Distribution and Subspecies
In the North Island, specimens of the smaller subspecies rufifacies were allegedly collected from the forest districts of Mount Taranaki/Egmont (1856) and the Wairarapa (1868); the unclear history of the latter and the eventual disappearance of both led to suspicions that the bird may not have occurred on the North Island at all. This theory has been refuted, however, after ample subfossil bones of the species were found in North Island. Sight records exist from Porirua and Te Karaka; according to Māori tradition, the species last occurred in Te Urewera. In the South Island, the larger subspecies albifacies inhabited low rainfall districts, including Nelson, Canterbury and Otago. They were also found in the central mountains and possibly Fiordland. Specimens of S. a. albifacies were collected from Stewart Island/Rakiura in or around 1881.
Trevor H. Worthy (1997) records 57 body and 17 egg specimens in public collections. He concluded that the only ones of these that may be the missing type of rufifacies were NHMW 50.809 or that of the Universidad de Concepción. Greenway (1967) mentions specimens at Cambridge, Massachusetts (probably Harvard Museum of Natural History) and Edinburgh (Royal Museum) that seem to be missing in Worthy's summary.
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