Family: Turdidae (Thrushes)
Authority: (Wilson, 1891)
Red List Category
Criteria: D
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here for more information about the Red List categories and criteria
Justification of Red List categoryThe last confirmed sighting of this species was in 1980 (Pyle and Pyle 2017), with unconfirmed reports in 1988, 1994 and 2005, and no subsequent records despite further surveys in most of the historical range in Kamako'u-Pelekunu. It may have been driven extinct by diseases spread by introduced mosquitoes and habitat destruction. A set of papers published in 2017 (Akcakaya
et al. 2017, Keith
et al. 2017, Thompson
et al. 2017) laid out methods for quantitatively estimating a species’s probability of extinction based on parameters associated with threats, in addition to records and surveys. Based on the application of these methods (Butchart
et al. 2018), this species would qualify for reclassification as Critically Endangered. However, the authors recommended retaining it as
Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct) because the final site for the species (the Olokui natural area reserve) is only 6.6 km
2, less than half of which is suitable habitat, and it has been isolated for so long that it is highly unlikely that any population has persisted.
Population size:
0-49 mature individuals
Population trend:
unknown
Country endemic:
yes
Attributes
Land-mass type - oceanic island
Realm - Oceanian
IUCN System - Terrestrial