South Island Piopio
Encyclopedia
The South Island Piopio, Turnagra capensis, also known as the New Zealand Thrush, was a passerine
bird
of the Turnagridae
family, found only in New Zealand
.
, which is often considered to be based on juvenile birds, but seems to be valid (Medway, 2004b). The assumption of the well-flying bird evolving into a distinct subspecies on the small (2.6 km²) island close (3.2 km) to the mainland seems hard to believe, but Stephens Island must have held a population of many hundred birds in 1894 (Medway, 2004a), and the Piopio was apparently a reluctant flyer, not usually being found on offshore islands.
For a long time the South Island Piopio was considered conspecific with the North Island Piopio
that dwelled on New Zealand's North Island
, but later they were recognised as two distinct species due to pronounced differences in external appearance and osteology
(Olson et al., 1983).
piopio was considered to be one of the best song birds native to New Zealand. South Island piopios were omnivorous, and relatively unafraid of humans, as they have been recorded as taking scraps of food from campers.
s and rat
s introduced to the island by humans, as well as some habitat destruction. By 1888 the bird was said to be the rarest in all of New Zealand, and by 1905 it was considered virtually extinct. The last confirmed specimen was shot at Oharu in 1902, although alleged sightings continued. For example, unconfirmed South Island Piopio records exist from near Patea
in 1923, between Gisborne
and Wairoa
on May 7, 1947, in Nelson district
, January 1948 (all in Allison et al., 1949), and on December 17, 1947, at Lake Hauroko
(Dunckley & Todd, 1949). The last supposed sighting was in 1963.
for a detailed chronology). The last specimen was taken on January 7, 1897, and there were none left by the end of 1898 (Medway, 2004a). Only 12 specimens of the Stephens Island bird exist today:
The last 3 are the only ones with reliable dates, having been taken in 1894, 1895 and 1897, respectively.
Lice of the genus Brueelia
were found on South Island piopio (Palma, 1999).
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
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...
of the Turnagridae
Turnagridae
The Turnagridae or piopio are a pair of passerine birds endemic to New Zealand, both of which are now considered extinct. Sometimes described as New Zealand Thrushes, the Piopio had only a coincidental, passing resemblance to the Thrush family. Piopio have been a longstanding taxonomic mystery...
family, found only in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Taxonomy
Two subspecies are recognized, the nominate T. c. capensis from the South Island mainland, and the much smaller Stephens Island Piopio (T. c. minor) from Stephens IslandStephens Island, New Zealand
Stephens Island is at the northern most tip of the Marlborough Sounds in the South Island of New Zealand. It lies two kilometres to the northeast of Cape Stephens, the northernmost point of D'Urville Island. The Māori call the island Takapourewa but Stephens Island is the commonly used name...
, which is often considered to be based on juvenile birds, but seems to be valid (Medway, 2004b). The assumption of the well-flying bird evolving into a distinct subspecies on the small (2.6 km²) island close (3.2 km) to the mainland seems hard to believe, but Stephens Island must have held a population of many hundred birds in 1894 (Medway, 2004a), and the Piopio was apparently a reluctant flyer, not usually being found on offshore islands.
For a long time the South Island Piopio was considered conspecific with the North Island Piopio
North Island Piopio
The North Island Piopio, Turnagra tanagra, was a passerine bird of the Turnagridae family. The North Island Piopio is now considered to be extinct...
that dwelled on New Zealand's North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
, but later they were recognised as two distinct species due to pronounced differences in external appearance and osteology
Osteology
Osteology is the scientific study of bones. A subdiscipline of anatomy, anthropology, and archeology, osteology is a detailed study of the structure of bones, skeletal elements, teeth, morphology, function, disease, pathology, the process of ossification , the resistance and hardness of bones , etc...
(Olson et al., 1983).
Description
This medium-sized bird was mostly olive-brown in colouration, with rufous wings and tail, and a speckled breast. The South IslandSouth Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
piopio was considered to be one of the best song birds native to New Zealand. South Island piopios were omnivorous, and relatively unafraid of humans, as they have been recorded as taking scraps of food from campers.
Extinction
The South Island Piopio was once considered common in undergrowth forests of New Zealand's South Island, until 1863 when the population began to decline. The Piopio continued to decline at a rapid rate throughout the 1880s mainly due to predation by catCat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
s and rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s introduced to the island by humans, as well as some habitat destruction. By 1888 the bird was said to be the rarest in all of New Zealand, and by 1905 it was considered virtually extinct. The last confirmed specimen was shot at Oharu in 1902, although alleged sightings continued. For example, unconfirmed South Island Piopio records exist from near Patea
Patea
Patea is the third-largest town in South Taranaki, New Zealand. It is on the western bank of the Patea River, 61 kilometres north-west of Wanganui on State Highway 3. Hawera is 27 km to the north-west, and Waverley 17 km to the east. The Patea River flows through the town from the...
in 1923, between Gisborne
Gisborne, New Zealand
-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
and Wairoa
Wairoa
Wairoa is a town in New Zealand's North Island. It is the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Mahia Peninsula...
on May 7, 1947, in Nelson district
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....
, January 1948 (all in Allison et al., 1949), and on December 17, 1947, at Lake Hauroko
Lake Hauroko
Lake Hauroko is located in a mountain valley in Fiordland National Park in the South Island of New Zealand. The long S-shaped lake is 30 kilometres in length and covers an area of 63 km². The surface is at an altitude of 150 metres above sea level, and the lake is 463 metres deep...
(Dunckley & Todd, 1949). The last supposed sighting was in 1963.
Stephens Island subspecies
The Stephens Island population became extinct, apparently in 1897, due to predation by feral cats which had multiplied to number in the hundreds by that time (see also Stephens Island WrenStephens Island Wren
The Stephens Island Wren or Lyall's Wren was a nocturnal, flightless, insectivorous passerine.-Habitat:...
for a detailed chronology). The last specimen was taken on January 7, 1897, and there were none left by the end of 1898 (Medway, 2004a). Only 12 specimens of the Stephens Island bird exist today:
- Staatliches Museum Dresden 16657, 16658, 16659, 16660, 16661; five spirit specimens purchased from Walter BullerWalter BullerWalter Lawry Buller KCMG was a New Zealand lawyer, naturalist and ornithologist.Buller was the author of A History of the Birds of New Zealand , with illustrations by John Gerrard Keulemans. In 1882 he produced the Manual of the Birds of New Zealand as a cheaper, popular alternative...
's collection, received in 1899, - Natural History MuseumNatural History MuseumThe Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
1903.12.10.2.; a female skin purchased from W. F. H. Rosenberg, - World Museum LiverpoolWorld Museum LiverpoolWorld Museum is a large museum in Liverpool, England which has extensive collections covering archaeology, ethnology and the natural and physical sciences. Special attractions include the Natural History Centre and a free Planetarium. Entry to the museum itself is also free...
B.20.12.01-24 (male) and B.20.12.01-24a (female); skins from Buller's collection purchased in 1901, - Royal Ontario MuseumRoyal Ontario MuseumThe Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
, TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
Fleming collection 3915; a male skin (the type specimen), - Carnegie Museum, PittsburghPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
CM 24753 (male) and CM 24754 (female); skins from Buller's collection (his numbers 194c and 194d) and - Übersee-Museum, Bremen 15080; a male skin collected by Hugo H. Schauinsland (the last record).
The last 3 are the only ones with reliable dates, having been taken in 1894, 1895 and 1897, respectively.
Lice of the genus Brueelia
Brueelia
Brueelia is a genus of lice in the family Philopteridae, containing the following species:* Brueelia amandavae Rekasi & Saxena, 2005* Brueelia astrildae Tendeiro & Mendes, 1994* Bureelia cantans Sychra, 2010...
were found on South Island piopio (Palma, 1999).
External links
- 3D view of specimens RMNH 110.040, RMNH 110.041, RMNH 110.056, RMNH 110.057, RMNH 110.058 and RMNH 110.059 at NaturalisNaturalisNaturalis is the national natural history museum of the Netherlands, based in Leiden. It originated from the merger of the Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie and the Rijksmuseum van Geologie en Mineralogie in 1984. In 1986 it was decided that the museum had to become a public museum and a new...
, Leiden (requires QuickTimeQuickTimeQuickTime is an extensible proprietary multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. The classic version of QuickTime is available for Windows XP and later, as well as Mac OS X Leopard and...
browser plugin). - South Island Piopio. Turnagra capensis. by Paul Martinson. Artwork produced for the book Extinct Birds of New Zealand, by Alan Tennyson, Te Papa Press, Wellington, 2006
- New Zealand ecology: Extinct birds - TerraNature article