Mysterious Starling (Aplonis mavornata)
Posted on 31 December, 1825 in Extinct
Year Last Seen:
1825
Comments:
This taxon was known from Mauke, Cook Islands, but it is now Extinct due to overpredation by introduced brown rats. The type specimen was taken in 1825, and the species was not found on the next ornithological visit to Mauke in 1975.
Habitat:
Nothing is known, but like other members of the genus it is likely to have inhabited the islands forests.
Causes:
Its extinction was presumably as a result of predation by introduced rats.
Distribution:
Aplonis mavornata is known only from the type specimen, collected on Mauke, Cook Islands, by Bloxam in 1825 (Olson 1986a), and not on Cook's voyages (Pratt et al. 1987). The island was not visited by ornithologists until nearly 150 years after Bloxam's collection, by which time the species had become extinct (Olson 1986a).