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Goodbye, Alaotra Grebe (1932 – 2010)

alaotra_grebe_chris_rose CROPPED.JPGThe Alaotra Grebe (Tachybaptus rufolavatus) was a water-loving bird who lived in a tiny area in east Madagascar. It had small wings and fed on fish in its large, brackish lake home. It was declared extinct on Wednesday, 26 May

T. rufolavatus was described as a species in 1932 by French-American ornithologist Jean Théodore Delacour, and a pair was last seen 25 years ago in September. It fell permanent victim to introduced, chick-eating, carnivorous bass fish and nylon gill-nets used by fisherman in Lake Alaotra.

“No hope now remains for this species. It is another example of how human actions can have unforeseen consequences,” said Leon Bennun of BirdLife International, which compiles data for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)’s Red List of threatened species. “Invasive alien species have caused extinctions around the globe and remain one of the major threats to birds and other biodiversity.”

In the latest Red List released Wednesday, the Zapata Rail (Cyanolimnas cerverai) of Cuba—named by ornithologist James Bond, Agent 007’s namesake—was driven onto the critically endangered list by nonnative mongooses and catfish.

In happier news… the Azores Bullfinch (Pyrrhula murina) of the island of São Miguel and the Yellow-eared Parrot (Ognorhynchus icterotis) of Colombia were both downlisted from critically endangered to endangered, as a result of conservation work to restore their habitats.

The Alaotra Grebe is preceded in extinction by 132 species of the 10,027 birds recognized by IUCN—and most recently by the 2008 extinction confirmation of the Liverpool Pigeon (Caloenas maculata). The Alaotra Grebe is survived (though just barely) by 190 critically endangered, 372 endangered, and 838 near-threatened birds.

Image by Chris Rose.

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