Robust White-eye
Encyclopedia
The Robust White-eye also known as the Lord Howe White-eye or Robust Silvereye, and locally as the "Big Grinnell", was a species of bird
in the Zosteropidae family. It was endemic to the lowland forests of Lord Howe Island
, east of Australia
.
It was a mainly green bird, around 7.6 cm long, with a white belly and yellow throat, which separated it from other species of white-eye.
The Robust White-eye built loosely-constructed, cup-shaped nests out of palm fibre and dried grasses, which were sometimes found in shrubs overgrown with vines. This made the species vulnerable to predation by Black Rat
s (Rattus rattus), which were accidentally introduced in 1918 following the grounding of the steamship SS Makambo
on the island. Although once common, the bird was extinct by 1923.
Despite its small size, the bird was known to islanders as "Big Grinnell", to differentiate it from the much smaller but related "Little Grinnell", or Lord Howe Silvereye
Zosterops lateralis tephropleurus, a subspecies of the Silvereye
. This subspecies hangs on, but is threatened with extinction.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the Zosteropidae family. It was endemic to the lowland forests of Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, and about from Norfolk Island. The island is about 11 km long and between 2.8 km and 0.6 km wide with an area of...
, east of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
It was a mainly green bird, around 7.6 cm long, with a white belly and yellow throat, which separated it from other species of white-eye.
The Robust White-eye built loosely-constructed, cup-shaped nests out of palm fibre and dried grasses, which were sometimes found in shrubs overgrown with vines. This made the species vulnerable to predation by Black Rat
Black Rat
The black rat is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus in the subfamily Murinae . The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world.-Taxonomy:The black rat was...
s (Rattus rattus), which were accidentally introduced in 1918 following the grounding of the steamship SS Makambo
SS Makambo
The SS Makambo was a steamship first owned by Burns Philp & Co. Ltd. She was built in Port Glasgow and named after an island in the Solomon Islands. She carried both passengers and cargo and was principally used on routes between eastern Australia and islands in Melanesia and the Tasman Sea...
on the island. Although once common, the bird was extinct by 1923.
Despite its small size, the bird was known to islanders as "Big Grinnell", to differentiate it from the much smaller but related "Little Grinnell", or Lord Howe Silvereye
Lord Howe Silvereye
The Lord Howe Silvereye , also known as the Lord Howe White-eye, Lord Howe Island White-eye or, locally, as the “Little Grinnell”, is a small bird in the white-eye family, Zosteropidae. It is a subspecies of the Silvereye , though sometimes considered a full species...
Zosterops lateralis tephropleurus, a subspecies of the Silvereye
Silvereye
The Silvereye or Wax-eye is a very small passerine bird native to Australia, New Zealand and the south-west Pacific islands of Lord Howe, New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji...
. This subspecies hangs on, but is threatened with extinction.