Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species was endemic to the island of Réunion, but became extinct sometime in the early 1700s due to over-hunting and nest predation by introduced rats.
Population justification
No extant population remains.
Trend justification
This species is known only from travellers accounts (Hume 2017). The first description of the species was in 1671-72 (Dubois 1674), and was observed into the 1700s (Le Gentil 1727). Historical accounts suggest the species was easy to hunt, and the species likely went extinct in the 18th century as a result of over-hunting, with the introduction of rats in 1676 (Cheke and Hume 2008) also contributing to its decline (Hume 2017).
Porphyrio caerulescens was endemic to Réunion (to France).
Historical accounts reported the species from plains and plateaus at the top of mountains, and it supposedly nested amongst grasses and aquatic ferns (Hume 2017).
Historical accounts suggest the species was easy to hunt, and the species likely went extinct in the 18th century as a result of over-hunting (Hume 2017). However, rats were also likely a contributing factor after they were introduced to the island in 1676 (Cheke and Hume 2008) through nest predation (Hume 2017).
Text account compilers
Richardson, L., Brooks, T., Mahood, S., Symes, A., Khwaja, N.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Reunion Gallinule Porphyrio caerulescens. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/reunion-gallinule-porphyrio-caerulescens on 23/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 23/11/2024.