Tag Archives: Psittacidae

Cyanoramphus sp. ‚Rapa‘

Rapa Parakeet (Cyanoramphus sp.)


This species is known from subfossil remains that were found during excavations on the island of Rapa, Austral Islands.

These remains somewhat fill the giant gap in the distribution area of the genus, which is found on the one hand with many species in the western Pacific region (New Caledonia and New Zealand faunal regions) and on the other hand with two species on the Society Islands in central Polynesia.

There are hundreds of suitable island groups and islands between these two areas where not a single member of the genus was ever found. [1]

***

The Rapa Parakeet very likely was a ground-dwelling species, like most members of its genus, and was also very likely very tame and thus was probably among the first birds to be eradicated by the first human occupants of the island. [1]

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References:

[1] J. D. Tennyson; Atholl Anderson: Bird, reptile and mammal remains from archaeological sites on Rapa Island. In: Atholl Anderson; Douglas J. Kennett: Taking the High Ground; The archaeology of Rapa, a fortified island in remote East Polynesia. In: Terra Australis 37. 105-114. Canberra, ANU E Press 2012

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edited: 08.02.2020

Amazona vittata ssp. ‘Antigua’

Antigua Amazon (Amazona vittata ssp.)

This form is known from at least two subfossil bones recovered from archaeological sites on the island of Antigua, which were identified as being identical to the Puerto Rican Amazon (Amazona vittata (Boddaert)).

It is of course possible that the species was brought to the island by early human settlers, which apparently have always hunted parrots for food but have also kept them as pets and transported them from one place to another. The neighboring island of Barbuda, however, is known to once have harbored a native population of this species or maybe a very closely related one, so it is likely that the same form, or rather a subspecies of it inhabited Antigua as well. [1]

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References:

[1] Charles A. Woods; Florence E. Sergile: Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives, Second Edition. CRC Press; Auflage: Subsequent 2001

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edited: 13.02.2020

Eclectus infectus ssp. ‘Vanuatu’

Vanuatu Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus infectus ssp.)

This taxon is known from only two bones, a tibiotarsus and an ulna, that were recovered from a Late Holocene archaeological site on the island of Malakula, Vanuatu.

I personally would like to give that form a distinct subspecific placement, since other Eclectus Parrot taxa (Eclectus cornelia Bonaparte, Eclectus polychloros (Scopoli), Eclectus riedeli Meyer, Eclectus roratus (Müller)) are also usually restricted to single islands or island groups.

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References:

[1] David W. Steadman: A new species of extinct parrot (Psittacidae: Eclectus) from Tonga and Vanuatu, South Pacific. Pacific Science 60(1): 137-145. 2006

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edited: 19.05.2022

Amazona vittata ssp. ‘Barbuda’

Barbuda Amazon (Amazona vittata ssp.)

This form is known from a nearly complete rostrum found in 1962 in the deposits of a precultural cave site on the island of Barbuda, Antigua and Barbuda.

The specimen agrees with the the rostrum of a modern Puerto Rican Amazon (Amazona vittata (Boddaert)), which formerly might have been far more widespead than it was in historical times, let alone today. [1]

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References:

[1] Charles A. Woods; Florence E. Sergile: Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives, Second Edition. CRC Press; Auflage: Subsequent 2001

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edited: 13.02.2020

Prosopeia sp. ‘Tanna’

Tanna Parrot (Prosopeia sp.

There is a little account, or rather a kind of side note, that tells us of a parrot that once appers to have existed on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu. This little account from August 16, 1774 was made by Georg Forster on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu during James Cook’s second voyage around the world.:

The next morning we came ashore again, and immediately walked into the woods on the plain. We saw a great number of large and beautiful parroquets, of black, red, and yellow plumage; but they kept on the tops of the highest fig-trees, where they were wholly out of the reach of small shot, guarded by the thick foliage.” [1]

***

Julian P. Hume thinks that this account most likely refers to a species of the genus Prosopeia, which otherwise is only known from the Fijian Islands. [2]

I personally, reading about the colors given in the account, do rather think that this account might rather be attributed to some kind of lorikeet, most likely from the genus Chalcopsitta or maybe Lorius, I will nevertheless maintain the name Prosopeia sp. given by Mr. Hume to avoid any confusions.

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References:

[1] George Forster: A voyage round the world, in his Britannic Majesty’s Sloop, Resolution, commanded by Capt. James Cook, during the years 1772, 3, 4, and 5. London: printed for B. White, Fleet-Street; J. Robson, Bond-Street; P. Elmsly, Strand; and G. Robinson, Pater-noster-Row. Vol. II. 1778
[2] Julian P. Hume: Extinct Birds: 2nd edition 2017

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edited: 11.02.2020

Psittrichas sp. Admirality Islands

Admirylity Islands Parrot (Psittrichas sp.)

This species, if it indeed was one, is known exclusively from one account dating to about the middle of the 19th century.: 

I saw on the main island a scarlet and black Parrot or Cockatoo of some kind, which flew out of some high trees on the seashore, screaming loudly, like a Cockatoo. The bird was wary, and I could not get a shot at it. It reminded me at the time of the rare Dasyptilus pequetti [Pesquet’s Parrot (Psittrichas fulgidus (Lesson))] of New Guinea; it was of about that size.” [1][2]

This account may refer to a species endemic to the Admirality Islands, or it may refer to the actual Pesquet’s Parrot (see depiction below), which inhabites New Guinea itself and may once have had a wider distribution or may have traveld over sea from the larger island to the smaller offshore island groups.

If it indeed refers to a endemic form, this one is now extinct, since no such bird is known to occur on the Admirality Islands today.

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References:

[1] H. N. Moseley: Notes by a naturalist on the “Challenger”, being an account of various observations made during the voyage of H.M.S. “Challenger” around the world, in the years 1872-1876, under the commands of Capt. Sir G. S. Nares and Capt. F. T. Thomson. London, Macmillan and Co. 1879
[2] Julian P. Hume: Extinct Birds: 2nd edition 2017

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Pesquet’s Parrot (Psittrichas fulgidus)

Depiction from: R. P. Lesson: Illustrations de Zoologie, ou recueil de figures d’animaux, peintes d’après nature. Paris: Arthus Bertrand 1831-1835

(public domain)

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edited: 11.02.2020

Amazona vittata ssp. ‘Vieques’

Vieques Amazon (Amazona vittata ssp.)

The Puerto Rican Amazon (Amazona vittata (Boddaert)) is a very rare parrot species that is now restricted to the island of Puerto Rico in the Lesser Antilles, at least one subspecies formerly occurred on the offshore island of Culebra.

The same form, or perhaps another endemic one occurred on the nearby island of Vieques, this form, however, is only known by reliable accounts like the following one.:

Parrots are found during the rainy season in the months of June, July and August in the heavy forest of the southern side of the island. It is believed that they cross at that season from Porto Rico. Señor José Bartôn was well acquainted with them and told me that they were considered a game bird, making a highly desirable dish for the table. There were none here during the period of my visit.” [1]

The Vieques Amazon, if it indeed was a distinct form, disappeared sometimes after this account, the reasons are clearly mentioned in the account.

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References:

[1] Alexander Wetmore: The birds of Vieques Island, Porto Rico. The Auk 33: 403-419. 1916

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edited: 16.02.2020

Charmosyna sp. ‘Samoa’

Samoan Lorikeet (Charmosyna sp.)  

The Samoan Lorikeet is a hypothetical species that might in fact once have existed, it is, however, not fully understood if it was a native form of the Samoan Islands, or if it may have also occurred on the Tongan Islands as well, or if it might have originted from somewhere else and was just traded among these island groups. [2]

All we know about this very enigmatic form comes from a single account, made by Otto von Kotzebue, a Russian officer and navigator in the Imperial Russian Navy, in the early 19th century; his reports, however, are otherwise incredibly contemptuous, inhumane and racist and speak of the local Polynesian people as cannibals and wild, blood-thirsty almost-animals etc..:

Noch eines Handelsartikels auf unserem Markte muß ich erwähnen. Es waren gezähmte Tauben und Papageyen. Erstere weichen von den europäischen sowohl in der Form, als in der Farbenpracht sehr ab. Auch waren ihre Klauen, mit denen sie sich, wie Spechte, an die Taue haften, anders gestaltet. Die Papagayen waren nur von der Größe eines Sperlings, mit dem lebhaftesten Roth und Grün gezeichnet, und der rothe Schweif übertraf an Länge den Körper wohl um vier Mal.” [1]

translation:

One more item on our market I have to mention. These were tamed pigeons and parrots. The former differ markedly from the European ones in their form and in their colorfulness. Their claws, with which they, like woodpeckers, cling to the ropes, were also designed differently. The parrots were only the size of a sparrow, painted with the most vivid red and green, and the red tail was perhaps four times longer than the body.

***

The specific account apparently was made on or offshore an island named Olajava, according to the description given by Kotzebue I personally think that the island in question is the one today known as Ofu in American Samoa. 

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Referenzen:  

[1] Otto von Kotzebue: Reise um die Welt in den Jahren 1823, 24, 25 und 26. Weimar: W. Hoffman 1830
[2] Julian P. Hume: Extinct Birds: Bloomsbury Natural History; 2nd edition 2017

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edited: 12.02.2020

Charmosyna diadema (Verreaux & Des Murs)

New Caledonian Lorikeet (Charmosyna diadema)

The New Caledonian Lorikeet, as its name implies, was endemic to the island of Grande Terre, the main island of New Caledonia, the species is known from only two specimens, both female, both collected sometimed prior 1860, one of which is now lost.

The species reached a size of about 18 to 19 cm.

The New Caledonian Lorikeet appears to be extremely rare and confined, but may in fact already be extinct since the time of its discovery.

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Depiction from: St. George Jackson Mivart: A monograph of the lories, or brush-tongued parrots, composing the family Loriidae. London: R. H. Porter 1896

(not in copyright)

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edited: 12.02.2020

Pyrrhura subandina Todd

Sinu Parakeet (Pyrrhura subandina)

The Sinu Parakeet was described in 1917; it is restricted to the dry forests of the Sinú Valley in northern Colombia; it was considered a subspecies of the Painted Parakeet (Pyrrhura picta (Müller)) but is now known to be a distinct species. [1]

The species has not been seen since the 1940s and is most likely extinct.

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References:

[1] Stuart H. M. Butchart; Stephen Lowe; Rob W. Martin; Andy Symes; James R. S. Westrip; Hannah Wheatley: Which bird species have gone extinct? A novel quantitative classification approach. Biological Conservation 227: 9-18. 2018

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edited: 23.04.2022

Amazona sp. ‘Turks Islands’

Turks and Caicos Amazon (Amazona sp.)

This form is known from at least two subfossil remains, a palatine and a scapula, that were excavated from the Coralie archaeological site on the island of Grand Turk, Turcs an Caicos Islands in the Lesser Antilles.

The species was sympatric with the Cuban Amazon, probably of the Bahamian subspecies (Amazona leucocephala ssp. bahamensis (H. Bryant)), which is now locally extinct. [1]

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References:

[1] Charles A. Woods; Florence E. Sergile: Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives, Second Edition. CRC Press; Auflage: Subsequent 2001

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edited: 13.02.2020

Vini sp. ‚Guam‘

Guam Lorikeet (Vini sp.)  

This form is known from subfossil bones that were excavated from the deposits of the Ritidian Cave on the island of Guam, Mariana Islands. [1]  

***

The assignment of these bones to the genus Vini is debatable, they may well belong to a distinct genus.  

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References:  

[1] Gregory K. Pregill; David W. Steadman: The prehistory and biogeography of terrestrial vertebrates on Guam, Mariana Islands. Diversity and Distributions 15(6): 983–996. 2009  

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edited: 23.03.2018

Psittacidae gen. & sp. ‘Rapa Nui’

Rapa Nui Parrot (Psittacidae gen. & sp.)

Parrots are represented by a partial quadrate of a very large species (larger than in Nestor, Prosopeia, Eclectus, or any lorikeet; dissimilar from that in neotropical parrots) and digit I, phalanx 2 of the wing (larger than in Vini or Cyanoramphus, smaller than in Nestor or Eclectus; ca. the size in Prosopeia).” [1]

It is usually thought that the island formerly was inhabited by two species of parrots, however, I personally think that this might well have been a single one, a large parrot with very reduced wings.

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References:

[1] David W. Steadman: Extinction and Biogeography of Tropical Pacific Birds. University of Chicago Press 2006

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Depiction by Alexander Lang

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edited: 22.06.2020

Psittacara maugei (Souancé)

Puerto Rico Conure (Psittacara maugei)

The Puerto Rico Conure was described in 1856, originally as a distinct species but was later merged with the Hispaniolan Parakeet (Psittacara chloropterus Souancé) and is still treated as a subspecies by some authorities.

The species was historically only ever recorded from Mona Island, but apparently also inhabited the island of Vieques, at least occasionally.:

A paroquet was said to occur on the island occasionally during the rainy season in the months of June, July, and August, but I was unable to substantiate these reports. It is barely possible that Eupsitula pertinax from St. Thomas might cross with the trade winds as the islands lie within sight of each other. Gundlach heard of a paroquet on Vieques Island.” [1]

The Puerto Rico Conure  was last recorded in 1892.

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References:

[1] Alexander Wetmore: The birds of Vieques Island, Porto Rico. The Auk 33: 403-419. 1916

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Depiction from: ‘M. Charlse de Souancé avec la cooperation de S. A. le Prince Bonaparte et de M. Émile Blanchard: Iconographie des perroquets: non figurés dans les publications de Levaillant et de M. Bourjot Saint-Hilaire. Paris: P. Bertrand 1857’  

(public domain)

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edited: 16.02.2020

Charmosyna amabilis (Ramsay)

Red-throated Lorikeet (Charmosyna amabilis)  

This small, mainly green colored bird is deemed to be the rarest parrot of the Fiji Islands, where it formerly inhabited the islands of Ovalau, Taveuni, Vanua Levu, and Viti Levu.  

The Red-throated Lorikeet reached a size of 18 cm, its biology is virtually unknown, the same applies to its breeding behavior, the size of the clutch and similar data. The species is, resp. was known to the natives of the Fijian islands by several names, including Mihi (?), Kula, Kulawai, and Talaki ni medra wai na kula.  

The Red-throated Lorikeet was last found only in the higher regions at Mt. Tomanivi on the island of Viti Levu, the largest of the Fijian Islands, where it was last recorded in the year 1993, it is now most probably extinct. [1][2][3][4]

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References:  

[1] E. L. Layard: Notes on the Birds of the Navigators’ and Friendly Islands, with some Additions to the Ornithology of Fiji. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 490-506. 1876 
[2] H. Douglas Pratt, Phillip L. Bruner, Delwyn G. Berrett: A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press 1987 
[3] Tony Juniper; Mike Parr: Parrots; A Guide to Parrots of the World. Yale University Press 1998 
[4] David W. Steadman: Extinction and Biogeography of Tropical Pacific Birds. University Of Chicago Press 2006

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Depiction from: ‘G. D. Rowley: The Birds of the Fiji Islands. Ornithological Miscellany 1: 259-262. 1876’  

(public domain)

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edited: 12.02.2020

Palaeornis wardi Newton

Seychelles Parakeet (Palaeornis wardi)

The Seychelles Parakeet was described in 1867, it was already very rare at that time and restricted to only two islands in the Seychelles, Mahé and Silhouette, it might formerly have occurred on all of the islands.

The species was closest related to the Alexandrine Parakeet (Palaeornis eupatria (L.)) from which it differed mainly by the lack of a rose-colored neck collar; it was formerly also merged with that species. 

The Seychelles Parakeet was last recorded in 1883 when the last known specimen died in captivity, the species died out because it was heavily hunted for being a ‘pest’ to crops. 

Marianne North, a botanical artist, depicted a live pair of this species on the island of Mahé when she visited the family of Dr. James Brooks, a colonial medical officer on the Seychelles. She also wrote some notes about these two birds:

He and his Greek wife were very kind and hospitable in their offers to me. I went one day to their house, and painted their parrots, which came originally from Silhouette: queer, misshapen birds, with enormous beaks and patches of red and yellow badly put on, one of them having a black ring round its neck. Both were quite helplessly bullied by common pigeons, which came and ate up their food, while they jabbered in a melancholy way, and submitted. They had absolutely no tops to their heads, which perhaps accounted for their stupidity. They had a stand on the back verandah, where they slept and were fed. They were not tied up, but went and stole their own fruit off the neighbouring trees.” [1]

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References:

[1] Anthony S. Cheke: Animals depicted by Marianne North in her Seychelles paintings. Phelsuma 21: 47-57. 2013
[2] Michael P. Braun; Thomas Datzmann, Thomas Arndt; Matthias Reinschmidt; Heinz Schnittker; Norbert Bahr; Hedwig Sauer-Günth; Michael Wink: A molecular phylogeny of the genus Psittacula sensu lato (Aves: Psittaciformes: Psittacidae: Psittacula, Psittinus, Tanygnathus, †Mascarinus) with taxonomic implications. Zootaxa 4563(3): 547-562. 2019

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Depiction from: ‘Alfred and Edward Newton: On the Psittaci of the Mascarene Islands. The Ibis, ser. 3(6): 281-289. 1876’

(not in copyright)

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edited: 14.06.2020

Ara autochthones Wetmore

Saint Croix Macaw (Ara autochthones)  

This species was described in 1937 based on a single tibiotarsus of an adult-sized immature that was found during archeological excavations on St. Croix Island, US Virgin Islands, Lesser Antilles.  

The species was subsequently found in an archaeological site in south-central Puerto Rico too. [2][3]  

The Saint Croix Macaw may have been native to Puerto Rico and its adjacent islands, or it may have been native to the whole Lesser Antilles. All remains, known so far, originate from archaeological contexts, so are from birds that have to be connected to human activities, they may have been hunted to be cooked and eaten, or they may have been kept as pet birds, having been transported from one island to another etc..  

This will probably never be resolved.  

***

I personally think that there may once have been only two endemic macaw species inhabiting the Caribbean region, one restricted to the Greater – and one to the Lesser Antilles; and these most likely were descendants of the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao (L.)), the only red macaw in Middle America.  

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References:  

[1] Matthew I. Williams; David W. Steadman: The Historic and Prehistoric Distribution of Parrots (Psittacidae) in the West Indies. pages 175–189 in: Charles A. Woods; Florence E. Sergile (eds.): Biogeography of the West Indies. CRC Press 2001
[2] S. L. Olson; E. J. Maíz López: New evidence of Ara autochthones from an archeological site in Puerto Rico: a valid species of West Indian macaw of unknown geographical origin (Aves: Psittacidae). Caribbean Journal of Science 44: 215–222. 2008
[3] James W. Wiley; Guy M. Kirwan: The extinct macaws of the West Indies, with special reference to Cuban Macaw Ara tricolor. Bulletin of the British Ornithologist’s Club 133(2): 125-156. 2013  

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edited: 26.03.2017

Eclectus infectus ssp. infectus Steadman

Oceanic Eclectus Parrot (Eclectus infectus ssp. infectus)

The Oceanic Eclectus Parrot was described in 2006 based on subfossil remains that were recovered from archaeological sites in Tonga and Vanuatu.

The species almost certainly has survived into the late 18th century, because it apparently was depicted by an unknown artist during Alessandro Malaspina’s Pacific Expedition in 1793 (see depiction below) on the island of ‘Uta Vava’u, Tonga.

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References:

[1] David W. Steadman: A new species of extinct parrot (Psittacidae: Eclectus) from Tonga and Vanuatu, South Pacific. Pacific Science 60(1): 137-145. 2006

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Depiction made during the Malaspina Expedition between 1789 & 1794

(public domain)

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edited: 19.05.2022

Psittacara sp. ‘Barbados’

Barbados Conure (Psittacara sp.)

This form is known from early travelers’ accounts.

Griffith Hughes, a Welsh naturalist and author wrote “The natural history of Barbados” in 1750 in which he briefly mentioned the native birds of the island, including this enigmatic species of parakeet. [1][2]

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References:

[1] Griffith Hughes: The Natural History of Barbados. in ten books. London: printed for the author 1750
[2] P. A. Buckley; Edward B. Massiah; Maurice B. Hutt; Francine G. Buckley; Hazel F. Hutt: The birds of Barbados: An annotated checklist. British Ornithologists’ Union 2009

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edited: 11.02.2020

Eos histrio ssp. histrio (Statius Müller)

Red-and-blue Lory (Eos histrio ssp. histrio)

The Red-and-blue Lory is divided into two respectively three (if accepted) subspecies, two of which being extinct now.

The nominate was restricted to some of the Sangihe Islands, Indonesia, it reached a size of about 31 cm, it was bright red with several bright blue patches.

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Depiction from: ‘G. D. Rowley: Domicella coccinea (Latham). Ornithological miscellany 3: 123-129. 1878’ 

(public domain)

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edited: 21.02.2020

Amazona martinica (Clark)

Martinique Amazon (Amazona martinica)

The Martinique Amazon is known from several eyewitness accounts and at least a single, yet brief description.

The species was very closely related to the still existing Red-necked Amazon (Amazona arausiaca (Statius Müller)) from Dominica and the Saint Lucia Amazon (Amazona versicolor (Statius Müller)) from Saint Lucia and formed a superspecies together with them. 

***

The Martinique Amazon appears to have been incredible common, and the early European settlers saw it only as a pest, so did mention it but did never give any description of it, for example: 

Jean-Baptiste Labat, a French glergyman, who was the appointed procurator-general of all the Dominican convents in the Antilles, is the only one who gave at least a brief description of this species in which he mentioned that it was very much identical to the Red-necked Amazon yet differed from it in that its head feathers were rather slate than blue and in that it had less red feathers in its plumage.

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References:

[1] Jean-Baptiste Labat: Nouveau voyage aux isles de l’Amerique: contenant l’histoire naturelle de ces pays, l’origine, les moeurs, la religion & le gouvernement des habitans anciens & modernes: Les guerres & les evenemens singuliers qui y sont arrivez pendant le séjour que l’auteur y a fait. A Paris, au palais: Chez Theodore le Gras 1742
[2] Charles A. Woods; Florence E. Sergile: Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives, Second Edition. CRC Press; Auflage: Subsequent 2001

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Depiction from: ‘Lionel Walter Rothschild: Extinct birds: an attempt to unite in one volume a short account of those birds which have become extinct in historical times: that is, within the last six or seven hundred years: to which are added a few which still exist, but are on the verge of extinction. London: Hutchinson & Co. 1907’

(public domain)

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edited: 13.02.2020

Eos histrio ssp. challengeri Salvadori

Challenger’s Red-and-blue Lory (Eos histrio ssp. challengeri)

Challenger’s Red-and-blue Lory was restricted to the island of Miangas, northeast of Sulawesi, Indonesia, or from Nenusa Island. The subspecies, however, is known only from the type specimens and is not accepted by every ornithologist.

It differed from the other two subspecies by the lesser extent of the blue feathers, especially on the head.

***

The Red-and-blue Lory still exists on three of the Talaud Islands, Indonesia where an endemic subspecies, the Talaud Red-and-blue Lory (Eos histrio ssp. talautensis Meyer & Wiglesworth), occurs. 

The species is highly threatened with extinction.

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the bird in the middle

Depiction from: ‘St. George Jackson Mivart: A monograph of the lories, or brush-tongued parrots: composing the family Loriidae. London: R.H. Porter 1896’

(public domain)

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edited: 18.06.2019

Amazona vittata ssp. gracilipes Ridgeway

Culebra Amazon (Amazona vittata ssp. gracilipes)

The Culebra Amazon is an extinct subspecies of the Puerto Rican Amazon (Amazona vittata (Boddaert)) (see photo below) that was formerly found on the smaller island of Culebra offshore the east coast of Puerto Rico in the middle of the Greater Antilles.

This form was described in 1915 and differed from the nominate apparently by its smaller size and its smaller and more slender feet (?). It is known from only three specimens, a female and two males, which were collected in 1899.:

Formerly parrots were common on Culebra Island but now they are supposed to be extinct. Their destruction is due to the fact that they were considered a table delicacy and were hunted continually. When common they were said to do considerable injury in the plantations of bananas and plantains. Two specimens in the National Museum were collected by a. B. Baker on February 11 and 12, 1899. Another bears merely the date 1899.” [1]

The Culebra Amazon was never recorded again after the collection of the three specimens and is now extinct, the nominate race is likewise very rare and almost extinct in the wild. 

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References:

[1] Alexander Wetmore: The birds of Culebra Island, Porto Rico. The Auk 34: 51-62. 1917

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Puerto Rican Amazon (Amazona vittata)

Photo: Tom MacKenzie

(under creative commons license (2.0))
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0

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edited: 12.02.2020

Alexandrinus eques ssp. eques (Boddaert)

Reunion Echo Parakeet (Alexandrinus eques ssp. eques 

The Echo Parakeet (Alexandrinus eques ssp. echo (Newton & Newton)), endemic to the island of Mauritius, was once already extinct, but a breeding program saved the species at the last minute, it is now the sole surviving form of the formerly large Mascarene parrot radiation.  

This parakeet was originally described as a distinct species, but is now considered to represent a subspecies of a species that inhabited the neighboring island of Réunion.  

This form, the Reunion Echo Parakeet or Reunion Ring-necked Parakeet was described in 1783, it is now, however, only known from contemporary depictions and probably a single stuffed specimen that lacks its tail feathers.  

The Reunion Echo Parakeet obviously disappeared shortly after the occupation of the island by European settlers at the beginning of the 18th century.  

***

The two island forms are almost indistinguishable and may in fact not be separable from each other.  

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References:

[1] M. P. Braun; N. Bahr; M. Wink: Phylogenie und Taxonomie der Edelsittiche (Psittaciformes: Psittaculidae: Psittacula), mit Beschreibung von drei neuen Gattungen. Vogelwarte 54: 322-324. 2016

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Depiction from: ‘François-Nicolas Martinet; Georges Louis Leclerc Buffon; Edme-Louis Daubenton; Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton: Planches enluminées d’histoire naturelle. Paris: s.n. 1765-1783’

(public domain)  

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edited: 21.03.2018

Charmosyna sp. ‘Tonga’

Tongan Lorikeet (Charmosyna sp.)  

The genus Charmosyna occurs from the easternmost parts of Indonesia to New Guinea and Melanesia as well as to the Fijian Islands. The genus appears to have been more widespread in historical times, and may also have occurred in western Polynesia, as can be assumed from at least two distinct ‘eyewitness’ accounts from the middle of the 19th century, one of them comes from Edgar Leopold Layard, a British diplomat and naturalist, who speaks of a bird he has heard of (so is actually not a real eyewitness account).: 

At Vavaw [Vava’u] I heard of a “small parrot with two long feathers in its tail” which formerly existed in the group, but has become quite extinct.” [1][2]

This account may in fact refer to another account, made some 20 years earlier by Otto von Kotzebue, a Russian officer and navigator in the Imperial Russian Navy, who reports of such a bird he had seen on a ‘market’ on some island in Samoa (possibly Ofu or Olosega in American Samoa).

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Referenzen:  

[1] E. L. Layard: Notes on the Birds of the Navigators’ and Friendly Islands, with some Additions to the Ornithology of Fiji. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 490-506. 1876 
[2] David W. Steadman; Holly B. Freifeld: Distribution, relative abundance, and habitat relationships of landbirds in the Vava’u group, Kingdom of Tonga. Condor 100. 609-628. 1998

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edited: 12.02.2020

Palaeornis bensoni (Holyoak)

Thirioux’s Grey Parrot (Palaeornis bensoni)

Thirioux’s Grey Parrot, also known as Mauritius Grey Parrot, is an extinct member of one of the most remarkable radiations of birds that we currently know of and which repeatedly settled the Mascarene Islands to give rise to new, endemic forms, this happened several times, leading to the formation of several endemic forms.

The species was originally described on the basis of subfossil bones that were recovered from a cave in the mountains of Mauritius, it was then described as being a close relative of the likewise extinct Broad-billed Parrot (Lophopsittacus mauritianus (Owen)).

In 2007, however, the remains were reinvestigated and recognized to be very similar to the bones of the Alexandrine Parakeet (Psittacula eupatria (L.)) and thus were assigned to the genus Psittacula.

***

A study in 2019 found out that the genus Psittacula is polyphyletic, that means that this genus actually contains several distinct clades and should be split into several genera. This species was unfortunately not included in the study, however, being skeletally similar to the Alexandrine Parakeet, I decided to tentatively include it in the genus Palaeornis. [1]

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References:

[1] Michael P. Braun; Thomas Datzmann, Thomas Arndt; Matthias Reinschmidt; Heinz Schnittker; Norbert Bahr; Hedwig Sauer-Günth; Michael Wink: A molecular phylogeny of the genus Psittacula sensu lato (Aves: Psittaciformes: Psittacidae: Psittacula, Psittinus, Tanygnathus, †Mascarinus) with taxonomic implications. Zootaxa 4563(3): 547-562. 2019

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edited: 29.03.2021

Necropsittacus rodericanus (Milne-Edwards)

Rodrigues Parrot (Necropsittacus rodericanus)

This species was described in 1867 based on subfossil remains that were recovered from deposits on the island of Rodrigues, Mauritius in the Indian Ocean.

The species was a member of a rather large radiation of parrots of which today only a single species, the Echo Parakeet (Psittacula eques ssp. echo (Newton & Newton)), is surviving on the island of Mauritius.

There is also a somewhat detailed description of the bird in life, made by a man named Tafforet in 1725.:

The largest are larger than a pigeon, and have a tail very long, the head large as well as the beak. They mostly come on the islets which are to the south of the island, where they eat a small black seed, which produces a small shrub whose leaves have the smell of the orange tree, and come to the mainland to drink water … they have their plumage green.” [1]

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References:

[1] Julian Pender Hume: Reappraisal of the parrots (Aves: Psittacidae) from the Mascarene Islands, with comments on their ecology, morphology, and affinities. Zootaxa 1513: 1-76. 2007 

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edited: 10.08.2022

Psittacara sp. ‘Martinique’

Martinique Conure (Psittacara sp.)

It’s a fact that parakeets of the genus Psittacara (formerly included in the genus Aratinga) inhabit the islands of the Greater Antilles, where several species still occur on the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico; at least one additional subfossil form is known from the island of Barbuda in the Lesser Antilles, which makes it likely that others were once distributed on the islands inbetween. 

Again, some other forms are known from accounts only, and some of these accounts are rather scanty and unfortunately sometimes not very trustworthy.

***

The Martinique Conure, however, is known from the description given by M.-J. Brisson in 1760, which again, apparently refers to a description and depiction by George Edwards from 1751 (see below).

G. Edwards in his description just writes:

… My Friend for whom I made the Draught, told me, the Bird was brought from the West-Indies. …” [1]

And then, M.-J. Brisson states:

Habitat in Martinique & variis Americae regionibus

translation:

Lives in Martinique and various American regions

***

The bird depicted here is a Brown-throated Parakeet (Eupsittula pertinax (L.)), which occurs naturally with about 14 subspecies in northern South America as well as on many of the small islands off the northern coast of Venezuela, but cannot be assigned to any of the known subspecies without any doubt whatsoever.

There is now the possibility that this species was once much more widespread and might indeed have inhabited some of the islands of the Lesser Antilles, but I personally think that the parakeet depicted here was just caught somewhere on the South American mainland and was then brought to the West Indies from where again it was purchased by the person in whose possession it was when G. Edwards described and drew it.

If the island of Martinique ever harbored an endemic species of parakeet it probably was more closely realted to the more or less plain green (with a little red) species from the genus Psittacara known from subfossil remains from Barbuda, and found still being alive in the Greater Antilles. 

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References:

[1] George Edwards: A natural history of uncommon birds: and of some other rare and undescribed animals, quadrupedes, fishes, reptiles, insects, &, exhibited in two hundred and ten copper-plates, from designs copied immediately from nature, and curiously coloured after life, with a full and accurate description of each figure, to which is added A brief and general idea of drawing and painting in water-colours; with instructions for etching on copper with aqua fortis; likewise some thoughts on the passage of birds; and additions to many subjects described in this work. London: printed for the author, at the College of Physicians in Warwick-Lane 1743-1751
[2] Mathurin-Jaques Brisson: Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés: a laquelle on a joint une description exacte de chaque espece, avec les citations des auteurs qui en ont traité, les noms quils leur ont donnés, ceux que leur ont donnés les différentes nations, & les noms vulgaires. Parisiis: Ad Ripam Augustinorum, apud Cl. Joannem-Baptistam Bauche, bibliopolam, ad Insigne S. Genovesae, & S. Joannis in Deserto 1760

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Depiction from: ‘George Edwards: A natural history of uncommon birds: and of some other rare and undescribed animals, quadrupedes, fishes, reptiles, insects, &, exhibited in two hundred and ten copper-plates, from designs copied immediately from nature, and curiously coloured after life, with a full and accurate description of each figure, to which is added A brief and general idea of drawing and painting in water-colours; with instructions for etching on copper with aqua fortis; likewise some thoughts on the passage of birds; and additions to many subjects described in this work. London: printed for the author, at the College of Physicians in Warwick-Lane 1743-1751’

(public domain)

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edited: 20.09.2019

Amazona sp. ‘Montserrat’

Montserrat Amazon (Amazona sp.)

The Montserrat Amazon is known only from subfossil remains, a coracoid, a femur, two humeri and an ulna, found at the Trants archaeological site on the island of Montserrat.

The species was the smallest member of its genus found in the Caribbean region so far. [1]

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References:

[1] Charles A. Woods; Florence E. Sergile: Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives, Second Edition. CRC Press; Auflage: Subsequent 2001

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edited: 13.02.2020

Conuropsis carolinensis ssp. carolinensis (L.)

Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis ssp. carolinensis)

The Carolina Parakeet was one of only two parrot species that are truly native to the USA (the other one is the Thick-billed Parakeet (Rhynchopsitta pachyrhyncha (Swainson)) which, however, is now extinct there and only survives in northern Mexico).

The Chickasaw people named the bird ‘kelinky’, the Seminoles again named it ‘pot pot chee’ or ‘puzzi la née’.

The species had a very wide distributional area in the southern USA, where it inhabited old-growth wetland forests along rivers and swamps. The parakeets had a preference for the seeds of the Rough Cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium L.) (see lso depiction below), a plant that contains toxic glucoside, making the flesh of the birds poisonous to predators (the American naturalist and painter John J. Audubon noted that cats apparently died from eating them).

***

The Carolina Parakeet was considered a crop pest and birds were shot by the thousands. Some also ended in the feather trade, in which it apparently was especially popular to dye the originally very colorful birds completely black – such blackened specimens are still kept in several museums.

The last known Carolina Parakeet, a male named Incas, died in the Zoo of Cincinnati, Ohio at February 21, 1918. Yet, in the wild the species apparently survived for several years longer, this can be assumed from eggs that are kept in a museum and that had been collected in Florida in the year 1927.

***

The Carolina Parakeet wasn’t particularly popular in the aviculture, especially because of its loud, harsh voice, however, the ornithologist Hans Freiherr von Berlepsch at the end of he 19th century kept a free-flying population in Germany which, being well-adapted to the European climate was thriving very well. This little population, that could have been the lifeline for the whole species, however, was shot by the innkeeper of a little pub in a neighboring village within only two days.

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edited: 20.01.2020

Amazona sp. ‘Grenada’

Grenada Amazon (Amazona sp.)

The Grenada Amazon, to my knowledge, is known exclusively only by a poorly description given by Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre from 1667. [1][2]

The species, if indeed it was one, was apparently extirpated shortly after. 

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References:

[1] Jean-Baptiste Du Tertre: Histoire generale des Antilles habitées par les François.: Divisée en deux tomes, et enrichie de cartes & de figures. A Paris: Chez Thomas Iolly, au palais, en la salle des merciers, à la palme, & aux armes d’Hollande. 1667-1671
[2] Charles A. Woods; Florence E. Sergile: Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives, Second Edition. CRC Press; Auflage: Subsequent 2001

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edited: 23.04.2019

Ara guadeloupensis Clark

Guadeloupe Macaw (Ara guadeloupensis)  

The Guadeloupe Macaw aka. Lesser Antillean Macaw is the best presented Caribbean macaw species, regarding contemporaneous accounts.  

The first of these accounts dates from 1553, comes from the Spanish historian Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés and is itself referring to another account from 1496, made by Fernando Colón (Ferdinand Columbus), a Spanish bibliographer and the second son of Cristoforo Colombo (Christopher Columbus), who again mentions chicken-sized parrots, which the Island Caribs called Guacamayas, in Guadeloupe. [2]  

There are very detailed accounts made by Jean Baptiste Du Tetre in 1667, who not only describes the bird in detail but also gives some information about its life and the way it was hunted by the natives and so on. [1][2]  

***

A subfossil terminal phalanx, found in late Pleistocene cave deposits on the island of Marie-Galante, a small island offshore the east coast of Basse Terre and Grande Terre, Guadeloupe, has been assigned to a Ara sp., another skeletal remain; a single subfossil ulna recovered from an archaeological site on the same small island is also assignable to a Ara sp.. These two remains are the only evidence for the former presense of a macaw species on the Guadeloupe archipelago. [3][4]  

***

The St. Croix Macaw (Ara autochthones Wetmore), which is known from several subfossil remains, as well as the undescribed Montserrat Macaw (Ara sp.) known from subfossil remains from the island of Montserrat, might be identical with this species.

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References:  [1] J. B. Du Tetre: Histoire Générale des Antilles Habitées par les François. Paris: T. Lolly 1667 
[2] Austin H. Clark: The Lesser Antillean Macaws. The Auk 22(3): 266-273. 1905 
[3] Charles A. Woods; Florence E. Sergile: Biogeography of the West Indies: Patterns and Perspectives, Second Edition. CRC Press; Auflage: Subsequent 2001
[4] Monica Gala; Arnaud Lenoble: Evidence of the former existence of an endemic macaw in Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles. Journal of Ornithology 156(4): 1061–1066. 2015  

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Depiction from: ‘Georges-Louis Leclerc: Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière, avec la description du Cabinet du Roi. A Paris: De l’Imprimerie royale 1749-1803’  

(public domain)  

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edited: 06.09.2019

Vini sinotoi Steadman & Zarriello

Sinoto’s Lorikeet (Vini sinotoi)  

The genus Vini contains seven species, two of which are extinct now – all of them are or were endemic to the Polynesian faunal region.  

The populations of all species contracted greatly after the arrival of humans, on the other hand several species were brought to other places by early Polynesians.  

Kuhl’s Lorikeet (Vini kuhlii (Vigors)) for example was, until recently, restricted to the island of Rimatara, Austral Islands, and was actually believed to have always been endemic to that island, but is now known to have once been much more widespread, having inhabited many other islands in the Austral group as well as most of the islands in the Cook Archipelago. The species was introduced to at least two of the atolls in Kiribati by early Polynesians, and was finally reintroduced to the island of ‘Atiu, Cook Islands in 2007.  

The Blue Lorikeet (Vini peruviana (Müller)) was originally probably endemic to the Society Islands, where it is now restricted to two small atolls, but was brought by early Polynesians to Aitutaki in the Cook Islands, and to several atolls in the Tuamotu Archipelago, where it is now much more abundant than in its original range.  

Stephen’s Lorikeet (Vini stepheni (North)) is restricted to Henderson Island, but may probably have been more widespread in former times.  

The Ultramarine Lorikeet (Vini ultramarina (Kuhl)) is endemic to the Marquesas, where it once was widespread, but is now restricted to a single island.  

***

Sinoto’s Lorikeet was described in 1987 from subfossil bones which were found on Huahine, Society Islands and on Hiva Oa, Tahuata, and Ua Huka in the Marquesas, thus this species was widely distributed and often lived sympatric with one or two congeneric species.  Sinoto’s Lorikeet was the largest of its genus, and must have reached a size of about 30 cm. [2]  

***

BTW: There are very interesting accounts of parrots, said to have formerly occured on several of the Society Islands, mentioned by Teuira Henry in ‘Tahiti aux temps anciens’. [1]  

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References:  

[1] Teuira Henry: Tahiti aux temps anciens; trad. de l’anglais par Bertrand Jaunez. Paris: Société des Océanistes 1951 [2] David W. Steadman: Extinction and Biogeography of Tropical Pacific Birds. University of Chicago Press 2006

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edited: 11.02.2020

Cyanoramphus erythrotis (Wagler)

Macquarie Island Parakeet (Cyanoramphus erythrotis)  

The Macquarie Island Parakeet once was the southernmost living parrot species in the world, it was endemic to the subantarctic Maquarie Island, a cold, harsh, and rainy island, that today is known especially for its very large penguin colonies.  

The Macquarie Island Parakeet had a similar lifestyle as the Antipodes Parakeet (Cyanoramphus unicolor (Lear)) and Reischek’s Parakeet (Cyanoramphus hochstetteri (Reischek)), which both inhabit the subantarctic Antipodes Islands.  

The Antipodes Islands do not harbor trees, thus the parakeets there life exclusively on the ground, the eggs are laid in abandoned burrows made by seabirds or ‘under the open air’ sheltered by overhanging tussock grass.  

The Macquarie Island Parakeet lived in a similar way, and probably also occasionally killed and fed upon seabird chicks, as does the Antipodes Parakeet (very much like the Kea (Nestor notabilis Gould) in New Zealand’s Southern Alps).  

***

The Macquarie Island Parakeet was long treated as a subspecies of the New Zealand Red-fronted Parakeet (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae (Sparrman)), but is now known to have been a distinct species. [3]  

***

Within the 19th century many animals were introduced the Macquarie Island, including cats, mice, rabbits, rats and weka rails, the last-mentioned brought from New Zealand. (As far as I know, all of these introduced species have been eradicated in the meantime!) The mice and especially the rabbits destroyed much of the vegetation, the cats killed the adult parakeets, the rats and the weka rails destroyed the birds’ clutches.  

The last Macquarie Island Parakeets died in the year 1913.  

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References:  

[1] Dieter Luther: Die ausgestorbenen Vögel der Welt. Westarp Wissenschaften 1986 
[2] Errol Fuller: Extinct Birds. Penguin Books (England) 1987 [3] Wee Ming Boon; Jonathan C. Kearvell, Charles H. Daugherty; Geoffrey K. Chambers: ‘Molecular systematics and conservation of kakariki (Cyanoramphus spp.). Science for Conservation 176: 1-46. 2001

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edited: 11.02.2020

Cyanoramphus subflavescens Salvadori

Lord Howe Island Parakeet (Cyanoramphus subflavescens)

This species was once endemic to the island of Lord Howe in the Tasman Sea off southeastern Australia; it has repeatedly been classified as a subspecies of either the Norfolk Island- (Cyanoramphus cookii (Gray)) or the New Zealand Red-crowned Parakeet (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae (Sparrman)) but is now finally considered a distinct species.

The bird reached a length of about 27 cm and was otherwise quite similar to the two abovementioned, closely related species.

The human settlers on the island didn’t like the parakeet, they considered them to be a pest to their crops and gardens and thus heavily hunted the parakeets … until the species went finally extinct.

The last two birds, apparently a breeding pair, were seen in 1869.:

The parrakeet is said to have existed in very large numbers, doing considerable damage to the crops, and to have gradually disappeared about ten years ago. This would correspond with the date of Mr. Corrie’s observations. Even before this, in 1870, it must have been very scarce, for we find Mr. E. S. Hill observing, “The paraquet also was a nuisance to the cultivators, once appearing in flocks; now I saw but a solitary pair in their rapid flight through the foliage, and recognized them only by their peculiar noise.”” [1]

***

The depiction below shows a pair of this species with the male bird in front – these are the only two specimens of the species known to exist at all!

***

syn. Cyanoramphus cookii ssp. subflavescens Salvadori, Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae ssp. subflavescens Salvadori

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Depiction from: ‘T. Salvadori: Catalogue of the psittaci, or parrots, in the British Museum. Vol. 20. London 1891’

(public domain)

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edited: 27.02.2024

Ara tricolor Bechstein

Cuban Macaw (Ara tricolor 

The Caribbean may once have been home for numerous parrot species, including several endemic macaw species, whose former existence, however, is still somewhat questionable; yet the Cuban Macaw is the only Caribbean macaw whose actual existence cannot be doubted.  

There are at least 19 museum specimens and some subfossil material to prove the former existence of this small macaw species. [1]  

***

The Cuban Macaw was only about 50 cm long, it was mainly red, had a yellow neck and blue wings and a blue tipped tail.  

The bird inhabited the main island and the Isla de la Juventud offshore Cuba’s southwest coast, and it is in fact quite possible that this species also inhabited to islands of Hispaniola and Jamaica.  

***

The Cuban Macaw was already restricted to the Zapata Peninsula and to the Isla de la Juventud, when it was discovered by European scientists.  

The last records date to the 1850s.  

***

The bird was a host of several species of parasites, including the feather mite Distigmesikya extincta Pineda & Ortiz and the feather louse Psittacobrosus bechsteini Mey, which were obviously restricted to this single species and which are now extinct together with their only host. [1]  

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References:  

[1] James W. Wiley; Guy M. Kirwan: The extinct macaws of the West Indies, with special reference to Cuban Macaw Ara tricolor. Bulletin of the British Ornithologist’s Club 133(2): 125-156. 2013  

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Depiction from: ‘François Le Vaillant: Histoire naturelle des perroquets. Paris Levrault, Schoell & Cie, An IX-XII. 1801–1805’  

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0

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edited: 24.03.2017