Tibbles
One of Ms. Figgs' cats that she bores Harry with. | ||||
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Tibbles Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries
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Stephens Island Wren
The Stephens Island Wren (Xenicus lyalli) is famous for being (erroneously) considered the only known species to be entirely wiped out by a single living being. This bird was a flightless, nocturnal native of Stephens Island, New Zealand which fed on insects.
According to the common lore, the entire population was killed by the lighthouse keeper's cat named Tibbles in 1894, but this is not what actually happened (see below). The scientific name commemorates the assistant lighthouse keeper, David Lyall, who brought the bird to the attention of science. Originally, it was described as a distinct genus, Traversia, in honor of naturalist and curio dealer Henry H. Travers who procured many specimens from Lyall, but usually it is considered to be part of the Xenicus "wrens", which are not wrens at all, but a similar-looking New Zealand lineage of primitive passerines, better referred to as acanthisittids.
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