New Zealand black-breasted quail
| New Zealand black-breasted quail | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Zealand black-breasted quail ( Coturnix novaezelandiae ), male (in foreground) and female (in background) |
||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Coturnix novaezelandiae | ||||||||||
| Quoy & Gaimard , 1830 |
The New Zealand black-breasted quail ( Coturnix novaezelandiae ), referred to as Koreke by the Māori , was a species of quail that was endemic to New Zealand . The first documented observation was made by Sir Joseph Banks during James Cook's first voyage to New Zealand in 1769/70, the first specimen captured came from the naturalists Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard in 1827. At this time the species came to both islands New Zealand before. It was common well into the 1860s, before a rapid decline in populations that resulted in the species becoming extinct in 1875.
features
The birds were 17 to 22 cm in length and weighed approximately 200 g. The plumage was dark brown on top, the feathers of the upper and rear parts had a lighter pattern. The sand-colored underside had very pronounced, dark brown to black speckles. The top of the head was brown with lighter stripes. The face and throat of the females were similar in color to the underside, while in the males they were reddish brown. In addition to the slightly smaller size of the hens, this represented the only external difference between the two sexes. Both sexes had in common a darker band that went from the black beak over the eye to the neck.
The young animals showed similar characteristics, but a slightly paler color on the ventral side.
Distribution and way of life
The species was endemic to the South and North Island of New Zealand. They were ground dwellers who preferred to stay in open grassland and feed on seeds and grasses there.
Reproduction
The Koreke's nests were shallow hollows lined with grass on the floor, in which ten to twelve sandy-colored, dark-brown-spotted eggs were laid. The incubation period was 21 days. The boys were refugees .
Systematics
The New Zealand Quail is one of the nine kinds comprehensive kind of coturnix ( Coturnix ) within the family of pheasant-like (Phasianidae). Sometimes the species is combined with the very similar black-breasted quail ( Coturnix pectoralis ) native to Australia to form a species, Coturnix novaezelandiae . However, treatment as an independent species has caught on.
die out
The extinction of the New Zealand black-breasted quail occurred within a few years. While it was still considered widespread on the South Island in 1865 , only two local occurrences were mentioned in 1873 by Sir Julius von Haast , then director of the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch . The last animals were shot in 1868 (South Island) and 1869 (North Island), since 1875 the species has been considered extinct.
The cause of the species' extinction has never been definitively established. Originally, the burning down of the habitat and intensive hunting by humans were the main causes. The introduction of dogs , cats and rats may have contributed to this as well. In view of the fact that other, later introduced quail species with a comparable way of life were able to establish themselves there permanently, the reasons given do not seem to be sufficient. Newer hypotheses suggest that diseases transmitted by the introduced quail and pheasant could be the cause of the unusually rapid disappearance.
literature
- David Day: The Doomsday Book of Animals. Ebury Press, London 1981, ISBN 0670279870
- James Greenway: Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World. Dover Publications Inc. New York 1967, ISBN 0-486-21869-4
- Errol Fuller: Extinct Birds. 2000, ISBN 0-8160-1833-2
- Dieter Luther: The extinct birds of the world. Westarp Sciences, 1995, ISBN 3-89432-213-6
Web links
- Koreke, the New Zealand Quail
- Naturalis Index of extinct birds
- Coturnix novaezelandiae (New Zealand Quail) on the Animal Diversity Web
- Coturnix novaezelandiae onthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2013.