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Filling the Gap Left By DeBooy’s Rail

10,000 Birds

By far the most commonly seen bird on most of the islands in the region – and the only one every islander can identify on call – is Gallus gallus (the feral chicken). It persists in captivity at a breeding facility on Guam and in a number of American zoos. Guam Rail Gallirallus owstoni. So wither the Guam Rail now?

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The Whistle Blowers

10,000 Birds

The combined effects of hunting, habitat loss and predation by introduced animals like rats and mongoose have extirpated the species from some islands and reduced numbers significantly on others. Between 1985 and 1991, the ducks suffered a further drastic decline with fewer than 100 birds estimated from Grand Cayman.

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Come@Me: Don’t Mourn for Extinct Birds

10,000 Birds

The causes were the usual reasons for island extinction—deforestation by both humans and invasive plants that crowded out native plants, hunting, and invasive rats, mongoose, monkeys, and, of course, feral cats.

Mauritius 101