San Benedicto rock wren
| San Benedicto rock wren | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Salpinctes obsoletus exsul | ||||||||||||
| Ridgway , 1903 |
The San Benedicto rock wren ( Salpinctes obsoletus exsul ) is an extinct subspecies of the rock wren ( Salpinctes obsoletus ). Besides the raven subspecies Corvus corax clarionensis , it was the only land bird on the island of San Benedicto, which belongs to the Revillagigedo Islands . Apart from the fact that the breeding season was in May, nothing is known about its way of life.
features
The San Benedicto rock wren reached a length of 12 cm. It resembled the nominate form of the rock wren, but the lateral tail feathers were more closely banded with cinnamon-brownish tones. The wings were shorter on average, the tail, beak and feet were longer. The general color of the plumage was gray-brown. The rump was wine-cinnamon-colored. Most of the top was covered with wedge-shaped dark spots. The stripe above the eyes was light. The underside was dull white. The flanks were light cinnamon-yellow-brown.
die out
The San Benedicto rock wren is one of the few documented cases of a bird species / subspecies whose extinction can be traced back to a natural disaster. On August 1, 1952, the Bárcena volcano erupted . Only two weeks later, the entire island and the rocks near the coast were covered with ash and pumice to a depth of 3 m . Further eruptions followed in November and December 1952. On March 9, 1953, the volcano came to rest. In the meantime, however, a new 300 m high crater had destroyed the entire habitat of the San Benedicto rock wren. After that the subspecies was not rediscovered.
literature
- Brattstrom, Bayard H. & Howell, Thomas R. (1956): The Birds of the Revilla Gigedo Islands, Mexico. Condor 58 (2): 107-120. doi : 10.2307 / 1364977 PDF full text
- Dieter Luther: The extinct birds of the world , Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei / A. Ziemsen Verlag Wittenberg, 3rd updated edition 1986, p. 148
- Julian Pender Hume, Michael P. Walters: Extinct Birds , p. 268, A & C Black 2012, ISBN 140815725X