Data Zone
Justification of Red List Category
This species was endemic to Lord Howe Island, Australia, but was driven Extinct by the depredations of introduced rats. It was last recorded in 1928, with none found on a survey in 1936.
Population justification
No extant population remains.
Gerygone insularis was an abundant endemic to Lord Howe Island, Australia, until the island was colonised by rats from a shipwreck in 1918. It was heard frequently in 1928 (Sharland 1929) but could not be found on a visit in 1936 (Hindwood 1940), and there are no subsequent records (Recher and Clark 1974).
It was a canopy-dwelling forest species (Hull 1909), feeding on small insects and spiders (Sharland 1929).
Presumably its extinction resulted from nest predation by rats (Recher 1974). Disease from introduced passerines may also have been a factor (McAllan et al. 2004).
Text account compilers
Brooks, T., Khwaja, N., Mahood, S.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2019) Species factsheet: Gerygone insularis. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 13/12/2019.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2019) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
http://www.birdlife.org on 13/12/2019.
