• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic source(s)
Brooks, T. 2000. Extinct species. In: BirdLife International (ed.), Threatened Birds of the World, pp. 701-708. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona and Cambridge, U.K.
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
D	D	D1

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Extinct
2016	Extinct
2012	Extinct
2008	Extinct
2004	Extinct
2000	Extinct
1994	Extinct
1988	Extinct

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	unknown
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	0 mature individuals	good	estimated	-
Population trend		-	-	-
Generation length	8.24 years	-	-	-

Population justification: No extant population remains.

Trend justification: Little is known about this species, known only from subfossil bones and a few travellers accounts (Hume 2017). It was recorded in the early 1700s (Leguat 1708), and again in 1725-26 by Tafforet (Hume 2017) but could not be found by Pingré (1763) in 1761 suggesting the species may have become extinct by this time (Hume 2017). Severe deforestation and introduced predators, especially cats, are cited as the likely causes of extinction (Hume 2017).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Mauritius	extinct	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)	major	resident
Altitude		Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Unknown		Unknown		Past Impact
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (large scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Unknown		Unknown		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Unknown		Unknown		Past Impact
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Felis catus	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Unknown		Unknown		Past Impact
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Invasive non-native/alien species/diseases - Unspecified species	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Past, Unlikely to Return		Unknown		Unknown		Past Impact
		Stresses Species disturbance, Competition, Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Rodrigues Night Heron Nycticorax megacephalus. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/rodrigues-night-heron-nycticorax-megacephalus on 22/11/2024.
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 22/11/2024.