Celia -
This bird is likely to be at least a new subspecies of the New Zealand
Snipe, Coenocorypha aucklandica, thought to be now restricted to the Snares,
Antipodes and Auckland Islands. The genus appears to be very vulnerable to
introduced terrestrial predators and has become extinct on many New Zealand
islands. It was not known from the Campbell Island group, and the new
discovery on small (20 hectare) Jaquemart Island is quite exciting. It
would have been present on the main islands of the group until rats were
introduced early last century. Now the taxonomists can try to work out
whether it has been isolated long enough to be considered a full species,
like the Chatham Island Snipe.
Cheers - and Merry Christmas, Hugo.
Hugo Phillipps,
Birds Australia Conservation & Liaison,
Australian Bird Research Centre,
415 Riversdale Road,
Hawthorn East, VIC 3123, Australia.
Tel: (03) 9882 2622. Fax: (03) 9882 2677.
O/s: +61 3 9882 2622. Fax: +61 3 9882 2677.
Email: <>
Web Homepage: http://www.vicnet.net.au/~birdsaus
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