Shore Dotterel
Chathamregenpfeifer (males)
The Chathamregenpfeifer ( Thinornis novaeseelandiae ) is a rare species of bird in the plover family, which is endemic to the Chatham Islands.
Features
The Chathamregenpfeifer reached a size of 20 centimeters. In the adult male the forehead, the face, the neck and the throat are black band; in adult females these spots are brown. Top of the head and face are separated by a white ring. The vertex, occiput and the top are gray-brown. The underside is white. The beak is orange with a black tip. The legs are orange. The young birds have a white head and neck. Cap and eye patch are brown gray. The brown beak has an orange base. The vocalizations are usually composed of a " Clover ".
Distribution and habitat
The Chathamregenpfeifer breeds on Rangatira and Mangere Iceland in the Chatham Islands. Vagrants were occasionally detected on Pitt Iceland. 21 individuals were discovered in 1999 on the Western Reef, of which the last copy in 2003 came into care. Since 2007 a reintroduction program runs on mana Iceland near Wellington and since 2012 a reintroduction program on Motutapu Iceland in the Hauraki Gulf. The nesting sites are located in the mudflats, salt marshes, as well as on sand and gravel beaches.
Way of life
The Chathamregenpfeifer is monogamous. The couple stubbornly defend their territory during the breeding season. It is preferable to wet, bare or covered with algae slabs of rock in search of food. The diet consists of copepods, amphipods, and insect larvae. The breeding season lasts from September to April. The nest is built under dense vegetation, including Muehlenbeckia australis, Tussockgräser and sedges, of two adult birds. The nest consists of two to three eggs. The incubation period is 28 days. Both parents take care of the breeding season. The period in which the young are fledged, is highly variable. It ranges 29-63 days.
Inventory and risk
The Chathamregenpfeifer was once widespread on the coasts of New Zealand's South Island. He died back in the 1870s from a result of predation by feral cats and brown rats. Between 1890 and 1910, the population was seriously depleted on the Chatham Islands by commercial collectors. 1937, the stock was estimated at 70 pairs. 85 birds were counted in 1968, 90 birds in 1970, 81 in 1973 and 100 units in 1974. Since the breeding season of 1998, the stock has stabilized at 156-166 copies. 1961 went through the elimination of sheep on Rangatira breeding habitat lost since the former peat meadows grazed forest has grown. The biggest threat today are the spread of the New Zealand fur seals, fires, epidemics, storms and heavy surf and reenactments by the New Zealand morepork, through the Great Skua and through the marsh harrier. BirdLife International classified the species in the category of " high risk " ( endangered ) a. 2007, a couple was reintroduced to Mana Iceland, which has grown in 2008 and in 2009 a young boy of five. Since early 2012, the stock is about 200 copies, including 17 copies of a new breeding program on Motutapu Iceland were brought in the Hauraki Gulf in February 2012. End of 2012, the conservationists a serious setback when on Portland Iceland reasons unknown suffered 60 dead birds