biology

Guam flycatcher

Guam flycatcher is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Guam flycatcher rather than just read about it. In short: The Guam flycatcher (Myiagra freycineti), or Guam broadbill, is an extinct species of bird in the family Monarchidae formerly endemic to Guam. Taxonomy and systematics Some authorities consider the Guam flycatcher to have been a subspecies of the Oceanic flycatcher.

Key takeaways

Guam flycatcher belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Guam flycatcher to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Guam flycatcher from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Guam flycatcher (Myiagra freycineti), or Guam broadbill, is an extinct species of bird in the family Monarchidae formerly endemic to Guam.

Taxonomy and systematics Some authorities consider the Guam flycatcher to have been a subspecies of the Oceanic flycatcher. It has also been considered conspecific with the Pohnpei flycatcher and Palau flycatcher. It was locally known as the chuguangguang. Alternate names for the Guam flycatcher include Guam Myiagra, Guam Myiagra flycatcher, Marianne Islands flycatcher, Micronesian broadbill, and Micronesian Myiagra.

Description The Guam flycatcher was a small bird measuring 5 inches (13 cm) long with different coloration for the males and females. Males were glossy blue-black above while females were brownish-gray. Both had white below and buff coloration on the breast. It had a wide bill with long "whiskers" which helped it locate its food.

Status The bird was secretive and occurred mainly in limestone and ravine forests. Although common on Guam as recently as the early 1970s, the flycatcher's population went into a rapid decline due to predation by the brown tree snake, Boiga irregularis, which was accidentally introduced to the island in the 1940s. The last sighting of the flycatcher occurred in the Santa Rosa area in 1983. Given the small size of the island, the complete absence of recent sightings, and the universal presence of the brown tree snake in the bird's former habitat, the Guam flycatcher is considered extinct.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Guam flycatcher

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Guam flycatcher claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Guam flycatcher before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Guam flycatcher ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Guam flycatcher

In research: Guam flycatcher appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Guam flycatcher in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Guam flycatcher is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bird extinctions since 1500, Birds described in 1881, Birds of Guam, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Guam flycatcher outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Guam flycatcher in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Guam flycatcher means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Guam flycatcher out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Guam flycatcher in simple terms?

The Guam flycatcher (Myiagra freycineti), or Guam broadbill, is an extinct species of bird in the family Monarchidae formerly endemic to Guam. Taxonomy and systematics Some authorities consider the Guam flycatcher to have been a subspecies of the Oceanic flycatcher.

Why does Guam flycatcher matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Guam flycatcher?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Guam flycatcher.