Friday 13th April: (Oops!) South Pacific Ocean 15 04.1S 144 25.4W
Today’s Blog by David (Time zone UTC -9.5; BST-10.5)
I should have said earlier: Sufficient twtichers have agreed for me to go public here. This: image001 turns out to be a Marquesan Kingfisher (Todiramphus godeffroyi). It's also called Pahi in local lingo. So what? Well, it is the rarest bird I am every likely to see, let alone photograph. It is considered 'critically endangered' and at grave risk of extinction.
Researchers estimate only 693 Marquesan Kingfishers remained in the wild in 2004 and being extinct everywhere else, all of these live on the island of Tahuata (err, where the photograph was taken). It is said that introduced species, especially feral livestock (including cattle, horse, goats, sheep, and pigs), have caused extensive damage to this species' forest habitat. Additionally, introduced predators, especially the Great Horned Owl, black rat, and common myna, have significantly contributed to this kingfisher's decline. In fact, Great Horned Owls caused this bird to become extinct on the French Polynesian island of Hiva Oa.
Today, this species can only be found on the island of Tuhuata. Experts are gravely concerned that the Great Horned Owl could be introduced to Tahuata and wipe out the few remaining Marquesan Kingfishers.
So, that’s that, then.