Mare Island Thrush (Turdus mareensis)
This species is still considered as a subspecies of the Island Thrush (Turdus poliocephalus Latham), an assessment, that, in a biogeographical view, makes absolutely no sense – hence I treat it as a distinct species.
***
The Mare Island Thrush inhabited the island of Maré, one of the New Caledonian Loyalty Islands.
The birds were about 23 cm long, and, apart from the white-spotted undertail-coverts, almost completely blackish brown in color. They inhabited all of the forest types of the island, including those in the islands interior as well as those near beaches, and they fed on insects and small reptiles as well as on fruits.
***
The Mare Island Thrush obviously died out after cats had been released on the island, an exact extinction date is not known, according to which source dates from 1875 to 1912 can be found.
***
syn. Merula mareensis Layard & Tristram, Merula mareensis ssp. larochensis Sarasin, Turdus poliocephalus ssp. mareensis Layard & Tristram
*********************
(public domain)
*********************
References:
[1] Dieter Luther: Die ausgestorbenen Vögel der Welt. Westarp Wissenschaften 1986
[2] Peter Clement; Ren Hathaway: Thrushes. Christopher Helm Publishers Ltd 2000
[3] David W. Steadman: Extinction and Biogeography of Tropical Pacific Birds. University of Chicago Press 2006
[4] H. Douglass Pratt: Revisiting species and subspecies of island birds for a better assessment of biodiversity. Ornithological Monographs 67: 79-89. 2010
*********************
edited: 29.11.2018