The extinct Mauritius Scops Owl
From Wikipedia
Pencil drawing of a recently killed specimen by Paul Philippe Sanguin de Jossigny, from around 1770
The Mauritius scops owl was the largest carnivore on the island prior to human settlement. Thus, unlike other local species of birds, it was not much affected by the introduction of predators such as cats, rats, and crab-eating macaques.
In the 1830s, the species seems to have been not uncommonly found in the southeastern part of the island, […] with the last testimony of observations referring to several encounters in 1837. However, as the cultivation of sugarcane and tea encroached upon its habitat, combined with reckless shooting, it disappeared rapidly. In 1859, Clark wrote that the bird was extinct.
This drawing and a few sub-fossil bones are all that remain of this owl.
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