Lord Howe Fantail

Lord Howe Grey Fantail, below

The Lord Howe Grey Fantail ( Rhipidura cervina fuliginosa ), also known as Lord Howe Graufächerschnäpper, is an extinct subspecies of the New Zealand fan tail. He was endemic to the Lord Howe Island.

Description

The Lord Howe Grey Fantail reached a length of 12.7 centimeters. Head and neck were gray black. Over the ear a white spot was visible. The back and wing coverts were black with a reddish-brown approach. The wings were dark brown and had two white napkins on. Eye-streak, throat and underside were bright cinnamon brown. The iris was dark brown, the beak was black. An upper chest band as in the nominate form was not available. The long, round tail was dark gray brown and could be spread out like a fan. The outer tail feathers had narrow white hems.

Way of life

The Lord Howe Grey Fantail inhabited open forests. His diet consisted of insects that were captured in flight. A nest was discovered in 1907 by Australian naturalist Arthur Francis Basset Hull in a prickly bush. Hull described the nest as a wineglass -shaped with an indicated tail -shaped extension. The nest consisted of two glossy creamy white eggs me light brown spots and Strichelzeichnung. The Lord Howe Grey Fantail was a very confiding bird flying even into the kitchens of houses to catch the flies from the walls.

Extinction

In June 1918, the SS Makambo aground on a sandbank in front of Lord Howe Island. The escaping ship rats overran the island and executed under the endemic avifauna a devastating damage. The rats climbed the trees and ate the eggs and chicks. 1924 was the Lord Howe Grey Fantail extinct.