The Campbell snipe (''Coenocorypha aucklandica perseverance''), also known as the Campbell Island snipe, is a rare subspecies of the

Subantarctic snipe The Subantarctic snipe (''Coenocorypha aucklandica'') is a species of snipe endemic to New Zealand's subantarctic islands. The Maori call it "Tutukiwi". The nominate race ''C. a. aucklandica'' (Auckland snipe) is found on the Auckland Islands (e ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to Campbell Island, a

subantarctic The sub-Antarctic zone is a region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° and 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region includes many islands ...

island south of

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...

. It was not formally described until January 2010.Miskelly & Baker (2010a, b). The subspecific name alludes to the name of the sealing brig ''Perseverance'', captained by

Frederick Hasselborough Frederick Hasselborough (drowned 4 November 1810, in Perseverance Harbour), whose surname is also spelled Hasselburgh and Hasselburg, was an Australian sealer from Sydney who discovered Campbell (4 January 1810) and Macquarie Island Macqua ...

, that discovered Campbell Island in 1810, and which probably inadvertently introduced

rats Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

to the island when it was wrecked there in 1828.DOC media release (2010).

History

The existence of the Campbell snipe was unknown until 1997 when, during a search for the

Campbell teal The Campbell teal or Campbell Island teal (''Anas nesiotis'') is a small, flightless, nocturnal species of dabbling duck of the genus ''Anas'' endemic to the Campbell Island group of New Zealand. It is sometimes considered conspecific with the ...

, there was the chance discovery of a small population on an almost inaccessible rock,

Jacquemart Island Jacquemart Island, one of the islets surrounding Campbell Island in New Zealand, lies south of Campbell Island and is the southernmost island of New Zealand. The name commemorates Captain J. Jacquemart, of the vessel FRWS ''Vire'', that supp ...

. Thus there is not much information about it and it remains one of the least known birds in the world.Miskelly & Fraser (2006).

Austral snipe The austral snipes, also known as the New Zealand snipes or tutukiwi, are a genus, ''Coenocorypha'', of tiny birds in the sandpiper family, which are now only found on New Zealand's outlying islands. There are currently three living species a ...

are extinct on the mainland of New Zealand but continue to survive on several subantarctic islands. A naturalist landed on Campbell island in 1840 and whilst there found no birds to be present: all endemic land birds had been destroyed by rats from shipwrecks in the area (in the mid-19th century). By 2001 the rats on Campbell Island had been eradicated (the largest eradication of rats as a conservation effort in the world) and it was hoped that the snipe would naturally return to their original home. In 2006 BDG Synthesis funded a search effort on Campbell Island. Snipe expert Dr Colin Miskelly, and James Fraser with a snipe dog, surveyed the island for snipe to see if they had re-established on the main island. They also intended to acquire DNA for analysis and comparison with the extinct mainland species. The snipe had already re-established with a population of about 30 individuals. This news was greeted with relief as it was thought that the species would have to be re-introduced from Jacquemart Island through human intervention. However, no intervention has been necessary as the snipe are naturally repopulating the 11,000-hectare pest-free island.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Photo of Campbell Island snipe

The only known video recording of the call of the Campbell Island snipe
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5028144

Campbell snipe The Campbell snipe (''Coenocorypha aucklandica perseverance''), also known as the Campbell Island snipe, is a rare subspecies of the Subantarctic snipe, endemic to Campbell Island, a subantarctic island south of New Zealand in the Southern Oce ...

Birds of the Campbell Islands

Endemic birds of New Zealand