Lord Howe Starling
Encyclopedia
The Lord Howe Starling (Aplonis fuscus hullianus) was a small bird in the starling
family. It is an extinct subspecies
of the Tasman Starling
(Aplonis fusca), the only other subspecies being the Norfolk Starling
which is also extinct. It was endemic to Lord Howe Island
in the Tasman Sea
, part of New South Wales
, Australia
.
in a dead tree or tree fern.
grounded at Ned's Beach, thus allowing Black Rat
s to leave the vessel and overrun the island. Within two years 40% of Lord Howe's endemic bird species were extinct, including the Lord Howe Fantail
, Lord Howe Gerygone
, and Robust White-eye
. The Lord Howe Starling vanished by 1919.
Starling
Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The name "Sturnidae" comes from the Latin word for starling, sturnus. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, are called mynas, and many African species are known as glossy starlings because of their iridescent...
family. It is an extinct subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
of the Tasman Starling
Tasman Starling
The Tasman Starling was described in 1836 by John Gould as a species which occurred on both Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island...
(Aplonis fusca), the only other subspecies being the Norfolk Starling
Norfolk Starling
The Norfolk Starling , was a small bird in the starling family. It is the extinct nominate subspecies of the Tasman Starling, the only other subspecies being the Lord Howe Starling .-Distribution:...
which is also extinct. It was endemic to Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, and about from Norfolk Island. The island is about 11 km long and between 2.8 km and 0.6 km wide with an area of...
in the Tasman Sea
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...
, part of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Description
The Lord Howe Starling was 18 cm long. The head, the neck, the mantle and the throat were glossy metallic green. The back was slaty grey with a dull greenish gloss. The rump and the underparts were grey. The tail was grey with brownish tips to the feathers . The wings were rich brown. The iris was orange red.Ecology
The starlings were called "Red-eyes" from their eye colour, or "Cudgimeruk" from their distinctive calls, by the islanders. They were forest dwellers which lived and foraged in pairs. During the nesting period a clutch of four to five bluish red-blotched eggs were laid in a nest in a hollowTree hollow
A tree hollow or tree hole is a semi-enclosed cavity which has naturally formed in the trunk or branch of a tree. These are predominantly found in old trees, whether living or not...
in a dead tree or tree fern.
Extinction
The fate of the Lord Howe Starling was sealed in June 1918 when the SS MakamboSS Makambo
The SS Makambo was a steamship first owned by Burns Philp & Co. Ltd. She was built in Port Glasgow and named after an island in the Solomon Islands. She carried both passengers and cargo and was principally used on routes between eastern Australia and islands in Melanesia and the Tasman Sea...
grounded at Ned's Beach, thus allowing Black Rat
Black Rat
The black rat is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus in the subfamily Murinae . The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world.-Taxonomy:The black rat was...
s to leave the vessel and overrun the island. Within two years 40% of Lord Howe's endemic bird species were extinct, including the Lord Howe Fantail
Lord Howe Fantail
The Lord Howe Fantail , also known as the Lord Howe Island Fantail or Fawn-breasted Fantail, was a small bird in the fantail family, Rhipiduridae. It is an extinct subspecies of the New Zealand Fantail...
, Lord Howe Gerygone
Lord Howe Gerygone
The Lord Howe Gerygone , also known as the Lord Howe Island Flyeater or, locally, as the "Rain-bird" or "Pop-goes-the-weasel", was a small bird in the Acanthizidae family which was endemic to Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea, part of New South Wales, Australia...
, and Robust White-eye
Robust White-eye
The Robust White-eye , also known as the Lord Howe White-eye or Robust Silvereye, and locally as the "Big Grinnell", was a species of bird in the Zosteropidae family...
. The Lord Howe Starling vanished by 1919.