Long-billed white-eye

The long-billed white-eye (Rukia longirostra), known as tiht in Pohnpeian, is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is endemic to the island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia.

Long-billed white-eye
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Zosteropidae
Genus:	Rukia
Species:	R. longirostra
Binomial name
Rukia longirostra (Taka-Tsukasa & Yamashina, 1931)

The long-billed white-eye seems quite distinct in both plumage, structure, and habits from the teardrop white-eye Rukia ruki – the type species of genus Rukia – and may deserve a change of genus, possibly to Zosterops like the olive-colored white-eye (Z.oleagineus, formerly Rukia oleaginea).

Ecology

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and plantations. It is considered near-threatened by habitat loss.

It has a curious nuthatch-like behavior of creeping along large tree limbs, and seems particularly specialized in using its long, slightly decurved bill to extract arthropods from the severed ends of branches.