The story Although so tiny in size the Stephens Wren was an altogether remarkable creature. It may have had the smallest natural range of any known bird. It may have been the only flightless passerine. It may have been the only creature discovered and then exterminated by a single animal – a lighthouse keeper’s cat. […]
Category: Extinct
Tahiti Rail (Gallirallus pacificus)
The story The Tahitian Red-billed or Tahiti Rail is known only from a painting that survives today in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London. This painting was produced by Georg Forster, one of the naturalists who sailed with Captain James Cook on his second epic voyage around the world during the 1770’s. Forster’s […]
Dieffenbachs Rail (Gallirallus dieffenbachii)
The story The remote Chatham Islands lie way to the south of New Zealand and here, in isolation, two species seem to have developed from an ancestral stock that resembled the Buff-banded Rail. The less evolved of these is Dieffenbach’s Rail, and this form seems to have developed from a comparatively recent invasion of the […]
Mauritian Red Rail (Aphanapteryx bonasia)
The story Scattered among the seventeenth century written accounts and illustrations that relate to the celebrated Dodo are descriptions and pictures of a flightless bird of a rather different kind. These pictures show a creature that in overall shape and appearance looks something like a kiwi. A long, down-curved beak, rather hair-like plumage and stout […]
Tanna Ground-dove (Gallicolumba ferruginea)
The story The Tanna Ground-dove is known today from just a single, rather crude, painting by Georg Forster that was produced during Captain Cook’s second voyage around the world. This painting is in the Forster portfolio at the Natural History Museum, London, and in the margin the following words are inscribed: Tanna, female, 17th August […]
Chatham Rail (Gallirallus modestus)
The story This species seems to provide a fairly typical example of the way in which rails develop on isolated islands. It is assumed that this is another form that has evolved from an ancestral stock resembling the Buff-banded Rail, but in this case the evolution was rather more advanced than in others. Following the […]
Ellis Sandpiper (Prosobonia ellisi)
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 […]
Mauritius Blue-pigeon (Alectroenas nitidissima)
The story When the first Dutch mariners landed on Mauritius, they were hungry after weeks at sea on meager rations. Naturally, they caught Dodos and ate them. Soon, however, they tired of the rather tough meat on these easily caught creatures and turned their attentions to smaller, tastier birds. Among those that they mentioned particularly […]
Wake Rail (Gallirallus wakensis)
The story The Wake Rail has acquired the grim celebrity of having been eaten out of existence by hungry Japanese soldiers during World War II. Unable to fly, these rails could scuttle about their island home quickly, but despite their agility any efforts to escape would have been no match for the concerted efforts of […]