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Story: Extinctions

Bush wren

Bush wren

The number of bush wrens (Xenicus longipes) declined on the mainland of New Zealand during the 19th century because of predation by rats, and there were few sightings in the 20th century. The last population, on Big South Cape Island, was decimated by rats. Although six birds were transferred to a nearby rat-free island in 1964, they did not survive and the species was extinct by 1972.

Using this item

Department of Conservation

Reference: 10037276

by Don Merton

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How to cite this page

Richard Holdaway, Extinctions – Smaller birds, reptiles, frogs, fish, plants, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/13669/bush-wren (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Richard Holdaway, published 2 March 2009.

Comments

Grant
07 October 2016
Is there a graph on the web that can show the gradual decline of the Bush Wren over the years? This would be very helpful for this article because I am doing a report on an extinct animal and I need to create a graph that shows the decline of the animal over the years.