Species

Justification
This species is listed as Vulnerable because it is restricted to a very small range on just two small islands where the accidental introduction of mammals could easily cause its extinction.

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J.; Collar, N. J.; Christie, D. A.; Elliott, A.; Fishpool, L. D. C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International.

Taxonomic note
Lewinia pectoralis and L. muelleri (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) are retained as separate species contra Turbott (1990) who include muelleri as a subspecies of L. pectoralis. This treatment is under review by the BirdLi

Identification
21 cm. Small, chestnut-brown rail. Chestnut back, uppertail, wings, streaked with black. Red/brown sides of head. Grey breast, flanks, undertail barred black-and-white. Sexes alike. Voice Loud crek rapidly repeated c.10 times, loud, sharp, short whistle repeated c.50 times in about 12 seconds.

Distribution and population
Lewinia muelleri is endemic to the Auckland Islands, New Zealand. It was once thought to be extinct but was rediscovered on Adams Island (100 km²) in 1966 and Disappointment Island (4 km²) in 1993. On Adams, where suitable habitat may cover as little as 10% of the island (Elliott et al. 1991), the population is estimated at 1,500 birds (Heather and Robertson 1997). On Disappointment, the population is estimated at more than 500 (Collar et al. 1994). Its status on Ewing Island is unclear, and it may indeed never have occurred there (Elliott et al. 1991). Population numbers are apparently stable (Heather and Robertson 1997).

Population justification
The total population is estimated at c.2,000 mature individuals, based on estimates published by Collar et al. (1994) and Heather and Robertson (1997).


Trend justification
There are no new data on population trends; however, the species is suspected to remain stable.

Ecology
Its preferred habitat consists of coastal and cliff herbfields, Carex grassland, tussock-herbfields and forest. The one clutch seen in the wild consisted of two eggs (Elliott et al. 1991). One juvenile bird caught in the wild lived for nine years in captivity, and ate insects and other invertebrates (Heather and Robertson 1997, Taylor and van Perlo 1998).

Threats
Although both rail-inhabited islands are predator-free, Auckland Island (a few hundred metres from Adams) supports feral cats, mice and pigs, and therefore the introduction of these animals is a possible threat.

Conservation Actions Underway
The islands are nature reserves and part of a World Heritage Site declared in 1998.Conservation Actions Proposed
Conduct surveys to obtain an up-to-date estimate of the population size. Monitor population trends through regular surveys. Eradicate pigs from Auckland Island in the long term (B. D. Bell verbally 1999, A. D. Roberts in litt. 1999). Transfer birds to other suitable pest-free islands in the Auckland Island group (A. D. Roberts in litt. 1999).

References
Collar, N. J.; Crosby, M. J.; Stattersfield, A. J. 1994. Birds to watch 2: the world list of threatened birds. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.

Elliott, G.; Walker, K.; Buckingham, R. 1991. The Auckland Island Rail. Notornis 38: 199-209.

Heather, B. D.; Robertson, H. A. 1997. The field guide to the birds of New Zealand. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

Sibley, C. G.; Monroe, B. L. 1990. Distribution and taxonomy of birds of the world. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.

Sibley, C. G.; Monroe, B. L. 1993. A supplement to 'Distribution and taxonomy of birds of the world'. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.

Taylor, B. 1998. Rails: a guide to the rails, crakes, gallinules and coots of the world. Pica Press, Robertsbridge, UK.

Turbott, E. G. 1990. Checklist of the birds of New Zealand. Ornithological Society of New Zealand, Wellington.

Further web sources of information
Explore HBW Alive for further information on this species

Search for photos and videos, and hear sounds of this species from the Internet Bird Collection

Text account compilers
Benstead, P., Khwaja, N., Mahood, S., McClellan, R., Taylor, J.

Contributors
Bell, B., Roberts, A.

IUCN Red List evaluators
Butchart, S., Symes, A.

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2016) Species factsheet: Lewinia muelleri. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 04/03/2016. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2016) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 04/03/2016.

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.

Additional resources for this species

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