Six Australian Birds Declared Extinct (1 Species, 5 Subspecies) - Scientific American

[hatrack]

Six Australian birds that have not been seen in decades have been declared extinct by a team of scientists assessing the health of the country's bird species. In most cases they could have been saved, says team leader Stephen Garnett, professor of tropical knowledge at Charles Darwin University in Australia's Northern Territory.

The lost birds include one species, the white-chested white-eye (Zosterops albogularis), along with five subspecies: the central Australian thick-billed grasswren (Amytornis textilis modestus), the Tiwi Island hooded robin (Melanodryas cucullata melvillensis), the southern star finch (Neochmia ruficauda ruficauda) as well as varieties of the spotted quail-thrush (Cinclosoma punctatum) and pied currawong (Strepera graculina ashbyi).

Australia conducts a decadal review of its bird species. "We were worried about these birds when we last reviewed their status 10 years ago," Garnett said in a prepared statement. "Sadly, no sign of them has turned up in the past decade." According to the research team, the grasswren and currawong probably disappeared early in the 20th century. The white-eye and thrush were observed until the 1980s, and the robin and finch were last seen about 20 years ago.

All six of these birds died off following the arrival of European settlers in Australia. Some made tasty meals for invasive rats. One fell victim to deforestation. Others disappeared after Aboriginal farming practices were abolished or replaced, Garnett tells Scientific American. "The white-chested white-eye probably succumbed to predation by black rats that arrived on Norfolk Island during the Second World War," Garnett says. Although poisoning invasive rats has helped save other species like the Norfolk Island green parrot (Cyanoramphus cookii), the practice was started too late to save the white-eye.

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http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=six-australian-birds-declared-extin-2011-01-06

[ladjf]

1. Good job human race. Keep on wiping out those useless species. nt