Turner’s eremomela (Eremomela turneri)

Description

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Turner’s eremomela fact file

• Description
• Biology
• Range
• Habitat
• Status
• Threats
• Conservation
• Find out more
• Glossary
• References
• Print factsheet

Turner’s eremomela description

This rare, attractive bird has a distinctive chestnut coloured forehead, contrasting with the grey plumage on the rest of the upperparts. The wing and tail feathers are a darker slate grey. The chin and throat are white and are divided from the pale grey belly by a black band across the neck. A blackish streak extends through the eye and the bill is also black ⁽²⁾. There are two subspecies of the Turner’s eremomela; Eremomela turneri kalindei is paler than Eremomela turneri turneri and has a brown tinge to the upperparts ⁽²⁾. Juvenile Turner’s eremomelas are rather different in appearance, with olive-brown plumage above, pale yellow plumage below, and they lack the distinct chestnut on head and black band on the throat ⁽²⁾.

French

Erémomèle de Turner.

Size

Length: 8.5 – 9 cm ⁽²⁾

Weight

6 – 9 g ⁽²⁾

Turner’s eremomela biology

Little information is available on the biology of this Endangered bird. It is often seen in small groups of four ⁽³⁾, foraging high in the canopy for caterpillars and other insects ⁽²⁾.

Turner’s eremomela range

E. t. turneri occurs in western Kenya, in the Kakamega and South Nandi Forests. E. t. kalindei is found in eastern-central and north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo ⁽³⁾.

Turner’s eremomela habitat

Turner’s eremomela inhabits forest, up to around 1,700 metres above sea level ⁽²⁾. It is often found in the canopy of large trees, showing a preference for Croton megalocarpus, but can also be found along streams, at forest edges, and in clearings ^{(2) (3)}.

Turner’s eremomela status

Classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List 2007 ⁽¹⁾.

Turner’s eremomela threats

As the Turner’s eremomela occurs in only a few small areas, it is very vulnerable to the habitat destruction and degradation that is taking place in the region ⁽³⁾. Kakamega and South Nandi Forests in Kenya are threatened by the encroachment of agriculture (both cultivation and cattle-grazing), uncontrolled logging and charcoal-making ⁽³⁾. South Nandi Forest in particular is being impacted by commercial logging; not only is it undertaken in a destructive manner, but it is targeting Croton megalocarpus, a preferred tree of the Turner’s eremomela ⁽³⁾. In the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda the Turner’s eremomela is considered rare, but little else is known about its status ⁽²⁾.

Turner’s eremomela conservation

The northern part of Kakamega Forest has been declared a national park and another small area of the forest has been set aside as a national reserve ⁽²⁾, measures which will offer some protection to the habitat of the Turner’s eremomela’s. A group of local guides in Kakamega Forest have also initiated a programme of environmental education and awareness activities. However, effective conservation of both Kakamega and South Nandi Forests are still lacking, and commercial logging continues despite a ban on the logging of indigenous trees in Kenya ⁽³⁾. Major conservation projects are required to ensure the protection of these forests in Kenya, including enforcing the ban on logging indigenous trees, which will help secure the eremomela’s future ⁽³⁾.

View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Find out more

For further information on Turner’s eremomela see:

• BirdLife International:
  www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=7667&m=0

Authentication

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Glossary

Foraging

The act of searching for food.

Subspecies

A population usually restricted to a geographical area that differs from other populations of the same species, but not to the extent of being classified as a separate species.

References

1. IUCN Red List (September, 2007)
   http://www.iucnredlist.org
2. del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. and Sargatal, J. (2006) Handbook of the Birds of the World Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
3. BirdLife International (June, 2008)
   http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=7667&m=0