Callaeas cinerea (South Island Kokako)

[surroundx]

Seersholm, Frederik V. et al. (2018). Subsistence practices, past biodiversity, and anthropogenic impacts revealed by New Zealand-wide ancient DNA survey. PNAS. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1803573115 [Supplementary information]

[Melanie]

Sightings spark hope in the search for New Zealand's most wanted bird

www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/108422909/sightings-spark-hope-in-the-search-for-new-zealands-most-wanted-bird?cid=app-android

[Sebbe]

[Sebbe]

Extinct and endangered (‘E&E’) birds in the ornithological collection of the Museum of Zoology of Torino University, Italy.

SOUTH ISLAND KOKAKO Callaeas cinereus CR
Glaucopis cinerea J. F. Gmelin, 1788

MZUT AV3585; previously mounted; unsexed; New Zealand, no date; purchased by A. Caffer in Rio de Janeiro in 1839.

MZUT AV16330; previously mounted; unsexed; New Zealand, 1843.

Remarks.—Hume & Walters (2012) treated this species as extinct. In 1839–40 Antonio Caffer, assistant to the Royal Zoological Museum of Torino, embarked on the frigate Regina for a journey around the globe. A storm near the Falkland Islands seriously damaged the ship, which was forced to return first to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Caffer purchased about 2,400 zoological specimens, and then to Genova (Mottin & Casolino 1999).

bioone.org/journals/Bulletin-of-the-British-Ornithologists-Club/volume-139/issue-1/bboc.v139i1.2019.a2/Extinct-and-endangered-EE-birds-in-the-ornithological-collection-of/10.25226/bboc.v139i1.2019.a2.full#bibr28

[Sebbe]

Historical distribution data of New Zealand endemic families Callaeidae and Notiomystidae (Aves, Passeriformes).

Callaeidae (wattlebirds) and Notiomystidae (stitchbirds) are New Zealand-endemic sister-taxa; while widespread before human settlement, they subsequently became critically endangered or extinct. Aside from presently managed populations, information about them is scarce and actual specimens even scarcer. Herein, we provide a snapshot of these families’ historical distribution during the critical periods of European settlement and expansion in New Zealand (19th and early-20th centuries), exploring new data and insights resulting from this approach. We include an extensive catalogue of worldwide museum specimens to facilitate future research. We report the last known record/specimen of huia Heteralocha acutirostris (Gould, 1837) and late 19th century specimens of North Island saddleback Philesturnus rufusater (Lesson, 1828) from Cuvier Island that confirm its occurrence there. We failed to find specimens of North Island saddleback and stitchbird Notiomystis cincta (du Bus de Gisignies, 1839) (with one and two exceptions, respectively) from named locations on the mainland.

checklist.pensoft.net/article/35783/

[surroundx]

Dussex, Nicolas et al. (2019). Complete genomes of two extinct New Zealand passerines show responses to climate fluctuations but no evidence for genomic erosion prior to extinction. Biology Letters 15(9): 20190491. [Abstract]

[Sebbe]

Recording raises hopes of South Island Kokako rediscovery.

www.birdguides.com/news/recording-raises-hopes-of-south-island-kokako-rediscovery/

[another specialist]

South Island Kokako, a striking and noisy species of a seemingly well-explored part of the world, might seem like a long shot for rediscovery. Like most other native New Zealand birds, it has suffered catastrophic declines caused by the destruction and fragmentation of its native forest habitat and the introduction of competitors, but predation by introduced rats, possums and stoats seems to be the biggest problem. While its North Island counterpart is scarce but readily findable, the last confirmed records of South Island Kokako were in 2007 and before that in 1967. Sadly, the reward offered since then for information confirming its survival cannot be claimed, but unconfirmed sightings up to 2016 give some hope and are the reason for the kokako’s inclusion here.

www.birdlife.org/news/2022/05/20/these-10-species-are-lost-in-the-last-wilds-we-need-to-find-them-before-they-go-extinct/?fbclid=IwAR0NZi8lpjlRuaXFEPJ5A3YlL-VmNMxuMb3Ua_eKVUX6IOhSN9KLqvp_1O8

[Sebbe]

Mitogenomes resolve the phylogeography and divergence times within the endemic New Zealand Callaeidae (Aves: Passerida).

The biogeographical origins of the endemic birds of New Zealand (Aotearoa) are of great interest, particularly Palaeogene lineages such as Callaeidae, a passerine family characterized by brightly coloured wattles behind the beak and, in some cases, extreme sexual dimorphism in bill size and shape. Ancestral representatives of Callaeidae are thought to have split from their closest relatives outside New Zealand in the Oligocene, but little is known about the timing of divergences within the family. We present a fully dated molecular phylogeny of Callaeidae mitogenomes and discuss the biogeographical implications. Our results suggest that formation of Pliocene marine seaways, such as the Manawatu Strait, are likely to have played a significant role in the differentiation of North Island and South Island kōkako (Callaeas spp.) and saddlebacks/tīeke (Philesturnus spp.).

academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance-article/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac060/6659027

[Sebbe]

Possibly heard, and maybe seen, the search for the South Island Kōkako continues.


www.rewild.org/news/possibly-heard-and-maybe-seen-the-search-for-the-south-island-k-kako

[Sebbe]

Augustus Hamilton’s fossil collection at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

Augustus Hamilton (1853–1913) was a New Zealand ethnologist and naturalist who amassed a significant collection of fossils, mostly of birds, during his career. Today, those fossils are housed in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (NMNZ). While some fossils have been catalogued and integrated into the collection of the NMNZ, a large part remained unsorted and uncatalogued. The present study brings an integrated view of Hamilton’s collection at the NMNZ, highlighting the most significant fossils. In total, there are 3692 specimen lots collected by Hamilton in the NMNZ representing a large sample of taxa and a wide range of locations around Aotearoa New Zealand. Most fossils are of Holocene age and belong to birds. The collection includes type specimens, circa 250 specimen lots belonging to extinct species, and specimens belonging to otherwise poorly represented species in natural history collections. We hope that our study makes Hamilton’s fossils visible and more readily available for future research.

tuhinga.arphahub.com/article/97731/