Nightingale reed warbler

Nightingale reed warbler
Nightingale reed warbler
Conservation status
Critically endangered, possibly extinct  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Superfamily:	Sylvioidea
Family:	Acrocephalidae
Genus:	Acrocephalus
Species:	A. luscinius
Binomial name
Acrocephalus luscinius Quoy & Gaimard, 1830
Synonyms
Acrocephalus luscinia

The nightingale reed warbler (Acrocephalus luscinius) is a presumed extinct songbird from the island of Guam. The Chamorro name for the bird is ga`ga` karisu (bird of the reeds). It existed until the late 1960s. An invasive species, the brown tree snake is primarily blamed for its demise on the island.

Historically there were three subspecies of Acrocephalus luscinius, that are either extinct or presumed extinct:

• Aguijan Nightingale Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus luscinius nijoi: a handful of the subspecies were known to exist in the mid-1980s on the uninhabited island of Aguijan.

• Astrolabe Nightingale Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus luscinius astrolabii : known from only two specimens, believed to have gone extinct in the mid-19th century.

• Pagan Nightingale Reed Warbler, Acrocephalus luscinius yamashinae: considered to be extinct since the 1970s on Pagan Island.