# Lord Howe fantail

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{{Short description|Extinct subspecies of bird}}
{{subspeciesbox
| name = Lord Howe fantail
| image = Rhipidura fuliginosa cervina.jpg
| status = EX
| status_system = EPBC
| extinct = ca. 1925
| genus = Rhipidura
| species = fuliginosa
| species_link = New Zealand fantail
| subspecies =  cervina
| authority = [Ramsay](/source/Edward_Pierson_Ramsay), 1879
| synonyms =
* ''Rhipidura cervina''
}}

The '''Lord Howe fantail''' ('''''Rhipidura fuliginosa cervina'''''), also known as the '''Lord Howe Island fantail''' or '''fawn-breasted fantail''', is an [extinct](/source/extinct) [subspecies](/source/subspecies) of the [New Zealand fantail](/source/New_Zealand_fantail) (''Rhipidura fuliginosa'').  It was [endemic](/source/endemism) to [Lord Howe Island](/source/Lord_Howe_Island) in the [Tasman Sea](/source/Tasman_Sea), part of [New South Wales](/source/New_South_Wales), [Australia](/source/Australia).

==Description==
thumb|left|Nest 
The Lord Howe fantail has sometimes been treated as a full species.  It differed from the other subspecies by its entire underparts being light cinnamon-brown, with a paler throat, lacking the white throat with the dark bar delimiting it from the breast.<ref name="Hindwood, p.68">Hindwood, p.68.</ref><ref>Schodde & Mason, p.484.</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
The Lord Howe fantail was restricted to Lord Howe Island, where it inhabited the native [subtropical](/source/subtropical) [rainforest](/source/rainforest).

==Behaviour==
The birds were very tame, commonly seen around buildings which they often entered in search of insects.<ref name="Hindwood, p.68"/>

===Breeding===
The fantail built a cup-shaped nest, with a rudimentary tail, of decayed wood fibre and grass, bound with [cobweb](/source/spider_web)s and lined with fine grass, situated on a horizontal branch.  The clutch was usually three, sometimes two, eggs.<ref>Hindwood, pp.68-69.</ref>

==Extinction==
The Lord Howe fantail was reported as common in 1909 but disappeared not long after [black rat](/source/black_rat)s were accidentally introduced to the island with the grounding of the ship [SS ''Makambo''](/source/SS_Makambo) there in June 1918.  It was reported in 1924 that the birds were "practically wiped out" and there are no records from subsequent years.<ref>Hindwood, p.68</ref>  The fantail was only one of a suite of Lord Howe's endemic birds and other fauna exterminated by rat predation.<ref>Garnett & Crowley, pp.567 and 633.</ref>

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* Garnett, Stephen T.; & Crowley, Gabriel M. (2000). ''The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000''. Environment Australia: Canberra. {{ISBN|0-642-54683-5}}[http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/action/birds2000/index.html]
* Hindwood, K.A. (1940). Birds of Lord Howe Island. ''Emu'' '''40''': 1-86.
* [Schodde, R.](/source/Richard_Schodde); & Mason, I.J. (1999). ''The Directory of Australian Birds: Passerines''. CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne. {{ISBN|0-643-06456-7}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1869864}}

Lord Howe fantail
Category:Extinct birds of Lord Howe Island
Category:Bird extinctions since 1500
Lord Howe fantail

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lord Howe fantail](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Howe_fantail) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Howe_fantail?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.