Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species is known from New Zealand's South Island, but is now Extinct as a result predation and habitat destruction. The last confirmed record was of the nominate subspecies, in 1905.
Population justification
None remain.
Turnagra capensis, according to Walter Buller, was common until 1863 on the South Island, New Zealand, from where it is known from numerous specimens (Greenway 1967). However, the species declined very rapidly in the 1880s, and the definite record was from 1905 (Tennyson and Martinson 2006). There have been unconfirmed reports since, including in 1963 (Knox and Walters 1994).
It was observed foraging in native forest undergrowth.
Its extinction was probably mainly due to predation by introduced mammals (Greenway 1967), but habitat destruction is likely to have been a contributing factor.
Text account compilers
Vine, J.
Contributors
Brooks, T., Khwaja, N., Mahood, S. & Martin, R.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: South Island Piopio Turnagra capensis. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/south-island-piopio-turnagra-capensis on 24/11/2024.
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 24/11/2024.