View source for Bushwren

{{short description|Species of extinct bird}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=August 2024}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Xenicus longipes longipes.jpg
| image_caption = Female bushwren {{circa}} 1911, below in habitat
| status = EX
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Xenicus longipes'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22698580A93690852 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22698580A93690852.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| extinct = 1972
| genus = Xenicus
| species = longipes
| authority = ([[Johann Friedrich Gmelin|Gmelin]], 1789)
| range_map = Xenicus longipes - map.svg
| range_map_caption = Native range on the map of New Zealand:
{{leftlegend|#B9D8BB|Subsp. ''stokesi''}}
{{leftlegend|#F9A040|Subsp. ''longipes''}}
{{leftlegend|#d03029|Subsp. ''variabilis''}}
}}

The '''bushwren''' ('''''Xenicus longipes'''''), also known as the {{lang|mi|mātuhituhi}} in the [[Māori language]], is an [[Extinction|extinct]] [[species]] of diminutive and nearly [[flightless bird]] that was endemic to [[New Zealand]]. It had three subspecies on each of the major islands of New Zealand, the [[North Island]], [[South Island]], and [[Stewart Island / Rakiura]] and nearby smaller islands. The species disappeared gradually after the introduction of [[Invasive species in New Zealand|invasive]] mammalian predators, last being seen on the North Island in 1955 and the South Island in 1968. Attempts were made to save the remaining population on small islands off Stewart Island, but they ultimately failed with the death of the last remaining known birds in 1972.

==Taxonomy==
German naturalist [[Johann Friedrich Gmelin]] described the bushwren in 1789.

==Description==
[[File:Taxidermied Xenicus longipes.JPG|thumb|left|Taxidermy specimen, [[National Museum of Scotland]]]] 
It grew to about 9&nbsp;cm long and 16 g in weight. It fed mostly on [[invertebrate]]s, which it captured by running along the branches of trees. It nested on or near the ground.

== Behaviour ==
Bushwrens had a hopping or bobbing movement, with a fast running speed on the ground or branches. Their call was a 'subdued trill' or 'seep', sometimes repeated in quick succession. They built spherical nests near the ground with an entrance on the side, and typically laid two eggs in November or December.<ref name=tennyson>{{citeQ|Q63353412}}</ref>

==Extinction==
It was widespread throughout the main islands of the country until the late 19th century when [[Mustelidae|mustelids]] were introduced and joined [[rat]]s as [[invasive species|invasive]] mammalian predators. The only authenticated reports of the [[North Island]] subspecies (''X. l. stokesi'') since 1900 were from the southern [[Rimutaka Range]] in 1918 and the [[Te Urewera|Urewera]]s up to 1955, with probable sightings on June 13, 1949, near [[Lake Waikareiti]], and several times in the first half of the 20th century in the [[Huiarau Range]] and from [[Kapiti Island]] in 1911.<ref> Edgar, A. T. (1949): Winter Notes on N.Z. Birds. ''New Zealand Bird Notes'' '''3'''(7): 170–174. [https://web.archive.org/web/20081017224055/http://www.notornis.org.nz/free_issues/Notornis_03-1949/Notornis_3_7.pdf PDF fulltext]</ref><ref>St. Paul, R. & McKenzie, H. R. (1977): A bushman's seventeen years of noting birds. Part F (Conclusion of series) - Notes on other native birds. ''Notornis'' '''24'''(2): 65–74. [https://web.archive.org/web/20071030144052/http://www.notornis.org.nz/free_issues/Notornis_24-1977/Notornis_24_2.pdf PDF fulltext]</ref><ref>Miskelly, Colin (2003): An historical record of bush wren (''Xenicus longipes'') on Kapiti Island. ''Notornis'' '''50'''(2): 113–114. [https://web.archive.org/web/20071019004250/http://www.notornis.org.nz/free_issues/Notornis_50-2003/Notornis_50_2_113.pdf PDF fulltext]</ref> Apparently, the last population lived in the area where [[Te Urewera National Park]] was established, just around the time of its extinction.

The last authenticated reports of the [[South Island]] subspecies (''X. l. longipes'') were from [[Arthur's Pass]] in 1966 and [[Nelson Lakes National Park]] in 1968. There have been a few unsubstantiated reports since then from [[Fiordland]] and Nelson Lakes.

The third subspecies, the Stewart Island bushwren or Stead's bushwren (''X. l. variabilis''), was found on [[Stewart Island / Rakiura]] and nearby islands. It is known to have survived on Stewart Island until 1951,<ref>Dawson, E. W. (1951): Bird Notes from Stewart Island. ''Notornis'' '''4'''(6): 146–150. [https://web.archive.org/web/20081017212007/http://www.notornis.org.nz/free_issues/Notornis_04-1951/Notornis_4_6.pdf PDF fulltext]</ref> but was probably exterminated there by [[feral]] [[cat]]s. It lived on [[Kotiwhenua Island|Kotiwhenua (Solomon) Island]], being reasonably common, until the early 1960s. It survived on predator-free [[Taukihepa / Big South Cape Island]] until [[black rat]]s (''R. rattus'') invaded it in 1964. The [[New Zealand Wildlife Service]] attempted to save the species by relocating all the birds they could capture. They caught six birds and transferred them to [[Kaimohu Island]], where they did not survive and they finally died out in 1972.<ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021" />

==Gallery==
<gallery>
XenicusLongipesBuller.jpg|Illustration of ''Xenicus longipes longipes'' by [[John Gerrard Keulemans]]
Xenicus longipes longipes eggs.jpg|Eggs of ''X. l. longipes'' in 1911
Xenicus longipes, Gmelin. Bush-Wren. "Matihutihi".jpg|1888 illustration of the head and feet of ''Xenicus longipes'' by [[John Gerrard Keulemans]]
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Xenicus longipes}}
{{Wikispecies|Xenicus longipes}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110607231041/http://nlbif.eti.uva.nl/naturalis/detail?lang=uk&id=1 3D view] of specimen RMNH 110.000 at [[Naturalis]], Leiden (requires [[QuickTime]] browser plugin).
* [http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?oid=531910 Paratype specimen of ''Xenicus longipes variabilis''] in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
*[http://www.teara.govt.nz/TheBush/Conservation/Extinctions/6/ENZ-Resources/Standard/1/en#breadcrumbtop Image of Bush Wren] from Te Ara: The Online Encyclopedia of New Zealand
*[http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/search.aspx?advanced=colCollectionType:Photography+colOnlineTitle:XENICUS+longipes+colCollectionGroup:CH Photography of Xenicus longipes] by [[Herbert Guthrie-Smith|William Herbert Guthrie-Smith]]
*[http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?oid=710966 ''Bush Wren / Matuhi. Xenicus longipes''.] by Paul Martinson. Artwork produced for the book ''Extinct Birds of New Zealand'', by Alan Tennyson, Te Papa Press, Wellington, 2006

{{Birds of New Zealand}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q135443}}

[[Category:Xenicus]]
[[Category:Extinct birds of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Species made extinct by human activities]]
[[Category:Bird extinctions since 1500]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1789]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin]]
[[Category:Species that are or were threatened by invasive species]]