Henderson crake
The Henderson crake or red-eyed crake (Zapornia atra) is a species of flightless bird in the family Rallidae. It is endemic to Henderson Island in the southeast Pacific Ocean. Its natural habitat is dense to open forest.[1]
| Henderson crake | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Gruiformes |
| Family: | Rallidae |
| Genus: | Zapornia |
| Species: | Z. atra |
| Binomial name | |
| Zapornia atra (North, 1908) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Nesophylax ater | |
The population of this species is estimated to be 5,600 mature individuals, roughly equivalent to 8,500 individuals in total.[1]
Habitat and ecology
The species is found in dense to open forest throughout the island plateau, both in forest dominated by Pisonia and Pisonia/Xylosma, and in Timonius thicket, also occurring in Pandanus–Thespesia–Argusia embayment forests and coconut groves on the beaches.[2] It is omnivorous and appears to be an opportunistic feeder, taking advantage of seasonal increases in prey.[2] It forages in the leaf-litter, gleaning items such as skink Emoia cyanura eggs from the undersides of fallen leaves, large nematodes, beetles, moths, spiders, dead caterpillars, land snails and small insects.[2] The breeding season is long, extending from late July to mid February (double broods are not uncommon) and clutch-size is 2–3.[2] Helpers may provide extraparental care such as defending eggs and chicks from crabs and rats. Based on a small sample, adult annual survival is at least 43%, and reproductive success is a minimum of 0.95 chicks surviving to one month old per pair, per annum.[2]
The population of the species was severely affected by a failed rodent eradication campaign on Henderson in 2011, but had returned to pre-eradication levels by 2015.[1][3]
References
- BirdLife International. (2022). "Zapornia atra". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2022: e.T22692711A213098423. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2022-1.RLTS.T22692711A213098423.en. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- Jones, P.; Schubel, S.; Jolly, J.; Brooke, M. de L.; Vickery, J. (1995). "Behaviour, natural history, and annual cycle of the Henderson Island Rail Porzana atra (Aves: Rallidae)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 56 (1–2): 167–183. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1995.tb01083.x.
- Bond, Alexander L.; Brooke, M. de L.; Cuthbert, Richard J.; Lavers, Jennifer L.; McClelland, Gregory T. W.; Churchyard, Thomas; Donaldson, Angus; Duffield, Neil; Forrest, Alice; Harrison, Gavin; Mackinnon, Lorna; Proud, Tara; Skinner, Andrew; Torr, Nick; Vickery, Juliet A.; Oppel, Steffen (10 April 2018). "Population status of four endemic land bird species after an unsuccessful rodent eradication on Henderson Island". Bird Conservation International. 29 (1): 124–135. doi:10.1017/S0959270918000072.