The Aldabra brush warbler (''Nesillas aldabrana'') is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

in the acrocephalid

warbler Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous. Sylvioid warblers Th ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

. It was

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the atoll of

Aldabra Aldabra is the world's second-largest coral atoll, lying south-east of the continent of Africa. It is part of the Aldabra Group of islands in the Indian Ocean that are part of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles, with a distance of 1,120 k ...

in the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...

and an individual was last seen in 1983.

Description

The Aldabra brush warbler was a slender bird with relatively short wings and a long, pointed tail. It reached a total length of . The upper parts were dun and the underparts a rather paler hue. The song was never recorded but the call was a nasal, three-syllable chirrup.

Ecology

The Aldabra brush warbler was a shy and retiring bird, difficult to observe in the dense undergrowth in which it lived. It was most readily located by its chirruping call.

Discovery and extinction

The Aldabra brush warbler was discovered by British ornithologists

Constantine Walter Benson Constantine Walter Benson OBE (2 February 1909 – 21 September 1982) was a British ornithologist and author of over 350 publications. He is considered the last of a line of British Colonial officials that made significant contributions to ornit ...

, Malcolm Penny and Tony Diamond in 1967 and described in 1968 by Benson and Penny on the basis of a male, a female and a nest with 3 eggs. Juveniles were never found. After the discovery the brush warbler was not seen until a survey by Robert Prys-Jones of the British Museum of Natural History from 1974 to 1976. At the end of 1975 he found six further birds which were all males. The birds were ringed and photographed. In 1983, only one male was observed and the Aldabra brush warbler was considered as the rarest and (in its occurrence) most restricted bird in the world. It was confined to a 10 ha large coastal strip on the Aldabran island of

Malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

. Following intensive surveys, the extinction of this bird was confirmed in 1986. It has been listed as officially extinct by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

since 1994. The possible reasons for its extinction could be attributed to the presence of rats, cats and goats introduced to the atoll many years previously.

References

* Errol Fuller "Extinct Birds". 2000. (with a photograph of a living individual) *Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors): ''Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers.'' Lynx Edicions 2006, .

External links

Some Observations on Nesillas aldabranus
{{Taxonbar, from=Q593384 Nesillas Birds of Seychelles Bird extinctions since 1500 Birds described in 1968 Endemic fauna of Seychelles Extinct birds of Indian Ocean islands Taxa named by Constantine Walter Benson