About Artamus mentalis Jardine, 1845
The Fiji woodswallow, Artamus mentalis, is a species of woodswallow belonging to the family Artamidae. It is endemic to most islands of Fiji, but is not found in the Kadavu Archipelago and the Lau Archipelago. This species was once classified as a subspecies (race) of the white-breasted woodswallow, which ranges from Australia, New Caledonia and Vanuatu through to Borneo and the Philippines. Some authors still classify it as part of that species. The Fiji woodswallow is a stocky, chunky bird that measures 18 centimetres (7 in) in length, with a heavy blue bill tipped in black. Its upper plumage is dark sooty, while its belly, rump, and throat are white. It can be told apart from the white-breasted woodswallow by the extent of white on its throat: in the Fiji woodswallow, the white on the throat extends all the way up to the level of the bill. The Fiji woodswallow is endemic to Fiji's major islands, specifically Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, and Taveuni. It is absent from Kadavu, Fiji's fourth largest island, but can be found on the smaller island of Gau in the Lomaiviti Archipelago. Its natural habitats are tropical moist lowland forests and savannahs, but it has adapted to human-altered environments and also lives in cultivated areas; there are even established urban populations in Suva and Nadi. It occurs in the highlands of Viti Levu, but is not found in the highlands of Taveuni. Unlike nomadic populations of the Australian white-breasted woodswallow, the Fiji woodswallow is sedentary. Family groups will occupy and reuse the same tree for roosting and nesting over multiple years. This behavior is thought to occur because climatic conditions in Fiji are less extreme than those experienced by the nomadic Australian populations.
