Six species of extinct endemic birds have been recorded so far from Quaternary sites in the Canary Islands: the
Lava Shearwater Puffinus olsoni McMinn et al. 1990; the Dune Shearwater P. holeae Walker et al. 1990; the
Canarian Quail Coturnix gomerae Jaume et al. 1993; and three passerines, Trias’s Greenfinch Carduelis triasi
Alcover and Florit 1987; the Slender-billed Greenfinch C. aurelioi Rando et al. 2010; and the Long-legged Bunting
Emberiza alcoveri Rando et al. 1999. In addition, the extinction of the Canary Islands Oystercatcher Haematopus
meadewaldoi (Bannerman) took place during the 20th century (Martín & Lorenzo 2001), with a further five nonendemic
birds being extirpated during Holocene and historical times (see Rando 2003 and references therein). All
these extinctions seem to be directly correlated with aboriginal (Rando & Alcover 2010) or European colonization
and subsequent environmental alterations (Alcover & Florit 1987; Jaume et al. 1993; Rando 2003; Rando &
Alcover 2008). These data show that more than 50% of the endemic species of birds of the Canary Islands became
extinct during the last two millennia.