Canary Islands oystercatcher facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Canary Islands oystercatcher |
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| Illustration by Henrik Grønvold from 1914 | |
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| Genus: |
Haematopus
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| Species: |
meadewaldoi
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The Canary Islands oystercatcher (Haematopus meadewaldoi) was a type of shorebird. It lived only on the islands of Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and nearby small islands in the Canary Islands of Spain. Sadly, this bird is now considered extinct, meaning it no longer exists.
For a long time, scientists weren't sure if the Canary Islands oystercatcher was its own unique species. Some thought it was just a local group or a subspecies of the African oystercatcher. Later, DNA tests in 2018 suggested it might actually be a subspecies of the more common Eurasian oystercatcher. This shows how tricky it can be to classify animals!
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What Was the Canary Islands Oystercatcher?
For many years, the Canary Islands oystercatcher was thought to be a type of African oystercatcher. But in 1913, a scientist named David Armitage Bannerman said it was a special subspecies. Then, in 1982, another study suggested it was different enough to be its own species.
More recently, in 2018, scientists looked at the bird's DNA. They found it was almost identical to the Eurasian oystercatcher. This means it might just be a dark-colored version or a subspecies of the Eurasian oystercatcher. Big bird groups like the International Ornithologists' Union are still deciding what to call it.
What Did It Look Like?
The Canary Islands oystercatcher was about the same size as its relatives, the African and Eurasian oystercatchers. It was about 40 to 45 centimeters (16 to 18 inches) long. It probably weighed between 600 and 800 grams (1.3 to 1.8 pounds). Female birds were usually a little heavier.
Its beak was long, about 70 to 80 millimeters (2.8 to 3.1 inches). Females had slightly longer beaks. Its legs were about 50 millimeters (2 inches) long, and its wings were 250 to 265 millimeters (9.8 to 10.4 inches) long.
This bird looked very much like the African oystercatcher. It was a shiny black color all over. The only lighter parts were the whitish bases of the inner wing feathers. Its beak was reddish-orange with a blunt, lighter tip. It had a narrow red ring around its eye. Its legs and feet were dark pink with ivory-colored nails. Like other oystercatchers, it didn't have a back toe, and two of its front toes were slightly connected.
Male and female birds looked the same in color. Young birds probably had duller colors. Baby birds were likely brownish-grey with dark stripes. This helped them camouflage (blend in) with the dark lava rocks where they lived.
How Did It Live?
The Canary Islands oystercatcher lived in the Canary Islands all year round. It never seemed to leave the eastern islands, even to breed. We don't know much about its daily life, but locals knew it well. On Fuerteventura, they called it "sea raven." On Lanzarote, it was "sea chough." On Graciosa, it was "little raven." People also called it "limpet-eater" because of what it ate.
This bird likely preferred rocky shores instead of sandy beaches. It probably avoided beaches because people used them more often. Its diet was mostly small molluscs and crustaceans, not actually oysters. It especially liked limpets and the African mussel.
Its calls sounded like "kvirr" or "kvik-kvikkvik." Its alarm call was "peepe-peepe peepe-peepe." These birds seemed to be territorial during breeding season. At other times, they moved around but didn't gather in large groups.
Family Life and Reproduction
Like other oystercatchers, this species didn't build a fancy nest. It laid its eggs in a simple scrape on the ground near the sea. It chose quiet, lonely spots, like the mouths of dry riverbeds. Scientists never found any eggs or nests.
People reported that its courtship was unusual. Two or three males would "dance" to impress the females. Once a female chose a partner, they likely stayed together for life. We don't know how many eggs they laid, but it might have been just one. Groups of three birds were often seen. The eggs were probably dark brownish-grey with black or dark brown spots, helping them blend in with the rocks. An egg was likely about 60 by 40 millimeters (2.4 by 1.6 inches).
The breeding season probably started around April. It's thought that the eggs hatched in about 30 days. The chicks then took about 35 days to learn to fly. Females probably became old enough to breed at 3 years, and males at 4 years. Like other oystercatchers, they likely lived for a long time, sometimes over 20 or 30 years.
Why Did It Disappear?
The last time a Canary Islands oystercatcher was collected by a scientist was in 1913. Local fishermen and lighthouse keepers said it disappeared around 1940. Its numbers had been going down since the 1800s. It seems to have vanished from Lanzarote first. By 1913, it was only found on the Chinijo Archipelago and Islote de Lobos.
It is now officially extinct. Many searches between 1956 and the late 1980s found no sign of the bird. It was declared extinct in 1994.
There were a few reports of black oystercatchers in Senegal in the 1970s. But these were probably not the Canary Islands oystercatcher. This bird was known to stay in the Canary Islands. However, there were some believable sightings on Tenerife in the 1960s and 1980s. This could mean a few birds survived on small, uninhabited islands for a while longer.
The main reasons for its disappearance were likely people taking too many invertebrates from the shore and disturbing the birds. Rats and cats also hunted them. People also collected their eggs, which were said to be very tasty. If the birds only laid one egg, collecting them would have been very harmful. Adult birds were also sometimes shot and sold. Changes to the land, like desertification, might also have hurt the bird's habitat and food sources.
There are only four known specimens (preserved birds) of the Canary Islands oystercatcher left. Three are in the British Museum of Natural History. One is in the World Museum Liverpool. The last known specimen was a male bird shot on June 3, 1913, on Graciosa.
See also
