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 in a survey in 1936.
Population justification
No extant population remains.
Trend justification
Gerygone insularis was reportedly abundant until the Lord Howe Island was colonised by rats from a shipwreck in 1918. It was almost extinct by 1924 (Hume 2017) though reportedly still heard frequently in 1928 (Sharland 1929). It could not be found on a visit in 1936 (Hindwood 1940), and there are no subsequent records (Recher and Clark 1974).
Gerygone insularis was endemic to Lord Howe Island, Australia.
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
Vine, J.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Lord Howe Gerygone Gerygone insularis. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/lord-howe-gerygone-gerygone-insularis on 25/11/2024.
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 25/11/2024.