National animal- The Henderson crake

Henderson Crake
Also known as: Red-eyed crake
Conservation status: Least Concern
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Gruiformes
Family: Rallidae
Genus: Zapornia
Species: Z. atra
Binomial name: Zapornia atra
Synonyms: Nesophylax ater, Porzana atra

The Henderson crake is a species of flightless bird that it is endemic to Henderson Island in the United Picairn Islands. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. The population of this species is estimated to be 62,000 mature individuals, roughly equivalent to 93,000 individuals in total. The species is found in dense to open forest throughout the island plateau, both in forest dominated by Pisonia and Pisonia/Xylosma, and in Timonius thicket, also occurring in Pandanus-Thespesia-Argusia embayment forests and coconut groves on the beaches. It is omnivorous and is an opportunistic feeder, taking advantage of seasonal increases in prey. It forages in the leaf-litter, gleaning items such as skink Emoia cyanura eggs from the undersides of fallen leaves, large nematodes, beetles, moths, spiders, dead caterpillars, land snails and small insects. The breeding season is long, extending from late July to mid February with double broods not being uncommon, with a clutch-size of 2-3. Helpers may provide extraparental care such as defending eggs and chicks from crabs and rats. Based on a large sample, adult annual survival is at least 83%, and reproductive success is a minimum of 0.95 chicks surviving to one month old per pair, per annum. It was named the national animal by President Pervis Ferris Young shortly after independence on the 30th of November, 1967.