The Lord Howe parakeet (''Cyanoramphus subflavescens''), also known as the Lord Howe red-fronted parakeet, is an extinct parrot

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 else ...

Lord Howe Island Lord Howe Island (; formerly Lord Howe's Island) is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies directly east of mainland P ...

in the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea ( Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer ...

, part of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It was described as full species by Tommaso Salvadori in 1891, but subsequently it has been regarded as subspecies of the

red-crowned parakeet The red-crowned parakeet (''Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae''), also known as red-fronted parakeet and by its Māori name of kākāriki,Parr, M., Juniper, T., D'Silva, C., Powell, D., Johnston, D., Franklin, K., & Restall, R. (2010). Parrots: A Guid ...

. In 2012, the

IOC World Bird List ''Birds of the World: Recommended English Names'' is a paperback book, written by Frank Gill and Minturn Wright on behalf of the International Ornithologists' Union. The book is an attempt to produce a standardized set of English names for all b ...

recognised it as species.IOC world birdnames

Taxonomy

Pending molecular analysis, Christidis & Boles (2008) have suggested on biogeographical grounds that the taxon is likely to be most closely related to the Norfolk Island green parrot (''Cyanoramphus cookii''), as either a subspecies of what they have tentatively called the Tasman parakeet (''Cyanoramphus cookii subflavescens''), or possibly a full species (''Cyanoramphus subflavescens'').

Description

Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae subflavescens

The Lord Howe parakeet was a medium-sized green parrot with a crimson cap and eye-stripe. Measurements of

specimen Specimen may refer to: Science and technology * Sample (material), a limited quantity of something which is intended to be similar to and represent a larger amount * Biological specimen or biospecimen, an organic specimen held by a biorepository ...

s indicate that it was slightly larger than the nominate subspecies, as well as having yellower plumage and less extensive red markings on the head.

Extinction

The parrot was formerly abundant on the island, but was persecuted by the early settlers there because of its raids on their crops and gardens. It was last recorded in 1869. Only two specimens of the Lord Howe parakeet exist. They come from the

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...

collection, taken by

John MacGillivray John MacGillivray (18 December 1821 – 6 June 1867) was a Scottish naturalist, active in Australia between 1842 and 1867. MacGillivray was born in Aberdeen, the son of ornithologist William MacGillivray. He took part in three of the Royal ...

in September 1853 on the voyage of HMS ''Herald'', and are held in the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

. Schodde, R.; & Mason, I.J. (1997). Aves (Columbidae to Coraciidae). ''In'' Houston, W.W.K. & Wells, A. (eds) ''Zoological Catalogue of Australia''. Vol. 37.2. CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne. p.147.

Taxonomy

Description

Extinction

References

Further reading