Twenty-seven rare Rimatara lorikeets (Vini kuhlii) have been released on the Cook Island of Atiu in the South Pacific. The project, lead by Gerald McCormack of the Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, aims to establish a reserve population of the endangered bird. Other, small populations of the bird survive only on four islands in French Polynesia (an island chain just to the east of the Cook Island Archipelago):

• Rimatara Island - 750 individuals
• Teraina Island - 1000 individuals
• Tabuaeran Island - 50 individuals
• Kiritimati Island - very few individuals

The island of Atiu was chosen as an appropriate site for a reserve population of the Rimatara lorikeet for several reasons. First, Atiu is thought to have been part of the Rimatara lorikeet's former range which is believed to have once extended throughout the Southern Cook Islands. Second, Atiu is free of black rats—an introduced species that is common throughout the Cook islands and French Polynesia. The rat has had a devastating effect on populations of birds on other islands, as it is adept at climbing trees, thus enabling it to feeds on eggs. Third, Atiu has the same vegetation as the island of Rimatara and thus provides suitable food resources and habitat for the rare bird.

The Rimatara Lorikeet is a member of the parrot family. It is a vibrantly colored bird—with bright apple green back and wings, crimson face and belly, purple nape, and orange beak and feet.

Find out more:

• Rimatara Lorikeet Reintroduction Programme (Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust)
• Rimatara Lorikeet Returns to the Cook Islands (BirdLife International)
• Vini kuhlii (IUCN)

Photo © Phil Bender / BirdLife International.