Spotless Crake Bird Doesn’t Make Endangered Species List

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that the American Samoa population of spotless crake (Porzana tabuensis) does not warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Today’s decision, commonly known as a 12-month finding, is based on the best available scientific information.
In American Samoa, the spotless crake is currently found only on Ta’u Island within the boundaries of the National Park of American Samoa in  Manu’a.

This species, while rare on American Samoa, is relatively common and widely distributed throughout the Pacific Islands.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service said with a broad geographic distribution, this species is not at risk of disappearing from the Pacific landscape.

Mary Abrams, Field Supervisor for the Service’s Pacific Islands Fish and Wildlife Office, says this geographically isolated population is discreet, but does not appear to be ecologically significant, and therefore does not meet the criteria for listing.

But she added, this determination about the regulatory status of the spotless crake under the Act does not negate the considerable threats faced by the population of this species in American Samoa.

The most pressing concerns for the spotless crake are from invasive plants and feral pigs, which damage and degrade the spotless crake’s habitat on Ta’u, Manu’a.

Additionally, predation from feral cats and rats is a significant concern, having caused the extinction of numerous island bird species and populations elsewhere, especially of ground-nesting species such as rails.

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