Austral snipe

The austral snipes (Coenocorypha) also known as the New Zealand snipes or tutukiwi, are a genus of tiny birds in the sandpiper family, which are now only found on New Zealand's outlying islands. There are currently six extinct species and three living species, with the Subantarctic snipe having three subspecies, including the Campbell Island snipe discovered as recently as 1997. The genus was once distributed from Fiji, New Caledonia and Norfolk Island, across New Zealand and southwards into New Zealand's subantarctic islands, but predation by introduced species, especially rats, has drastically reduced their range.

Taxonomy and range

The relationship between Coenocorypha snipe and the snipes of the genus Gallinago is uncertain. Coenocorypha is sometimes thought to be a relict taxon of an ancient lineage; however, insufficient research has been done to prove this. The first specimen was collected from the Auckland Islands during the voyage of HMS Erebus and HMS Terror and was described by George Gray in 1845. Ten years later he assigned the species to its own genus. With the exception of the Chatham snipe and the Forbes's snipe (described from fossils found in the Chatham Islands) all subsequent New Zealand snipe collected were assigned as subspecies to the original species, known as the New Zealand snipe. Subspecific forms have been described from the Snares, Little Barrier Island, Stewart Island, the Antipodes Islands and Campbell Island.