LOST FOREVER: South Island brown teal is now classed as extinct.

The South Island brown teal is lost forever and more New Zealand birds are on the way out, an audit has shown.

A Department of Conservation audit shows the state of 20 bird species has worsened over the past four years.

The South Island brown teal was a type of duck mainly located in Fiordland. Listed as threatened with extinction since 2009, it seems no more can be found.

Of the nearly 500 bird species covered, 77 are classified as threatened with extinction and 92 at risk.

Seven marine or partly marine species have moved into the threatened category.

Twelve species showed signs of improvement, including the Stewart Island robin.

The audit, carried out in 2008 and again last year, compared population numbers of bird species and categorised them according to their count.

The good (growing population):

❏ Trey-headed mollymawk.

❏ Orange-fronted parakeet.

❏ Chatham Islands pigeon.

❏ Stewart Island robin.

The bad (shifted to extinction threatened):

❏ Antipodean albatross.

❏ Gibson's albatross.

❏ Salvin's mollymawk.

❏ Chatham Islands shag.

❏ Pitt Island shag.

❏ Black-billed gull.

❏ New Zealand storm petrel.

The ugly (extinct):

❏ South Island brown teal.



