Wildlife· Fatu Hiva· French Polynesia: Tuamotus, Marquesas, Gambier & Australs
Fatu Hiva Monarch ('Oma'o Keekee)
10° 30.5′ S · 138° 40.8′ W · approximate
One of the rarest birds on Earth lives only in Fatu Hiva's forests: the glossy black Fatu Hiva monarch, 'oma'o keekee in Marquesan. Fewer than twenty remained in 2022, and a captive safety population is now kept at Omoa.
Practical
Approximate position: the Omoa valley, where SOP Manu bases the species' captive population (2026 job posting for a captive-population manager housed at Omoa); the wild birds' exact territories are not published, deliberately. Note: this is not the 'pahi' - that name belongs to Tahuata's kingfisher (see Pahi Kingfisher Birdwatching). Facts (SOP Manu species page): endemic songbird about 19 cm; adults entirely black with a slate-blue bill and blue legs; juveniles light brown with a cream belly, taking 3-4 years to darken. Population about 1,000 in 2002, 67 in 2009, and 18 birds with 4 breeding pairs in 2022. It lives in dense native forest up to about 700 m (Wikipedia). Threats: black rats (first recorded on Fatu Hiva in February 2000), feral cats, invasive Miconia and recently detected avian malaria. Conservation: rat bait stations, cat control and sterilisation, captive rearing (with Auckland Zoo from July 2023), Miconia removal in the Tai'u valley. For sailors: this bird is not a casual sighting - do not go looking for nests or play call recordings. Contact SOP Manu (+689 87 73 79 42, sop@manu.pf) if you want to learn about or support the programme. Rats are the main threat, so keep your boat rat-free (stern lines and dinghy painters are rat bridges in the harbour) and never land pets.
Best for
Conservation story of a critically endangered endemic