Niue is a raised island (maximum altitude 70 m) of 260 km² lying c.500 km south-east of Samoa (EBA 203) and 480 km east of Tonga (see above); it is a self-governing territory in association with New Zealand. Though originally covered by tropical rain forest, shifting cultivation has greatly modified the vegetation over much of the island, and there are now large areas of secondary forest and scrub in the central basin (Davis et al. 1986). Niue is treated as a Secondary Area because it holds several central Polynesian restricted-range species (Many-coloured Fruit-dove Ptilinopus perousii, Purple-capped Fruit-dove P. porphyraceus, Blue-crowned Lorikeet Vini australis, Polynesian Triller Lalage maculosa and Polynesian Starling Aplonis tabuensis) at this, the south-eastern limit of their ranges. Bristle-thighed Curlew Numenius tahitiensis (classified as Vulnerable), a restricted-range species which breeds in western Alaska (Secondary Area s002), winters on islands in the Pacific region including Niue.

Stattersfield, A. J., Crosby, M. J., Long, A. J. and Wege, D. C. (1998) Endemic Bird Areas of the World. Priorities for biodiversity conservation. BirdLife Conservation Series 7. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Endemic Bird Area factsheet: Niue. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/eba/factsheet/430 on 26/12/2024.