 Formerly classified as an endangered species by the IUCN, it was suspected to be rarer than generally assumed.Following the evaluation of its status, this was found to be correct, and it is consequently uplisted to critically endangered status in 2008 as it is in immediate danger of extinction, numbering so few birds that it might be entirely wiped out by a single catastrophic event such as a tropical cyclone.Pilot studies have shown that controlling rat and cat numbers around nesting sites leads to increased survival of chicks, and the test programme of trapping and poisoning is going to be expanded.