Birds of the World

Makira Moorhen Gallinula silvestris Scientific name definitions

Barry Taylor, Eduardo de Juana, and Christopher J. Sharpe
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 12, 2015

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Field Identification

26·5 cm (1 male); 450 g. Male entirely plain: head, neck and breast dark bluish slate, almost blackish on chin and face; scapulars, wing-coverts and secondaries brown-black, tinged olive; rest of body dull brownish black; iris chocolate; legs, feet and bill bright scarlet; shield dark grey-blue; tail very short, with hair-like rectrices; secondaries soft and decomposed; bill strong and laterally compressed; legs and feet slender; flies very little, if at all.

Systematics History

Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

Makira (San Cristobal), in SE Solomon Is; no recent records.

Habitat

Dense undergrowth of primeval mountain forest on steep slopes; type specimen obtained at altitude of 580 m, but mountains in the vicinity ascend to 1200 m; the area has many streams and creeks cutting deep into mountain slopes, but no standing water. Also reported as occurring in rocky valleys below 425 m.

Movement

No information available.

Diet and Foraging

No information: diet of possibly extinct P. pacificus, of similar habitat, was apparently almost entirely animal matter.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Unknown.

Breeding

Unknown.

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED. Restricted-range species: endemic to the island of Makira (San Cristobal) and present in Solomon Group EBA. Known only from the holotype, collected in Dec 1929 in the central mountains of Makira. Even then apparently rare. The only subsequent observations are of one seen by an expedition member in 1953, when it was reported apparently to be not uncommon in rocky valleys below Wuranakumau, on Naghasi ridge (1), and a report by local people of its presence in 1974. Since then, despite several weeks of surveys between 1990 and 2006 (2) BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Pareudiastes silvestris. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 12/01/2015. , there have only been unconfirmed reports; local people have claimed to be familiar with the species, albeit through rare encounters BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Pareudiastes silvestris. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 12/01/2015. . Its population is now judged to be fewer than 50 individuals BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Pareudiastes silvestris. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 12/01/2015. . The reasons for its decline are not clear (2): introduced mammals may be significant predators and loss of forest habitat may also be a factor BirdLife International (2015) Species factsheet: Pareudiastes silvestris. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 12/01/2015. . If current commercial forestry programmes are continued, forest habitat may be disturbed or lost over large parts of Makira (2). Introduced fire ants Wasmannia auropunctata, first noted in the Solomons in 1972, are known to attack the eyes of domestic animals (3) and are likely to have had an impact on this ground-dwelling species (2). At least five studies have recommended the establishment of protected areas on Makira, yet there is still no protected area on the island (2).

Distribution of the Makira Moorhen - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Makira Moorhen

Recommended Citation

Taylor, B., E. de Juana, and C. J. Sharpe (2020). Makira Moorhen (Gallinula silvestris), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.sacmoo1.01
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