Tuamotu Sandpiper
Encyclopedia
The Tuamotu Sandpiper, Prosobonia cancellata, is an endangered member of the large wader
family Scolopacidae
, that is endemic
to the Tuamotu Islands in French Polynesia
. It is sometimes placed in the monotypic
genus Aechmorhynchus. A native name, apparently in the Tuamotuan language
, is kivi-kivi.
is more like that of an insectivorous
passerine
than a wader. There are two colour morphs 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 bold supercilium
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 or tawny
white. The flanks are brown, and the entire underparts are heavily barred that colour.
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.
s, going northwest-southeast:
s where it feeds in open areas, including the shores and beaches, and scrubland; it is more rarely found in Pandanus
thickets. It takes insect
s such as ant
s, leafhopper
s and wasp
s in the coral
rubble and leaf 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 the American Museum of Natural History
collection (specimen AMNH 5299).
s and habitat
destruction caused by the spreading cultivation of coconut
s, and is listed as endangered. 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. Birds will occur as non-breeding visitors on other islands nearby, particularly in the Acteon group.
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.
(Christmas) Island in Kiribati
(the type locality) and possibly others. John Latham
figured the bird as the "Barred Phalarope
" in his General Synopsis of Birds, based on a Kiritimati specimen collected on Captain Cook's last voyage, probably on January 1 or 2, 1778. This was in the collection of Joseph Banks
at Latham's time, but later became lost. During Cook's visit, the bird was observed by William Anderson
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 the US Exploring Expedition, which collected 5 specimens in late August, 1839. These were described by Titian Peale
as species parvirostris based on perceived differences to Latham's description. The validity of this form is in doubt; some considered it distinct, whereas in recent times 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 the nominate 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 been Black Rat
s (Rattus rattus); as these were only temporarily present on Kiritimati and perhaps did not arrive until the 20th century, the feral cat
s which started to overrun the island in the 19th century make more likely culprits.
Wader
Waders, called shorebirds in North America , are members of the order Charadriiformes, excluding the more marine web-footed seabird groups. The latter are the skuas , gulls , terns , skimmers , and auks...
family Scolopacidae
Scolopacidae
The sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders or shorebirds. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil...
, that is endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to the Tuamotu Islands in French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
. It is sometimes placed in the monotypic
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus Aechmorhynchus. A native name, apparently in the Tuamotuan language
Tuamotuan language
The Tuamotuan language or Paumotuan is a Tahitic language spoken by about 6700 people in the Tuamotu Islands with an additional 2000 speakers in Tahiti...
, 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 beakBeak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
is more like that of an insectivorous
Insectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
than a wader. There are two colour morphs 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 bold supercilium
Supercilium
The supercilium is a plumage feature found on the heads of some bird species. It is a stripe which runs from the base of the bird's beak above its eye, finishing somewhere towards the rear of the bird's head. Also known as an "eyebrow", it is distinct from the eyestripe, which is a line which runs...
and the chin are also white. The rectrices
Flight feather
Flight feathers are the long, stiff, asymmetrically shaped, but symmetrically paired feathers on the wings or tail of a bird; those on the wings are called remiges while those on the tail are called rectrices . Their primary function is to aid in the generation of both thrust and lift, thereby...
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 or tawny
Tawny (color)
Tawny is a yellowish brown color. The word means "tan-colored," from Anglo-Norman tauné "associated with the brownish-yellow of tanned leather," from Old French tané "to tan hides," from Medieval Latin tannare, from tannum "crushed oak bark," used in tanning leather, probably from a Celtic source...
white. The flanks are brown, and the entire underparts are heavily barred that colour.
The iris
Iris (anatomy)
The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel , grey, violet, or even pink...
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 has been recorded in modern times from the following atollAtoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
s, going northwest-southeast:
- RangiroaRangiroaRangiroa or Te Kokōta , is the largest atoll in the Tuamotus, and one of the largest in the world . It is part of the Palliser group. The nearest atoll is Tikehau, located only 12 km to the West...
, NiauNiauNiau is a small atoll in French Polynesia, in the commune of Fakarava . This atoll has broad fringing reef and an area of 20 km²....
, KauehiKauehiKauehi, or Putake, is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia.The nearest land is Raraka Atoll, located 17 km to the Southeast.Kauehi Atoll is roughly kidney-shaped and has a wide lagoon; length 23 km, width 17 km....
and FakaravaFakaravaFakarava, Havaiki-te-araro, Havai'i or Farea is an atoll in the west of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It is the second largest of the Tuamotu atolls. The nearest land is Toau Atoll, which lies 14 km to the northwest....
in the Palliser IslandsPalliser IslandsThe Palliser Islands or Pallisers are a subgroup of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. They are located in the northwest of the main group of atolls.-Atolls:The group includes:*Apataki*Arutua*Fakarava*Kaukura*Mataiva*Rangiroa*Makatea...
. - RarakaRarakaRaraka, or Te Marie, is an atoll in the west of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It lies 17 km to the southeast of Kauehi Atoll....
, KatiuKatiuKatiu, or Taungataki, is an atoll of the central Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 23.5 km west of Makemo Atoll's westernmost point....
, TahaneaTahaneaTahanea Atoll is an atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 12 km to the east of Faaite Atoll.Tahanea Atoll is quite large. It measures 48 km in length with a maximum width of 15.2 km. The southern reef fringing the atoll is wider than the northern one,...
, TuanakeTuanakeTuanake or Mata-rua-puna is a small atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 24 km southwest of Makemo Atoll's westernmost point....
, HitiHitiHiti, or Hiti-rau-mea, is a small atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 19 km southwest of Makemo Atoll....
and TepotoTepoto (South)Tepoto Atoll , or Ti Poto, is a small atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 44 km southwest of Makemo Atoll.Tepoto Atoll is almost round in shape. It measures 3.8 km in diameter...
(Ofiti) in the Raeffsky IslandsRaeffsky IslandsThe Raeffsky Islands or Raevski Islands is a subgroup of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. They are located roughly in the central area of the main Tuamotu atoll cluster...
, - Puka-PukaPuka-PukaPuka-Puka is a small coral atoll in the north-eastern Tuamotu Archipelago, sometimes included as a member of the Disappointment Islands. This atoll is quite isolated, the nearest land being Fakahina, located 182 km to the southwest....
in the Disappointment IslandsDisappointment IslandsThe Disappointment Islands are a subgroup of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. They are located towards the northeast, away from the main Tuamotu group....
, - AnuanuraroAnuanuraroAnuanuraro is an atoll in French Polynesia, Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Duke of Gloucester Islands, a subgroup of the Tuamotu group. Anuanuraro's nearest neighbor is Anuanurunga, which is located about 29 km to the southeast....
in the Duke of Gloucester IslandsDuke of Gloucester IslandsThe Duke of Gloucester Islands is a subgroup of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. They are located southeast of Tahiti and south of the main Tuamotu atoll cluster and are rather isolated...
, - NukutavakeNukutavakeNukutavake or Nukutuvake is an island in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It lies 1,125 km from Tahiti. The closest land is small Pinaki Atoll, located 15 km to the southeast. Vairaatea Atoll lies 38 km to the west of Nukutavake....
and Pinaki between Raeffsky and Acteon Islands, - TenararoTenararoTenararo is an atoll in the Acteon Group in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands. This atoll is the smallest of the group.Tenararo Atoll has a landing place on its NW side between the small boulders which encumber the reef...
, VahangaVahangathumb|300px|NASA satellite image of VahangaVahanga is a small atoll 5 miles west of Tenarunga. It is located in the Acteon Group in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands. Vahanga is a low atoll covered with coconut trees...
, TenarungaTenarungaTenarunga or Tenania, formerly Minto Island, 15 km NNW of Matureivavao, is a low, wooded and uninhabited atoll in the Acteon Group in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands...
, MatureivavaoMatureivavaoMatureivavao, or Mature-vavao is an atoll in the Acteon Group in the southeastern part of the Tuamotu Islands. It is the largest atoll within the Acteon Group....
, Marutea SudMarutea SudMarutea Atoll , also known as Marutea-i-runga, and Nuku-nui, is an atoll of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It is located in the far southeast of the archipelago, about 72 km northeast from Maria Atoll....
and Maria EstMaria EstMaria Atoll is a small atoll of the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. It is located in the far southeast of the archipelago, about 72 km southwest from Marutea Sud. Maria's closest neighbour is the small atoll of Matureivavao of the Acteon Group, 56 km to the northwest.Maria Atoll is oval in...
in (or near) the Acteon Islands, - MoraneMorane (French Polynesia)Morane is a small isolated atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia. It is located 153 km southwest of Maria Est, its closest neighbor....
, south of the Acteon group, and - MakaroaMakaroaMakaroa is an island in the Gambier Islands of French Polynesia, located at , 8.5 km south of Mangareva within the same lagoon. Makaroa is about 1.3 km in length and has a small rocky islet off its NW point....
, Kamaka and Manui in the Gambier IslandsGambier IslandsThere was a time when the Gambiers hosted a population of several thousand people and traded with other island groups including the Marquesas, the Society Islands and Pitcairn Islands...
.
Ecology and behavior
This bird lives on undisturbed atollAtoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
s where it feeds in open areas, including the shores and beaches, and scrubland; it is more rarely found in Pandanus
Pandanus
Pandanus is a genus of monocots with about 600 known species. They are numerous palmlike dioecious trees and shrubs native of the Old World tropics and subtropics. They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae.-Overview:...
thickets. It takes insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s such as ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
s, leafhopper
Leafhopper
Leafhopper is a common name applied to any species from the family Cicadellidae. Leafhoppers, colloquially known as hoppers, are minute plant-feeding insects in the superfamily Membracoidea in the order Hemiptera...
s and wasp
Wasp
The term wasp is typically defined as any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant. Almost every pest insect species has at least one wasp species that preys upon it or parasitizes it, making wasps critically important in natural control of their...
s in the coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
rubble and leaf litter, also taking some vegetation.
The call is a soft, high whistle or piping, transcribed as meh by the Whitney South Seas Expedition
Whitney South Seas Expedition
The Whitney South Seas Expedition to collect bird specimens for the American Museum of Natural History , under the initial leadership of Rollo Beck, was instigated by Dr Leonard C. Sanford and financed by Harry Payne Whitney, a thoroughbred horse-breeder and philanthropist.Beck, an expert bird...
.
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
Upland Sandpiper
The Upland Sandpiper is a large shorebird, closely related to the curlews . Older names are the Upland Plover and Bartram's Sandpiper. It is the only member of the genus Bartramia. The genus name and the old common name Bartram's Sandpiper commemorate the American naturalist William Bartram...
's eggs. One two-egg clutch is in the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
collection (specimen AMNH 5299).
Status
The Tuamotu Sandpiper is threatened by introduced ratRat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s and habitat
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...
destruction caused by the spreading cultivation of coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
s, and is listed as endangered. 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. Birds will occur as non-breeding visitors on other islands nearby, particularly in the Acteon group.
Its IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
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
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
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.
Systematics
Historically, the species occurred also on KiritimatiKiritimati
Kiritimati or Christmas Island is a Pacific Ocean raised coral atoll in the northern Line Islands, and part of the Republic of Kiribati....
(Christmas) Island in Kiribati
Kiribati
Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
(the type locality) and possibly others. John Latham
John Latham (ornithologist)
John Latham was an English physician, naturalist and author. He was born at Eltham in Kent, and was the eldest son of John Latham, a surgeon there, and his mother was a descendant of the Sothebys, in Yorkshire....
figured the bird as the "Barred Phalarope
Phalarope
A phalarope or wadepiper is any of three living species of slender-necked shorebirds in the genus Phalaropus of the bird family Scolopacidae. They are close relatives of the shanks and tattlers, the Actitis and Terek Sandpipers, and also of the turnstones and calidrids...
" in his General Synopsis of Birds, based on a Kiritimati specimen collected on Captain Cook's last voyage, probably on January 1 or 2, 1778. This was in the collection of Joseph Banks
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
at Latham's time, but later became lost. During Cook's visit, the bird was observed by William Anderson
William Anderson (naturalist)
William Anderson was a Scottish naturalist, one of seven children of schoolmaster Robert Anderson and Jean...
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 the US Exploring Expedition, which collected 5 specimens in late August, 1839. These were described by Titian Peale
Titian Peale
Titian Ramsay Peale was a noted American artist, naturalist, entomologist and photographer. He was the sixteenth child and youngest son of noted American naturalist Charles Willson Peale.-Biography:...
as species parvirostris based on perceived differences to Latham's description. The validity of this form is in doubt; some considered it distinct, whereas in recent times 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
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
. In this case, the Tuamotu subspecies would be called Prosobonia cancellata parvirostris, while the Kiribati population would be the nominate 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 been Black Rat
Black Rat
The black rat is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus in the subfamily Murinae . The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world.-Taxonomy:The black rat was...
s (Rattus rattus); as these were only temporarily present on Kiritimati and perhaps did not arrive until the 20th century, the feral cat
Feral cat
A feral cat is a descendant of a domesticated cat that has returned to the wild. It is distinguished from a stray cat, which is a pet cat that has been lost or abandoned, while feral cats are born in the wild; the offspring of a stray cat can be considered feral if born in the wild.In many parts of...
s which started to overrun the island in the 19th century make more likely culprits.
External links
- ARKive - images and movies of the Tuamotu sandpiper (Prosobonia cancellata)
- Natural History Museum: William Ellis' plate 64. Retrieved 11-SEP-2006.