Stephenschlüpfer
Stephenschlüpfer | ||||||||||||
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Stephenschlüpfer ( Traversia lyalli ) |
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Systematics | ||||||||||||
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Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
Traversia | ||||||||||||
Rothschild , 1894 | ||||||||||||
Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
Traversia lyalli | ||||||||||||
Rothschild, 1894 |
The Stephenschlüpfer ( Traversia lyalli ) was a species of bird from the family of the stubby tail (Acanthisittidae). Historically, it only occurred on Stephens Island (New Zealand) , located between New Zealand's North and South Island, and died out at the end of the 19th century.
Description and way of life
Like all Maori panties, the Stephenschlüpfer resembled the wrens without being closely related to them. It was a small, stocky bird, its plumage was dyed olive-green with brown speckles. He couldn't fly, so he mostly stayed on the ground. It must have been active at twilight and fed on insects.
The extermination
Originally the species was widespread in large parts of New Zealand, but due to the introduction of the Pacific rat it disappeared from the larger islands of this country before the arrival of the Europeans and only stayed on Stephens Island. Ultimate extinction is often cited as the fault of a single animal, namely Tibbles', lighthouse keeper's cat David Lyall. With an interest in ornithology, Mr. Lyall noticed that the prey his cat proudly brought him was a species of bird in its own right. Rather, it was probably the fault of several feral cats on the island that completely eradicated the species in the winter of 1895. Eleven of the loot from Lyall's cat are today - "torn and disheveled" as they were - in various museums.
Web links
- Further information
- Traversia lyalli inthe IUCN 2016 Red List of Threatened Species . 3. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
Individual evidence
- ^ The Obituary of the Stephens Island Wren . All About Birds , January 11, 2017, accessed May 16, 2019 .