This very large but still fully volant species is known for quite some time; it is known only on the basis of subfossil bones that were recovered from several sites on some of the Tongan islands, including ‘Eua, Foa, Lifuka, and Tongatapu. The species was finally named in 2020. [1]
In life, this species must have reached a length of more than 50 cm, making it one of the largest pigeons at all, only exceeded in size by the New Guinean crowned pigeons (Goura spp.).
The giant Tongan Pigeon died out shortly after the arrival of the first Polynesian settlers at around 2800 years BP.. [1]
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References:
[1] David W. Steadman; Oona M. Takano: A new genus and species of pigeon (Aves, Columbidae) from the Kingdom of Tonga, with an evaluation of hindlimb osteology of columbids from Oceania. Zootaxa 4810(3): 401-420. 2020
The Tongan Tooth-billed Pigeon was described in 2006 based on subfossil remains that were found on several islands within the Tongan island chain, including the islands of ‘Eua, Ha’afeva, Ha’ano, Lifuka, Tongatapu, and ‘Uiha.
The species was larger than the closely related and now also almost extinct Tooth-billed Pigeon (Didunculus strigirostris (Jardine)) (see depiction) that is just holding on at least on island of Western Samoa.
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Depiction from: John Gould. The birds of Australia. London: printed by R. and J. E. Taylor; pub. by the author 1840-48
(public domain)
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References:
[1] D. W. Steadman: An extinct species of tooth-billed pigeon (Didunculus) from the Kingdom of Tonga, and the concept of endemism in insular landbirds. Journal of Zoology 268(3): 233-241. 2006
The Tonga Triller is only known from subfossil bones that were recovered during excavations on the islands of ‘Eua and Tongatapu in the Kingdom of Tonga.
This species was distinct from the Polynesian Triller (Lalage maculosa ssp. tabuensis Mayr & Ripley) (see photo below) that still inhabits these islands today, however, I don’t have any further information about it so far.
The Tongan Imperial Pigeon is known from subfossil remains that were recovered from late Pleistocene deposits as well as from Holocene deposits on several islands within the Tongan island chain, including ‘Eua, Ha’afeva, Lifuka, and Tongatapu.
The species was for some time thought to possibly have been identical with David’s Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula david Balouet & Olson) or with the Lakeba Imperial-Pigeon (Ducula lakeba Worthy), both likewise extinct, but is now understood as having been a distinct species and was finally described as such in 2020. [1]
This large but still volant pigeon died out soon after the arrival of the first Polynesian settlers at around 2850 BP..
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References:
[1] David W. Steadman; Oona M. Takano: A new genus and species of pigeon (Aves, Columbidae) from the Kingdom of Tonga, with an evaluation of hindlimb osteology of columbids from Oceania. Zootaxa 4810(3): 401-420. 2020
This thrush from the island of Tongatapu, the largest island in the island kingdom of Tonga, is known only by subfossil remains. [1]
Most of the thrush populations that formerly were assigned to as subspecies of the so called ‚Island Thrush‘ (Turdus poliocephalus Latham) are now more or less generally accepted as being distinct species, thus I’d like to consider all of the Polynesian thrushes as being resp. having been distinct species restricted to single islands each.
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References:
[1] D. W. Steadman: Extinction and Biogeography of Tropical Pacific Birds. University of Chicago Press 2006
Large Tongatapu White-eye (Zosteropidae gen. & sp.)
This enigmatic species is mentioned in a list which is included in S. T. Turvey’s ‘Holocene Extinctions’ from 2009, it is supposed to come from the island of Tongatapu, Tongan Islands.
I could not yet find out any more about it, but the author might as well just have mixed up the islands here and probably did actually mean the large white-eye form that is known from subfossil remains found on the island of ‘Eua, the neigbor island of Tongatapu.
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References:
[1] S. T. Turvey: Holocene Extinctions. Oxford University Press, USA 2009
The Tongatapu Rail is actually known only from the description of a single bird that was kept in the collection of Joseph Banks, a naturalist who took part in James Cook’s fisrt voyage from 1768 to 1771; this description can be found in John Latham’s ‘A general synopsis of birds’ from 1781-85.:
“The head in this variety is paler, and the streak over the eye grey: the hind part of the neck transversely striated brown and white: the middle of the back, and scapulars, white, with a very little mixture of brown on the first: wing coverts olive brown, transversely blotched with white; second quills white on the inner webs, on the outer olive brown; the greater quills olive brown, marked with large ferruginous spots; the first wholly white, the second white within: tail even with the end of the quills, barred olive brown and white: all the under parts white: bill and legs pale yellow brown.” [1][2]
The Tongatapu Rail mysteriously managed to somehow survive into the 18th century, its population, however, may already have been more or less crushed when the single specimen was taken in 1773 (?) during Cook’ second voyage, and the species died out completely shortly after.
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There is a drawing made by Georg Forster in 1774 (?), which is often referred to as showing this rail species, this, however, is false since this drawing was in fact made from a bird taken on the island of Nomuka and shows no other bird than the Tongan Buff-banded Rail (Gallirallus philippensis ssp. ecaudatus (J. F. Miller)) (see depiction below).
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References:
[1] John Latham: A general synopsis of birds. London: Printed for Benj. White 1781-1785 [2] D. G. Medway: The Tongatapu rail Gallirallus hypoleucus (Finsch & Hartlaub, 1867) – an extinct species resurrected?. Notornis 57 (4): 199–203. 2010
