Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species was found on Réunion Island, but became Extinct sometime in the early to mid 1700s. Hunting and introduced predators are likely to have driven its decline.
Population justification
No extant population remains.
Trend justification
The species is thought to have become extinct shortly after the final account of the species in 1708 (Feuilley 1705, Cheke and Hume 2008). However, the species may have persisted into the mid to late 18th century, as the apparent last mention of the bird was by Abbé Gui Pingré (1763), a French astronomer who visited Rodrigues in 1761 to observe the transit of Venus, who reported the bird to be near extinction (Staub 1996). The species' range apparently contracted rapidly as the human population on the island grew, and it became restricted to remote mountaintops (Hume 2017). The species was reportedly easy to catch, and over-hunting and introduced predators are likely the primary cause of its extinction (Hume 2017).
Threskiornis solitarius is known from subfossil remains discovered on Réunion (to France) (Mourer-Chauviré and Moutou 1987).
It is likely to have inhabited freshwater wetlands, but was reportedly a montane species that inhabited the tops on mountains, but this may have been due to range contraction from an expanding human population (Hume 2017).
The species range reportedly swiftly contracted as Réunion became more populated (Hume 2017), so habitat loss was likely a threat. However, the bird was easily hunted, and over-hunting along with impacts from introduced predators (presumably cats and rats) were likely the main drivers of declines (Hume 2017).
Text account compilers
Khwaja, N., Butchart, S., Brooks, D., Richardson, L., Mahood, S.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Reunion Ibis Threskiornis solitarius. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/reunion-ibis-threskiornis-solitarius 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.