Makira Moorhen vs Marquesan Swamphen

Pareudiastes silvestris compared with Porphyrio paepae

Side-by-Side Comparison

Attribute Makira Moorhen Marquesan Swamphen
Scientific Name Pareudiastes silvestris Porphyrio paepae
Order Gruiformes Gruiformes
Family Rallidae Rallidae
Conservation Status Critically Endangered Extinct
Length
Wingspan 28.5 cm (11.2 in)
Weight 450.0 g (15.87 oz)
Diet -- --
Clutch Size -- --
Population Trend

Habitat Comparison

Shared Habitats

None

Makira Moorhen only

Marquesan Swamphen only

Conservation Status

Critically Endangered

Makira Moorhen

Extinct

Marquesan Swamphen

About These Birds

Makira Moorhen

Makira Moorhen (Pareudiastes silvestris) is a poorly known, likely extinct rail formerly endemic to Makira (San Cristóbal) in the Solomon Islands. Described from a single 19th-century specimen; dark plumage, short wings indicating flightlessness. Presumed lost to forest clearance and introduced predators.

Marquesan Swamphen

Marquesan Swamphen (Porphyrio paepae) is an extinct flightless swamphen known only from subfossil bones from the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. Lost following Polynesian settlement and later European contact. Part of the broader pattern of Pacific island rail extinctions linked to human arrival and introduced rats.

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