Swamped
Darwin’s darling,
One foot
In the tomb.
The famous finch
One inch
From doom.
Oppressed by
Uninvited guests,
One hundred
Beaks unique
To Isabela’s
Salty womb
Hunker down
Inside their
Hundred hectare
Panic room.
A wing,
A prayer,
One square
Kilometre of light
Amid the gloom.
One final fling:
Bring on the
Baby boom.© Tim Knight and timknightwriter, 2015
Grey spirit
Phantom of the forest,
Ghost of Caledonia past,
Caught yapping.
Earthbound, hapless
Headdress chicken,
Easy meat.
Not flying, but flapping.
Feral future lapping
At your coral feet.© Tim Knight and timknightwriter, 2015
Potoo pocket guide to the art of camouflage
Bark.
Upright.
Tree.© Tim Knight and timknightwriter, 2015.
The final cut
Mini moa
Lookalikes,
Gone with Gondwanaland.
Zealandia expands,
Contracts.
A continent divides;
Man conquers,
Multiplies,
Subtracts
From North and South
The axe-beaked islanders.
Sum total:
Minus two,
Remainder none.© Tim Knight and timknightwriter, 2015.
Bigmouth strikes againShoebill close-up
Blast from the prehistoric past,
Ugly sister who swallowed the slipper.
Feather-clad freak with a murderous beak,
Mighty mouth munching your lungfish booty.
Monstrous beauty, tough as old boots,
Cobbled together by some clever clogger.
Top of the bill, but will it last?© Tim Knight and timknightwriter, 2014
Guan tomorrow?If less is more
We have excess of this
Declining frugivore,
Red-listed, red-legged
Blue-faced piper
At the gates of dusk.
Demi-gone denizen
Of montane slopes,
A fading grace,
Hopes shrinking
Faster than your forest,
Sinking without trace
Beneath the race
For timber, land
And pot roast.
Not yet wholly ghost,
But close.
Going, going, guan.© Tim Knight and timknightwriter, 2014
Species profile: Trinidad piping guan
IUCN Red List Category: Critically Endangered
As its name implies, the Trinidad piping guan is endemic to that particular island. Formerly widespread, it is now restricted to a single area in the mountainous north-east. The pawi, as it is known locally, has very distinctive markings including white wing patches, red legs and blue dewlap and cere. It feeds on fruit and seeds, foraging in the cool of the evening. Although protected by law, it is in grave danger of extinction due to illegal hunting and habitat loss.
Not enough ado about o-oDouble o
Distress call:
Harassed in Hawaii,
Cornered in Kauai.
Black rat invaders
With licence to kill;
Thirsty mosquitoes
Drinking their fill;
Unwelcome spectres,
Vectors of disease,
Disappearing trees,
Death by degrees.Cover blown.
Status unknown.
This bird has flown.
Last spied alive
Late ’85.
O-o
Down to zero;
Missing,
Presumed dead.
Are you reading me?
Over.© Tim Knight and timknightwriter, 2014.
Quetzal logicWhat could induce
A bird so slight
To swallow such a seed?
Stone me!
Shed light,
Resplendent one.
What’s your excuse?
Sheer greed,
Or mere bravado,
Avocado aficionado?© Tim Knight and timknightwriter, 2014.
High cooSad Socorro dove
Softly murmuring above
Lofty words of love.© Tim Knight and timknightwriter, 2014.
Species profile: Socorro dove
IUCN Red List Category: Extinct in the wild
Named after the remote offshore Mexican island where it used to live, the Socorro dove became extinct in the wild in the 1970s . Having evolved on an island with no natural predators, this tame, confiding, ground-feeding dove was extremely vulnerable to the invasive rats and domestic cats that had been accidentally or deliberately introduced to Socorro by humans. Overgrazing by feral sheep and goats and foliage damage caused by locust infestations also destroyed much of the native forest vegetation on which the dove depended for survival. A worldwide captive breeding programme has saved the Socorro dove from extinction, but it cannot be reintroduced to the island until the non-native species have been removed or eradicated and the native vegetation restored.
