Data Zone
Justification of Red List Category
This species formerly occurred on New Zealand, but it is now Extinct, probably due to overpredation by invasive species. The last record was of the nominate subspecies on South Island, in 1972.
Population justification
None remain.
Xenicus longipes was endemic to the three main islands of New Zealand, with variabilis of Stewart Island last recorded in 1965, stokesi of the North Island in 1949, and the nominate race of the South Island in 1972 (Collar et al. 1994).
On the mainland, it was a species of dense, montane forest, while on offshore islands it was found in coastal forest and scrub (Robertson 1985).
Its decline was presumably caused by introduced predators (Robertson 1985), to which it was particularly vulnerable, being a ground-nester (Greenway 1967).
Text account compilers
Brooks, T., Khwaja, N., Mahood, S., Martin, R
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2023) Species factsheet: Xenicus longipes. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 28/03/2023.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2023) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 28/03/2023.
