Kingdom Animalia Class Aves Family Monarchidae Scientific name Pomarea mira | Phylum Chordata Order Passeriformes Genus Pomarea Rank Species | |
Similar Maupiti monarch, Pomarea, Fatu Hiva monarch, Guam flycatcher, Tahiti crake | ||
The Ua Pou monarch (Pomarea mira) is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae endemic to French Polynesia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and heavily degraded former forest.
Contents
Taxonomy and Systematics
The Ua Pou monarch was formerly considered as a subspecies of the Marquesan monarch until elevated to species rank by the IOC in 2012.
Status
It was considered extinct due to habitat loss, having last been observed in 1975 and not located on intensive searches in 1998 and 1999. However, in 2010 an unconfirmed but convincing report of a male was observed on Ua Pou and based on this possible rediscovery, the status was reverted in 2013 to critically endangered and possibly extinct. If indeed still extant, the remaining population would be very small, certainly less than fifty.