page_title: List of extinct bird species since 1500
section_title: Gruiformes
hierarchical_section_title: List of extinct bird species since 1500 / Extinct bird species / Gruiformes
caption_attribution_description: Tahiti Rail Two-Thirds Natural Size—from Forster's drawing in British Museum (Gallirallus pacificus). From 'Extinct Birds' by Lionel Walter Rothschild from the year 1907.
context_page_description: Over 190 species of birds have become extinct since 1500, and the rate of extinction seems to be increasing. The situation is exemplified by Hawaii, where 30% of all known recently extinct bird taxa originally lived. Other areas, such as Guam, have also been hit hard; Guam has lost over 60% of its native bird taxa in the last 30 years, many of them due to the introduced brown tree snake.
  Currently there are approximately 10,000 living species of birds, with an estimated 1,200 considered to be under threat of extinction.
  Island species in general, and flightless island species in particular, are most at risk. The disproportionate number of rails in the list reflects the tendency of that family to lose the ability to fly when geographically isolated. Even more rails became extinct before they could be described by scientists; these taxa are listed in List of Late Quaternary prehistoric bird species.
  The extinction dates given below are usually approximations of the actual date of extinction. In some cases, more exact dates are given as it is sometimes possible to pinpoint the date of extinction to a specific year or even day.
context_section_description: Rails and allies - probably paraphyletic
  Antillean cave rail, Nesotrochis debooyi, known by pre-Columbian bones from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Stories of an easy-to-catch bird named carrao heard by Alexander Wetmore in 1912 on Puerto Rico might refer to this species.
  Hawkins' rail, Diaphorapteryx hawkinsi (Chatham Islands, SW Pacific, 19th century)
  Red rail, Aphanapteryx bonasia (Mauritius, Mascarenes, c. 1700)
  Rodrigues rail, Erythromachus leguati (Rodrigues, Mascarenes, mid-18th century)
  Bar-winged rail, Nesoclopeus poecilopterus (Fiji, Polynesia, c. 1980)
  Dieffenbach's rail, Gallirallus dieffenbachii (Chatham Islands, SW Pacific, mid-19th century)
  Tahiti rail, Hypotaenidia pacificus (Tahiti, Society Islands, late 18th – 19th century)
  Wake Island rail, Hypotaenidia wakensis (Wake Island, Micronesia, 1945)
  Tongatapu rail, Gallirallus hypoleucus (Tongatapu, Tonga, late 18th - 19th century)
  New Caledonian rail, Gallirallus lafresnanayanus (New Caledonia, Melanesia, c. 1900?)
  Officially classified as critically endangered, the last records were in 1984 and it seems that all available habitat is overrun by feral pigs and dogs, which prey on this bird.
  Vava'u rail, Gallirallus cf. vekamatolu (Vava'u, Tonga, early 19th century?)
  This bird is known only from a drawing by the 1793 Malaspina expedition, apparently depicting a species of Gallirallus. The 'Eua rail, Gallirallus vekamatolu, is known from prehistoric bones found on 'Eua, but this species is almost certainly not G. vekamatolu, as that bird was flightless and hence is unlikely to have settled three distant islands. However, it probably was a close relative.
  Norfolk Island rail, Gallirallus sp., may be the bird shown on a bad watercolor illustration made around 1800.
  Chatham rail, Cabalus modestus (Chatham Islands, SW Pacific, c. 1900)
  Réunion rail or Dubois' wood-rail, Dryolimnas augusti (Réunion, Mascarenes, late 17th century)
  Ascension crake, Mundia elpenor (Ascension, Island, Atlantic, late 17th century)– formerly Atlantisia
  Saint Helena crake, Porzana astrictocarpus (Saint Helena, Atlantic, early 16th century)
  Laysan rail, Porzana palmeri (Laysan Island, Hawaiian Islands, 1944)
  Hawaiian rail, Porzana sandwichensis (Big Island, Hawaiian Islands, c. 1890)
  Kosrae crake, Porzana monasa (Kosrae, Carolines, c. mid-late 19th century)
  Miller's rail, Porzana nigra (Tahiti, Society Islands, c. 1800)
  Known only from paintings and descriptions; taxonomic status uncertain, as the material is often believed to refer to the extant spotless crake.
  Saint Helena swamphen, Aphanocrex podarces (Saint Helena, Atlantic, 16th century)– formerly Atlantisia
  Lord Howe swamphen, Porphyrio albus (Lord Howe Island, SW Pacific, early 19th century)
  Réunion swamphen or Oiseau bleu, Porphyrio coerulescens (Réunion, Mascarenes, 18th century)
  Known only from descriptions. Former existence of a Porphyrio on Réunion is fairly certain, but not proven to date.
  Marquesas swamphen, Porphyrio paepae (Hiva Oa and Tahuata, Marquesas)
  May have survived to c. 1900. In the lower right corner of Paul Gauguin's 1902 painting Le Sorcier d'Hiva Oa ou le Marquisien à la cape rouge there is a bird which resembles native descriptions of P. paepae.
  North Island takahē, Porphyrio mantelli, known from subfossil bones found in New Zealand's North Island; may have survived to 1894 or later.
  New Caledonian gallinule, Porphyrio kukwiedei from New Caledonia, Melanesia, may have survived into historic times. The native name n'dino is thought to refer to this bird.
  Samoan wood rail, Gallinula pacifica (Savai'i, Samoa, 1907?)
  Probably better placed in the genus Pareudiastes, unconfirmed reports from the late 20th century suggest it still survives in small numbers and therefore it is officially classified as critically endangered.
  Makira woodhen, Gallinula silvestris (Makira, Solomon Islands, mid-20th century?)
  Only known from a single specimen, this rail is probably better placed in its own genus, Edithornis. There are some unconfirmed recent records that suggest it still survives, and thus it is officially classified
caption: Tahiti rail
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