Nightingale reed warbler

The nightingale reed warbler (Acrocephalus luscinius), or Guam reed-warbler, is an extinct songbird that was endemic to Guam.

Nightingale reed warbler
Nightingale reed-warbler (top)

Extinct (1969)  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Acrocephalidae
Genus: Acrocephalus
Species:
A. luscinius
Binomial name
Acrocephalus luscinius
(Quoy & Gaimard, 1832)
Synonyms
  • Thryothorus luscinius
  • Acrocephalus luscinia

Taxonomy and systematics

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The nightingale reed warbler was described by the French zoologists Jean Quoy and Joseph Gaimard in 1832 from a specimen collected on the island of Guam in the western Pacific Ocean. They coined the binomial name, Thryothorus luscinius.[2][a] Until 2011, the Pagan reed warbler, Aguiguan reed warbler, and Saipan reed warbler were considered as subspecies of the nightingale reed warbler until split by the IOC.[4]

Extinction

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The nightingale reed warbler was driven to extinction by several introduced species. These included the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) which has also decimated the populations or even caused the extinctions of several other bird species on Guam. Other introduced predators included rats (Rattus sp.), cats (Felis catus) and feral ungulates such as goats (Capra hircus) or sheep (Ovis aries).[5] An introduced plant, ivy gourd (Coccinia grandis), destroyed the canopy of the trees that nightingale reed warblers built their nests in. Wetland destruction, fires and pesticides, as well as intensive land use for agriculture or building further reduced the available habitat.[1] It has not been seen since 1969.

Nesting

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The nightingale reed warbler is nonmigratory and nests year round. The typical clutch has two eggs that are white with a green tint and are covered in lavender, chestnut, and black spots. [6]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Although the ornithological part of the Voyage de la corvette l'Astrolabe has 1830 on the title page it was not published until 1832.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b BirdLife International. (2023). "Acrocephalus luscinius". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2023: e.T103780078A241563797. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T103780078A241563797.en. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  2. ^ Quoy, Jean; Gaimard, Joseph Paul (1830). Dumont d'Urville, Jules (ed.). Voyage de la corvette l'Astrolabe : exécuté par ordre du roi, pendant les années 1826-1827-1828-1829: Zoologie (in French). Vol. 1. Paris: J. Tastu. pp. 202–203.
  3. ^ Mlíkovský, Jiří (2012). "The dating of the ornithological part of Quoy and Gaimard's "Voyage de l'Astrolabe"". Zoological Bibliography. 2 (2&3): 59–69.
  4. ^ "Species Version 2 « IOC World Bird List". www.worldbirdnames.org. Retrieved 2018-06-13.
  5. ^ Rounds, Rachel; Radley, Paul. "Nightingale Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus luscinia)". Web Page of Pacific Bird Conservation, Hawaii. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  6. ^ Beacham, Walton; Castronova, Frank; Sessine, Suzanne (2000). Beacham's Guide to the Endangered Species of North America. Vol. 1. Gale. pp. 435–437.