Lord Howe Purple Chicken
| Lord Howe Purple Chicken | ||||||||||||
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Lord Howe Purple Chicken ( Porphyrio albus ) |
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| Porphyrio albus | ||||||||||||
| ( Shaw , 1790) |
The Lord Howe Purple Grouse ( Porphyrio albus ) is an extinct, flightless rail that was endemic to Lord Howe Island, Australia .
Appearance
It was very similar to the purple hen ( Porphyrio porphyrio ) except for its white or white-blue color and red eyes and legs. According to Keith Alfred Hindwood, there were also completely blue birds. The top of the head was red. Legs and feet were stronger, the toes were shorter while the beak was smaller. The wings were shorter, the flight feathers smaller and softer than that of the purple chicken ( Porphyrio porphyrio ).
die out
The bird was best known for two hides, some subfossil bones and various paintings. He wasn't afraid of people. Although the bird was not uncommon when the island was discovered in 1790, the species was quickly wiped out by hunting by sailors from sailing and whaling ships. Rats and cats were introduced to the island much later. The Lord Howe purple hen was probably completely extinct as early as 1834 when Lord Howe Island was settled .
swell
- Arthur Phillip: The Voyage Of Governor Phillip To Botany Bay. With An Account Of The Establishment Of The Colonies Of Port Jackson. And Norfolk Island (1789) . ( online )
- BirdLife International 2004. Porphyrio albus . In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on September 11, 2007.
- Dieter Luther: The extinct birds of the world . 4th edition, unchanged reprint of the 1986 edition. Westkarp-Wiss, Magdeburg and Spektrum Akad. Verlag, Heidelberg 1995.
Web links
- Porphyrio albus inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2013.