Ascension night heron facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ascension night heron |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Nycticorax
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| Species: |
olsoni
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The Ascension night heron (Nycticorax olsoni) was a special type of bird. It was a night heron that lived only on Ascension Island. This island is in the South Atlantic Ocean. Sadly, this bird is now extinct, meaning it no longer exists.
Scientists mostly know about this heron from its bones. They found bone pieces from six birds. These bones were discovered in caves and guano (bird droppings) on Ascension Island. Three scientists named Philip Ashmole, Kenneth Edwin Laurence Ryder Simmons, and William Richmond Postle Bourne described the bird in 2003.
The Heron's Disappearance
The Ascension night heron disappeared a long time ago. It vanished around the 1500s. Its scientific name, Nycticorax olsoni, honors a scientist named Storrs L. Olson.
An Old Story About the Heron
A French traveler named André Thévet might have seen this heron. He wrote about his travels in a book. In 1555, he wrote about an island called "I'Ascention." He mentioned a bird there called Aponar.
Thévet described the Aponar as a large bird. He said it had small wings and could not fly. It was tall like a heron. Its belly was white, and its back was black like coal. The bird's beak looked like a cormorant's. He also wrote that when these birds were killed, they cried like hogs.
Was Thévet's Story True?
André Thévet was not always reliable. He sometimes made up animals or details in his books. The name "aponard" was also used by Jacques Cartier. Cartier used it for the great auk, a different flightless bird. He saw the great auk during a trip to the Northwest Atlantic.
Scientists have not found any great auk bones on Ascension Island. Great auk bones are also very heavy. They would likely last longer than the bones of a night heron. Because of this, it is almost certain that Thévet did not see a great auk on Ascension Island.
Cartier's reports were very popular in France around 1550. It is possible Thévet read them and got the name "aponard" from there. It is hard to know if Thévet invented his "aponar" story. He might have wanted to make his book more exciting. Or, his story might actually be a description of the Ascension night heron.
Some details in Thévet's description fit the Ascension night heron better. For example, he compared the bird to a heron. He also mentioned its voice. These details seem to match the night heron more than the great auk.
