Polynesian sandpiper
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| Polynesian sandpipers Conservation status: Endangered | ||||||||||||
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The two Polynesian sandpipers are small wading birds confined to remote Pacific islands. One is now extinct, and the other rare and little known. They are the only members of the genus Prosobonia.
The Tuamoto Sandpiper, P. cancellata, is a unique short-billed all-brown wader previously found over a large area of the Pacific, but now confined to a few islands in the Tuamoto archipelago and still declining. Its decline appears to be due to human habitation and introduced mammals.
It feeds on insects, but takes some vegetable material from its coastal haunts. It nests on the ground, and has a soft piping call.
The extinct White-winged Sandpiper, P. leucoptera, of Moorea and Tahiti was similar in size and shape to P. cancellata. It had brown upperparts, reddish underparts, a white wingbar, and some white on the face and throat. It became extinct in the 19th century, and little is known of it.