Campbell teal
| Campbell teal | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Anseriformes |
| Family: | Anatidae |
| Genus: | Anas |
| Species: | A. nesiotis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Anas nesiotis (J. H. Fleming, 1935)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Anas aucklandica nesiotis | |
The Campbell teal or Campbell Island teal (Anas nesiotis) is a small,
conspecific with the brown teal. The plumage is similar to that of the Auckland teal, dark sepia with the head and back tinged with green iridescence, and a chestnut breast on the male, with the female dark brown all over. Its natural habitat is tussock grassland dominated by Poa tussock grass, ferns and megaherbs. The species also uses the burrows and pathways of petrel species that nest on the islands. They are apparently territorial in the wild, and probably feed on amphipods and insects. The IUCN classifies it as vulnerable
.
Conservation
The Campbell teal was once found on Campbell Island, but was driven to extinction there by the
Pukaha / Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre
in 1984 while the rest followed in 1990. They were also put on the list of critically endangered species in 1979.
Captive breeding was initially very difficult to achieve, as no studies on the behaviour of the species had been carried out in the wild and "staff [at Mount Bruce] thus had to experiment with a range of techniques to encourage breeding. Success came in 1994 when Daisy, the only wild origin female to ever lay eggs in captivity, finally accepted a mate. Subsequently, breeding has occurred every year – wild origin males contributed genes by pairing with captive raised females."[3]
A tiny population of 25 captive-bred individuals was released on
reintroduced
to Campbell Island in mid-2004, after an absence of more than a century. Subsequent monitoring in 2005 has shown that the majority of these birds are now thriving in their ancestral homeland. By 2011 the species has firmly been returned to Campbell Island, resulting in a reclassification of its threat status to endangered, and vulnerable again in 2020.
References
- . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
- ^ "Forest and bird", No319, February 2006; "Snow ducks of the Antarctic" by Helen Gummer"
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anas nesiotis.
Wikispecies has information related to Anas nesiotis.
- BirdLife International – "Campbell island teal can go home"
- BirdLife International – Species Factsheet
- TerraNature – Campbell Island teal