Rodrigues night heron

It is known from subfossil bones[4] and the 1708 description of Leguat as well as the 1726 report of Julien Tafforet.

Pelvis

Leguat's description was as follows:[3]

We had an abundance of Bitterns, as big and as good as capons; they are more familiar, and more easily to be caught than the Woodhens [Rodrigues Rail Erythromachus leguati ... They [Rodrigues Day-gecko Phelsuma edwardnewtoni] serve for Prey to some Birds, especially the Bitterns. When we beat ’em them down from the Trees with a pole, these Birds would come and devour them before us, tho’ we did our utmost to hinder them; and when we offer’d to oppose them, they came on still after their Prey, and still follow’d us when we endeavour’d to defend them.[5]

Life restoration of a Rodrigues night heron eating a Rodrigues day gecko

Tafforet's account reads as follows:

There are not a few Bitterns which are birds which only fly a very little, and run uncommonly well when they are chased. They are of the size of an egret and something like them.[5]

Both authors agree that this bittern-like bird, the size of a fat chicken or small egret, was mainly terrestrial, unwary, and only flew when chased, although even in that case they initially tried to escape by running. They apparently laid greenish eggs; one of their favorite foods was geckos, probably the Rodrigues day gecko as the other local species, the Rodrigues giant day gecko was nearly as long as the bird itself (both gecko species are nowadays extinct too). Analysis of the fossil remains concluded that the bill of the species was very strong (hence the name megacephalus, i.e. "large-headed") and that it was evolving towards flightlessness.[6]

Many other species endemic to Rodrigues became extinct after humans arrived, and the island's ecosystem is heavily damaged. Before humans arrived, forests covered the island entirely, but very little remains today. The Rodrigues night heron lived alongside other recently extinct birds, such as the Rodrigues solitaire, Rodrigues parrot, Newton's parakeet, Rodrigues rail, Rodrigues owl, Rodrigues starling, and the Rodrigues pigeon. Extinct reptiles include the domed Rodrigues giant tortoise, the saddle-backed Rodrigues giant tortoise, and the Rodrigues day gecko.[7]

The bird appears to have been hunted to extinction in the mid-18th century. Pingré mentions in his report that no "bitterns" could be found on Rodrigues anymore in 1761.

• BirdLife International (2018) Species factsheet: Nycticorax megacephalus. http://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/rodrigues-night-heron-nycticorax-megacephalus/refs Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2018) IUCN Red List for birds.
• Cheke, A.S. 1987. An ecological history of the Mascarene Islands, with particular reference to extinctions and introductions of land vertebrates. In: Diamond, A.W. (ed.), Studies of Mascarene island birds, pp. 5-89. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
• Cowles, G. S. 1987. The fossil record. In: Diamond, A.W. (ed.), Studies of Mascarene Island birds, pp. 90-100. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
• Hachisuka, M. 1953. The Dodo and kindred birds. Witherby, London.
• Milne-Edwards, Alphonse (1873): Recherches sur la faune ancienne des Îles Mascareignes. Ann. Sci. Nat. Zool. (Paris) 5(19), Article 3, plate 14. [Article in French] Note: Usually, the year of publication is given as 1874. However, although the volume was nominally of that year, it was already released in 1873.
• (2018). Rodrigues Night-heron (Nycticorax megacephalus). 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 https://www.hbw.com/node/1414138 on 3 April 2018).
• Rothschild, Lionel Walter (1907). Extinct Birds. Hutchinson & Co.

• Encyclopædia Mauritiana article