Prosobonia ellisi
The Moorea Sandpiper (Prosobonia ellisi) was a small, extinct shorebird endemic to the island of Moorea in the Society Islands, French Polynesia. Described from specimens collected during Captain Cook's second voyage in 1774, it measured approximately 16-17 cm in length, making it a rather compact wader. Its plumage likely featured brownish-grey upperparts heavily mottled with darker streaks and rufous tones, contrasting with paler, whitish underparts. Distinctive field marks, visible on pres...
This sandpiper inhabited coastal areas, including sandy and rocky beaches, as well as the margins of freshwater streams and lagoons on Moorea, typically at low elevations.
Its diet primarily consisted of small invertebrates, including insects, crustaceans, and marine worms, gleaned from the shoreline and muddy freshwater margins.
Due to its rapid extinction following its discovery, detailed behavioral observations of the Moorea Sandpiper are nonexistent. However, based on general sandpiper biology and the characteristics of its close relatives, it was likely an active diurnal forager, probing soft substrates for invertebr...
The Moorea Sandpiper was exclusively endemic to the island of Moorea, one of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. Its entire known geographic distribution was confined to this single island, where it frequented coastal areas and freshwater margins. As an island endemic, it was non-migratory, ...
Extinct
- The Moorea Sandpiper is known from only two specimens collected in 1774 during Captain James Cook's second voyage, making it one of the most historically significant extinct birds. - These two specimens, currently housed in Leiden and Tring museums, are the sole physical evidence of its existen...