Stephens Island Wren
Encyclopedia
The Stephens Island Wren or Lyall's Wren (Xenicus (Traversia) lyalli) was a nocturnal, flightless, insectivorous passerine
.
, although prehistorically it had been widespread throughout New Zealand
before the land was settled by Māori.
to be entirely wiped out by a single living being, the lighthouse keeper
's cat. However, this belief was erroneous; while this cat did kill one of the last birds seen, a few more specimens were obtained in the following years, by which time the island also hosted numerous feral cat
s. The scientific name commemorates the assistant lighthouse keeper, David Lyall, who first brought the bird to the attention of science. Originally, the bird was described as a distinct genus, Traversia, in honor of naturalist and curio dealer Henry H. Travers
who procured many specimens from Lyall, but is currently considered to be part of the Xenicus wren
s, which are not wrens at all, but a similar-looking New Zealand lineage of primitive passerines, better referred to as acanthisittidae.
It is the best known of the extremely few (five or so) flightless passerines known to science (Millener, 1989), all of which were inhabitants of island
s and are now extinct. The others were relatives of Xenicus and the Long-legged Bunting
from Tenerife
, all of which were only discovered recently and became extinct in prehistoric times. In addition, the Bush Wren
(another acanthisittid recently extinct) and the Chatham Islands Fernbird
(an "Old World warbler
") were largely flightless.
, Rattus exulans), which may have been introduced by the Māori. The presence of a flightless bird on an island separated from the mainland by 3.2 km may seem puzzling, along with the presence of Hamilton's frog
(which is killed by exposure to salt water). One possibility is that rafts of vegetable matter allowed them to cross, although the absence of kiore would then be surprising. Stephens Island, along with the other islands in the Marlborough Sounds, was joined to the mainland during the last ice age due to the lower sea level, so the native animals may have arrived then.
had killed all the birds. The research of Galbreath & Brown (2004) and Medway (2004) has uncovered much of the actual history of the bird during the short time it was known to researchers.
In conclusion and considering Buller's August 1895 note, it is probable that the species was exterminated by feral cats during the winter of 1895. Assuming the date of February 1894, for cat introduction was correct (there were certainly cats around in the winter months of that year), the winter months of 1895 would see the second generation of cats born on the island reaching an age where the Stephens Island wren would have made ideal prey. Habitat destruction, sometimes given as an additional reason for the birds' disappearance, was apparently not significant: in 1898, the island was described as heavily forested, and there was little interference with habitat beyond the lighthouse and its associated buildings. Large-scale destruction of habitat started in late 1903, by which time X. lyalli was certainly extinct.
The last cats on the island were exterminated in 1925.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
.
Habitat
Historically it was found only on Stephens IslandStephens Island, New Zealand
Stephens Island is at the northern most tip of the Marlborough Sounds in the South Island of New Zealand. It lies two kilometres to the northeast of Cape Stephens, the northernmost point of D'Urville Island. The Māori call the island Takapourewa but Stephens Island is the commonly used name...
, although prehistorically it had been widespread throughout New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
before the land was settled by Māori.
Taxonomy
The Stephens Island Wren was long remembered in local mythos as the only known speciesSpecies
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
to be entirely wiped out by a single living being, the lighthouse keeper
Lighthouse keeper
A lighthouse keeper is the person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Keepers were needed to trim the wicks, replenish fuel, wind clockworks and perform maintenance tasks such as cleaning...
's cat. However, this belief was erroneous; while this cat did kill one of the last birds seen, a few more specimens were obtained in the following years, by which time the island also hosted numerous feral cat
Feral cat
A feral cat is a descendant of a domesticated cat that has returned to the wild. It is distinguished from a stray cat, which is a pet cat that has been lost or abandoned, while feral cats are born in the wild; the offspring of a stray cat can be considered feral if born in the wild.In many parts of...
s. The scientific name commemorates the assistant lighthouse keeper, David Lyall, who first brought the bird to the attention of science. Originally, the bird was described as a distinct genus, Traversia, in honor of naturalist and curio dealer Henry H. Travers
Henry H. Travers
Henry Hammersley Travers was a New Zealand naturalist, professional collector and taxidermist. He was the son of the politician William Travers.Specimens collected by Travers are in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa...
who procured many specimens from Lyall, but is currently considered to be part of the Xenicus wren
Wren
The wrens are passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. There are approximately 80 species of true wrens in approximately 20 genera....
s, which are not wrens at all, but a similar-looking New Zealand lineage of primitive passerines, better referred to as acanthisittidae.
It is the best known of the extremely few (five or so) flightless passerines known to science (Millener, 1989), all of which were inhabitants of island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s and are now extinct. The others were relatives of Xenicus and the Long-legged Bunting
Long-legged Bunting
The Long-legged Bunting is an extinct flightless species of bunting. It was distinguishable by its long legs and short wings, and it inhabited the Canary Islands...
from Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
, all of which were only discovered recently and became extinct in prehistoric times. In addition, the Bush Wren
Bush Wren
The Bushwren , Bush Wren, or Mātuhituhi in Maori, was a very small and almost flightless bird endemic to New Zealand. It grew to about 9 cm long and 16 g in weight. It fed mostly on invertebrates which it captured by running along the branches of trees...
(another acanthisittid recently extinct) and the Chatham Islands Fernbird
Chatham Islands Fernbird
The Chatham Islands Fernbird is an extinct bird species endemic to Pitt Island and Mangere Island . Its next living relatives are the Snares Fernbird and the New Zealand Fernbird or Matata...
(an "Old World warbler
Old World warbler
The "Old World Warblers" is the name used to describe a large group of birds formerly grouped together in the bird family Sylviidae. The family held over 400 species in over 70 genera, and were the source of much taxonomic confusion. Two families were split out initially, the cisticolas into...
") were largely flightless.
History
Archeological work has revealed that Xenicus lyalli was widespread on the main islands of New Zealand in earlier times. Its disappearance from there was probably due to predation by the kiore (Polynesian RatPolynesian Rat
The Polynesian Rat, or Pacific Rat , known to the Māori as kiore, is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the Brown Rat and Black Rat. The Polynesian Rat originates in Southeast Asia but, like its cousins, has become well travelled – infiltrating Fiji and most Polynesian...
, Rattus exulans), which may have been introduced by the Māori. The presence of a flightless bird on an island separated from the mainland by 3.2 km may seem puzzling, along with the presence of Hamilton's frog
Hamilton's Frog
Hamilton's frog is a primitive frog native to New Zealand, one of only four extant species belonging to the taxonomic family Leiopelmatidae. It is named after Harold Hamilton. The holotype is in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.-External links:* *...
(which is killed by exposure to salt water). One possibility is that rafts of vegetable matter allowed them to cross, although the absence of kiore would then be surprising. Stephens Island, along with the other islands in the Marlborough Sounds, was joined to the mainland during the last ice age due to the lower sea level, so the native animals may have arrived then.
Extinction
Much of what is commonly assumed to be established knowledge about this species' extinction is wrong or misinterpreted, starting with the account by Rothschild (1905) who claimed that a single catCat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
had killed all the birds. The research of Galbreath & Brown (2004) and Medway (2004) has uncovered much of the actual history of the bird during the short time it was known to researchers.
- 1879
- Early June?: A track to the site of the proposed lighthouse site is cleared, starting the period of human activity on the island.
- 1881
- 22 February: Marine Engineer John R. Blackett surveys the site for the proposed lighthouse.
- 1891
- April: Preparations for the construction of the lighthouse are begun by starting to build a tramway and a landing site for boats.
- 1892
- April: Clearance of land for the lighthouse and the associated farm begins (3 lighthouse keepers and their families, 17 people in total, would eventually be living on the island). The first report of the species was a note on the island's birdlife made by the construction worker F. W. Ingram, which mentions "two kinds of wren" (the other was probably the riflemanRifleman (bird)The Rifleman is a small insectivorous passerine bird that is endemic to New Zealand. It belongs to the Acanthisittidae family, also known as the New Zealand wrens, of which it is one of only two surviving species...
).- 1894
- 29 January: The lighthouse commences working.
- 17–20 February?: This is a likely date for introduction of cats to Stephens Island. What can be said with any certainty is that at some time in early 1894, a pregnant cat brought to the island escaped.
- June?: A cat - probably one of the young animals taken in as a pet; the name "Tibbles" is apparently conjectural and it does not seem to have belonged to Lyall - starts to bring carcasses of a species of small bird to the lighthouse keepers' housings. Lyall, who was interested in natural history, has one taken to Walter BullerWalter BullerWalter Lawry Buller KCMG was a New Zealand lawyer, naturalist and ornithologist.Buller was the author of A History of the Birds of New Zealand , with illustrations by John Gerrard Keulemans. In 1882 he produced the Manual of the Birds of New Zealand as a cheaper, popular alternative...
by A. W. Bethune, second engineer on the government steamboatSteamboatA steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
NZGSS HinemoaNZGSS HinemoaNZGSS Hinemoa was a 542 ton New Zealand Government Service Steamer designed specifically for lighthouse support and servicing, and also patrolled New Zealand's coastline and carried out castaway checks and searched for missing ships. It operated in New Zealand's territorial waters from 1876 to...
.
- Before 25 July?: The specimen reaches Buller, who at once recognizes it as distinct species and prepares a scientific description, to be published in the journal IbisIbis (journal)Ibis, subtitled the International Journal of Avian Science, is the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the British Ornithologists' Union. Topics covered include ecology, conservation, behaviour, palaeontology, and taxonomy of birds. The editor-in-chief is Paul F. Donald. The journal is published by...
. Bethune lends Buller the specimen so it can be sent to LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for the famed artist John Gerrard KeulemansJohn Gerrard KeulemansJohannes Gerardus Keulemans was a Dutch bird illustrator.-Biography and Work:...
to make a lithograph plate to accompany the description. - Winter - early spring (Southern HemisphereSouthern HemisphereThe Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
): Lyall finds several more specimens. He tells Buller about two more (but does not send them to him), and sells nine to Travers. - 9 October: Travers, who recognizes the commercial value of the birds, sidelines Buller and offers the birds to Walter RothschildWalter Rothschild, 2nd Baron RothschildLionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild FRS , a scion of the Rothschild family, was a British banker, politician, and zoologist.-Biography:...
, who was wealthier and thus more likely to pay a high price, further piqueing Rothschild's interest by writing, "in a short time there will be [no "wrens"] left". Rothschild acquires his nine specimens. - 11/12 October: Edward Lukins makes a list of birds on Stephens Island; he apparently confuses the species with the South Island Wren.
- 19 December: Rothschild has quickly prepared a description of the bird, as Traversia lyalli, which is read by Ernst HartertErnst HartertErnst Johann Otto Hartert was a German ornithologist. Hartert was born in Hamburg. He was employed by Lionel Walter Rothschild as ornithological curator of his private museum at Tring from 1892 to 1929....
at the British Ornithologists' ClubBritish Ornithologists' ClubThe British Ornithologists' Club was founded in October 1892 to promote discussion between ornithologists and to produce a journal, their Bulletin, which has been published continuously since that year....
meeting. Philip SclaterPhilip SclaterPhilip Lutley Sclater was an English lawyer and zoologist. In zoology, he was an expert ornithologist, and identified the main zoogeographic regions of the world...
, the Club's president and editor of the Ibis who knows of Buller's article in preparation, brings up the matter to Hartert, who says he cannot withdraw Rothschild's description without consent. - December 29: Rothschild's description appears in the Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' ClubBulletin of the British Ornithologists' ClubThe Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club is an ornithological journal published by the British Ornithologists' Club . It is cited as Bull. B. O. C.Many descriptions of birds new to science have been published in the bulletin....
.- 1895
- 24 January: Travers offers Rothschild a specimen preserved in alcoholEthanolEthanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatile, flammable, colorless liquid. It is a psychoactive drug and one of the oldest recreational drugs. Best known as the type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages, it is also used in thermometers, as a...
(with viscera intact) for £5 (about £415 in 2002's money: UK House of Commons Library, 2003). Rothschild apparently agrees, but never receives the bird. - 4–9 February: Travers and three assistants searched the island for the bird, but found none.
- Before 11 February?: Lyall writes to Buller: "...the cats have become wild and are making sad havoc among all the birds."
- 7 March: Travers supplies Rothschild with some details of the bird's habits. To his knowledge, the species had only been seen alive twice until then. He has only been able to procure one additional specimen, brought in by the cat as the bird was dying, which also had been preserved in alcohol.
- 16 March: The ChristchurchChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
newspaper The PressThe PressThe Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is owned by Fairfax Media.- History :The Press was first published on 25 May 1861 from a small cottage in Montreal Street, making it the oldest surviving newspaper in the South Island of New Zealand. The first...
writes in an editorial, "there is very good reason to believe that the bird is no longer to be found on the island, and, as it is not known to exist anywhere else, it has apparently become quite extinct. This is probably a record performance in the way of extermination."
- April: Buller's description of Xenicus insularis appears in the Ibis. The name is immediately reduced to a junior synonym. In the same issue, Rothschild's description is reprinted, with some additional remarks on the bird's apparent flightlessness. The race to describe the bird sparks much animosity between the two men, and Buller never forgives Rothschild beating him; for details and quotes, see Fuller (2000).
- August: In a paper for the Wellington Philosophical Society, Buller speaks of a female bird he recently had examined. He later purchases this specimen.
- 28 November: Travers informs Hartert that Lyall was not able to find more specimens during the winter, and believes the bird to be extinct. He offers two alcohol specimens for sale, for the price of £50 apiece (nearly £4200 in 2002's money - to compare, the average lighthouse keeper's wage in 1895 was £140 a year).
- December: Travers tries another search for the bird, again without success.
- 1896
- 13 May: Travers, unable to sell the birds at such a high price, now wants to sell his specimens for £12 each, about £1000 in 2002's money.
- June: Lyall gets assigned to another lighthouse and leaves Stephens Island.
- 31 December - 7 January or longer: Hugo H. Schauinsland collects birds on Stephens Island, but cannot find many and no "wrens" at all. On 7 January, he collects the only specimen of the local South Island PiopioSouth Island PiopioThe South Island Piopio, Turnagra capensis, also known as the New Zealand Thrush, was a passerine bird of the Turnagridae family, found only in New Zealand.-Taxonomy:...
acquired during his stay. It is the last record of these birds.- 1897
- 31 July: The principal lighthouse keeper Patrick Henaghan requests shotguns and ammunition from the Marine Department to destroy the "large number of cats running wild on the island."
- 1898
- 5 September: Travers writes James HectorJames HectorSir James Hector was a Scottish geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist...
that he has one more specimen available. At some time before this date, he had sold Buller one specimen for Henry Baker TristramHenry Baker TristramThe Reverend Henry Baker Tristram FRS was an English clergyman, Biblical scholar, traveller and ornithologist.Tristram was born at Eglingham vicarage, near Alnwick, Northumberland, and studied at Durham School and Lincoln College, Oxford. In 1846 he was ordained a priest, but he suffered from...
and claimed he had two additional ones. - 27 December: Travers writes to Hector, saying that Stephens Island "is now swarming with cats".
- 1899
- 1 August: The new principal lighthouse keeper, Robert Cathcart, has shot over 100 feral cats since his arrival on 24 November 1898.
- 1901
- Travers offers "his specimen of the Stephen's Island Wren" to the government for £35 (c. £2700 in 2002); apparently, the bird is bought and deposited at the Colonial Museum with other skins. The collection is not reviewed until 1904, by which time a fifth has to be discarded due to insect damage. No record is made of the specimen since the offer, but the eventual sale's price suggests it was among the collection deposited at the Colonial Museum.
- 1905
- Travers sells one specimen to the Otago MuseumOtago museumThe Otago Museum is situated in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was founded in 1868 and has a collection of over two million artefacts and specimens from the fields of natural history and ethnography...
. - Buller publishes his Supplement, in which he keeps using his name, Xenicus insularis. He furthermore quotes an anonymous correspondent to The Press,
"And we certainly think that it would be as well if the Marine Department, in sending lighthouse keepers to isolated islands where interesting specimens of native birds are known or believed to exist, were to see that they are not allowed to take any cats with them, even if mouse-traps have to be furnished at the cost of the state."
- 1907
- Rothschild publishes his book Extinct Birds. In a remarkable breach of nil nisi bonumDe mortuis nil nisi bonumDe mortuis nihil nisi bonum is a Latin phrase which indicates that it is socially inappropriate to say anything negative about a deceased person...
(especially considering both men's social standing), it contains several acrimonious attacks on Buller, who had died the previous year.
In conclusion and considering Buller's August 1895 note, it is probable that the species was exterminated by feral cats during the winter of 1895. Assuming the date of February 1894, for cat introduction was correct (there were certainly cats around in the winter months of that year), the winter months of 1895 would see the second generation of cats born on the island reaching an age where the Stephens Island wren would have made ideal prey. Habitat destruction, sometimes given as an additional reason for the birds' disappearance, was apparently not significant: in 1898, the island was described as heavily forested, and there was little interference with habitat beyond the lighthouse and its associated buildings. Large-scale destruction of habitat started in late 1903, by which time X. lyalli was certainly extinct.
The last cats on the island were exterminated in 1925.
Specimens
15 specimens (excluding prehistoric bones) are now known. Additionally, there are some uncertainties suggesting that some additional ones might have existed.- Rothschild's specimens, all of which were collected between July and October 1894:
- Natural History MuseumNatural History MuseumThe Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
, LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
: three (NHM 1895.10.17.13; 1939.12.9.76; 1939.12.9.77). - American Museum of Natural HistoryAmerican Museum of Natural HistoryThe American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
, New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
: four (AMNH AM 554502; AM 554503; AM 554504; AM 554505). - Academy of Natural SciencesAcademy of Natural SciencesThe Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the New World...
, Philadelphia: one (ANSP 108,631). - Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, MassachusettsCambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
: one (MCZ 249,400).
- Natural History Museum
- Buller's specimens, collected at unknown dates between 1894 and 1899:
- Carnegie Museum, PittsburghPittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
: one (CMNH 24639), labelled as female and dated 1894 in Buller's handwriting. Apart from the date discrepancy, it could be the bird Buller spoke of in August 1895; possibly the specimen was collected months before Buller had examined it. Alternatively, it could be the Bethune bird in case Buller kept it (he initially seems to believe it to be a female), as Rothschild (1907) believed. DNADNADeoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
analysis could at least clarify the bird's sex. - Canterbury Museum, ChristchurchChristchurchChristchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
: AV917 and AV918, a pair from the collection of Buller's son, dated 1899. They were acquired between late 1896 and 1899, but may have been collected before that date.
- Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh
- World Museum LiverpoolWorld Museum LiverpoolWorld Museum is a large museum in Liverpool, England which has extensive collections covering archaeology, ethnology and the natural and physical sciences. Special attractions include the Natural History Centre and a free Planetarium. Entry to the museum itself is also free...
: one (B 18.10.98.10). Purchased by Buller from Travers for Tristram, probably after late 1896 (but may have been collected earlier). Sold to the museum in October 1898. - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaMuseum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaThe Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...
, WellingtonWellingtonWellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
: one (OR.005098) mounted specimen without data; may be Travers' specimen sold in 1901 or another one. This photograph by Dr Paddy Ryan shows the Te Papa specimen and another one - possibly the Otago Museum bird, but the matter is not clear. - Otago MuseumOtago museumThe Otago Museum is situated in Dunedin, New Zealand. It was founded in 1868 and has a collection of over two million artefacts and specimens from the fields of natural history and ethnography...
, DunedinDunedinDunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
: one, but two catalog numbers (AV739 and AV7577) exist. It is not clear whether they represent re-cataloguing of the one specimen sold by Travers in 1905, or whether a specimen was lost. - Unaccounted for (all collected in 1894 or very early in 1895):
- Bethune's specimen: lent to Buller for the description, apparently later given back. If so, it was probably deposited at the Colonial Museum (now part of Te PapaMuseum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaThe Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is the national museum and art gallery of New Zealand, located in Wellington. It is branded and commonly known as Te Papa and Our Place; "Te Papa Tongarewa" is broadly translatable as "the place of treasures of this land".The museum's principles...
) for safekeeping between 1895 and 1897, or - Buller's female mentioned in August 1895, or even both (if neither is CMNH 24639).
- two of Lyall's first three specimens (one was given to Bethune) remain unaccounted for. They may be part of Rothschild's nine, or Buller's three. They were not in Buller's possession as of early February 1895.
- Travers' "lost" specimen referred to in January 1895. It is not certain that this specimen was indeed lost; it may have been one of the alcohol specimens mentioned in November 1895, and Travers may simply have withheld it so he could fetch a higher price as the bird became extinct.
- Bethune's specimen: lent to Buller for the description, apparently later given back. If so, it was probably deposited at the Colonial Museum (now part of Te Papa
External links
- TerraNature - Wren
- New Zealand wrens, including picture
- Extinct New Zealand Birds
- Lyall's Wren. Traversia lyalli. by Paul Martinson. Artwork produced for the book Extinct Birds of New Zealand, by Alan Tennyson, Te Papa Press, Wellington, 2006