Lord Howe Woodhen

Woodhens mate for life and are usually encountered in pairs. They are territorial and will appear from the forest's understory to investigate the source of any unusual noise. A mated pair will defend an area of approximately 3 hectares, with offspring being expelled from this area once grown. The population of birds is thus restricted by the amount of available territory.

The Lord Howe Woodhen is classified as Endangered (EN), considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

When the island was discovered in 1788, the Lord Howe woodhen was found throughout the island, but from the mid-19th Century it became restricted to the mountaintops (4). At high altitudes this species inhabits gnarled mossy forest, which is unique to the mountain summits, and in the lowlands the preferred habitat is kentia palm (Howea fosterana) forest (5). Biology - Pairs mate for life and build nests in shallow depressions on the ground under thick vegetation (4). More

Lord Howe Woodhen numbers from only 20 in 1970 to approximately 200, not that distant from carrying capacity. Stray dogs are also a threat as they could harm the native wood hen and other birds. According to an analysis by Tim Flannery, the ecosystem of Lord Howe Island is threatened by climate change and global warming, with the reefs at risk from rises in water temperature. More

priority actions to help recover the Lord Howe Woodhen in New South Wales. What needs to be done to recover this species? - * Control domestic dogs. * Control and eradicate the Masked Owl population. * Ensure Woodhens cannot be affected by rodent bait during rodent control programmes. * Assist with the control of introduced weeds in areas of habitat. More

Action 9: Assess the potential impact on the Lord Howe Woodhen of food competition from Buff-banded Rails, Purple Swamphens, Common Blackbirds and Song Thrushes and, if necessary, formulate and implement a control strategy. Monitoring A thorough and consistent monitoring program for the Lord Howe Woodhen was undertaken between 1986 and 1998 (Harden 1986, 1987, 1990b, 1998; Harden and Robertshaw 1988, 1989). This monitoring program involved a count and banding in November, and again in March. More

The Lord Howe Woodhen occurs only on Lord Howe Island (see Figure 1). It was discovered in 1788 and observed on subsequent visits by mariners who described it as common. It appears always to have been confined to the mainland of the island and there are no records of it on the offshore islands, which lack forest (Fullagar 1985). The island was settled in 1833-34, at which time the Woodhen was still reported as quite common (Lourie-Fraser 1985). More

THE LORD HOWE WOODHEN is found only on its island namesake, which lies almost 400 miles off the east coast of Australia. When local residents launched a plan to save the bird from extinction in the 1980s, fewer than 20 survived. A TRIO OF WOODHENS was foraging for worms and insects among the leaf litter of Lord Howe Island's stately, native kentia palms. As I edged closer, I found that these rare birds were surprisingly unafraid. More

Lord Howe Woodhen - Common in most patches of forest with (up to four) chicks or juveniles. Most are colour banded. The highlight were the four chicks near the airport. If you clap your hands several times, they often respond by calling, and sometimes they approach very close. Several lodges / restaurants have them in the garden. Purple Swamphen - Locally common in the paddocks around the airport with a chick and several juveniles seen. A few at the golf course. More

about the home of the Lord Howe woodhen, one of the most spectacularly beautiful places on earth. Lord Howe aerial view Lynne Malcolm: As you approach it you've already travelled for some time over ocean, so you're looking down at patterns of waves moving, and you're flying relatively low because it's not a long flight so you don't achieve great altitude. And you come in on the side which faces to the west, and that's the side with the coral reef. More

Lord Howe Woodhen Gallirallus sylvestris 2009 IUCN Red List Category (as evaluated by BirdLife International - the official Red List Authority for birds for IUCN): Endangered Justification This species is listed as Endangered as it has an extremely small population which is restricted to a tiny area of available habitat on one island. Conservation efforts have resulted in the stabilisation of numbers. More

Lord Howe Woodhen numbers from only 20 in 1970 to approximately 200. More

Lord Howe Woodhen Tricholimnas (Gallirallus) sylvestris One unringed bird at the entrance to hospital was our first bird, followed soon by another (ringed) bird. According to Ian Hutton, unringed birds are not uncommon in early November because the banding takes place in late November. Another unringed bird was seen along the trail to Muttonbird Point, and several were heard after dark around the settlement. Someone staying at Mary Challis Lodge said one there was seen daily on the lawn, chasing away Buff-banded Rails. More