Lord Howe Thrush

Lord Howe Island Thrush (Turdus poliocephalus vinitinctus )

The Lord Howe Island Thrush (Turdus poliocephalus vinitinctus ), called by the islanders as Ouzel or Doctor Bird, is an extinct subspecies of the Pacific Robin (Turdus poliocephalus ), which was endemic to the Lord Howe Island.

They reached a length of 22.9 centimeters. The head was olive-brown, the top was maroon, wings and tail were dark brown, throat and chin were pale brown with a olive approach. The bottom was a chestnut brown with a lavender tint.

In 1906 she was still relatively common, but from 1913 began to decrease their population. Introduced goats destroyed their habitat and dogs, cats and feral pigs presented for her. The main reason for their extinction was most likely the shipwreck of the SS Makambo in June 1918. According to the stranding of the SS Makambo reached rats on the Lord Howe Island and within six years, the rats increased so much that several land bird species, including the Lord Howe Island thrush, were exterminated.

Museum specimens are available in Leiden (The Netherlands ), Tring ( UK ), Berlin, New York, Washington and Sydney.