South Island Kokako

New Zealand conservation officials have declared the South Island Kokako extinct, as there haven't been confirmed sightings in 40 years. From the news:

"Conservation officials today formally declared the South Island kokako extinct, saying there had been no confirmed sightings for 40 years.
"Rod Hitchmough, a scientific officer at the Department of Conservation (DOC) told a press briefing in Wellington that the kokako decision had attracted controversy.
"'But the definition of extinct is that we are absolutely certain the last individual has died,' said Mr Hitchmough, who compiled DOC's latest lists of threatened species, including six native insects and snails also declared extinct.
"'It was last seen on the South Island in 1967,' he said.
"There had been further reports on Stewart Island in 1987 and other more recent sightings, but these had not been corroborated.
"A panel of bird experts which drew up the previous list of the threat status of native animals and plants in 2002 had not been able to decide with certainty whether it had died out.
"'There have been more recent sightings recorded but they have been less well-documented,' Mr Hitchmough said.
"'Now, given there have been no further convincing records, the panel decided to bite the bullet and list it as extinct.
"'But it was probably extinct years ago'.
"Less than a year ago, veteran searchers seeking signs of the kokako unsuccessfully searched a valley east of Puysegur Point in Fiordland National Park for signs of the grey bird with orange wattles at each side of the beak.
"That South Island kokako investigation team included Christchurch researcher Ron Nilsson, who has spent 20 years searching remote valleys in Nelson, Westland, Fiordland and Stewart Island.
"Other searches have been made in Granville State Forest in the West Coast's Grey Valley and further north in the Paparoa Range near Charleston.
"Conservation Minister Chris Carter told the Wellington briefing that the new threatened species list updated the 'threat classification' status of 5819 of New Zealand's native plants and animals, and 44 had been given a change in status.
"Almost half of those were listed in one of the seven threatened categories, and the rest required further research to determine if these were threatened or not."

So now that the bird is considered extinct, it may be viable as a cryptozoological candidate: after all, it was earlier this past year that a team in South Island heard the distinctive calls of this bird:

"For the veteran searchers seeking signs of the long-lost South Island kokako, a valley east of Puysegur Point in Fiordland National Park sounds like a breakthrough.
"The bird was believed extinct in the 1960s, a tuneful victim of predators and loss of habitat.
"But the South Island Kokako Investigation Team has kept compiling reports of the grey bird with distinctive orange wattles at each side of the beak. The North Island kokako has a bluish wattle.
"And now an offshoot of January's hunt for more kakapo in Fiordland has led to hopes that the team has another valley to check in detail, with a community of the supposedly extinct birds living there.
"For Christchurch researcher Ron Nilsson, the breakthrough has come after more than 20 years of collating reports and checking regions in Nelson, the West Coast, Fiordland and Stewart Island.
"He went to the other valley, on the South Island's south coast, when the search for more kakapo had ended without success.
"A team was dropped in by helicopter to check out reports they heard from a geologist remapping Fiordland. The map maker had provided grid references.
"'We landed at 1pm and by 2pm we had heard the first of the calls,' said Mr Nilsson. The calls kept coming in sequences of about five, and up to 10. They heard at least 50 calls in the first afternoon.
"Some recordings were made and better gear was set up next day, but it proved to be the hottest day of the summer in Fiordland and the forest went silent.
"Mr Nilsson believes the concentration of calls in such a confined area indicates a possible viable breeding population. The abundance of calls indicates the birds are actively calling to mates and marking out territories.
"In recent years, searches for the South Island kokako have been in Granville State Forest in the West Coast's Grey Valley and further north in the Paparoa Range near Charleston.
"'In those places there may be one or two birds in 5000ha of forest. This one is different. I think there is a small group of birds there. You have got a sense that it's very important.'
"The group was in the area for just over a day, but accomplished a lot in that time. Now the pressure is on to convince the Department of Conservation - or a sponsor - that an urgent return visit is necessary."