The Tinian monarch is a small (6-inch or 16-centimeter) flycatcher with light rufous underparts, olive-brown upperparts, dark brown wings and tail, and white rump and undertail coverts. It feeds primarily on insects.
Current population estimates indicate approximately 57,000 Tinian monarchs exist on Tinian. They forage and breed throughout the entire both in nonnative tangentangen and in native limestone forests. However, they live and reproduce in much higher numbers in the native forest.
The Tinian monarch was originally listed as an endangered species in 1970. The CNMI government also placed the bird on its list of threatened or endangered species.
"Severe habitat loss due to clearing of land for cattle grazing and sugarcane farming prior to World War II, and later extensive construction during the war, led to very low population estimates," said Anne Badgley, the Services regional director for the Pacific region.
The decision to list the monarch was based on estimates of 50 or fewer birds after World War II. Its numbers have increased considerably in the intervening years, Badgley said.
As tangentangen forests grew back to replace the cleared native forests, the monarch thrived. A survey of the monarch population in 1982 found the population to number approximately 40,000 birds, and the species was subsequently downlisted to threatened status in 1987. The ability of the monarch to survive and thrive despite severe habitat modification is a testimony to the hardiness of this unique bird, according to Fish and Wildlife Service biologists.
Although some development of the of Tinian is expected in the future, most of the best monarch habitat native limestone forest is likely to remain because it occurs along cliff faces where development is not possible. Large tracts of tangentangen habitat in which the monarch also survives and reproduces quite well are leased by the U.S. military, and development on those sites is expected to be minimal. Increased efforts to prevent the introduction of predatory brown tree snakes from Guam are underway and will help protect all bird species on Tinian.
Future monitoring of this species will be conducted to ensure that its populations do not decline to a level that threatens its long-term viability. The Service will continue current discussions with the government of Tinian to establish wildlife conservation areas.
The Service published the proposed decision to delist the species in the Federal Register on February 22, 1999. A public comment period is open until April 23, 1999. Comments should be sent to the Field Supervisor, Pacific Islands Office, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 300 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 3-122, Box 50088, Honolulu, Hawaii 96850. Copies of the proposed rule are available by calling the Pacific Islands Office at (808) 541-3441.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System comprised of more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries and 78 Ecological Services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
