Summary

This valuable specimen was acquired from William Sheridan Wall in November 1863. In a letter to Professor McCoy, the director of the National Museum of Victoria, Wall wrote "I have in my possesion a Bird of extreme rarity, the Nestor productus or Phillip Island Parrot. Which is a bird extinct for the last 20 yrs. I have been looking out for it very anxiously and I have at last obtained a specimen. I believe it to be the only one in New South Wales."

Wall had previously offered to sell the specimen to the Australian Museum, however they could not afford this costly bird. McCoy purchased it up for the princely sum of ten pounds, stating that "provided it be delivered by return mail in perfectly good condition, if in bad condition, the right is reserved of offering a lower price."

The Norfolk Island Kaka was endemic to the Australian Territory of Norfolk Island in the Tasman Sea, including the nearby Phillip Island. Although considered common when Norfolk Island was settled by Europeans in 1788, the species became extinct in the late 1840s, with the clearing of habitat and hunting though to be the main causes. The last known bird reportedly died in captivity in London in 1851.

Sources:
BirdLife International 2016. Nestor productus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22684834A93049105. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22684834A93049105.en. Downloaded on 15 February 2019.
Museum Victoria Archives - National Museum of Victoria - Inwards Correspondence - 1854 - 1899 Walker, William to Ward, H.A
Museum Victoria Archives - National Museum of Victoria - Outward Letter Book, 2, September 1861- May 1865
Holdaway, R.N. & Anderson, A.J. 2001. Avifauna from Emily Bay settlement site, Norfolk Island: a preliminary account. Records of the Australian Museum, Supplement 27: 85-100. DOI: 10.3853/j.0812-7387.27.2001.1343

Classification

Ornithology, Faunal specimen, Dry mounted bird

Specimen Details

  • Taxon Name

    Nestor productus

  • Preferred Common name

    Norfolk Island Kaka

  • Other Common Names

    Norfolk Kaka, Norfolk Island Parrot

  • Number Of Specimens

    1

  • Specimen Nature

    Nature: Mount, Form: Dry

  • Donor

    William S. Wall, 1863
    From correspondence in the archive see Object Summary field on Classification Tab - Bec Carland 15/12/2015.

  • Collected By

    Harry Quintal

  • Date Visited From

    4/11/1910

  • Date Visited To

    4/11/1910

  • Category

    Natural Sciences

  • Scientific Group

    Vertebrate Zoology

  • Discipline

    Ornithology

  • Collecting Areas

    Ornithology

  • Type of Item

    Specimen

Taxonomy

Geospatial Information

  • Ocean

    Tasman Sea

  • Country

    Australia

  • State

    Norfolk Island

  • Precise Location

    Phillip Island

  • Latitude

    -29.12

  • Longitude

    167.95

  • Geodetic Datum

    WGS84

  • Georeference Protocol

    AMG conversion, collection or Gazetteer