Bar-winged Rail Gallirallus poecilopterus Scientific name definitions

There have been no convincing recent reports from Ovalau or Taveuni, which remain free of mongooses (Herpestidae) and where other rail species were recorded during surveys and other fieldwork in 2002–2005 (1 Dutson, G.C.L. (2005). in litt. Close ). Elsewhere, predation by introduced cats and mongooses is thought to have been responsible for its decline and ultimate extinction.

Fiji: twelve 19th-century specimens from Viti Levu and Ovalau; unconfirmed reports from Taveuni in 1971 (2 Blackburn, A. (1971). Some notes on Fijian birds. Notornis 18(3): 147–174. Close ) and from Viti Levu (Waisa, near Vunidawa) in 1973 (3 Holyoak, D.T. (1979). Notes on the birds of Viti Levu and Taveuni, Fiji. Emu 79(1): 7–18. Close ).

EXTINCT. An unconfirmed record from N of Waisa, near Vunidawa, Viti Levu, in 1973, the first record since 1890; however, species is thought unlikely to have survived there because a number of other ground-dwelling species, including two non-endemic volant rails (Gallirallus philippensis and Porphyrio porphyrio), have disappeared as a result of predation by introduced mongooses and feral cats. Extinct on Taveuni, where it was probably rare even before the introduction of mongooses and was regularly hunted by dogs. Known from 12 specimens collected on Viti Levu and Ovalau in 19th century; no estimate ever made of its abundance because it was shy and seldom seen.