The extinction dates given below are usually approximations of the actual date of extinction.

In some
cases, more exact dates are given as it is sometimes possible to pinpoint the date of extinction to a
specific year or even day (the San Benedicto rock wren is possibly the most extreme example – its
extinction could be timed with an accuracy of maybe half an hour). Extinction dates in the literature
are usually the dates of the last verified record (credible observation or specimen taken); for many
Pacific birds that became extinct shortly after European contact, however, this leaves an uncertainty
period of over 100 years, because the islands on which they lived were only rarely visited by
scientists.