Snail-eating Coua Coua delalandei Scientific name definitions

56–57 cm. Large terrestrial coua. Adult black above with violet-blue sheen, long violet-blue tail tipped white; throat to breast white, belly rufous; bare skin of face blue, iris red, bill black, feet black. Juvenile unknown.

Most recent definite record dates from 1834 (1 Collar, N. J., and S. N. Stuart (1985). Threatened Birds of Africa and Related Islands: the ICBP/IUCN Red Data Book. Part 1. Third edition. International Council for Bird Preservation and International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Cambridge, UK. Close ). ­Reports from 1930 (2 World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1992). Global Diversity: Status of the Earth’s Living Resources. World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, UK. Close ) unfounded, and the species is now considered extinct (3 Collar, N. J., M. J. Crosby, and A. J. Stattersfield (1994). Birds to Watch 2: the World List of Threatened Birds. BirdLife International Conservation Series 4. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K. Close ). Cause of extinction presumed to be the total deforestation of I Sainte-Marie (4 Bowie, R.C.K., Voelker, G., Fjeldså, J., Lens, L., Hackett, S.J. and Crowe, T.M. (2005). Systematics of the Olive Thrush Turdus olivaceus species complex with reference to the taxonomic status of the endangered Taita Thrush T. helleri. J. Avian Biol. 36(5): 391–404. Close ), perhaps accompanied by capture for food and feathers, and predation by introduced rats (3 Collar, N. J., M. J. Crosby, and A. J. Stattersfield (1994). Birds to Watch 2: the World List of Threatened Birds. BirdLife International Conservation Series 4. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K. Close ), which may also have depleted its principal food source (snails).

NE Madagascar. Known from 13 or 14 specimens, all apparently collected on I Sainte-Marie (Nosy Boraha); no evidence of occurrence on mainland Madagascar at any time.

Apparently restricted to primary rain forest, near sea-level.

Unknown. Presumably resident and sedentary.

Large forest snails. Obtained food by breaking snail shells against a stone anvil with its bill.

Unknown.

Unknown.

EXTINCT. Last reported on Nosy Boraha in 1834, with all 14 known museum specimens being taken no later than 1850. There is no certain evidence that it occurred on the mainland of Madagascar at any time. The species disappeared with deforestation. Secondary causes of loss include snaring and hunting for its feathers and meat, its stone anvils perhaps becoming the focus for hunters and ultimately monuments to the coua's extinction; possibly also affected by the introduction of rats, which may have reduced the mollusc diversity and numbers.