[Mitchelle]

We often think of extinct animals as little more than forlorn, shabby-looking specimens that have been stuffed and preserved for display in museums; animals trapped in glass boxes as if for eternity rather than frolicking free in the wild. Yet, a few photographs were taken of the 12 extinct (or probably extinct) bird species described here before the last of their kin disappeared, meaning these snapshots have become rare treasures.
http://environmentalgraffiti.com/ani...-extinct-birds

[birdboybowley]

Morbidly fascinating - although Internet Explorer didn't like the website and kept shutting down and then recovering the page......so took ages to view all 22 pics, but was worth the wait....esp the SI Bush-Wren pic. Such a crying shame :(

[Mitchelle]

Originally Posted by birdboybowley

Morbidly fascinating - although Internet Explorer didn't like the website and kept shutting down and then recovering the page......so took ages to view all 22 pics, but was worth the wait....esp the SI Bush-Wren pic. Such a crying shame :(

I'm sorry you had so much trouble, but I just ran right through it with no problem.

Seriously, though, I hate the fact that there once were birds that aren't no more. Moreover, I hate the fact that it's going to keep happening.

Thanks for your comments, birdboybowley. Take care.

[MJB]

Originally Posted by birdboybowley

Morbidly fascinating - although Internet Explorer didn't like the website and kept shutting down and then recovering the page......so took ages to view all 22 pics, but was worth the wait....esp the SI Bush-Wren pic. Such a crying shame :(

Adam,
I think it might be a Bird Forum website issue - it happens frequently when I'm navigating Bird Forum, but almost never anywhere else.
MJB

[Dimitri]

Fascinating!

[DMW]

Fascinating and desperately sad. What other extinct / probably extinct species were photographed alive? Pink-headed Duck for starters.

[chris butterworth]

Originally Posted by birdboybowley

Morbidly fascinating - although Internet Explorer didn't like the website and kept shutting down and then recovering the page......so took ages to view all 22 pics, but was worth the wait....esp the SI Bush-Wren pic. Such a crying shame :(

Same thing here but, as BBB says, "Well worth the wait". It has to be the ultimate " You should have been here earlier" though.

Chris

[egyptiangoose]

brb, gonna go cry my eyes out

[lashinala]

The song 'Through Glass' by Stone Sour kind of reverberates through my brain when I see this. And as was said....fascinating and desperately sad.

[lewis20126]

Originally Posted by DMW

Fascinating and desperately sad. What other extinct / probably extinct species were photographed alive? Pink-headed Duck for starters.

A few for starters: Po'o Uli, Ou, Kauai O'o (eg: http://www.shallenbergerphoto.com/pages/KauaiOo4.htm, Slender-billed Curlew, Alagoas Foliage-gleaner...

cheers, alan

[GraemeS]

Gosh, that's quite inspiring in a way. Thanks.

[DMW]

Originally Posted by lewis20126

A few for starters: Po'o Uli, Ou, Kauai O'o (eg: http://www.shallenbergerphoto.com/pages/KauaiOo4.htm, Slender-billed Curlew, Alagoas Foliage-gleaner...

cheers, alan

Clearly a pessimist re. the last 2! White-eyed River Martin is another likely candidate.

[lewis20126]

Originally Posted by DMW

Clearly a pessimist re. the last 2! White-eyed River Martin is another likely candidate.

A realist! WERM is a good call, I'm sure there must be others. A counterpoint to this thread might be those extant birds which have never been photographed! Cebu Flowerpecker being a personal favourite in this category.

cheers, alan

[DMW]

Originally Posted by lewis20126

A realist! WERM is a good call, I'm sure there must be others. A counterpoint to this thread might be those extant birds which have never been photographed! Cebu Flowerpecker being a personal favourite in this category.

cheers, alan

I suspect you are right about SBC, but there must be a reasonable hope that Alagoas FG still persists.

Another obvious one is Bachmann's Warbler. Red-throated Lorikeet, Cozumel Thrasher pending...?

Dusky Tetraka is another one for the extant but not photographed category...if it exists

[chris butterworth]

Originally Posted by lewis20126

A realist! WERM is a good call, I'm sure there must be others. A counterpoint to this thread might be those extant birds which have never been photographed! Cebu Flowerpecker being a personal favourite in this category.

cheers, alan

There must be 'hundreds' of photos of WERM. There were plenty taken when I saw mine ( but not by me as I was distinctly 'out of sorts' with cameras and stuff at the time ). There are also quite a few SBC photos around - and, is it REALLY extinct?

Chris

[DMW]

For some reason, I find these the most poignant images of an extinct species:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFYwnjqHr6k

I guess there's a small chance that a few survive in N Cambodia, but increasingly unlikely as the years go by. What a sad loss.

[birdboybowley]

They're all a sad loss......
I was on a Hauraki Gulf pelagic back in 06 and we had a DOC worker as our 'guide' and we were talking about successful reintros in NZ and then the extinctions, and I jokingly asked about the SI Kokako and he said that bird was unfortunately 99.9% gone so then I asked about the SI Bush-Wren (as the SI Rock-Wren had to be my favourite NZ bird) and he smiled and said that he would never say never on tht one.....make of that what you will
Changing tack slightly, aren't there Laysan Millerbird photos too? And isn't there footage of the Laysan Honeycreeper taken about 3 days before the species went extinct??

[lewis20126]

Aldabra Brush Warbler, eg:

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/s...ana/index.html

a

[GMK]

Originally Posted by DMW

I suspect you are right about SBC, but there must be a reasonable hope that Alagoas FG still persists.

Well, some hope, but it doesn't look at all good. Two known sites, with no records at one for more than two years and none at the other for something like a year despite reasonably regular visitors. And that's nothing, sight or sound. Even if birds survive at either locality, I have to say that the species is quite possibly biologically extinct, because the population has apparently been so small for at least two decades.

Several photos of a certain blue macaw that is Extinct in the Wild exist.

[Peewit]

A sad reminder of how important it is to look after all species of wildlife.

I felt a lump in my throat looking at the photos

Regards
Kathy
x

[Silverwolf]

Spent 27 minutes on the site and only managed to view a couple of photos because of the site problems, but still worth the time. I'm at least glad I saw the paradise parrot. That photo is priceless, despite the lack of color.

[pianoman]

The pictures of nesting and fledgling birds are especially sad. Makes you think it was all for nothing.

[Ashley beolens]

Very sad reading. Found google chrome to be best for running the site in case it helps anyone.

[TheBirdGarden]

Can't open the site, damn, I love wildlife but extinction just fascinates me and the thought of what if said animal weren't extinct, the things we didn't or will never know about it.

[Mitchelle]

For those of you who had trouble with the link I provided, I am really sorry; however, I just ran through it in less than twenty seconds.

For those of you who felt sadness, I felt it too.

I believe that if humans were as smart as we believe ourselves to be, this sort of thing would happen much less than it did and does. On a whole, I believe that human greed out-weighs any intelligence we have acquired, and generally speak, humans will likely never change away from the trait of overwhelming greediness.

Don't take me wrong. Many of us are not so greedy. Most of us simply go along with, or simply can't change the powers that be.

Thank you all for your contributions to this thread.