Notes on the Birds of Easter Island

Abstract

Summary Information on the occurrence and breeding status of sea‐birds at Easter Island has long been scanty and incomplete. In order to obtain accurate information and in particular to investigate reports of a supposed breeding site of a “brown‐plumaged petrel”, we spent three weeks on the island, including 12 days camping out on the uninhabited, waterless islet of Motu‐Nui. The petrel proved to be the Christmas Island Shearwater Puffinus nativitatis, whose breeding range is thus extended by nearly 2,000 miles. Ten other species of sea‐birds were definitely identified and specimens, photographs and breeding records were obtained for most of them. It is shown that the bird species frequenting Easter Island are, like the human inhabitants, predominantly of Polynesian origin—in fact the American continents are not represented at all. The paper opens with a brief outline of present‐day conditions on the main island, and concludes with an account of the “bird‐cult” rituals which are known to have been a feature of life in Easter Island for centuries.

Temporal changes in seabird assemblage structure and trait diversity in the Rapa Nui (Easter Island) multiple‐use marine protected area

“…Also, historical reports on species occurrences from Motu Nui are few and derived from occasional records that did not follow actual taxonomic criteria. Johnson et al (1970) and Harrisson (1971) visited the islet for several days (between 8 and 12 days) in summer, but winter-breeding species may be underestimated as they did not visit the island in winter. Despite the limitations of archaeological and historical data, the change over time in the diversity of traits on Rapa Nui provides insight into the processes of change that explain current species richness and trait diversity.…”

“…However, 12 additional seabird species nest on three islets, called Motus, located on the south-west side of Rapa Nui. Among these islets, Motu Nui is the largest and provides most of breeding seabird species records (Flores, Schlatter, & Hucke-Gaete, 2014;Jaramillo, Johnson, Rothfels, & Johnson, 2008;Johnson, Millie, & Moffett, 1970).…”

“…For historical times (i.e. post-European contact), the studies of Fuentes (1914), Johnson et al (1970, and Harrisson (1971) were used. For current species composition, our records were supplemented with information from…”

Application of the Socio-Economic Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (SEICAT) to a global assessment of alien bird impacts

“…As an example, on Easter Island, the chimango caracara (Phalcoboenus chimango) feeds on insects on the backs of cattle and horses. This feeding can damage the skin of the livestock, which reduces the value of the hides, and results in lost income for livestock owners (Johnson et al 1970). However, there is no evidence to show that this impact has resulted in a reduction in the number of people buying and selling cattle and horses on Easter Island.…”

Sobre las aves de Isla de Pascua

“…Fue introducida a Pascua por Pedro Toro, el 21 de julio de 1888, algo antes de la incorporación de Pascua al territorio nacional (Toro 1892) [no en 1885 como es indicado por algunos autores Johnson et al 1970, Harrison 1971 [y no por Policarpo Toro (hermano de Pedro) como es mencionado por otros autores Barros 1939]. Toro (1892) indica que llevó un gran número de perdices a la isla.…”