Justification This species is listed as Vulnerable because its population is now small and believed to be declining, largely as a result of predation on the wintering grounds, when perhaps more than 50% of adults are flightless during autumn moult.

Family/Sub-family Scolopacidae

Species name author (Gmelin, 1789)

Taxonomic source(s) AOU checklist (1998 + supplements), Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993), Turbott (1990)

Identification 40-44 cm. Medium-sized curlew. Well-marked head pattern. Dark lateral crown and eye-stripes contrast with pale crown centre and supercilium. Upperparts spotted buff, underparts streaked buff. Dark cinnamon underwing, barred brown. Unmarked cinnamon rump and uppertail. Blue-grey legs. Flesh-coloured base to brown, longish and heavy bill. Juvenile virtually unstreaked underparts and large buff spots on wing-coverts and upperparts. Similar spp. Whimbrel N. phaeopus lacks cinnamon rump, has thinner and more pointed bill, less cinnamon underparts. Eskimo Curlew N. borealis is smaller. Long-billed Curlew N. americanus has different bill shape and head pattern. Voice Short chi-u-it, whistling whe-whe-whe-whe, ringing whee-wheeoo.

Population estimate

Population trend

Range estimate (breeding/resident)

Country endemic?

7,000

decreasing

45,300 km²

No

Range & population Numenius tahitiensis breeds on the lower Yukon River and central Seward Peninsula in western Alaska, USA. Suggestions that it breeds in Russia are unsupported⁵. It winters on oceanic islands, including the Hawaiian Islands (USA), US Minor Outlying Islands, Northern Mariana Islands (to USA), Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Tokelau (to New Zealand), Fiji, Tonga, Niue (to New Zealand), Samoa, American Samoa, Cook Islands, and French Polynesia, also reaching the Solomon Islands, Norfolk Island (to Australia), Kermadec Islands (New Zealand), Pitcairn Islands (to UK) (notably Oeno) and Easter Island (Chile)^1,3,10,11. The breeding population is c.7,000 birds, but c.3,000 subadults over-summer on Pacific islands^2,9.

Important Bird Areas Click here to view map showing IBAs where species is recorded and triggers any of the IBA criteria.

Ecology: It breeds in dwarf-shrub tundra at 100-350 m during May-July. Birds congregate in the Yukon-Kuskokwin Delta in August, and migrate south, mostly bypassing the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands to make landfall after 6,000 km or more^4,7. It winters on coral reefs, sandy beaches, intertidal flats, rocky shores and in palm forests and dense vegetated understorey^4,5. It is long-lived (15-23 years), forms long-term monogamous pairs, and is highly faithful to breeding and wintering sites⁴.

Threats Introduced cats, dogs and possibly pigs heavily predate flightless birds on wintering grounds. Hunting for food is localised, particularly previously in the Tuamotus, and recent reports suggest it may also be a threat in the Marshall Islands, Carolines, US Minor Outlying Islands and Hawaiian offshore islands¹². Breeding birds are predated by several species of raptor, Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus, Common Raven Corvus corax and foxes. Gold mining is a potential future threat in Alaska⁵. Ingestion of lead paint on Midway Island needs to be investigated (it was recently identified as a problem in seabirds)⁵.

Conservation measures underway CMS Appendix II. Most breeding and staging grounds are well-protected⁴. The Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge protects several wintering and stop-over sites. Protection and management of habitat at Kahuku on O'ahu has facilitated an increase in the local wintering population².

Conservation measures proposed Survey key historical sites^8,9. Monitor population trends^2,8. Assess harvesting rate⁹. Identify sites with high concentrations of wintering birds^8,9. Identify migratory stop-over sites^8,9. Protect and manage key islands, atolls and other wintering sites^2,8. Increase public awareness especially in its winter range⁹.

References Collar et al. (1992). 1. Brooke (1995b). 2. P. Donaldson in litt. (1999). 3. Dutson (in press). 4. Gill (1999). 5. R. E. Gill in litt. (1999, 2003). 6. Marks (1993). 7. Marks and Redmond (1994b). 8. Marks and Redmond (1994a). 9. SPREP (1999). 10. Vilina et al. (1992). 11. Y. Vilina in litt. (1999). 12. G.Allport in litt. (2006).

Further web sources of information

Audubon WatchList

Fully detailed species accounts from the Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book (BirdLife International 2001), together with new information collated since the publication of the Red Data Book

Text account compilers Phil Benstead (BirdLife International), Matt Harding (BirdLife International), John Pilgrim (BirdLife International), Andy Symes (BirdLife International)

Contributors Peter Donaldson, Robert E. Gill (US Geological Survey), Yerko A. Vilina (Unión de Ornitólogos de Chile)

IUCN Red List evaluators Stuart Butchart (BirdLife International), Andy Symes (BirdLife International)

Recommended citation BirdLife International (2009) Species factsheet: Numenius tahitiensis. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 10/2/2010

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

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