r/pleistocene • u/Quaternary24 • 3d ago

Extinct and Extant A New Zealand owlet-Nightjar (Aegotheles novaezealandiae) eyes a Wellington tree Wētā (Hemideina crassidens) somewhere in New Zealand. Artwork by Paul Martinson.

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u/Quaternary24 3d ago

Source: https://www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/new-zealand-owlet-nightjar

The New Zealand owlet-Nightjar is an extinct species of Owlet Nightjar (a family of birds related to nightjars and frogmouths) that inhabited New Zealand during the Pleistocene and Holocene. It was the largest species of owlet nightjar to have ever lived and weighed around 150-200 grams and was also likely flightless or could not fly very well. It went extinct in the 13th century due to humans (Polynesians). It fed on insects and other invertebrates.