White-winged Sandpiper
Encyclopedia
The White-winged Sandpiper, Prosobonia ellisi, is an extinct
member of the large wader
family Scolopacidae
that was endemic
to the Moorea
in French Polynesia
, where the locals called it te-te in the Tahitian language
.
Two specimens were collected by William Anderson
between September 30 and October 11, 1777, during Captain Cook’s
third voyage, but both have since disappeared and the bird became extinct in the nineteenth century. The only hint at its former existence are Anderson's notes and the descriptions based on them, a painting by William Ellis (linked below) and a plate by J. Webber which apparently depicts the other specimen.
These show a somewhat lighter brown bird than the Tahiti specimen, with no white spot behind the eye, a more conspicuous light rusty eye-ring, two white wing-bars and rusty secondary and primary coverts; one of Latham's specimens had yellow legs and feet. The exact relationships between the Moorea bird and the Tahitian Sandpiper
are still not fully resolved. See the latter species' article for more on this topic.
Extinct birds
Since 1500, over 190 species of birds have become extinct, and this rate of extinction seems to be increasing. The situation is exemplified by Hawaii, where 30% of all known recently extinct bird taxa originally lived...
member of the large wader
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 was endemic
Endemism in birds
An endemic bird area is a region of the world that contains two or more restricted-range species, while a "secondary area" contains one or more restricted-range species. Both terms were devised by Birdlife International....
to the Moorea
Moorea
Moʻorea is a high island in French Polynesia, part of the Society Islands, 17 km northwest of Tahiti. Its position is . Moʻorea means "yellow lizard" in Tahitian...
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...
, where the locals called it te-te in the Tahitian language
Tahitian language
Tahitian is an indigenous language spoken mainly in the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is an Eastern Polynesian language closely related to the other indigenous languages spoken in French Polynesia: Marquesan, Tuamotuan, Mangarevan, and Austral Islands languages...
.
Two specimens were collected by William Anderson
William Anderson (naturalist)
William Anderson was a Scottish naturalist, one of seven children of schoolmaster Robert Anderson and Jean...
between September 30 and October 11, 1777, during Captain Cook’s
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
third voyage, but both have since disappeared and the bird became extinct in the nineteenth century. The only hint at its former existence are Anderson's notes and the descriptions based on them, a painting by William Ellis (linked below) and a plate by J. Webber which apparently depicts the other specimen.
These show a somewhat lighter brown bird than the Tahiti specimen, with no white spot behind the eye, a more conspicuous light rusty eye-ring, two white wing-bars and rusty secondary and primary coverts; one of Latham's specimens had yellow legs and feet. The exact relationships between the Moorea bird and the Tahitian Sandpiper
Tahitian Sandpiper
The Tahiti Sandpiper or Tahitian Sandpiper, Prosobonia leucoptera, is an extinct member of the large wader family Scolopacidae that was endemic to Tahiti in French Polynesia....
are still not fully resolved. See the latter species' article for more on this topic.
External links
- BirdLife Species Factsheet. Retrieved 11-SEP-2006.
- Natural History Museum: William Ellis' plate 65. Retrieved 11-SEP-2006.