Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species was known from Tahiti, French Polynesia, but it has not been recorded since a specimen was collected in 1777, and is now Extinct. Predation by introduced rats is likely to have been the primary driver.
Population justification
None remain.
Prosobonia leucoptera was endemic to Tahiti, in the Society Islands, French Polynesia (Pratt et al. 1987). The type was collected by Johann Forster and painted by his son in 1773; the specimen is now in Leiden and the painting in London (Walters 1994). Another specimen, now lost, was taken in 1777 (Greenway 1967).
All that is known of the species' ecology is that Forster noted that the birds occurred along highland streams (Walters 1994).
Its extinction was probably caused by introduced rats, and possibly goats and pigs (Greenway 1967, Hume 2017).
Text account compilers
Vine, J.
Contributors
Brooks, T., Khwaja, N., Mahood, S. & Martin, R.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Tahiti Sandpiper Prosobonia leucoptera. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/tahiti-sandpiper-prosobonia-leucoptera on 22/12/2024.
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 22/12/2024.