The story Whether there was one extinct species of sandpiper occupying the Pacific islands of Tahiti and Moorea or whether there were, in fact, two remains something of an enigma. The naturalists who actually saw the birds in life and handled fresh specimens were convinced that there was only one, but more recent commentators have […]
Category: Extinct
Robust White-eye (Zosterops strenuus)
The story So impressed was he by the comparatively large size of this species, for a white-eye, that the famous nineteenth century ornithologist and writer John Gould felt inclined to give this bird the common name of “Robust Zosterops”, and this same sensation is perhaps recalled somewhat in the scientific name that he gave it. […]
Hawaii Mamo (Drepanis pacifica)
The story The Hawaii Mamo suffered in the same way and for the same reason as the Hawaii ‘O’o. The rich yellow feathers of the uppertail- and undertail-coverts attracted the attention of the kings and princes of Hawaii, and these feathers were used in the making of ceremonial cloaks and other artifacts. The most famous […]
New Zealand Quail (Coturnix novaezelandiae)
The story It is difficult to account for the disappearance of the New Zealand Quail. A closely related, possibly conspecific, Australian species, the Stubble Quail (Coturnix pectoralis), flourishes in its homeland, yet the New Zealand birds failed to survive the coming of Europeans. The species seems to have been common on the grass-covered downs of […]
Reunion Starling (Fregilupus varius)
The story This large and rather beautiful species, also known as the Bourbon Crested Starling, was characterized by an extraordinary lace-like crest. It was an inhabitant of the Mascarene island of Reunion (formerly called Bourbon). It was known locally by the name huppe, which is also the French name for the Hoopoe (Upupa epops). It […]
Norfolk Starling (Aplonis fusca)
The story The third extinct member of the genus Aplonis inhabited the islands of Norfolk and Lord Howe. Both these Tasman Sea islands have lost several of their endemic birds and the starling vanished during the first half of the twentieth century. The species has been divided into two races, the nominate from Norfolk Island […]
Bonin Grosbeak (Chaunoproctus ferreorostris)
The story A large, spectacular grosbeak-like bird once lived on the Bonin Islands to the south of Japan. It is known from nothing more than two series of skins that were collected during the 1820’s, skins that are in themselves a little puzzling. Some are rather larger than others, giving rise to the supposition that […]
Hawaiian Crake (Porzana sandwichensis)
The story A small species of rail once inhabited the main island of Hawaii and perhaps some other Hawaiian islands. A handful of specimens exist in the museums of the world but these have in themselves caused some controversy. Two of them are rather paler in colour than the rest, giving rise to the idea […]
Oahu Oo (Moho apicalis)
The story The main islands of Hawaii each had their own distinctive species of ‘O’o. All are closely related but their respective island isolations led to certain clear differences. The Oahu ‘O’o was distinguished chiefly by its strikingly marked black and white tail. Like its relative on Hawaii it sported yellow flank plumes and undertail-coverts. […]