Moorea sandpiper facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Moorea sandpiper |
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The Moorea Sandpiper (Prosobonia ellisi) was an extinct bird that once lived only on the island of Mo'orea in French Polynesia. Local people called this small bird te-te in the Tahitian language. It belonged to the large wader family, which includes birds that often wade in shallow water. Sadly, this unique bird disappeared in the 1800s.
Discovering the Moorea Sandpiper
The Moorea Sandpiper was first seen by European explorers during Captain Cook's third big journey around the world. Two naturalists, Georg Forster and William Anderson, collected two of these birds between September and October 1777. These two bird specimens have since been lost.
Luckily, artists on Cook's voyage made drawings of the bird. William Ellis and John Webber drew the sandpiper between August and December of 1777. These drawings are very important because they are some of the only records we have of what the Moorea Sandpiper looked like.
What Did the Moorea Sandpiper Look Like?
The drawings show that the Moorea Sandpiper was a lighter brown bird compared to a similar bird, the Tahiti Sandpiper. It did not have a white spot behind its eye. Instead, it had a clear, light rusty ring around its eye.
The bird also had two white bars on its wings. Its secondary and primary wing feathers were a rusty color. One of the birds described by Latham had yellow legs and feet. Scientists are still not completely sure if the Moorea Sandpiper was a separate species from the Tahiti Sandpiper.
Why Did the Moorea Sandpiper Disappear?
The Moorea Sandpiper was often found "close to small brooks," which are tiny streams. During Captain Cook's last voyage (around 1776 to 1779), the bird was still fairly common. However, it became extinct sometime in the 1800s.
One of the main reasons for its disappearance might have been invasive rats. These rats were brought to the island by humans. They would have eaten the sandpiper's eggs and chicks, leading to a rapid decline in the bird's population.
