- Norfolk Starling
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Norfolk Starling 
Norfolk Island Tasman Starling (Aplonis fusca fusca), Male ? from Drawings of birds chiefly from Australia, (1791-1792). Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Sturnidae Genus: Aplonis Species: A. fusca Subspecies: A. f. fusca Trinomial name Aplonis fusca fusca
(Gould, 1836)The Norfolk Starling (Aplonis fusca fusca), was a small bird in the starling family. It is the extinct nominate subspecies of the Tasman Starling, the only other subspecies being the Lord Howe Starling (Aplonis fusca hulliana).
Contents
Distribution
The Norfolk Starling was confined to Norfolk Island, an Australian territory in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand.
Description
Norfolk Island Tasman Starling (Aplonis fusca fusca), Female ? from Drawings of birds chiefly from Australia, (1791-1792).
The Norfolk Starling was 20 cm long. The wing length was 9.8 cm to 10.3 cm, the length of the tail was 6.3 to 6.8 cm, the length of the culmen 1.3 cm and tarsus was 2.5 cm. It was generally greyish brown. The males were glossy metallic green from head to the throat. The back, the rump, the uppertail coverts, the wing coverts, and underparts were grey, but undertail coverts were whitish. The bill was black and the eyes orange red. The females were coloured similar but the greenish gloss were slightly duller and a grey throat contrasted with pale brownish flanks. The under breast was washed ochraceous. The abdomen and the undertail coverts were yellowish white.
Extinction
The reasons for its extinction are unclear. Competition from introduced European starlings, song thrushs and common blackbirds, overhunting and habitat loss through agricultural clearing might have played an important role. Reports in older literature that it became extinct by rats as its relative from Lord Howe Island are not correct because rats became first a pest on Norfolk Island by 1940. It became extinct in 1923.
References
- Errol Fuller (2000). "Extinct Birds", ISBN 0-8160-1833-2
External links
- BirdLife Species Factsheet
- 3D view of specimens RMNH 110.032, RMNH 110.033 and RMNH 110.035 at Naturalis, Leiden (requires QuickTime browser plugin).
- Norfolk Island Starling. Aplonis fusca. by Paul Martinson. Artwork produced for the book Extinct Birds of New Zealand, by Alan Tennyson, Te Papa Press, Wellington, 2006
- Birdtheme.org Illustration on a stamp
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