The Seychelles magpie-robin (SMR) was once abundant and widespread, occurring on many islands within the Seychelles archipelago, including the larger islands such as Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. However, loss of habitat and predation by mammals (rats, mice and cats) led to a drastic decline in numbers, and in the late 1980s there were less than 20 individuals occurring on one island (i.e. Fregate Island). A recovery programme led by Birdlife International was initiated, and over several years, birds have been translocated to five predator-free islands including Cousine.

Cousine Island received seven birds from Fregate Island between 1995 and 1996, and except for a few birds flying across from Cousin Island throughout the years, Cousine Island’s population are all descendants from these birds. We now have a thriving population of more than 50 magpie-robins spanning numerous territories across the Island. Weekly sightings of individual birds, breeding attempts, changes in territory and any change in behaviour are documented each month.

These friendly inquisitive birds are easily identified by their pitch black feathers with white on their wings. Each bird has personal identification rings (on the right leg a metal ring contains their ID number and a ‘sky blue’ ring shows that the bird is from Cousine Island; On the left a unique combination of visible colours, much like a name card), which makes each individual easy to identify.