Bonin thrush facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bonin thrush |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Zoothera
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| Species: |
terrestris
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| Synonyms | |
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Turdus terrestris Kittlitz, 1830 |
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The Bonin thrush (Zoothera terrestris) was a type of bird that is now extinct. This means there are no more Bonin thrushes left anywhere in the world. It was also called Kittlitz's thrush. This special bird lived only on a small island called Chichi-jima in the Ogasawara Islands of Japan.
Scientists sometimes thought it might be the only species in a different bird group called Cichlopasser. The Bonin thrush was only seen by a naturalist once. This was its discoverer, Heinrich von Kittlitz. He found the bird in coastal forests. It usually stayed on the ground, and it might have built its nests there too.
Only a few specimens of this bird exist today. These are preserved in museums. You can find them in the Naturalis museum in Leiden, the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, the Senckenbergmuseum in Frankfurt, and the Zoological Museum in St. Petersburg.
Why the Bonin Thrush Disappeared
The Bonin thrush was first discovered in 1828. A scientist named Kittlitz found five of these birds. He thought they were quite common near where he landed. However, another group of explorers had visited the same island in 1827. They did not see any Bonin thrushes. It is still a mystery why they missed them.
In 1830, people started to settle on Chichi-jima island. This happened after two shipwrecked sailors suggested it would be a good place for whalers to stop. When another expedition visited the island in 1853, they could not find the Bonin thrush.
Instead, they found many new animals on the island. These included rats, wild goats, sheep, dogs, and cats. Wild pigs were already there when Kittlitz visited. These animals were brought by humans. They hunted the native birds and destroyed their homes.
The Bonin thrush likely became extinct soon after 1830. It probably disappeared because of these new animals. They hunted the thrushes, and their habitat was also destroyed. Another bird, the Bonin grosbeak, also disappeared around the same time for similar reasons.
