New Zealand Bittern (Ixobrychus novaezelandiae)

Year Last Seen:

1900

Comments:

This species was known from New Zealand's South Island, but became Extinct for unknown reasons some time in the 1890s.

Habitat:

It is likely to have inhabited freshwater wetlands.

Causes:

Reasons for its extinction are not known, but introduced predators and hunting are responsible for the demise of most of the New Zealand's endemic species.

Distribution:

Ixobrychus novaezelandiae was endemic to New Zealand. It became extinct before 1900, for unknown reasons, on the South Island, while on the North Island it is only known from bones (Holdaway 1999).

References:

IUCN Redbook Data