Inventory and monitoring of seabirds in National Park of American Samoa

During July 2001, during seabird surveys in dense montane rainforest at the summit of Ta'u, we documented the occurrence of the Spotless Crake (Porzana tabuensis) in American Samoa for the first time in 17 years. The last sightings were made during 1985- 1986 in lowland agricultural areas, semiwetland and secondary forests. Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) also were discovered in the montane forests and pose a threat to the continued survival of the crake at its only colony in the Samoan archipelago. Received 4 June 2003, accepted 15 August 2003. The Spotless Crake (Porzana tabuensis), also known as the Sooty Rail, is present over much of South Pacific, including Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, Philippines, and many oceanic islands as far east as the Marquesas Islands and Pitcairn Islands (Pratt et al. 1987). Although widely scattered in small vulnerable populations, the Spotless Crake (P. t. tabuensis) exists in virtually every major island group in the South Pacific. In Western Polynesia, it is extirpated from Futuna but occurs on three islands in Tonga, and on six islands in Fiji (Watling 2001). It is known from Samoa only on the island of Ta'u, the easternmost high island of the Samoan archipelago. This population was discovered in 1923 when biologists with the Whitney South Seas Expedition found the birds in marshy coastal habitat on the northwest side of the island (Murphy 1924, Banks 1984). Others were not able to find the secretive species during 1975-1976 (Amerson et al. 1982). The population was thought to be extirpated since it had not been seen since 1923 (Muse and Muse 1984), but was rediscovered during 1985, when a road-killed specimen was found. Subsequent searches found one individual, and