Volcanic Pitcairn (4.6 km²) is one of a group of four islands (the Pitcairn Islands, a UK dependent territory) which includes Henderson (see EBA 215; also for map). The island was uninhabited when occupied by mutineers of HMS Bounty in 1790, although it had been settled by Polynesian travellers previously. The vegetation has been greatly modified by man's activities, and today there are only remnants of rain forest, with scrub and grassland elsewhere. Pitcairn is a Secondary Area because of the single endemic species it holds, Pitcairn Reed-warbler Acrocephalus vaughani, which has recently been afforded specific status (Graves 1992, Sibley and Monroe 1993; see EBAs 211, 215). Casual observation indicates that the species breeds only in pairs, unlike A. taiti (from uninhabited Henderson) which forms breeding groups; this possible behavioural difference may be related to the greater disturbance and consequent year-to-year instability of the habitat on Pitcairn (Brooke and Hartley 1995).

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Endemic Bird Area factsheet: Pitcairn. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/eba/factsheet/436 on 23/11/2024.