Bonin Thrush

Bonin Erddrossel ( Zoothera terrestris), Lithograph by J. G. Keulemans, from A monograph of the Turdidae, 1898

The Bonin Erddrossel ( Zoothera terrestris), also referred to as bonuses throttle, an extinct thrushes of the genus Erddrosseln is ( Zoothera ).

Description

The Bonin Erddrossel reached a length of 23 centimeters. The wing length was 9.9 cm, the tail length 6.6 inches, the beak First 2.2 centimeters and 2.8 centimeters of the running. The top was generally olive-brown. At the rump, the upper tail-coverts and tail the color turned into a maroon. The inner webs of the feathers were usually darker and recorded on the back of a fine black dashes. The reins were dark brown, eyes dark streak. The under wing-coverts were fringed brown to dark brown, black, and had broad olive-colored tips. The outer webs of the black hand covers were olive. The shield springs had brown outer webs olive and inner webs. The secondaries were fringed brown and olive. The primaries were brown. The underside was olive brown and went into a white discolouration on the chin, throat and belly at the center above. The under tail-coverts were brown. Top of the head, chest and throat sites were characterized by a fine brown dashes. Beak, legs, feet and claws were horn-colored.

Occurrence

The only place where they ever occurred, Chichi -jima was in the Bonin Islands. In theory, they could have lived on the neighboring islands Ani -jima and Ototo -jima, but this is not supported by observations. The species was observed only once by a naturalist, its discoverer Heinrich von Kittlitz. He met this choke in the coastal forests, where they usually stayed on the ground. Presumably she was a ground-nesting birds.

Extinction

When Heinrich von Kittlitz the first time with the Beechey Pacific expedition the island Chichi -jima visited in 1827, he found as the only endemic bird in front of the Bonin Grosbeak. It was only on his second trip to the island in 1828, he discovered the Bonin Erddrossel that was overlooked on the first expedition. Both types of birds connects a similar fate. The Bonin Erddrossel was when they were discovered quite frequently, but in 1828 were goats, sheep and pigs brought as provisions on the island. While goats and sheep destroyed the vegetation, the bottom-dwelling birds were easy prey for feral dogs and cats as well as the introduced rats. Around the year 1830, both the Bonin Erddrossel and the Bonin Grosbeak were exterminated.

The only museum specimens are in the Museum Naturalis in Leiden (one copy ), the Natural History Museum in Vienna (one copy ), the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt am Main (one copy ) and the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg (two copies).