| Wedge-tailed jery | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Bernieridae |
| Genus: | Hartertula Stresemann, 1925 |
| Species: | H. flavoviridis |
| Binomial name | |
| Hartertula flavoviridis (Hartert, EJO, 1924) | |
| Synonyms | |
Neomixis flavoviridis | |
Thewedge-tailed jery (Hartertula flavoviridis) is a smallbirdendemic to the east ofMadagascar. The species has been the cause of sometaxonomic confusion, it was originally placed with the jeries in the genusNeomixis (Cisticolidae) before being placed in its own monotypicgenusHartertula, but still considered close toNeomixis. Recent research indicates it is part of an endemic Malagasy radiation currently known as theMalagasy warblers (Ciboiset al. 2001).
The wedge-tailed jery is a small, slenderwarbler-like bird between 12–13 cm long and weighing around 10 g. Theplumage is bright yellow before and olive on the crown, wing and back. The eye has a pale white ring and is crossed with a pale supercilium. There is nosexual dimorphism in the plumage of adults, and juvenile birds have similar plumage as well.
Thecall, sung repetitively during foraging, is a nasaltsee zeezeezeezeezeezee. In the rainforest they forage in the low understory,gleaning insects from the undersides of leaves and branches, often hanging upside down to do so. They are also accomplished at extracting insects from clumps of leaves andspider web at the ends of branches. They forage in small groups and will also joinmixed-species feeding flocks. They nest in small grass nests shaped like balls suspended between 1–2 m above the ground. Little is known about their breeding behaviour but they are known to haveclutch sizes of two eggs.
Wedge-tailed jeries inhabit dense stands ofrainforest in the east of Madagascar. They are most commonly found in the mid-altitude rainforests between 500–1400 m, and are rarer at lower altitudes and absent above 2300 m.
The wedge-tailed jery is currently listed asnear-threatened by theIUCN.[1] The species is confined to mid-altitude rainforest, but this is currently the least threatened forest habitat in Madagascar. There is some danger of habitat loss, and the species is not common anywhere in its range.
