New evidence on the life and death of Hawkins' Rail Diaphorapteryx hawkinsi : Moriori accounts recorded by Sigvard Dannefaerd and Alexander Shand | Notornis and Birds New Zealand

[摘要] A previously unknown Moriori-based account of the extinct Hawkins’ rail (Diaphorapteryx hawkinsi) from the Chatham Islands is presented and discussed. The account, recorded by Sigvard Jacob Dannefaerd in a letter to Lord Lionel Walter Rothschild in 1895, includes details of the species’ appearance, behaviour and Moriori hunting methods. A second, similar description of a previously unidentified Chatham Islands bird is also linked to Hawkins’ rail. The clarity of the accounts suggests a considerably later extinction date for the species than previously supposed.

[学科分类] 动物科学

[关键词] behaviour;Dannefaerd;Diaphorapteryx hawkinsi;extinction;Hawkins’Moriori;rail;Shand