Eyles' Harrier

The Eyles - Harrier (Circus eylesi ) is an extinct species of harriers and the largest known members of this genus. She was endemic to New Zealand and lived in the dense forests that covered most of the island before man reached New Zealand. Their diet consisted of medium-sized forest birds such as Maori fruit pigeons crows, or rag. On the North and the South Island each have their own forms of Eyles - ordination, which differed in body size existed, however, be regarded as belonging to one species. Your nearest relative was probably the Australian marsh harrier.

The extinction of Eyles - ordination is attributed to the clearing of the New Zealand forests by the immigrated in the 13th century people and on the Pacific rats entrained by him. The subfossil remains of the kind were discovered in 1892 and described in 1953 in honor of paleontologist Jim Eyles as Circus eylesi.

Features

The Eyles - ordination was an extremely large and heavy members of its family. While the greatest living today Harriers reach a weight of about 1 kg, it is estimated the weight of the Eyles - ordination at 3-3.5 kg. In the proportions they resembled less the typical plains -dwelling Harriers, but more representatives of the hawks and Sparrowhawk (Accipiter ). They possessed in relation to body size and shorter rounded wings.

Occurrence and habitat

The subfossil material was found in Lake Poukawa, at Te Aute - Marsh and Hukanui on the North Island and in the Pyramid Valley on the South Island. The habitat consisted of dry forests and scrubland, ranging from the coast to the subalpine zone.

Way of life

Based on the nature of the bones and the fossil deposits could be the preferred food and the hunting behavior reconstruct. To the main prey, the Maori Fruchttaube counted ( Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae ). In contrast to the extant ordinations that glide across the open ground and their prey by sight and vocalizations locate the Eyles - ordination went in a more wooded setting on hunting. Their rapid wing beats, their body mass, their maneuverability and their long legs and feet were the prey of great advantage.

Extinction

The Eyles - ordination is known only from subfossilem material derived from approximately 77 individuals. They probably died out in the 13th century, when the New Zealand Maori populated. The settlers hunted the prey of consecration and to the consecration itself, the entrained Pacific rat placed the chicks after.

System

The first bone of this type are from the collection of Augustus Hamilton, mentioned in 1892 by Henry Ogg Forbes as Circus Circus and hamiltoni teauteensis. Only in the late 1940s further material in the Pyramid Valley was discovered in 1953 by Ron Scarlett described as Circus eylesi. In the early 1960s, amateur archaeologist Russel Price did extensive excavations at Lake Poukawa and promoted numerous bone fragments of a large number of Eyles - ordinations individuals to days. 1933 looked Kálmán Lambrecht Circus Circus hamiltoni and nomina nuda as teauteensis since no adequate descriptions for these taxa. Lambrecht moved the Te Aute - Marsh, the terra typica of Circus teauteensis, but erroneously on the South Island. Even Walter Reginald Brook Oliver reduced in 1955 Circus Circus teauteensis and hamiltoni on the nomina nuda - status and only looked at Scarlett's Circus eylesi as valid Art. 1964 accepted Pierce Brodkorb Circus teauteensis as a valid name, as nomen nudum led hamiltoni Circus and Circus synonymisierte eylesi with Circus teauteensis. 1970 looked at the ornithologist Frederick Charles Kinsky Circus teauteensis as an independent species for the North Island and Circus eylesi as an independent species for the South Island. In the 1990 edition of Evan Graham Turbotts Checklist of the Birds of New Zealand and the Ross Dependency, Antarctica Circus eylesi was listed for both the North Island and for the South Island.