The Borin Grosbeak of Japan (Borin Island) has been extinct for 180 years. It was discovered by the Beechey Pacific expedition in 1827 on Chichi-jima. It was a friendly bird and had few, if any four-legged predators. So when humans arrived and settled, bringing in their domestic cats; the Grosbeaks did not (as did most other birds on the island) see the cat as a predator. By the time the birds realized cats were not friendly, it was too late, introduced rats fed on their eggs destroying their reproductive hopes and their forage areas were destroyed for timber and agriculture uses. These actions decimated the bird populations throughout the island.

The demise of Borin Grosbeak gives us a valuable lesson how seemingly innocent actions can throw off the balance of our planet… it is a lesson we still are failing to grasp.

The Borin Grosbeak is one of the bird featured in the artist’s “Threatened, Endangered, Extinct” series

Rendered in Poser 2010 w/o postwork using the author’s digital birds for the Songbird ReMix series.