Kosrae Starling (Aplonis corvina)
Posted on 31 December, 1827 in Extinct
Year Last Seen:
1827
Comments:
This species was known from the island of Kosrae, Micronesia, but it is now Extinct likely due to forest disturbance and predation by introduced rats. The last specimens were taken in 1827, and it was absent when the island was next visited in 1880.
Habitat:
It inhabited mountain forests.
Causes:
Its extinction may have been partly attributable to depredation by introduced rats, which were accidentally introduced by whalers and are abundant on the island. However, forest disturbance likely also played a role (Hume 2017).
Distribution:
Aplonis corvina was endemic to Kosrae, Caroline Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (Greenway 1967). It is only known from two specimens, both collected by Heinrich von Kittlitz in 1827 (Knox and Walters 1994), and both now in St Petersburg (Pratt et al. 1987). It was extinct by the time that Otto Finsch visited the island in 1880 (Greenway 1967).