The Chatham bellbird (''Anthornis melanocephala'') 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 ...

species of

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 family Meliphagidae. 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

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about te ...

In appearance it was very similar to the

New Zealand bellbird The New Zealand bellbird (''Anthornis melanura''), also known by its Māori names korimako, makomako, and kōmako, is a passerine bird endemic to New Zealand. It has greenish colouration and is the only living member of the genus ''Anthornis''. T ...

(''Anthornis melanura'') but was considerably larger. Also the whole of the head and neck was brightly glossed in purplish or steel-blue.''A History of the Birds of New Zealand''
by

Walter Buller Sir Walter Lawry Buller (9 October 1838 – 19 July 1906) was a New Zealand lawyer and naturalist who was a dominant figure in New Zealand ornithology. His book, ''A History of the Birds of New Zealand'', first published in 1873, was publishe ...

, 1888 It was last observed in 1906 on

Little Mangere Island Little Mangere is a small island of the Chatham Archipelago, just off the western end of Mangere Island, about 4 km (2½ mi) west of Pitt Island and south-east of the town of Waitangi on Chatham Island. The island is called ''Tapuaenuku'' ...

. The population was likely impacted by the introduction of a disease as there was a sudden population decline before the onset of other disturbances such as rats, cats and specimen collectors.

References

External links

''Chatham Island Bellbird / Komako.''
by Paul Martinson. Artwork produced for the book ''Extinct Birds of New Zealand'', by Alan Tennyson, Te Papa Press, Wellington, 2006 Anthornis Extinct birds of the Chatham Islands Birds described in 1843 Bird extinctions since 1500 Species made extinct by human activities Species endangered by specimen collection Species endangered by habitat loss Species endangered by invasive species Taxa named by George Robert Gray Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Meliphagidae-stub