Nauru Reed-warbler - Distribution and Habitat

Distribution and Habitat

The Nauru Reed Warbler is endemic to the island of Nauru, in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of only two indigenous land birds which breed on the island, the other being the Micronesian Pigeon. The warbler can be found throughout the island, thriving in the scrubland in areas previously used for phosphate mining, as well as the remaining patches of forest on the island's central plateau. It is most common in the remains of forest found on the island's steep slopes. It is also readily observed in gardens and ruderal areas on the island's coast; in 1881, Finsch described the species as abundant, calling it "as common as the House-Sparrow in England." Biologist Donald Buden again found it widespead on the island in 2008.

The species is sedentary, meaning that the birds do not naturally leave Nauru. Banaba is the nearest island, and despite being similar to Nauru, it lacks any warblers. However, it is possible that populations of the Nauru Reed Warbler existed on other islands until comparatively recently. On the Marshall Islands, traditional stories refer to a small bird, known variously as annañ, anang and annãng. This bird was considered the property of chieftains. Though no physical descriptions exist of the species, it has been described as butterfly-sized, pleasant-smelling and as living among rocks on the shores of north-western islands. Ethnographers Krämer and Nevermann reported that the bird became extinct or extirpated around 1880. Based on descriptions of birds seen on Jaluit, Paul Schnee hypothesised that the annañ may have been a Nauru Reed Warbler. The extinction of the annañ may have been due to hunting by cats, which were introduced to the Marshall Islands by the Russian Otto von Kotzebue in 1817 to hunt rats. They then multiplied before being spread by locals as pets, after which they started to become feral.