Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species was known from the island of Grand Cayman, but it has been driven to extinction by logging of its forest habitat. The last sight records date from 1938, and it was definitely Extinct by 1965.
Population justification
No extant population remains.
Turdus ravidus is known from four collections (21 specimens in total) from Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (to UK). The last specimens were collected (by W. W. Brown) in 1911 (Bangs 1916), and the last sight record (by C. B. Lewis) was in 1938 (Johnston 1969). It was extinct by 1965 (Bradley 2000).
Its habitat was dense "knife-edged coral-rock, swamp, and mangroves, with patches here and there of the poisonous manchineel tree and of climbing cactus" (Savage English 1916).
The reasons for the species' disappearance are not fully clear. It presumably declined as the island's forests were progressively cleared (Johnston 1969, Larsen 2020). Further contributing factors may be severe hurricanes and the introduction of non-native mammals, including feral cats (Larsen 2020).
Text account compilers
Hermes, C.
Contributors
Brooks, T., Khwaja, N., Mahood, S., Reed, M. & Westrip, J.R.S.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Grand Cayman Thrush Turdus ravidus. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/grand-cayman-thrush-turdus-ravidus on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.