mount Cameroon speirops became part of the Mount Cameroon National Park.