Tasman Sea island thrush | |
---|---|
Nominate subspecies from Norfolk Island became extinct in 1975 | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Turdidae |
Genus: | Turdus |
Species: | T. poliocephalus |
Binomial name | |
Turdus poliocephalus Latham, 1801 | |
Subspecies | |
See text |
The Tasman Sea island thrush (Turdus poliocephalus) is an extinct forest bird in the thrush family that was formerly found on Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the "island thrush" complex that has been split into 17 species based on a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2023. The two subspecies of the Tasman Sea island thrush became extinct in historical times.
The Tasman Sea island thrush was formally described in 1801 by the English ornithologist John Latham based on a specimen that had been collected on Norfolk Island in the Pacific Ocean. He coined the binomial name Turdus poliocephalus, [1] [2] where the specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek πολιος/polios meaning "grey" or "grizzled" with -κεφαλος/-kephalos meaning "-headed". [3] The Tasman Sea island thrush, under the name "island thrush", formerly included around 50 subspecies and had a range that extended from the Philippines through the Greater Sundas, Wallacea, and New Guinea to Polynesia. The island thrush complex was split into 17 separate species based on morphological differences and a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2023. [4] [5] [6]
Two subspecies are recognised, both of which are now extinct: [5]
The two subspecies have become extinct: T. p. vinitinctus from Lord Howe Island and the nominate race T. p. poliocephalus from Norfolk Island. T. p. poliocephalus was relatively common as recently as 1941, but by 1975 it had become extinct, due to introduced black rats, habitat loss and hybridization following colonisation by the closely related common blackbird.
The morepork, better known as the morepork owl, and also known by numerous other onomatopoeic names, is a smallish, brown owl species found in New Zealand, and to the northwest, on Norfolk Island, an Australian territory. It was also, formerly, found on Lord Howe Island. Three subspecies of the morepork are recognised, one of which is extinct and another that exists only as a hybrid population.
The thrushes are a passerine bird family, Turdidae, with a worldwide distribution. The family was once much larger before biologists reclassified the former subfamily Saxicolinae, which includes the chats and European robins, as Old World flycatchers. Thrushes are small to medium-sized ground living birds that feed on insects, other invertebrates, and fruit. Some unrelated species around the world have been named after thrushes due to their similarity to birds in this family.
True thrushes are medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the genus Turdus of the wider thrush family, Turdidae. The genus name Turdus is Latin for 'thrush'. The term thrush is used for many other birds of the family Turdidae as well as for a number of species belonging to several other families.
Cyanoramphus is a genus of parakeets native to New Zealand and islands of the southern Pacific Ocean. The New Zealand species are often called kākāriki. They are small to medium-sized parakeets with long tails and predominantly green plumage. Most species are forest dwellers, although several of the subantarctic species live in open grassland. The genus formerly had a widely disjunct distribution: while most of the genus ranged from New Caledonia to Macquarie Island, two species were found in the Society Islands, 4,100 km (2,500 mi) away from the rest. Although the islands between these two areas have yielded many bird fossils, undescribed extinct Cyanoramphus have not yet been found on any of them.
The white swamphen, also known as the Lord Howe swamphen, Lord Howe gallinule or white gallinule, is an extinct species of rail which lived on Lord Howe Island, east of Australia. It was first encountered when the crews of British ships visited the island between 1788 and 1790, and all contemporary accounts and illustrations were produced during this time. Today, two skins exist: the holotype in the Natural History Museum of Vienna, and another in Liverpool's World Museum. Although historical confusion has existed about the provenance of the specimens and the classification and anatomy of the bird, it is now thought to have been a distinct species endemic to Lord Howe Island and most similar to the Australasian swamphen. Subfossil bones have also been discovered since.
The black-faced cuckooshrike is a common omnivorous passerine bird native to Australia and southern New Guinea. It has a protected status in Australia, under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974.
The Australian golden whistler or golden whistler, is a species of bird found in forest, woodland, mallee, mangrove and scrub in Australia. Most populations are resident, but some in south-eastern Australia migrate north during the winter. Its taxonomy is highly complex and remains a matter of dispute, with some authorities including as many as 59 subspecies of the golden whistler, while others treat several of these as separate species. This bird is also known as White-Throated Thickhead in older books.
The Tasman starling was described in 1836 by John Gould as a species which occurred on both Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island. In 1928 Australian ornithologist Gregory Mathews recognized that the plumage of the race from Lord Howe Island was much browner and more greyish than the plumage of the Norfolk Island race and split the species into two forms, the Norfolk starling, and the Lord Howe starling. Both subspecies are now extinct, thus so the species.
The Lord Howe thrush, also known as the vinous-tinted thrush or vinous-tinted blackbird, is an extinct subspecies of the island thrush. It was endemic to Lord Howe Island, an Australian island in the Tasman Sea, where it was also called the doctor bird or ouzel by the islanders.
The pale thrush is a passerine bird of the eastern Palearctic belonging to the genus Turdus in the thrush family Turdidae. It is closely related to the eye-browed thrush and grey-backed thrush.
The white-eyed thrush is a species of bird in the family Turdidae that is endemic to Jamaica. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, and heavily degraded former forest.
The Norfolk thrush, also known as the grey-headed blackbird or guava bird, was a bird in the thrush family endemic to Norfolk Island, an Australian territory in the Tasman Sea. It is the extinct nominate subspecies of the island thrush.
The Lord Howe parakeet, also known as the Lord Howe red-fronted parakeet, is an extinct parrot endemic to Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea, part of New South Wales, Australia. It was described as full species by Tommaso Salvadori in 1891, but subsequently it has been regarded as subspecies of the red-crowned parakeet. In 2012, the IOC World Bird List recognised it as species.
The Abyssinian thrush is a passerine bird in the family Turdidae. It is also known as the African mountain thrush, or northern olive thrush The species was formerly treated as conspecific with the olive thrush but the species were split based on the genetic differences. The ranges do not overlap. The Abyssinian thrush is found in Eritrea and other parts of the Horn of Africa, as well as an area to the southeast extending from the African Great Lakes region to north eastern Zambia and Malawi.
The Geokichla thrushes are medium-sized mostly insectivorous or omnivorous birds in the thrush family, Turdidae. They were traditionally listed in the Zoothera, but molecular phylogenetic studies published in 2008 led to their placement in a separate genus.
The Samoan island thrush is a species of passerine bird in the thrush family Turdidae. It is endemic to the Samoan Islands, which includes Samoa and American Samoa. It was formerly considered a subspecies of the island thrush, but in 2024 the island thrush complex was split into 17 different species by the IOC and Clements checklist based on morphological and phylogenic differences.
Papuan island thrush is a species of passerine in the family Turdidae. It is endemic to New Guinea and Goodenough Island in the countries of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. It was formerly considered to be a number of subspecies of Island thrush until 2024 when it was classified as a distinct species by the IOC and Clements checklist.
The New Caledonian island thrush, is a species of passerine bird in the thrush family Turdidae. It is endemic to New Caledonia, where it is currently only found on the islands of Néba and Yandé. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the island thrush until 2024 when the island thrush was split into 17 species by the IOC and Clements checklist.
The Mindanao island thrush, also known as the Negros island thrush, is a species of passerine in the family Turdidae. It is endemic to the Philippines found in the tropical moist montane forests of Negros and Mindanao. Prior to 2024, it was four separate subspecies of Island thrush, before the Island thrush was split into 17 species by the IOC and Clements checklist.
The Moluccan island thrush, also known as the Sula island thrush, is a species of passerine bird in the thrush family Turdidae. It is endemic to Indonesia. Prior to 2024 it was considered to be two separate subspecies of the island thrush.