Stephens Island Wren

Stephen panties ( Xenicus lyalli ) Illustration John Gerrard Keulemans, from A History of the Birds of New Zealand, 1905

The Stephen panties ( Xenicus lyalli ) was a species of bird in the family of Maori panties ( Acanthisittidae ). He came in historical times before only on the between the New Zealand North and South Island located Stephens Iceland (New Zealand) and died at the end of the 19th century.

Description and life

Like all Maori panties resembled Stephen panties Wrens, without being more closely related to them. It was a small, stocky bird, its plumage was olive green shade, and marked with brown Einsprenkelungen. He could not fly and therefore found mainly on the ground on. He must have been active at dawn and fed on insects.

The eradication

Originally the species was common in many parts of New Zealand, but by the introduction of the Pacific rat she disappeared before the arrival of the Europeans of the larger islands of this country and talked only on Stephens Iceland. The final extinction is often given as the fault of a single animal, namely Tibbles, the cat of the lighthouse keeper David Lyall. Since Mr. Lyall was interested in ornithology, he noticed that the loot brought his cat to him with pride, its own species was. Rather, it was probably the fault of several feral cats on the island, which completely exterminated in the winter of 1895, the type. Eleven of the spoils of Lyalls cat lying today - " disheveled and tousled " as it were - in various museums.