Rarotonga flycatcher  (Pomarea dimidiata)

Description

In 1989, this small flycatcher was one of the ten rarest birds in the world, teetering on the brink of extinction with a declining population of just 29 birds. Thanks to an intensive conservation programme, however, the bird has made a spectacular recovery and, as a result, has been downgraded from Critically Endangered to Endangered by the IUCN Red List of threatened species (3). Both males and females progress through the same characteristic sequence of plumage colouration as they age, which allows different age groups to be identified easily (3). Year-old birds are bright orange, with a yellow base to the bill; two year-olds retain the orange colouration, but the base of the bill becomes dark blue; three year-olds have a variable mixed grey and orange plumage and a black bill; all birds over four years of age are entirely grey and retain the black bill (2) (3). The Maori name of the bird, kakerori, is onomatopoeic of the loud territorial call given by males (2).

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