Tuamotu Sandpiper

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 a small mottled brown sandpiper with barred underparts. Its short sharp black beak is more like that of an insectivorous passerine than a wader. It has a bold white supercilium , yellow-grey legs and short wings. The call is a soft whistle.

The 15.5-16.5 cm long Tuamotu Sandpiper lives on undisturbed atolls where it feeds in open areas, including the shores and beaches, and scrubland. It takes insects such as ants, leafhoppers and wasps in the coral rubble and leaf litter , also taking some vegetation. It breeds at different times on different islands, nesting on the shoreline in nests of shell, coral and vegtable matter. Th clutch is believed to be two eggs.

The Tuamotu Sandpiper is threatened by intoduced rats and habitat destruction caused by the spreading cultivation of coconuts, and is listed as endangered. It historically had a wider range, but now survives on a smaller number of rat-free islands, and possibly moves between islands, although it is not otherwise thought to migrate.

It is currently believed to number somewhere between 250 to 1000 individuals. 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 and preventing the further spread of rats.

References

• Handbook of the Birds of the World, Volume Three, Hoatzin to Auks; de Hoyo, Elliot and Sargatal, ISBN 84-87334-20-2
• Shorebirds by Hayman, Marchant and Prater ISBN 0-873403-19-4