Ziegler’s Swamphen (Zapornia ziegleri)  

This species was described in 1991 based on subfossil remains which had been found on the island of O’ahu, Hawaiian Islands.  

The species is one of the smallest members of its genus, reaching a length of only about 13 cm, but was still undercut by other Hawaiian species. [1]  

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This, and other closely related species were certainly among the first to disappear after the introduction of dogs and rats to the Hawaiian Islands by the first Polynesian settlers.  

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References:  

[1] Storrs L. Olson & Helen F. James: Descriptions of thirty-two new species of birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part I. Non-Passeriformes. In: Ornithological Monographs 45. 1991  

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edited: 20.03.2018