Chatham Bellbird
Chatham Glockenhonigfresser ( Anthornis melanocephala )
The Chatham - Glockenhonigfresser ( Anthornis melanocephala ) is an extinct species of bird in the honeyeater family. At times, he was considered a subspecies of the Maori bells honeyeater ( Anthornis melanura ). The species was endemic to the Chatham Islands.
Features
The Chatham - Glockenhonigfresser reached a size of 25 centimeters. The wing length was 110 mm, tail length 110 mm, the beak length 17 mm and the barrel length 38 mm. He was taller than the Maori Glockenhonigfresser, and his head was darker. The plumage of the male was predominantly olive green at the top. The belly and flanks were brighter. The forehead and the crown were steel blue. On the sides of the head and throat coloration turned into a purple-blue. The wing and tail feathers were black with brown edges olive. The iris was yellow. The beak was black, the legs were brown. The female was smaller and showed a darker head, rump and underside coloration than the male. The singing was richer and fuller than that of the Maori bells honeyeater.
Occurrence and habitat
The Chatham - Glockenhonigfresser inhabited the forests of the three belonging to the Chatham Islands Chatham Islands Iceland, Iceland Mangere and Little Mangere Iceland.
Way of life
About his life, there is no detailed information. However, comparisons with the Maori Glockenhonigfresser lead us to suppose that the food of honey, berries and insects existed.
Extinction
The New Zealand palaeontologist and bird collectors Williams Hawkins wrote in 1896: " This bird is almost extinct. I have no difficulty with a bellows for £ 1, the plot for sale, so I eagerly looked for the birds. But it has become very difficult to catch even which of them. " The last copies were observed in 1906 on Little Mangere Iceland. After unconfirmed sightings were known in the 1950s, the New Zealand ornithologist Logan Bell attended the 1961 Chatham Islands, but where he could no longer detectable copy. The exact causes for the extinction of the Chatham - bells honeyeater are unknown, IUCN was probably a combination of habitat destruction, predation by introduced cats and rats and to intense predation for museum collections decisive. Museum specimens are kept in Bremen, Berlin and Frankfurt am Main.