The Kosrae starling, also known as Kosrae Island starling, and formerly as Kusaie Mountain starling, (''Aplonis corvina'') is an extinct bird from the family of

starling Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus ''Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...

s (Sturnidae). It was endemic to the montane forests on the island of

Kosrae Kosrae ( ), formerly known as Kusaie or Strong's Island, is an island in the Federated States of Micronesia. The State of Kosrae is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia, and includes the main island of Kosrae and a few near ...

which belong to the

Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...

in the south-western Pacific.

Description

It reached a length between 20 and 25.4 centimetres. It was crow-like, glossy black and had a long curved bill as well as a long tail.

Extinction

The Kosrae starling is only known by five specimens which were obtained between December 1827 and January 1828 by the Kittlitz Expedition. Kittlitz described the bird in 1833. Three skins can be seen in the Museum of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and two further in the Museum Naturalis in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...

. In 1880 an expedition led by

Otto Finsch Friedrich Hermann Otto Finsch (8 August 1839, Warmbrunn – 31 January 1917, Braunschweig) was a German ethnographer, natural history, naturalist and colonial explorer. He is known for a two-volume monograph on the parrots of the world which earned ...

was unable to find this bird. Another survey by the

Whitney South Seas Expedition The Whitney South Sea Expedition (1920 - 1941) to collect bird specimens for the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), under the initial leadership of Rollo Beck, was instigated by Dr Leonard C. Sanford and financed by Harry Payne Whitney, a t ...

of the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

in 1931 proved that this species was extinct. Its extinction was most likely caused by

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

s which escaped from

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

vessels during the 19th century and became widespread on Kosrae.

References

Bibliography

*Greenway, James (1967): ''Extinct and Vanishing Birds of the World'' *Day, David (1981): ''The Doomsday Book of Animals'' *Fuller, Errol (2000): ''Extinct Birds'' *Flannery, Tim & Schouten, Peter (2001): ''A Gap in Nature''

Citations

External links

BirdLife Species FactsheetBiodiversity Heritage Library: Check-list of birds of the world.
(1962)
Biodiversity Heritage Library: University of Kansas publications, Museum of Natural History.
(1951)
Catalogue of Life: Annual ChecklistLondon Natural History Museum: A picture of five specimens

Kosrae starling The Kosrae starling, also known as Kosrae Island starling, and formerly as Kusaie Mountain starling, (''Aplonis corvina'') is an extinct bird from the family of starlings (Sturnidae). It was endemic to the montane forests on the island of Kosrae ...

Birds of the Federated States of Micronesia Endemic fauna of the Federated States of Micronesia Extinct birds of Oceania Articles containing video clips

Taxa named by Heinrich von Kittlitz {{Sturnidae-stub