Lost Birds of Norfolk Island

The Norfolk Island Pigeon, Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae spadicea, was considered a subspecies of New Zealand’s native pigeon, the Kereru (H. novaeseelandiae). Distinctively large at around 50 centimetres in length, this brightly coloured and once common pigeon is thought to have become extinct around 1900. The most likely cause for its extinction is hunting, by both humans and feral cats.

The illustration of the pigeon is by Dutch-born artist John Gerrard Keulemans (1842–1912) and reproduced from LW Rothchild’s 1907 book, Extinct Birds. It was reproduced courtesy of State Library Victoria.

Nestor productus was a large parrot of around 38 centimetres, known as the Norfolk Island Kaka. It was closely related to New Zealand’s native and extant Kaka (N. meridionalis). It occurred on both Norfolk Island and the adjacent Phillip Island and was last recorded in the wild during the early decades of the 19th century; the last known bird in captivity, held in London, survived until 1851. It is believed that habitat destruction through land clearing for agriculture and hunting by convicts in the early penal colony were responsible for the Kaka’s disappearance.

The illustration of the kaka is also by Keulemans and reproduced from LW Rothchild’s 1907 book. It was reproduced courtesy of State Library Victoria.