Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species was endemic to Île Sainte-Marie off the east coast of Madagascar, but is now Extinct. It has not been reported since 1834 and likely succumbed to the complete destruction of its native forest.
Population justification
The species is Extinct. There have been no reliable records since 1834 (Hume 2017). Reports from 1930 (WCMC 1992) are unfounded, and it is now considered extinct (Collar et al. 1994).
Trend justification
No birds have been collected since 1834 (Hume 2017). However, it was reportedly captured by locals during the 1920s (Lavauden 1932), but with no direct evidence. Its extinction was likely caused by a mixture of deforestation, over-hunting, and reducing food sources (snails) as a result of introduced rats (Collar and Stuart 1985).
Coua delalandei is known from several specimens all collected from Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar (Hume 2017), with the most recent from 1834 (Collar and Stuart 1985). It has been reported that the species formally occurred on the mainland, but there is no direct evidence to this effect (Hume 2017).
It was a terrestrial species of primary rainforest (Collar and Stuart 1985). Observations by Ackerman (1841) suggest its primary food source was molluscs.
The complete deforestation of Île Sainte-Marie was presumably the ultimate cause of its extinction (Goodman 1993). However, deforestation, over-hunting, and declining food sources (snails) as a result of introduced rats, likely all contributed to the species' extinction (Hume 2017).
Text account compilers
Martin, R., Brooks, T., Mahood, S., Khwaja, N., Richardson, L.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Snail-eating Coua Coua delalandei. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/snail-eating-coua-coua-delalandei on 23/11/2024.
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 23/11/2024.