Seychelles White-eye

This ten-to-eleven-centimetre (3.9 to 4.3 in) long bird has a plumage of olive-grey upper-parts and dull-coloured underparts. It is further characterized by a narrow, white eye-ring, a rather long dark-grey tail and a small sharp bill. Its diet consists of insect larvae, locusts, and grasshoppers as well as berries and seeds. The Seychelles white-eye's breeding season is from September to April, in which a clutch of two to seven eggs is laid into a cup-shaped nest. The incubation time is thirteen to fifteen days and the young are fully fledged after eleven to sixteen days. After that, adults look after their young for another two months. The species' melodious and complex song consists of nasal tones. Due to its ecology and foraging habits (in the canopy of high trees) it is difficult to observe. The existence of a complex cooperative breeding system was discovered among Seychelles white-eyes. It is apparently unique among all species of white-eyes and appears as a very peculiar social breeding organisation among birds in general. Within the same breeding territory, the individual composition of nesting groups constantly changes, often involving birds that sometimes also contribute to nests in other territories.