Gough finch explained

The Gough finch (Rowettia goughensis) or Gough bunting, is a critically endangered species of songbird.

Taxonomy

The Gough finch was formally described in 1904 by the British ornithologist William Eagle Clarke from a specimen collected on Gough Island in the South Atlantic. Clarke coined the binomial name Nesospiza goughensis.^[1] The Gough finch is now the only species placed in the genus Rowettia that was introduced in 1923 by the English ornithologist Percy Lowe.^{[2] [3]} The genus name was chosen to honour John Quiller Rowett, an English businessman and the sponsor of the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition.^[4] The Gough finch was traditionally considered to be a bunting in the family Emberizidae,^[5] but molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that it is a member of the subfamily Diglossinae in the tanager family Thraupidae and is sister to a clade containing birds in the genus Melanodera.^[6] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.^[3]

Another species of finch was described from Gough Island, Nesospiza jessiae, in 1904. This species was later identified as a juvenile of the Gough finch.^[2]

Description

The Gough finch is 22to(-) in length and weighs 50g56g.^[7]

Distribution and habitat

It is endemic to the remote Gough Island, part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, and nearby stacks, in the South Atlantic. Its natural habitats are temperate shrubland and subantarctic grassland.

Status and conservation

It was formerly classified as a Vulnerable species by the IUCN. But new research has shown that its population has collapsed and it is on the verge of extinction due to the introduced population of house mice (Mus musculus), noted for its unusual aggressiveness,^[8] competing with the birds for food and eating their eggs and nestlings. Consequently, it was uplisted to Critically Endangered in 2008.

Further reading

• Rand . A. L. . 1955 . The origin of the land birds of Tristan da Cunha . Fieldiana Zoology . 37 . 139–166 . none .
• Vuilleumier . F . 1991 . A Quantitative Survey of Speciation Phenomena in Patagonian Birds . Ornitologia Neotropical . 2 . 20–21 . none.

External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet.

Notes and References

1. Clarke . W. Eagle . William Eagle Clarke . 1904 . Nesospiza goughensis, n. sp. . Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club . 15 . 18 .
2. Lowe . Percy R. . Percy Lowe . 1923 . Notes on some land birds of the Tristan da Cunha group collected by the 'Quest' expedition . Ibis . 65 . 3 . 511–528 [512] . 10.1111/j.1474-919X.1923.tb08110.x .
3. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela Rasmussen . July 2020 . Tanagers and allies . IOC World Bird List Version 10.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 6 November 2020 .
4. Book: Jobling, James A. . 2010. The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names . Christopher Helm . London . 978-1-4081-2501-4 . 338 .
5. Book: Paynter . Raymond A. Jr . 1970 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 13 . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 112 .
6. Burns . K.J. . Shultz . A.J. . Title . P.O. . Mason . N.A. . Barker . F.K. . Klicka . J. . Lanyon . S.M. . Lovette . I.J. . 2014 . Phylogenetics and diversification of tanagers (Passeriformes: Thraupidae), the largest radiation of Neotropical songbirds . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 75. 41–77 . 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.02.006 . 24583021 .
7. Ryan, P. & Sharpe, C.J. (2017). Gough Finch (Rowettia goughensis). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from http://www.hbw.com/node/62039 on 28 March 2017).
8. Wanless . R.M. . Angel . A. . Cuthbert . R.J. . Hilton . G.M. . Ryan . P.G. . 2007 . Can predation by invasive mice drive seabird extinctions? . Biology Letters . 3 . 3. 241–244 . 10.1098/rsbl.2007.0120 . 17412667 . 2464706 .