Endemic Animals of Northern Mariana Islands

The Mariana crow (Corvus kubaryi ) (Chamorro name: aga ) is a species of the crow family from the South Pacific. It is a glossy black bird about 15 inches (38 cm) long and known only from the islands of Guam and Rota.It is a rare bird which has steadily declined in numbers since the 1960s. On Guam there are believed to be very few remaining birds, the population having been much reduced since the introduction of the brown tree snake. On Rota the ...
population has also been dwindling, the main threats here being the reduction of suitable habitat because of development and predation. Some conservation efforts have been undertaken, and some birds have been relocated from Rota to the new Guam National Wildlife Refuge. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated the bird as being "critically endangered". Less

The Tinian monarch (Monarcha takatsukasae ) is a species of bird in the family Monarchidae.It is endemic to the Northern Mariana Islands. Less

The Mariana fruit dove (Ptilinopus roseicapilla ), also known as mwee’mwe in the Carolinian language, totot on Guam or Paluman totut in Northern Marianas Islands, is a small, up to 24 cm long, green fruit dove native and endemic to Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands in the Pacific. It has a red forehead; greyish head, back and breast; and yellow belly patch and undertail coverts.The female lays a single white egg. The chick and egg are te ...
nded to by both parents. Its diet consists mainly of fruits.Culturally, the Mariana fruit dove is a very important symbol of the region. This species is the official bird of the Northern Marianas Islands.. In 2005, the Mariana fruit dove was originally chosen as the official mascot of the 2006 Micronesian Games in Saipan. However, the official website for the games shows a tropicbird as the official symbol instead of the Mariana fruit dove.The species faces extinction due to habitat loss throughout its range. A larger threat to the Mariana fruit dove has been the accidental introduction of the brown tree snake to Guam during World War II. The snakes decimated the native bird populations of the island, which were unaccustomed to predators. They are extinct on Guam since 1984 and the Mariana fruit dove is highly endangered on other islands in its range. The spread of the snakes to the Northern Marianas Islands could be devastating. Several zoos have started captive breeding programs. The St. Louis Zoo, in St. Louis, Missouri, has one of the most successful captive breeding programs. The program began in 1993.Due to ongoing habitat loss, limited range, small population size and invasive alien species, the Mariana fruit dove is evaluated as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Less

The golden white-eye (Cleptornis marchei ) is a species of bird in the white-eye family, Zosteropidae. It is the only species within the genus Cleptornis. The golden white-eye was once considered to be a honeyeater in the family Meliphagidae and although it is now known to be a white-eye, its position within that family is still uncertain. The species is restricted to the islands of Saipan and Aguijan in the Northern Mariana Islands, where it is ...
sympatric (shares its range) and competes with the related bridled white-eye. The golden white-eye has golden plumage and a pale eye-ring. It feeds on insects, fruit, and nectar and forages in pairs or small family groups. The bird is monogamous and lays two eggs in a small cup nest.Fossil evidence shows the golden white-eye once also occurred on Tinian and Rota but was extirpated in those locations through the impact of human activities. Despite its current abundance on Saipan and Aguijan, and the fact that it has among the highest recorded densities for any bird, it is nevertheless considered to be Endangered. It is threatened by the invasive brown tree snake, which has become established on nearby Guam, and this predator is expected to cause a rapid decline in the population if it reaches Saipan. Efforts are under way to control the snakes and breed the white-eye in zoos. Less

The Micronesian megapode or Micronesian scrubfowl (Megapodius laperouse ) is an endangered megapode which inhabits islands of the Western Pacific Ocean. Less

The Saipan reed warbler (Acrocephalus hiwae ) is a critically endangered songbird of the Northern Mariana Islands. It is considered a subspecies of the nightingale reed warbler by some taxonomists. It occurs on two islands : Saipan and Alamagan. An estimated population of 2700 specimen was reported in 2009 on Saipan, and on Alamagan 950 specimen were reported in 2010.The species is approximately 17 cm (6.7 in) long, and is greyish olive-brown ab ...
ove with a pale-yellow underside. It inhabits wetlands, thickets and the margins of forests. The female is slightly smaller than the male. Both sexes have a long bill compared to other reed warbler species.Threats to the survival of the reed warbler include habitat destruction resulting from urban development and agriculture, the introduction of invasive species, and volcanic eruptions. Less