Rapa Nui Night-Heron (Nycticorax megacephalus)

Year Last Seen:

1761

Comments:

This species was endemic to the island of Rodrigues, Mauritius, but is now Extinct having been last recorded in 1726, and mentioned as absent in 1761. Hunting was the cause of its extinction.

Habitat:

It is likely to have inhabited freshwater wetlands.

Causes:

Leguat mentioned that they were easily caught (Hachisuka 1953), although they were not quite flightless (Cheke 1987). This hunting presumably caused their extinction.

Distribution:

Nycticorax megacephalus is known from a number of bones (Cowles 1987), and from Leguat's 1708 and Tafforet's 1726 accounts, from Rodrigues, Mauritius. In 1761, Pingré specifically noted that there were no longer any butors on the island (Cheke 1987).

References:

IUCN Redbook Data