- Tuamotu Sandpiper
Taxobox
name = Tuamotu Sandpiper
status = EN | status_system = IUCN3.1
trend = down
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo =Charadriiformes
familia =Scolopacidae
genus = "Prosobonia "
species = "P. cancellata"
binomial = "Prosobonia cancellata"
binomial_authority = (Gmelin, 1789)
synonyms ="Tringa cancellata" Gmelin, 1789
"Tringa parvirostris" Peale, 1848
"Aechmorhynchus cancellatus"
"Aechmorhynchus parvirostris"
"Prosobonia parvirostris"
"Prosobonia cancellatus" Collar and Andrew, 1988The Tuamotu Sandpiper, "Prosobonia cancellata", is an endangered member of the large
wader familyScolopacidae , that is endemic to theTuamotu Islands inFrench Polynesia . It is sometimes placed in themonotypic genus "Aechmorhynchus". A native name, apparently in theTuamotuan language , is "kivi-kivi".Description
The 15.5-16.5 cm long Tuamotu Sandpiper is a small, short-winged, mottled brown bird with more or less barred underparts. Its short sharp
beak is more like that of an insectivorouspasserine than a wader. There are two color phases which intergrade. Pale birds are medium brown above and white below, with light barring or spotting on the breast and whitish streaking on the head. The boldsupercilium and the chin are also white. The rectrices are brown with white tips and white triangular markings on the outer webs. Dark phase birds replace medium with darker brown and white with light buff ortawny white. The flanks are brown, and the entire underparts are heavily barred that color.The iris is brown, the beak is blackish and the legs and feet are dirty yellow to dark olive grey; the toes are not webbed.
Females and males are alike, the former having a tendency to be slightly larger and paler on average.
Distribution
The species was recorded in modern times from the following
atoll s, going northwest-southeast:
*Rangiroa ,Niau ,Kauehi andFakarava in thePalliser Islands .
*Raraka ,Katiu ,Tahanea ,Tuanake ,Hiti and Tepoto (Ofiti) in theRaeffsky Islands ,
*Puka-Puka in theDisappointment Islands ,
*Anuanuraro in theDuke of Gloucester Islands ,
*Nukutavake andPinaki between Raeffsky andActeon Islands ,
*Tenararo ,Vahanga ,Tenarunga ,Matureivavao ,Marutea Sud andMaria Est in (or near) the Acteon Islands,
* Morane, south of the Acteon group, and
*Makaroa , Kamaka andManui in theGambier Islands .Ecology and behavior
This bird lives on undisturbed
atoll s where it feeds in open areas, including the shores and beaches, and scrubland; it is more rarely found in "Pandanus " thickets. It takesinsect s such asant s,leafhopper s andwasp s in thecoral rubble andleaf litter , also taking some vegetation.The call is a soft, high whistle or piping, transcribed as "meh" by the
Whitney South Seas Expedition .It breeds at different times on different islands, generally between April and June. Nests are placed on the lagoon shore and consist of nothing more than a slight hollow in the shoreline coral and shell debris which is lined with grass stems or similar vegetable matter. The clutch is believed to be two eggs, which are white with purple and violet blotches, similar to a smaller version of the
Upland Sandpiper 's eggs. One two-egg clutch is in theAmerican Museum of Natural History collection (specimen AMNH 5299).tatus
The Tuamotu Sandpiper is threatened by introduced
rat s and habitat destruction caused by the spreading cultivation ofcoconut s, and is listed asendangered . Although it had a much wider range historically (see also below), it now survives on a small number of rat-free islands, namely Anuanuraro, Tenararo, Morane and one other atoll [BLI (2007)] . Birds will occur as non-breeding visitors on other islands nearby, particularly in the Acteon group [Blanvillain "et al." (2002)] .Its
IUCN Red List status of Endangered B1a+b (ii, iii, iv, v); Vulnerable C2a(i), D1 means that estimates indicate between 250 and 1000 mature birds occurring in less than 6 locations, with a declining trend [http://www.iucnredlist.org/info/categories_criteria2001] . There are no conservation measures in place, although proposals are being suggested to protect the species. These include granting full protection to the remaining atolls where it breeds and preventing the further spread of rats. [BLI (2006, 2007)]ystematics
Historically, the species occurred also on
Kiritimati (Christmas) Island inKiribati (the type locality) and possibly others. John Latham figured the bird as the "BarredPhalarope " in his "General Synopsis of Birds", based on a Kiritimati specimen collected onCaptain Cook 's last voyage, probably onJanuary 1 or 2, 1778. This was in the collection ofJoseph Banks at Latham's time, but later became lost. During Cook's visit, the bird was observed by William Anderson [Cook (1784)] and painted by William Ellis (linked below).Latham's description was the basis for Gmelin's, which was valid according to
zoological nomenclature . The Tuamotu birds only came to the attention of science during theUS Exploring Expedition , which collected 5 specimens in late August, 1839. These were described byTitian Peale as species "parvirostris" based on perceived differences to Latham's description. The validity of this form is in doubt; some [E.g. Townsend & Wetmore (1919] considered it distinct, whereas in recent times [E.g. Zusi & Jehl (1970)] the evidence is generally found too scant to consider both forms good species.However, it is entirely likely that (given the non-migrant nature of the species) the populations, some 2000 miles separated from each other, would consititute separate
subspecies . In this case, the Tuamotu subspecies would be called "Prosobonia cancellata parvirostris", while the Kiribati population would be thenominate subspecies , " P. c. cancellata" (Kiritimati Sandpiper). The Kiritimati population is extinct since some time in the first half of the 19th century or possibly later due to introduced predators. These might have beenBlack Rat s ("Rattus rattus"); as these were only temporarily present on Kiritimati and perhaps did not arrive until the 20th century, theferal cat s which started to overrun the island in the 19th century make more likely culpritsTeeb'aki "in" Scott (1993)] .Footnotes
References
*|year=2006|id=18367|title=Prosobonia cancellata|downloaded=11 May 2006 Database entry includes justification for why this species is endangered.
* (2007): [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=3032&m=0 Tuamotu Sandpiper Species Factsheet] . Retrieved 2008-FEB-24.
* (2002): Land birds of Tuamotu Archipelago, Polynesia: relative abundance and changes during the 20th century with particular reference to the critically endangered Polynesian ground-dove ("Gallicolumba erythroptera"). "Biological Conservation" 103(2): 139–149. DOI|10.1016/S0006-3207(01)00112-4 (HTML abstract)
* (1784): [Birds of Kiritimati] . "In: A voyage to the Pacific Ocean, ... performed under the direction of Captains Cook, Clerke, and Gore, in His Majesty's Ships the Resolution and the Discovery, etc." 2: 188-189. London. [http://www.kb.dk/elib/bhs/cook/ JPEG fulltext of 2nd (1785) edition]
*, J.; Elliott, A. & Sargatal, J. (editors) (1996): 57. Tuamotu Sandpiper. "In:Handbook of Birds of the World , Volume 3: Hoatzin to Auks":515, plate 43. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. ISBN 84-87334-20-2
* (1789): [Description of "Prosobonia cancellata"] . "In:Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (13th ed.)" 1, part II: 675. Georg Emanuel Beer, Lipsiae [Leipzig] .
* (1967): Sandpipers of the Tuamotu Archipelago. "In: Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World (2nd ed.)": 260-263. Dover Publications, New York.
* (1986): "Shorebirds: an identification guide to the waders of the world". Houghton Mifflin, Boston. ISBN 0-395-60237-8
* (1785): ["Barred Phalarope"] : "In: A general synopsis of birds" 3. London.
* (1927): "On the Anatomy and Systematic Position of Æchmorhynchus cancellatus (Gmelin), together with some Notes on the Genera Bartramia and Mesoscolopax; the Subfamily Limosinae; and the Pterylosis of Scolopax. "Ibis" 69(1): 114-132.
* (1848): "Tringa parvirostris". "In: United States exploring expedition during the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842 under the command of Charles Wilkes, U.S.N." 8 (Mammalia and Ornithology): 235-236. C. Sherman, Philadelphia. [http://www.sil.si.edu/digitalcollections/usexex/navigation/ScientificText/usexex19_10select.cfm JPEG fulltext]
* (1993): [http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/wetlands/pdf/Oceania/Republic%20of%20Kiribati.pdf Republic of Kiribati] . "In: A Directory of Wetlands in Oceania": 199-228Verify source|date=March 2008 .International Waterfowl and Wetlands Research Bureau , Slimbridge, U.K. and Asian Wetland Bureau, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
* (1950): Birds collected during Capt. James Cook's last expedition (1776-1780). "Auk" 67(1): 66-88. [http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v067n01/p0066-p0088.pdf PDF fulltext]
* (1919): Reports on the scientific results of the expedition to the tropical Pacific in charge of Alexander Agassiz, on the U.S. Fish Commission steamer "Albatross," from August, 1899, to March, 1900, Commander Jefferson F. Moser, U.S.N., commanding. "Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology" 63: 151-225.
* (1970): The systematic relationships of "Aechmorhynchus", "Prosobonia" and "Phegornis" (Charadriiformes; Charadrii). "Auk" 87: 760-780. [http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v087n04/DJVU/P0760-P0780.djvu DjVu fulltext] [http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v087n04/p0760-p0780.pdf PDF fulltext]External links
*ARKive - [http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/birds/Prosobonia_cancellata/ images and movies of the Tuamotu sandpiper "(Prosobonia cancellata)"]
* [http://piclib.nhm.ac.uk/piclib/www/comp.php?] : William Ellis' plate 64. Retrieved 11-SEP-2006.
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