CHARADRIIFORMES Waders, skuas, gulls, and terns

Symbols and Abbreviations
➤ Indicates a species (cf. subspecies)
† Indicates an extinct taxon
CM, Canterbury Museum, Christchurch
NMNZ, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington

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Order CHARADRIIFORMES: Waders, Skuas, Gulls, and Terns

We follow Cracraft (2013) in recognising three suborders.The sequence they are presented in follows Dickinson & Remsen (2013).

Suborder CHARADRII: Oystercatchers, Stilts, Plovers, and Sheathbills

The sequence that families are presented in follows Dickinson & Remsen (2013).

Family HAEMATOPODIDAE Bonaparte: Oystercatchers

Haematopodinae Bonaparte, 1838: Syn. Vert. Syst.: 28 – Type genus Haematopus Linnaeus, 1758.

Genus Haematopus Linnaeus

Haematopus Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 152 – Type species (by monotypy) Haematopus ostralegus Linnaeus.

Ostralega Brisson, 1760: Ornithologie 1: 46 – Type species (by tautonymy) Haematopus ostralegus Linnaeus.

➤ Haematopus unicolor J.R. Forster
Variable Oystercatcher | Tōrea Pango*

Haematopus niger; Wagler 1832, Isis von Oken, Heft 11: col.: 1230. Not Haematopus niger Pallas, 1811.

Haematopus unicolor J.R. Forster, 1844: in M.H.C. Lichtenstein, Descrip. Animalium: 112 – Dusky Sound, Fiordland.

Haematopus oceanicus Bonaparte, 1856: Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 43: 420 – Unknown locality.

Haematopus niger Ellman, 1861: Zoologist 19: 7469 – New Zealand. Junior primary homonym of Haematopus niger Pallas, 1811.

Haematopus reischeki Rothschild, 1899: Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club 10: 4 – Kaipara.

Haematopus niger unicolor J.R. Forster; Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 251.

Haematopus ostralegus unicolor J.R. Forster; Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 233. In part.

Haematopus unicolor reischeki Rothschild; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 41.

Haematopus unicolor unicolor J.R. Forster; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 42.

Haematopus unicolor J.R. Forster; Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 44.

Endemic to New Zealand. Relatively common, total population c. 4,000 birds (Riegen & Sagar 2020). In North Island most common along north-east coast from North Cape (Otou) to Mahia Peninsula, and near Wellington; in South Island, common around Tasman and Golden Bays, Marlborough Sounds, and Fiordland; common on beaches of Stewart Island / Rakiura and its offshore islands (C. Robertson et al. 2007; Riegen & Sagar 2020). Plumage varies from black to pied with continuous gradient between. Relative abundance of colour morphs varies with latitude: in northern North Island c. 43% black, in central New Zealand c. 85% black, in southern South Island and on Stewart Island / Rakiura c. 94% black (Sagar et al. 1999; Medway 2000c). Found in North, South, and Stewart Island / Rakiura natural and midden deposits (Checklist Committee 1990).

*Black morph.

➤ Haematopus finschi Martens
South Island Pied Oystercatcher | Tōrea

Haematopus picatus; G.R. Gray 1843, in E. Dieffenbach, Travels in N.Z. 2: 196. Not Haematopus picatus P.P. King, 1826 = Haematopus longirostris Vieillot, 1817.

Haematopus longirostris; G.R. Gray 1845, in Richardson & J.E. Gray (Eds), Zool. Voy. ‘Erebus’ & ‘Terror’, Birds 1(8): 12. Not Haematopus longirostris Vieillot, 1817.

Haematopus longiristris; Travers 1883, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 15: 187. Unjustified emendation.

Haematopus finschi Martens, 1897: Ornith. Monatsberichte 5: 190 – Saltwater Creek, Westland.

Haematopus ostralegus unicolor J.R. Forster; Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 233. In part.

Haematopus ostralegus finschi Martens; Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 251.

Haematopus finschi Martens; Falla et al. 1966, Field Guide Birds New Zealand: 118.

Haematopus ostralegus; J. Moore 1985, Notornis 32: 315. Not Haematopus ostralegus Linnaeus, 1758.

Haematopus finschi is recognised here as being specifically distinct from H. ostralegus Linnaeus, 1758 following Marchant & Higgins (1993), Holdaway et al. (2001), and J.C. Banks & Paterson (2007). Endemic to New Zealand. Abundant; since legal protection in 1906 the total population has increased significantly to an estimated 112,000 by 1994, before declining to about 77,000 by 2005–2019 (Sagar et al. 1999; Riegen & Sagar 2020). Nearly all breed inland in the South Island, mostly east of the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana. The majority migrate after breeding to many localities in the northern North Island, with most birds being present during autumn and winter at Kaipara and Manukau Harbours and Firth of Thames (Marchant & Higgins 1993). Birds return to breeding grounds from late Jul. to Sep. (Sagar et al. 1999; Medway 2000c). One record (1983) at Norfolk Island (Hermes et al. 1986). One record (1969), probably this species, at Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004). One record (1968) at Chatham Islands (Freeman 1994). Vagrant at Snares Islands / Tini Heke (Miskelly et al. 2001a), Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020), and Australia (Totterman et al. 1999). Found in North and South Island natural and midden deposits (Checklist Committee 1990).

➤ Haematopus chathamensis Hartert
Chatham Island Oystercatcher | Tōrea Tai*

Haematopus ostralegus chathamensis Hartert, 1927: Novit. Zool. 34: 17 – Chatham Islands.

Haematopus unicolor chathamensis Hartert; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 42.

Haematopus longirostris chathamensis Hartert; Oliver 1955, New Zealand Birds, 2nd edition: 248.

Haematopus chathamensis Hartert; Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 44.

Endemic to Chatham Islands. Found on both rocky coastlines and sandy beaches of Chatham, Pitt, Rangatira, and Mangere Islands, and occasionally the Star Keys. Numbers have increased substantially in response to management. Total population c. 290 birds by 2004, most on north Chatham Island beaches (Schmechel & O’Connor 1999; Aikman & Miskelly 2004). Mitochondrial DNA analysis by J.C. Banks & Paterson (2007) supported the recognition of the Chatham Island oystercatcher as a full species. Found in natural and midden deposits (Checklist Committee 1990).

*Also used for pied morph of variable oystercatcher H. unicolor.

Family RECURVIROSTRIDAE Bonaparte: Stilts and Avocets

Subfamily RECURVIROSTRINAE Bonaparte: Stilts and Avocets

Recurvirostrinae Bonaparte, 1831: Saggio dist. Metodica Anim. Vert.: 59 – Type genus Recurvirostra Linnaeus, 1758.

Genus Himantopus Brisson

Himantopus Brisson, 1760: Ornithologie 1: 46, 5: 33 – Type species (by tautonymy) Charadrius himantopus Linnaeus = Himantopus himantopus (Linnaeus).

Hypsibates Nitzsch, 1827: in Ersch & Gruber, Allgem. Ency. Wiss. Künste 16: 150 – Type species (by monotypy) Charadrius himantopus Linnaeus = Himantopus himantopus (Linnaeus).

➤ Himantopus himantopus (Linnaeus)
Pied Stilt

Charadrius Himantopus Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 151 – southern Europe.

Almost cosmopolitan, five subspecies recognised (Dickinson & Remsen 2013).

Himantopus himantopus leucocephalus Gould
Pied Stilt | Poaka

Himantopus leucocephalus Gould, 1837: Synop. Birds Australia 2: pl. 34 (fide McAllan 2004, Notornis 51: 127) – New South Wales, Australia.

Himantopus albus Ellman, 1861: Zoologist 19: 7470 – New Zealand.

Himantopus picatus Ellman, 1861: Zoologist 19: 7470 – New Zealand.

Himantopus albicollis Buller, 1875: Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 7: 224 – Orari, Canterbury. Junior primary homonym of Himantopus albicollis Vieillot, 1817.

Himantopus seebohmi picata Ellman; Hartert 1891, Kat. Vogel. Mus. Senckenb. Natur. Gesell. Frankfurt Main: 220. Unjustified emendation.

Hypsibates leucocephalus albus (Ellman); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 255.

Himantopus himantopus leucocephalus Gould; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 48.

Himantopus himantopus; J. Moore 1999, Notornis 46: 359. Not Charadrius himantopus Linnaeus, 1758.

Extends from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Bismarck Archipelago to Australia and New Zealand (Marchant & Higgins 1993). Probably a relatively recent colonist to New Zealand from Australia (Holdaway 1995), where it is known as black-winged stilt. For this reason the name Australasian pied stilt, as used in Checklist Committee (1990), is inappropriate. Common throughout most of lowland New Zealand; population estimated at c. 24,000 birds (Riegen & Sagar 2020). Many South Island and southern North Island birds migrate to northern parts of North Island after breeding. About 85% of those recorded during winter were in the North Island, the highest numbers being consistently present at Kaipara and Manukau Harbours, and the Firth of Thames. Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora is the South Island locality most favoured in winter (Sagar et al. 1999; Medway 2000c). Vagrant at Norfolk Island (J. Moore 1985a, 1999; Marchant & Higgins 1993); not common at Chatham Islands (Aikman & Miskelly 2004). Through introgression with H. novaezelandiae, the plumage of the New Zealand population is distinct from that of Australian birds (B. Greene 1999). A distinctively plumaged bird in Tasmania, in the 1980s, is believed to have originated from New Zealand (Fletcher et al. 1989).

➤ Himantopus novaezelandiae Gould
Kakī | Black Stilt

Himantopus Novae Zelandiae Gould, 1841 (before Sep.): Birds of Australia Part 4: 8 (fide McAllan 2004, Notornis 51: 127) – Port Nicholson.

Himantopus melas Hombron & Jacquinot, 1841 (after Nov.): Ann. Sci. Nat., Zool., Paris, 2nd series 16: 320 – Otago.

Himantopus niger Ellman, 1861: Zoologist 19: 7470 – New Zealand.

Himantopus spicatus Potts, 1873: Trans. N.Z. Inst. 5: 198 – Selwyn, Canterbury.

Himantopus novae-zealandiae Gould; Buller 1872 (Dec.), History of the Birds of N.Z., 1st edition (part 3): 205. Unjustified emendation.

Hypsibates novaezealandiae (Gould); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 256. Unjustified emendation.

Himantopus himantopus novae-zelandiae Gould; Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 289.

Himantopus novaezealandiae Gould; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 48. Unjustified emendation.

Himantopus novaezelandiae Gould; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 131.

Endemic to New Zealand, now rare and endangered. Has declined drastically in numbers since the 19th Century when it bred in the lower North Island and most of the South Island. It was still common in the 1930s and 1940s in lowland South Canterbury, Central Otago, and the Mackenzie Basin, but since c. 1960 breeding has been confined to the Mackenzie Basin (Marchant & Higgins 1993). The wild population was 169 adults in Apr. 2020 (Overbeek et al. 2020), and is supported by release of captive birds. Black stilts hybridise freely with pied stilts, hybrids showing complete gradation in plumage and morphometrics between the two (Pierce 1984a). Most black stilts remain in the Mackenzie Basin over winter, but most hybrid stilts follow movement patterns of pied stilts and go to northern harbours and estuaries, including Kawhia, Kaipara, and Manukau Harbours, and the Firth of Thames (Marchant & Higgins 1993). The few stilt bones from North and South Island natural and midden deposits are probably this species (Checklist Committee 1990).

Genus Recurvirostra Linnaeus

Recurvirostra Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 151 – Type species (by monotypy) Recurvirostra avosetta Linnaeus.

Avocetta Brisson, 1760: Ornithologie 1: 60 and 6: 537 – Type species (by tautonymy) Recurvirostra avosetta Linnaeus.

➤ Recurvirostra novaehollandiae Vieillot
Red-necked Avocet | Piwari

Recurvirostra Novae-Hollandiae Vieillot, 1816: Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd. 3: 103 – New Holland, restricted to Victoria, Australia (fide Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 256).

Recurvirostra rubricollis Temminck, 1823: Manuel d’Ornith. 2: 592 – Victoria, Australia.

Avocetta Novae-Zealandiae Ellman, 1861: Zoologist 19: 7470 – New Zealand.

Recurvirostra rubricollis Temminck; G.R. Gray 1862, Ibis 4: 237.

Recurvirostris [sic] novae-hollandiae Vieillot; A. Hamilton 1909, Hand-list Birds New Zealand: 9.

Recurvirostra novaehollandiae novaehollandiae Vieillot; Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 256.

Recurvirostra novae-hollandiae; Stidolph 1927, Emu 26: 217.

Recurvirostra novaehollandiae Vieillot; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 131.

Breeds only in Australia, mainly in the south. Between 1859 and 1892, avocets were reported widely from Whangarei to Invercargill. The suggestion that the species bred in New Zealand during that period remains unsubstantiated (Marchant & Higgins 1993). There have been only two confirmed New Zealand records since 1892: Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, 1912 (CM Av2410) and Orowaiti Lagoon, Westport, 1968–1970 (Kaigler 1968; Grant 1968; Checklist Committee 1990). One reported shot on Norfolk Island in 1854 (J. Moore 1999).

Family CHARADRIIDAE Leach: Plovers, Lapwings, and Dotterels

Charadriadae Leach, 1820: Eleventh room. In Synopsis Contents British Museum 17th edition, London: 69 – Type genus Charadrius Linnaeus, 1758.

Several phylogenetic studies have revealed Pluvialis plovers to be deeply divergent from other charadriids (Barth et al. 2013; Dos Remedios et al. 2015; Černý & Natale 2022), which we recognise by placing them in a separate subfamily.

Subfamily PLUVIALINAE MacGillivray: Grey Plover and Golden Plovers

Pluvialinae MacGillivray, 1852: Hist. Brit. Birds: 58 – Type genus Pluvialis Brisson, 1760.

Genus Pluvialis Brisson

Pluvialis Brisson, 1760: Ornithologie 1: 46, 5: 42 – Type species (by tautonymy) Charadrius pluvialis Linnaeus = Pluvialis apricaria (Linnaeus).

Squatarola Cuvier, 1816: Règne Anim. 1: 467 – Type species (by tautonymy) Tringa squatarola Linnaeus = Pluvialis squatarola (Linnaeus).

➤ Pluvialis squatarola (Linnaeus)
Grey Plover

Tringa Squatarola Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 149 – Europe, restricted to Sweden (fide Hartert 1920, Vögel Pal. Fauna: 1553).

Tringa helvetica Linnaeus, 1766: Syst. Nat., 12th edition 1: 250 – Europe.

Squatarola helvetica; Thomson 1922, Naturalisation Animals Plants New Zealand: 131.

Squatarola squatarola (Linnaeus); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 243.

Charadrius squatarola (Linnaeus); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 42.

Pluvialis squatarola (Linnaeus); Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 138.

Breeds throughout the arctic tundra; almost circumpolar except for Greenland and Scandinavia. Migrates to North and South America, Africa, south Asia, and Australasia (Marchant & Higgins 1993). Released in Otago (1867) and again (at Manuherikia, 1881), but failed to establish (Thomson 1922). An uncommon visitor to New Zealand that has been recorded from Parengarenga Harbour to Southland (Marchant & Higgins 1993). One record (1966) from Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004). Vagrant at Chatham Islands (Freeman 1994).

➤ Pluvialis dominicus (Statius Müller)
American Golden Plover

Charadrius dominicus Statius Müller, 1776: Vollst. Natursyst. Suppl.: 116 – Hispaniola, Antilles.

Pluvialis dominicus (Statius Müller); Sangster et al. 1999, Ardea 87(1): 148.

The correct name of the American golden plover is P. dominicus, not P. dominica (Sangster et al. 1999). American golden plovers and Pacific golden plovers are specifically distinct (Connors et al. 1993; Sangster et al. 1999). Breeds in north Siberia, Alaska, and northern Canada. Migrates to South America (Marchant & Higgins 1993). Vagrant to New Zealand. Two records: Karikari Peninsula, Northland, Jan. 1991 (Guest 1992), and Little Waihi estuary, Bay of Plenty, Jan. 2011 (Miskelly et al. 2015).

➤ Pluvialis fulva (Gmelin)
Pacific Golden Plover | Kuriri

Charadrius fulvus Gmelin, 1789: Syst. Nat., 13th edition 1(2): 687. Based on the “Fulvous Plover”of Latham 1785, Gen. Synop. Birds 3(1): 211 – Tahiti, French Polynesia.

Charadrius virginicus Lichtenstein, 1823: Verzeich. Doubl., Berlin: 70 – Montevideo, Uruguay.

Charadrius Xanthocheilus Wagler, 1827: Syst. Avium, Charad: sp. 36 – no locality.

Charadrius virginianus Jardine & Selby, 1830: Illust. Ornith. 2: pl. 85 – North America.

Charadrius xanthocheilus Wagler; G.R. Gray 1843, in E. Dieffenbach, Travels in N.Z. 2: 195.

Charadrius Virginicus Bechstein [sic]; G.R. Gray 1844, List Specimens Birds Brit. Mus. 3: 67.

Charadrius virginianus Jardine & Selby; G.R. Gray 1845, in Richardson & J.E. Gray (Eds), Zool. Voy. ‘Erebus’ & ‘Terror’, Birds 1(8): 11.

Charadrius dominicus; Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 174. Not Charadrius dominicus Statius Müller, 1776.

luvialis [sic] dominicus fulvus (Gmelin); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 252.

Pluvialis dominicus fulvus (Gmelin); Iredale 1913, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 45: 85.

Pluvialis dominicanus [sic]; Stidolph 1927, Emu 26: 217. Not Charadrius dominicus Statius Müller, 1776.

Charadrius dominicus fulvus Gmelin; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 42.

Pluvialis dominicus; Lindsay 1963, Notornis 10: 303. Not Charadrius dominicus Statius Müller, 1776.

Pluvialis dominica; Wakelin 1968, Notornis 15: 163. Not Charadrius dominicus Statius Müller, 1776.

Pluvialis dominica fulva (Gmelin); Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 44.

Pluvialis fulva (Gmelin); Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 138.

Breeds on arctic and subarctic tundra of Siberia and western Alaska. Migrates south on broad front to many countries, including Australasia and most Pacific islands (Marchant & Higgins 1993). The East Asian–Australasian Flyway population was estimated at 120,000 birds in 2016, of which c. 9,000 migrated to Australia in 1993 (Watkins 1993; Hansen et al. 2016). The fourth most numerous arctic wader visiting New Zealand, with c. 180 every summer, although numbers declining (Riegen & Sagar 2020). Widespread at many harbours and estuaries and some lakes throughout New Zealand (Sagar et al. 1999; Medway 2000c). Regular summer visitor to Norfolk Island (J. Moore 1999), Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004) and Chatham Islands (Aikman & Miskelly 2004). Straggles to Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020).

Subfamily CHARADRIINAE Leach: Plovers and Dotterels

Charadriadae Leach, 1820: Eleventh room. In Synopsis Contents British Museum 17th edition, London: 69 – Type genus Charadrius Linnaeus, 1758.

Phylogenetic studies by Barth et al. (2013), Dos Remedios et al. (2015), and Černý & Natale (2022) revealed the large genus Charadrius to be paraphyletic, with one clade (including wrybill Anarhynchus frontalis, New Zealand dotterel Charadrius obscurus, banded dotterel C. bicinctus, and sand plovers) more closely related to lapwings (Vanellus) than they are to Charadrius sensu stricto. Shore plover (formerly Thinornis novaeseelandiae) and black-fronted dotterel (formerly Elseyornis melanops) group with the now narrowly defined Charadrius (which includes semipalmated plover C. semipalmatus), and are returned to that genus. All remaining species of ‘Charadrius’ on the New Zealand list are moved to Anarhynchus, which is the earliest name available and applicable to this clade.

Genus Charadrius Linnaeus

Charadrius Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 150 – Type species (by tautonymy) Charadrius hiaticula Linnaeus.

Aegialitis Boie, 1822: Isis von Oken, Heft 5: col. 558 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Charadrius hiaticula Linnaeus.

Thinornis G.R. Gray, 1845: in Richardson & J.E. Gray (Eds), Zool. Voy. ‘Erebus’ & ‘Terror’, Birds 1(8): 11 – Type species (by monotypy) Thinornis rossii G.R. Gray = Charadrius novaeseelandiae Gmelin.

Elseya Mathews, 1913: Birds Australia. 3: 125 – Type species (by original designation) Charadrius melanops Vieillot. Junior homonym of Elseya J.E. Gray, 1867.

Elseyornis Mathews, 1914: Austral Avian Rec. 2: 87. Nomen novum for Elseya Mathews, 1913.

➤ Charadrius semipalmatus Bonaparte
Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius semipalmatus Bonaparte, 1825: Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 5(1): 98 – no locality.

Charadrius hiaticula; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 135. Not Charadrius hiaticula Linnaeus, 1758.

Charadrius semipalmatus Bonaparte; Scofield 2005, Southern Bird 23: 7.

Breeds in Alaska and Canada. Winters from southern California to southern Argentina and Chile (Marchant & Higgins 1993). Vagrant to New Zealand. Two (possibly three or four) records. Two single birds, seen in the Firth of Thames in 1970–71 (J. Brown et al. 1971) and in 1983–85 (L. Howell 1985, 1986, 1987), were previously considered to be ringed plovers Charadrius hiaticula Linnaeus, 1758 (Checklist Committee 1990). However, these records were re-examined by the Rare Birds Committee and rejected. Therefore, ringed plover was removed from the New Zealand list. The Committee was not satisfied with the identity of the 1970–71 bird, but accepted that the 1983–85 bird was a semipalmated plover, thereby adding this species to the New Zealand list (Scofield 2005a). Another bird was found on the Manukau Harbour in Dec. 2009, and then (possibly the same bird) at Miranda, Firth of Thames, in Oct. 2010 (Miskelly et al. 2011, 2013).

➤ Charadrius melanops Vieillot
Black-fronted Dotterel

Charadrius melanops Vieillot, 1818: Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd. 27: 139 – “aux Terres Australes Baudin Exp.”, restricted to New South Wales, Australia (fide Mathews & Iredale 1921, Man. Birds of Australia 1: 173).

Charadrius nigrifrons Temminck & Laugier, 1821: Nouv. Recueil Planch. Color. d’Oiseaux 1: pl. 47 (ex Cuvier MS) – New South Wales, Australia.

Charadrius russatus Jerdon, 1840: Madras Journ. Lit. Sci. 12: 213 – Madras, India.

Charadrius melanops marngli Mathews, 1912: Novit. Zool. 18(3): 218 – Marngle Creek, north-west Australia.

Elseyornis melanops melanops (Vieillot); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 163.

Elseyornis melanops russatus (Jerdon); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 163.

Charadrius melanops Vieillot; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 134.

Elseyornis melanops (Vieillot); Christidis & Boles 1994, Taxonomy Species Birds Australia: 15, 51.

Breeds throughout Australia and in New Zealand. Colonised New Zealand from late 1950s, beginning in Hawke’s Bay (Barlow 1989). Now breeds on shingle riverbeds of southern North Island, north-east South Island, Canterbury, Otago, and Southland. Elsewhere in New Zealand is a non-breeding vagrant, but a small number regularly visit estuaries in eastern Bay of Plenty (Marchant & Higgins 1993).

➤ Charadrius novaeseelandiae Gmelin
Shore Plover | Tuturuatu

Charadrius novae Seelandiae Gmelin, 1789: Syst. Nat., 13th edition 1(2): 684. Based on the “New Zealand Plover”of Latham 1785, Gen. Synop. Birds 3(1): 206, pl. 83 – Dusky Sound, Fiordland (fide Medway 2008, Notornis 54: 116).

Charadrius Dudoroa Wagler, 1827: Syst. Avium, Charad.: sp. 14 – New Zealand.

Charadrius Torquatula J.R. Forster, 1829: in J.G. Wagler, Isis von Oken, Heft 6: col. 652 – Dusky Sound, Fiordland (fide Medway 2008, Notornis 54: 116).

Hiaticula Novae Seelandiae (Gmelin); G.R. Gray 1843, in E. Dieffenbach, Travels in N.Z. 2: 195.

Thinornis novae seelandiae (Gmelin); G.R. Gray 1845, in Richardson & J.E. Gray (Eds), Zool. Voy. ‘Erebus’ & ‘Terror’, Birds 1(8): 12, pl. 11.

Thinornis Rossii G.R. Gray, 1845: in Richardson & J.E. Gray (Eds), Zool. Voy. ‘Erebus’ & ‘Terror’, Birds 1(8): 12, pl. 11 – Auckland Island.

Thinornis novae zelandiae (Gmelin); Buller 1865, Essay N.Z. Ornith.: 17. Unjustified emendation.

Thinornis Novae Zelandiae Gmelin [sic]; Anon. 1870, Cat. Colonial Mus.: 74. Unjustified emendation.

Thinornis Rossi G.R. Gray; Anon. 1870, Cat. Colonial Mus.: 74. Unjustified emendation.

Thinornis novae-zealandiae (Gmelin); Travers 1883, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 15: 186. Unjustified emendation.

Thinornis novae zealandiae (Gmelin); Sharpe 1896, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 24: 304. Unjustified emendation.

Thinornis novaeseelandiae (Gmelin); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 253.

Thinornis novae-seelandiae (Gmelin); Mathews 1930, Emu 29: 280.

Charadrius novaeseelandiae Gmelin; Holdaway et al. 2001, New Zealand Journ. Zool. 28(2): 133, 178.

Endemic to New Zealand. Little reliable information about previous distribution, but in early–mid 19th Century was probably widely distributed around the South Island coast, with some reports from the North Island (Marchant & Higgins 1993; A. Davis 1994). Confined to Chatham Islands by late 1800s, where the only known natural wild population, estimated at 130 birds in 1993, was on Rangatira Island (Dowding & Kennedy 1993; A. Davis 1994). Translocations from Rangatira Island to Mangere Island have led to establishment of a small breeding population on Mangere Island (Aikman & Miskelly 2004). A second natural wild population of c. 21 birds was discovered on Western Reef off Chatham Island in 1999 (D. Bell & Bell 2000), but it declined steadily after discovery to only one male which was taken into captivity in 2003 (Aikman & Miskelly 2004). Captive-reared birds released on some northern New Zealand inshore islands have strayed to the North Island mainland (e.g. Medway 2004b). Bones found in Chatham Island natural and midden deposits (Checklist Committee 1990). The holotype of Thinornis rossii, a putative endemic taxon from the Auckland Islands / Maukahuka, is considered by most authorities to be an immature C. novaeseelandiae, but is a much darker bird and worthy of further investigation (Miskelly & Taylor 2020; Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020; Kirwan & Collar 2020).

Genus Vanellus Brisson

Vanellus Brisson, 1760: Ornithologie 1: 48, 5: 94 – Type species (by tautonymy) Tringa vanellus Linnaeus = Vanellus vanellus (Linnaeus).

Lobivanellus G.R. Gray, 1841: List Gen. Birds (2nd edition): 84 – Type species (by original designation) Parra goensis Gmelin = Vanellus indicus (Boddaert).

Lobibyx Heine, 1890: Nom. Mus. Hein. Ornith.: 334 – Type species (by original designation) Tringa lobata Latham = Vanellus miles novaehollandiae Stephens.

➤ Vanellus miles (Boddaert)
Masked Lapwing

Tringa miles Boddaert, 1783: Tables des Planches Enluminéez d’Histoire Naturelle de M. d’Aubenton: 51 – Timor.

Two subspecies: Vanellus m. miles in northern Australia and New Guinea, V. m. novaehollandiae from mid-Queensland to south-east Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand (Marchant & Higgins 1993).

Vanellus miles novaehollandiae Stephens
Spur-winged Plover

Tringa lobata Latham, 1801: Index Ornith. Suppl.: lxv – New South Wales, Australia. Junior primary homonym of Tringa lobata Linnaeus, 1758.

Vanellus Novae-Hollandiae Stephens, 1819: in Shaw, General Zool. 11: 516 – New South Wales, Australia.

Lobivanellus lobatus (Latham); Buller 1887 (Jul.), History of the Birds of N.Z., 2nd edition 2 (part 1): 13. Not Tringa lobata Linnaeus, 1758.

Lobibyx novaehollandiae (Stephens); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 251.

Lobibyx novae-hollandiae (Stephens); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 42.

Vanellus miles novaehollandiae Stephens; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 139.

Colonised New Zealand from c. 1932, beginning at Invercargill. By 1970 had spread throughout Southland and parts of Otago (Barlow 1972) and, soon afterwards, to the rest of the South Island where it is now common in all suitable areas. Mainland New Zealand population increased dramatically since 1970s and is still growing; now common throughout all suitable North Island areas (Medway 2000c; C. Robertson et al. 2007). Widespread on Stewart Island / Rakiura (Dowding & Murphy 1993b). Breeding first recorded on Chatham Island in 1981; now well established there and on Pitt Island (Aikman & Miskelly 2004). Regularly present on Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020). Vagrant at Norfolk Island (J. Moore 1999), Niue Island (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2017), Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004), Snares Islands / Tini Heke (Miskelly et al. 2001a, 2015), Antipodes Islands (Tennyson et al. 2002), and Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku (Marchant & Higgins 1993; Scofield 2005a; Miskelly et al. 2015).

Genus Erythrogonys Gould

Erythrogonys Gould, 1838: Synop. Birds Australia 4: pl. 73 and text – Type species (by monotypy) Erythrogonys cinctus Gould.

➤ Erythrogonys cinctus Gould
Red-kneed Dotterel

Erythrogonys cinctus Gould, 1838: Synop. Birds Australia 4: pl. 73 and text – New South Wales, Australia.

Erythrogonys cinctus Gould; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 136.

Breeds only in Australia (Marchant & Higgins 1993). Vagrant to New Zealand. One record: Manawatu estuary, Mar. 1976 (H. Robertson & Dennison 1977).

Genus Anarhynchus Quoy & Gaimard

Anarhynchus Quoy & Gaimard, 1830: in Dumont d’Urville, Voyage Astrolabe Zool. 1: 252 – Type species (by monotypy) Anarhynchus frontalis Quoy & Gaimard.

Eupoda Brandt, 1845: in Tchihatcheff, Voy. Sci. Altai Orient.: 444 – Type species (by monotypy) Charadrius asiaticus Pallas = Anarhynchus asiaticus (Pallas).

Ochthodromus Reichenbach, 1852: Avium Syst. Nat. 3: 18 – Type species (by original designation) Charadrius wilsonia Ord = Anarhynchus wilsonia (Ord).

Cirrepidesmus Bonaparte, 1856: Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 43: 417 – Type species (by tautonymy) Charadrius cirrhepidesmus Wagler = Anarhynchus mongolus (Pallas).

Leucopolius Bonaparte, 1856: Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 43: 417 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Charadrius marginatus Vieillot = Anarhynchus marginatus (Vieillot).

Pluviorhynchus Bonaparte, 1856: Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 43: 417 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Charadrius obscurus Gmelin = Anarhynchus obscurus (Gmelin).

Hyetoceryx Heine & Reichenow, 1890: Nom. Mus. Hein. Ornith.: 336. Unnecessary nomen novum for Pluviorhynchus Bonaparte, 1856.

Pagoa Mathews, 1913: Birds Australia 3: 82 – Type species (by original designation) Charadrius geoffroyi Wagler = Anarhynchus leschenaultii (Lesson).

Eupodella Mathews, 1913: Birds Australia 3: 83. Unnecessary nomen novum for Eupoda Brandt, 1845.

Nesoceryx Mathews, 1920: Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club 41: 35 – Type species (by original designation) Charadrius bicinctus Jardine & Selby = Anarhynchus bicinctus (Jardine & Selby).

Anarynchus Quoy & Gaimard; Mathews 1930, Emu 29: 280. Unjustified emendation.

Anarhyncus Quoy & Gaimard; Stead 1932, Life Histories New Zealand Birds: 91. Unjustified emendation.

See comments under subfamily Charadriinae above for an explanation of why several species formerly in genus Charadrius are now included in an expanded Anarhynchus. We follow Wei et al. (2022) in recognising three species of sand plovers, here listed as Siberian sand plover A. mongolus, Tibetan sand plover Anarhynchus atrifrons, and greater sand plover A. leschenaultii. This requires the addition of Tibetan sand plover to the New Zealand list, and revision of the entry for A. mongolus.

➤ Anarhynchus veredus (Gould)
Oriental Dotterel

Charadrius veredus Gould, 1848: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1848 (16): 38 – Northern Australia.

Eupoda vereda (Gould); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 253.

Eupodella vereda (Gould); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 159.

Charadrius asiaticus veredus Gould; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 43.

Anarhynchus veredus (Gould); Sangster et al. 2016, Ibis 158: 209.

Breeds in Mongolia and Manchuria. Migrates mostly to Indonesia and Australia (Marchant & Higgins 1993). A rare visitor to New Zealand. Nineteen records, mostly of single birds: Firth of Thames, Mar. 1953, Dec. 1954–Jan. 1955 (ten birds, McKenzie 1956); Parengarenga Harbour, Feb. 1955, Mar. 1968, Aug. 1969 (Sibson & Rutherfurd 1956; Edgar 1968; Edgar et al. 1969); Manukau Harbour, Feb. 1975 (Edgar 1975), Mar. 1994 (two birds, Medway 2000a); Wainono Lagoon, Jan. 1977, Jan. 1983 (Edgar 1977; Fennell 1983b); Greymouth, Sep.–Oct. 1982, Oct. 1987 (Booth 1984; O’Donnell & West 1989); Invercargill estuary, Feb. 1988 (O’Donnell & West 1989); Waituna Lagoon, Southland, Feb. 1988 (O’Donnell & West 1989); Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, Feb.–Mar. 1989 (O’Donnell & West 1990); Port Waikato, Sep. 2013 (Miskelly et al. 2015); Ohiwa, Bay of Plenty, Jan. 2016 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2017). Two records at Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Apr. 1908, Sep. 1982; Veitch et al. 2004), and one record at Chatham Islands (Nov. 2000; Miskelly et al. 2006).

➤ Anarhynchus mongolus (Pallas)
Siberian Sand Plover

Charadrius mongolus Pallas, 1776: Reise durch verschiedene Provinzen des Russischen Reichs 3: 700 – “salt lakes towards Mongolian border”.

Cirrepidesmus mongolus (Pallas); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 158.

Charadrius mongolus Pallas; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 135.

Anarhynchus mongolus (Pallas); Sangster et al. 2016, Ibis 158: 209.

Breeds in eastern inland Russia, Kamchatka, the Commander Islands, and the Chukotsk Peninsula, wintering between Taiwan and Australia (Marchant & Higgins 1993; Wei et al. 2022; Schweizer et al. 2023). Two subspecies are recognised: A. m. mongolus and A. m. stegmanni (Portenko, 1939). Siberian sand plovers are uncommon visitors to New Zealand. The first record was one at Farewell Spit, Nelson in Jan. 1961 (Bell et al. 1961). Recorded from Parengarenga Harbour to coastal Southland, usually as single birds (Marchant & Higgins 1993). Favoured northern sites are Kaipara and Manukau Harbours. Two records (before 1968 and Jul. 1976) at Norfolk Island (Marchant & Higgins 1993). One purported record (Dec. 1987) at Chatham Islands (Müller 1989; Freeman 1994).

➤ Anarhynchus atrifrons (Wagler)
Tibetan Sand Plover

Charadrius atrifrons Wagler, 1829: Isis von Oken, Heft 6: col. 650 – Bengala.

Anarhynchus atrifrons (Wagler); Schweizer et al. 2023, Dutch Birding 45: 326.

Breeds in central Russia, the Himalayas, and southern and eastern Tibet, wintering from Africa through India to the Greater Sunda Islands (Marchant & Higgins 1993; Wei et al. 2022; Schweizer et al. 2023). Three subspecies are recognised: A. a. atrifrons, A. a. pamirensis (Richmond, 1896), and A. a. schaeferi (de Schaunesee, 1938). The sole New Zealand record was a bird at Big Sand Island, Kaipara Harbour in Apr. 1999 (Parrish 2000a), which was not identified to subspecies.

➤ Anarhynchus leschenaultii (Lesson)
Greater Sand Plover

Three subspecies are currently recognised, of which C. l. leschenaultii visits New Zealand (Marchant & Higgins 1993).

Anarhynchus leschenaultii leschenaultii (Lesson)
Greater Sand Plover

Charadrius Leschenaultii Lesson, 1826: in Levrault, Dict. Sci. Nat. 42: 36 – Pondicherry, India.

Pagoa leschenaultii (Lesson); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 159.

Charadrius leschenaulti Lesson; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 43. Unjustified emendation.

Charadrius leschenaultii Lesson; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 135.

Charadrius leschenaultii leschenaultii Lesson; Marchant & Higgins 1993, HANZAB 2: 868.

Anarhynchus leschenaultii leschenaultii (Lesson); Sangster et al. 2016, Ibis 158: 209.

Breeds in eastern Central Asia. Migrates mainly to Australia. An uncommon visitor to New Zealand. Recorded, usually singly, from Parengarenga Harbour to coastal Southland, favoured northern sites being Kaipara and Manukau Harbours (Marchant & Higgins 1993). One record (1996) of two birds at Norfolk Island (J. Moore 1999).

➤ Anarhynchus bicinctus (Jardine & Selby)
Banded Dotterel | Pohowera

Breeds on mainland New Zealand, Ruapuke Island, the Chatham Islands, and at the Auckland Islands / Maukahuka. Two subspecies.

Anarhynchus bicinctus bicinctus (Jardine & Selby)
Banded Dotterel | Pohowera

Charadrius bicinctus Jardine & Selby, 1827: Illust. Ornith. 1: pl. 28 & text – New South Wales, Australia.

Hiaticula bicincta (Jardine & Selby); G.R. Gray 1845, in Richardson & J.E. Gray (Eds), Zool. Voy. ‘Erebus’ & ‘Terror’, Birds 1(8): 12.

Aegialitis bicincta (Jardine & Selby); Crowfoot 1885, Ibis 3 (5th series): 270.

Ochthodromus bicinctus (Jardine & Selby); Sharpe 1896, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 24: 212.

Octhodromus [sic] bicinctus (Jardine & Selby); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 175.

Charadrius bicinctus incertus Mathews, 1912: Novit. Zool. 18(3): 217 – Port Malcolm, Western Australia.

Cirrepidesmus bicinctus (Jardine & Selby); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 252.

Nesoceryx bicinctus (Jardine & Selby); Mathews 1920, Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club 41: 35.

Nesoceryx bicinctus bicinctus (Jardine & Selby); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 158.

Nesoceryx bicinctus incertus (Mathews); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 158.

Charadrius bicinctus Jardine & Selby; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 43.

Charadrius bicinctus bicinctus Jardine & Selby; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 133.

Anarhynchus bicinctus bicinctus (Jardine & Selby); Černý & Natale 2022, Mol. Phyl. Evol. 177 (107260): 14.

Total population estimated at c. 27,000 birds (Riegen & Sagar 2020). Breeding concentrations are on shingle riverbeds of Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu and Wairarapa in the North Island, and on braided riverbeds of Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago and Southland in the South Island. Main breeding stronghold is Canterbury, where an estimated 10,000 pairs nest. Also breeds on Stewart Island / Rakiura and Ruapuke Island (Marchant & Higgins 1993), and on Chatham and Pitt Islands, (Aikman & Miskelly 2004). Chathams population estimated at c. 200–300 birds (Aikman & Miskelly 2004). Regional populations have different post-breeding movement patterns that range from sedentary behaviour, through migration within New Zealand, to trans-Tasman migration (Marchant & Higgins 1993). The banded dotterel is unique among waders in that a large part of the population undertakes an east–west migration. Most birds breeding in inland and high-altitude regions from North Canterbury southwards, possibly as many as 12,000, migrate to wintering areas in south-east Australia (Sagar et al. 1999; Medway 2000c; Hansen et al. 2016). A regular visitor to Norfolk Island (Marchant & Higgins 1993; J. Moore 1999). One record (1913) at Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004); two records (1954 & 1980) at Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Pierce 1980; Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020). Found in North and South Island natural bone deposits (Checklist Committee 1990).

Anarhynchus bicinctus exilis (Falla)
Auckland Island Banded Dotterel

Charadrius bicinctus subsp. Oliver 1955, New Zealand Birds, 2nd edition: 262.

Charadrius bicinctus exilis Falla, 1978: Notornis 25: 101 – Adams Island, Auckland Islands.

Charadrius exilis Falla; Holdaway et al. 2001, New Zealand Journ. Zool. 28(2): 174, 178.

Anarhynchus bicinctus exilis (Falla); Clements et al. 2023, The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2023.

Holdaway et al. (2001) considered that the Auckland Island banded dotterel should be given specific status because of its greater weight and longer legs than A. b. bicinctus. However, those characters are not considered here to be sufficient of themselves to warrant specific status for A. b. exilis. Endemic to Auckland Islands / Maukahuka. Breeds on Adams, Enderby, and Rose Islands, formerly on Auckland Island (Falla 1978; Pierce 1980; K. Walker et. al. 1991; Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020). Population in 1989 conservatively estimated as 730 birds (K. Walker et al. 1991). One Holocene bone found on Enderby Island (Tennyson 2020a).

➤ Anarhynchus frontalis Quoy & Gaimard
Wrybill | Ngutu Pare

Anarhynchus frontalis Quoy & Gaimard, 1830: in Dumont d’Urville, Voyage Astrolabe Zool. 1: 252 – Hauraki Gulf.

Thinornis? frontalis (Quoy & Gaimard); G.R. Gray 1847, Gen. Birds 3: 545.

Anarhynchus albifrons Schlegel, 1857: Handl. Dierk. 1: 435 – Hauraki Gulf.

Charadrius atricinctus Ellman, 1861: Zoologist 19: 7469 – New Zealand.

Charadrius frontalis (Quoy & Gaimard); G.R. Gray 1862, Ibis 4: 234.

Haematopus frontalis (Quoy & Gaimard); Finsch 1867, Journ. für Ornith. 15(5): 346.

Thinornis frontalis (Quoy & Gaimard); G.R. Gray 1871, Hand-list Birds 3: 17.

Anarhynchus frontalis Quoy & Gaimard; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 137.

Charadrius frontalis (Quoy & Gaimard); Holdaway et al. 2001, New Zealand Journ. Zool. 28(2): 174, 178.

Endemic to New Zealand. Breeds on braided riverbeds of Canterbury and Otago, with the Rakaia River being the most important breeding locality (Marchant & Higgins 1993). Migrates after nesting to wintering grounds in the northern harbours, most being congregated at the Firth of Thames and Manukau Harbour. An average of 4,800 birds was counted during 2005–2019 (Riegen & Sagar 2020). One record (Jun. 1999) at Chatham Islands (M. Bell & Bell 2000a). Found in North Island dune and midden deposits (Checklist Committee 1990). Burton (1972) found that, apart from the laterally curved bill, the head and neck anatomy in the wrybill closely resembles that of plovers formerly included in the genus Charadrius. The laterally curved bill of the wrybill, unique among birds, is considered to be an adaptation to specialised feeding in stony riverbeds at its breeding grounds (Pierce 1979).

➤ Anarhynchus obscurus (Gmelin)
New Zealand Dotterel | Tūturiwhatu

Endemic to New Zealand. Widespread until late 19th Century. Since then it has declined in range and numbers and is now found in two breeding populations separated by c. 900 km (Marchant & Higgins 1993). Two subspecies.

Anarhynchus obscurus aquilonius (Dowding)
Northern New Zealand Dotterel

Charadrius obscurus Gmelin; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 132. In part.

Charadrius obscurus aquilonius Dowding, 1994: Notornis 41: 230 – Mangere International Airport, Auckland.

Charadrius aquilonius Dowding; del Hoyo & Collar 2014, Illustrated Checklist Birds of the World 1: 424.

Anarhynchus obscurus aquilonius (Dowding); Clements et al. 2023, The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2023.

The population, estimated at 2,130 birds, breeds from North Cape / Otou to Waikanae in the west, and to Pahaoa River mouth, Wairarapa in the east (Dowding 2020). After nesting, many adults and their progeny form post-breeding flocks at favoured coastal sites, the largest numbers regularly being at Mangawhai and Omaha on the Northland east coast, and at Big Sand Island / Manakapua and Papakanui Spit in Kaipara Harbour (Dowding & Chamberlin 1991; Medway 2000c). Breeding productivity without management is low due to flooding of nests by high tides or storms, predation of eggs and chicks, and human disturbance (Wills et al. 2003). Found in natural and midden deposits (Checklist Committee 1990). South Island records from Ashley estuary, North Canterbury, Aug. 2016 (Dowding 2020) and Karamea estuary, Sep. 2022 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023).

Anarhynchus obscurus obscurus (Gmelin)
Southern New Zealand Dotterel

Charadrius obscurus Gmelin, 1789: Syst. Nat., 13th edition 1(2): 686. Based on the “Dusky Plover” of Latham 1785, Gen. Synop. Birds 3(1): 208 – Dusky Sound, Fiordland.

Charadrius Glareola J.R. Forster, 1829: in J.G. Wagler, Isis von Oken, Heft 6: col. 653 – New Zealand, restricted to Dusky Sound, Fiordland (fide Mathews 1944, Emu 43: 244).

Pluviorhynchus obscurus (Gmelin); Bonaparte 1856, Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 43: 417.

Ochthodromus obscurus (Gmelin); Sharpe 1896, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 24: 211.

Octhodromus [sic] obscurus (Gmelin); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 175.

Charadrius obscurus Gmelin; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 132. In part.

Charadrius obscurus obscurus Gmelin; Dowding 1994, Notornis 41: 230.

Anarhynchus obscurus obscurus (Gmelin); Černý & Natale 2022, Mol. Phyl. Evol. 177 (107260): 14.

Formerly widespread in the South Island (Barlow 1993; Dowding & Murphy 1993a), but now breeds only on Stewart Island / Rakiura. This population had declined to 60–65 birds by 1992 (Dowding & Murphy 1993a), but increased following predator control to 150 birds in 1999 (Dowding & Murphy 2001). There were an estimated 126 birds in 2016 (John Dowding in Riegen & Sagar 2020). The three post-breeding flocks are at Awarua Bay, Southland, and on Stewart Island / Rakiura at Paterson Inlet / Whaka a Te Wera and Cooks Arm, Port Pegasus / Pikihatiti (Dowding & Murphy 1993a).

➤ Anarhynchus ruficapillus (Temminck)
Red-capped Plover

Charadrius ruficapillus Temminck, 1821: Planch. Color. d’ Oiseaux 8: pl. 47, fig. 2 and 5: pl. 68 – “Oceanie”, restricted to New South Wales, Australia (fide Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 253).

Aegiatilis [sic] ruficapilla (Temminck); Hutton 1904, Index Faunae N.Z.: 38.

Aegialitis ruficapilla (Temminck); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 175.

Charadrius ruficapillus tormenti Mathews, 1912: Novit. Zool. 18(3): 217 – Point Torment, north-west Australia.

Leucopolius ruficapillus ruficapillus (Temminck); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 253.

Leucopolius ruficapillus tormenti (Mathews); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 160.

Charadrius alexandrinus ruficapillus Temminck, 1822 [sic]; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 43.

Charadrius ruficapillus Temminck; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 134.

Anarhynchus ruficapillus (Temminck); Clements et al. 2023, The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2023.

Breeds in Australia (including Tasmania). First recorded in New Zealand near Waikanae in 1878. The next record was not until 1947–50 when a female bred with a banded dotterel Ch. bicinctus on the Ashley River / Rakahuri in North Canterbury. Between 1955 and 1975, further sightings were made on or near the Ashley River / Rakahuri, one was seen at Lake Tuakitoto in South Otago, and there were several sightings near Auckland. Breeding and non-breeding birds were seen during the 1960s and 1970s on three North Canterbury rivers: Ashley / Rakahuri, Waipara, and Leader. The last breeding record was from the Ashley River / Rakahuri in 1979 (Hughey 1989; Marchant & Higgins 1993). The last non-breeding records were for Auckland in Dec. 1975, and Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora in Jan. 1981 (Hughey 1989), until one was recorded at Miranda, Firth of Thames, in Jan. 2018 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2019).

Suborder SCOLOPACI: Snipes and Sandpipers

The sequence that families are presented in follows Dickinson & Remsen (2013).

Family ROSTRATULIDAE Mathews: Painted Snipes

Rostratulidae Mathews, 1913: Birds Australia 3: 306 – Type genus Rostratula Vieillot, 1816.

Genus Rostratula Vieillot

Rostratula Vieillot, 1816: Analyse Nouv. Ornith. Elem.: 56 – Type species (by monotypy) “Becassine de Madagascar” of Buffon = Rostratula benghalensis (Linnaeus).

Rhynchaea Cuvier, 1817: Règne Anim. 1: 487 – Type species (by original designation) Scolopax capensis Linnaeus = Rostratula benghalensis (Linnaeus).

Two species (B. Lane & Rogers 2000; A. Baker, Pereira, Rogers et al. 2007; Christidis & Boles 2008): R. benghalensis breeds in central and southern Africa, south Asia, southern Japan, China, the Philippines, and western Indonesia; R. australis is confined to Australia. The two species were formerly considered conspecific (as R. benghalensis), with the sole New Zealand record not assigned to subspecies. Based on distribution, the Checklist Committee assumes this bird to have been R. australis.

➤ Rostratula australis (Gould)
Australian Painted Snipe

Rhynchaea australis Gould, 1838: Synop. Birds Australia 4: Appendix, 6 – New South Wales, Australia.

Rostratula benghalensis australis (Gould); Hayman, Marchant & Prater 1986, Shorebirds: 222.

Rostratula benghalensis; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 128. Not Rostratula benghalensis (Linnaeus, 1758).

Rostratula australis (Gould); Christidis & Boles, Syst. Taxon. Australian Birds 2008: 24.

One record: Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, Aug. 1986 (K. Harrison & Mulligan 1987).

Family SCOLOPACIDAE Rafinesque: Sandpipers and Snipes

Scolopacea Rafinesque, 1815: Analyse de la Nature: 70 – Type genus Scolopax Linnaeus, 1758.

The subfamilies used, their sequence, and the sequence of genera within each subfamily is based on R. Gibson & Baker (2012) and Chesser et al. (2020).

Subfamily NUMENINAE G.R. Gray: Curlews and Whimbrels

Numeninae G.R. Gray, 1840: List Gen. Birds (1st edition): 68 – Type genus Numenius Brisson, 1760.

Genus Bartramia Lesson

Bartramia Lesson, 1831: Traité d’Ornith. 7: 553 – Type species (by monotypy) Bartramia laticauda Lesson = Bartramia longicauda (Bechstein).

➤ Bartramia longicauda (Bechstein)
Upland Sandpiper

Tringa longicauda Bechstein, 1811: Kurze Uebers. Vögel: 453 – North America.

Bartramia longicauda (Bechstein); Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 47.

Breeds in North America, migrates to southern South America (Higgins & Davies 1996). Vagrant to New Zealand. One record: Manukau Harbour 1967 (McKenzie 1968).

Genus Numenius Brisson

Numenius Brisson, 1760: Ornithologie 1: 48, 5: 311 – Type species (by tautonymy) Scolopax arquata Linnaeus = Numenius arquata (Linnaeus).

Phaeopus Cuvier, 1816: Règne Anim. 1: 485 – Type species (by tautonymy) Scolopax phaeopus Linnaeus = Numenius phaeopus (Linnaeus).

Cracticornis G.R. Gray, 1841: List Gen. Birds (2nd edition): 88 – Type species (by original designation) Scolopax arquata Linnaeus = Numenius arquata (Linnaeus).

Mesoscolopax Sharpe, 1896: Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 24: 338, 371 – Type species (by monotypy) Numenius minutus Gould.

We follow Sangster et al. (2011) and Tan et al. (2019) in recognising two species of whimbrel (N. phaeopus and N. hudsonicus), both of which reach New Zealand. A whimbrel bone found in a natural deposit in Marlborough has not been identified to taxon (Checklist Committee 1990).

➤ Numenius madagascariensis (Linnaeus)
Eastern Curlew

Scolopax madagascariensis Linnaeus, 1766: Syst. Nat., 12th edition 1: 242 – Macassar, Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Numenius cyanopus Vieillot, 1817: Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd. 8: 306 – “Nouvelle Hollande”, restricted to New South Wales, Australia (fide Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 166).

Numenius australasianus Gould, 1838: Synop. Birds Australia 4, App.: 6 – New South Wales, Australia.

Numenius australis Gould, 1838: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1837 (5): 155 – New South Wales, Australia.

Numenius rostratus G.R. Gray, 1843: Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., London 11: 194 – New South Wales, Australia.

Numenius rufescens Gould, 1863: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1862 (18): 286 – Formosa (= Taiwan).

Numenius cyanopus Vieillot; Travers 1883, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 15: 187.

Numenius madagascariensis (Linnaeus); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 44.

Breeds in north-eastern Asia. Migrates to South-east Asia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Australasia (Higgins & Davies 1996). The East Asian–Australasian Flyway population was estimated at 35,000 birds in 2016, of which c. 19,000 migrated to Australia in 1993 (Watkins 1993; Hansen et al. 2016). The eighth most numerous arctic wader visiting New Zealand each year, but in numbers much less than visit Australia. An average of nine birds in New Zealand every summer 2005–2019, with numbers declining (Riegen & Sagar 2020). Favoured locality Farewell Spit, also annually visits Manukau Harbour and Firth of Thames (Sagar et al. 1999; Medway 2000c; Riegen & Sagar 2020). Rare visitor to Norfolk Island (Schodde et al. 1983; J. Moore 1999). Three records on Chatham Island: May 1993, Dec. 1997, Oct. 2000 (Miskelly et al. 2006). One record from each of: Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua, Oct. 1974 (Veitch et al. 2004); Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku, Jan. 2013; Stewart Island / Rakiura, Jan. 2013 (Miskelly et al. 2015).

➤ Numenius phaeopus (Linnaeus)
Eurasian Whimbrel

Scolopax Phaeopus Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 146 – Europe, restricted to Sweden (fide Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 257).

Breeds from northern Europe to north-east Siberia. Migrates as far as Africa and Australasia (Higgins & Davies 1996). Up to five subspecies recognised, of which one, N. ph. variegatus, has been recorded in New Zealand. Contrary to Checklist Committee (2010: 202), we follow Sangster et al. (2011) and Tan et al. (2019) in recognising American whimbrel (N. hudsonicus) as a distinct species.

Numenius phaeopus variegatus (Scopoli)
Asiatic Whimbrel

Tantalus variegatus Scopoli, 1786: Delic. Flor. Faun. insubr. 2: 92 – Luzon, Philippines.

Scolopax luzoniensis Gmelin, 1789: Syst. Nat., 13th edition 1(2): 656 – Luzon, Philippines.

Numenius atricapillus Vieillot, 1817: Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd. 8: 303. Unnecessary nomen novum for Scolopax luzoniensis Gmelin, 1789.

Numenius uropygialis Gould, 1841: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1840 (8): 175 – southern coast of Australia.

Limosa uropygialis Gould [sic]; Anon. 1870, Cat. Colonial Mus.: 74.

Limosa uropygialis (Gould); Hutton 1872, Ibis 2 (3rd series): 246.

Numenius uropygialis Gould; Travers 1883, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 15: 187.

Numenius variegatus (Scopoli); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 181.

Numenius phaeopus variegatus (Scopoli); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 257.

Phaeopus phaeopus variegatus (Scopoli); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 166.

Numenius phaeopus; J. Moore 1981, Notornis 28: 54. Not Scolopax phaeopus Linnaeus, 1758.

Numenius phaeopus variegata (Scopoli); Heather & Robertson 1996, Field Guide Birds New Zealand: 112, 320. Unjustified emendation.

Breeds in eastern Siberia. Migrates to South-east Asia, New Guinea, and Australasia (Higgins & Davies 1996). By far the most common whimbrel in New Zealand. The East Asian–Australasian Flyway population was estimated at 40,000 birds in 1993, of which c. 10,000 migrated to Australia (Watkins 1993). Whimbrels are the sixth most numerous arctic waders visiting New Zealand each year, with c.30 present during summer 2005–2019 (Riegen & Sagar 2020). Widespread throughout New Zealand, often in small flocks. Most whimbrels are recorded at large northern harbours and Farewell Spit, but also reported from many estuaries throughout the country (Sagar et al. 1999; Medway 2000c). A regular, probably annual, summer visitor to Norfolk Island (Schodde et al. 1983; J. Moore 1999); an occasional visitor to Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004); vagrant at Chatham Islands (Freeman 1994; Miskelly et al. 2006; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2017, 2021), and at Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Feb. 1994; Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020).

➤ Numenius hudsonicus Latham
American Whimbrel

Numenius hudsonicus Latham, 1790: Index Ornith. 2: 712 – Hudson Bay, North America.

Limosa hudsonica (Latham); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 185.

Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus Latham; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 44.

Breeds in northern North America. Migrates mainly to central and South America. Monotypic, although some authorities use subspecies rufiventris Vigors, 1829 for western populations (Engelmoer & Roselaar 1998; Tomkovich 2008). Retained on the New Zealand list on the basis of a bird collected at Wairau Bar in Dec. 1873 (Oliver 1955; NMNZ OR.000111), and a possible sight record in Firth of Thames in May 1964 (Hogg & Brown 1966). As dorsal plumage colour is now recognised to be an unreliable character for separating the two whimbrel species (Beaman & Madge 1998; Robson 2008; Brazil 2009; van Duivendijk 2011; contra Falla et al. 1966, 1981; Heather & Robertson 1996), all other New Zealand records of American whimbrel are considered to be unverified.

➤ Numenius minutus Gould
Little Whimbrel

Numenius minutus Gould, 1841: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1840 (8): 176 – Maitland, New South Wales, Australia.

Mesoscolopax minutus (Gould); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 181.

Numenius minutus Gould; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 44.

Breeds in central and north-east Siberia. Migrates mostly to New Guinea and Australia (Higgins & Davies 1996). An uncommon visitor to New Zealand. Widespread, usually single birds. The first record was of two at Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora in Jun. 1900, one of which was shot (Hutton 1901; Stead 1923). Recorded at many estuaries and some coastal lakes from Parengarenga Harbour to Riverton (Higgins & Davies 1996; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023).

➤ Numenius tahitiensis (Gmelin)
Bristle-thighed Curlew

Scolopax tahitiensis Gmelin, 1789: Syst. Nat., 13th edition 1(2): 656. Based on the “Otaheite Curlew” of Latham 1785, Gen. Synop. Birds 3(1): 122, no. 4 – Tahiti, French Polynesia.

Phaeopus tahitiensis (Gmelin); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 167.

Numenius tahitiensis (Gmelin); Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 47.

Breeds in remote mountains of western Alaska. Migrates to oceanic islands and atolls of Central and South Pacific (Higgins & Davies 1996). Three records (1966, 1972) from Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004).

Subfamily LIMOSINAE G.R. Gray: Godwits

Limosinae G.R. Gray, 1841: List Gen. Birds (2nd edition): 88 – Type genus Limosa Brisson, 1760.

Genus Limosa Brisson

Limosa Brisson, 1760: Ornithologie 1: 48, 5: 261 – Type species (by tautonymy) Scolopax limosa Linnaeus.

Vetola Mathews, 1913: Birds Australia 3: 191 – Type species (by original designation) Scolopax lapponica Linnaeus = Limosa lapponica (Linnaeus).

➤ Limosa lapponica (Linnaeus)
Bar-tailed Godwit | Kuaka*

Scolopax lapponica Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 147 – Lapland, Sweden.

Five subspecies recognised. Nominate subspecies breeds in north Eurasia; subspecies L. l. baueri breeds in north-east Siberia and western Alaska; subspecies L. l. menzbieri Portenko, 1936 breeds in north-eastern Asia; subspecies L. l. anadyrensis Engelmoer & Roselaar, 1998 breeds in the Anadyr lowlands in eastern Siberia; subspecies L. l. taymyrensis Engelmoer & Roselaar, 1998 breeds in central Siberia.

Limosa lapponica baueri Naumann
Eastern Bar-tailed Godwit | Kuaka*

Limosa baueri Naumann, 1836: Naturgesch. Vog. Deutsch. 8: 429 – New Holland, restricted to Victoria, Australia (fide Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 258).

Limosa lapponica var. Novae Zealandiae G.R. Gray, 1845: in Richardson & J.E. Gray (Eds), Zool. Voy. ‘Erebus’ & ‘Terror’, Birds 1(8): 13 – New Zealand.

Limosa Foxii Peale, 1848: U.S. Expl. Exped. Birds 8: 231, 332 – Rose Island, Samoan Islands.

Gallinago punctata Ellman, 1861: Zoologist 19: 7470 – New Zealand.

Limosa novae zealandiae G.R. Gray; G.R. Gray 1862, Ibis 4: 236.

Limosa lapponica novae zealandiae G.R. Gray; Ridgway 1880, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 3: 800.

Limosa brevipes Sharpe, 1896: Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 24: 378 (ex G.R. Gray, 1844) – New Zealand.

Limosa novae-zealandiae G.R. Gray; Hutton 1904, Index Faunae N.Z.: 32.

Limosa lapponica baueri Naumann; Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 258.

Vetola lapponica baueri (Naumann); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 168.

Limosa lapponica; Lindsay 1963, Notornis 10: 304. Not Scolopax lapponica Linnaeus, 1758.

Nearly all bar-tailed godwits that migrate to south-east Australia and New Zealand are considered to be of this subspecies (J. Wilson et al. 2007). The East Asian–Australasian Flyway population was estimated at 115,000 birds in 1993, of which about half migrated to Australia (Watkins 1993). The most numerous arctic wader to visit New Zealand, with an average of 77,800 every summer 2005–2019 (Riegen & Sagar 2020). Widespread; prefers localities with broad inter-tidal areas; seldom inland. Favoured localities are large northern harbours and Farewell Spit (Sagar et al. 1999; Medway 2000c). A regular summer visitor in small numbers to Norfolk Island (Schodde et al. 1983; J. Moore 1999); probably an annual summer visitor to Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004); a regular summer visitor to Chatham Islands (Aikman & Miskelly 2004). Vagrant at Snares Islands / Tini Heke (Miskelly et al. 2001a), Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020), Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku, and Macquarie Island (Higgins & Davies 1996). Found in dune and midden deposits on mainland New Zealand (Checklist Committee 1990). One bone found in Enderby Island dune deposit (Tennyson 2020a).

*Also used for common diving petrel Pelecanoides urinatrix.

➤ Limosa limosa (Linnaeus)
Black-tailed Godwit

Scolopax limosa Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 147 – Europe, restricted to Sweden (fide Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 258).

Three subspecies recognised. L. l. limosa breeds in western Siberia and Europe; L. l. islandica Brehm, 1831 breeds in Iceland; L. l. melanuroides breeds in eastern Siberia and Mongolia. Only the latter has been recorded in New Zealand.

Limosa limosa melanuroides Gould
Asiatic Black-tailed Godwit

Limosa melanuroides Gould, 1846: Birds of Australia, Part 24 (fide McAllan 2004, Notornis 51: 128) – Port Essington, Northern Territory, Australia.

Limosa limosa melanuroides Gould; Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 47.

An uncommon but probably annual visitor to New Zealand in small numbers. Widespread, usually single birds but occasionally in small flocks. Recorded at many estuaries from Parengarenga Harbour to Southland coast (Higgins & Davies 1996). Vagrant at Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Jan. 1963, Dec. 1976, Feb. 2004; Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020), and Chatham Island (Dec. 2000; Medway 2001a).

➤ Limosa haemastica (Linnaeus)
Hudsonian Godwit

Scolopax haemastica Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 147. Based on “The Red-breasted Godwit” of Edwards 1750, Nat. Hist. Birds 3: 138, pl. 138 – North America, restricted to Hudson Bay (fide Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 258).

Limosa limosa haemastica (Linnaeus); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 258.

Vetola haemastica (Linnaeus); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 168.

Limosa haemastica (Linnaeus); Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 47.

Breeds in northern North America. Migrates mostly to South America. An uncommon but probably annual visitor to New Zealand in small numbers. Widespread, usually single birds. Recorded at many estuaries and a few freshwater coastal lagoons from Parengarenga Harbour to Southland coast (Higgins & Davies 1996). One record at Chatham Island, Nov.–Dec. 2004 (Miskelly et al. 2006). Also recorded once at Norfolk Island (J. Moore 1981).

Subfamily ARENARIINAE Stejneger: Sandpipers and Turnstones

Arenariinae Stejneger, 1885 (1840): Standard Natural History 4: 99 – Type genus Arenaria Brisson, 1760 (fide ICZN 1999, Art. 40.2).

As we were unable to find proof that Reichenbach (1849–1853) used the subfamily name Calidrinae (or Calidridinae) [fide G.R. Gray (1871), Brodkorb (1967), Bock (1994), Checklist Committee (2010), R.C. Banks (2012), Dickinson & Remsen (2013) and others], we follow R.C. Banks (2012) and Chesser et al. (2020) in using Arenariinae. Some authorities use Tribe Arenariini for turnstones (Arenaria), and Tribe Calidrini for Calidris sandpipers (e.g. Dickinson & Remsen 2013; Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International 2020).

Genus Arenaria Brisson

Arenaria Brisson, 1760: Ornithologie 1: 48, 5: 132 – Type species (by tautonymy) Tringa interpres Linnaeus = Arenaria interpres (Linnaeus).

Morinella Meyer & Wolf, 1810: Taschenb. Vögel. 2: 382 – Type species (by monotypy) Morinella collaris Meyer & Wolf = Arenaria interpres (Linnaeus).

Strepsilas Illiger, 1811: Prodromus Syst. Mamm. Avium: 263 – Type species (by monotypy) Tringa interpres Linnaeus = Arenaria interpres (Linnaeus).

Cinclus G.R. Gray, 1841: List Gen. Birds (2nd edition): 85 – Type species (by original designation) Tringa interpres Linnaeus = Arenaria interpres (Linnaeus). Junior homonym of Cinclus Borkhausen, 1797.

➤ Arenaria interpres (Linnaeus)
Ruddy Turnstone

Almost cosmopolitan in northern autumn and winter, being found on coasts of the Americas, Africa, Madagascar, south and South-east Asia, the islands of the Pacific, and Australasia. Two subspecies commonly recognised: A. i. interpres – breeds from the northern Canadian Arctic, across Arctic Eurasia to north-west Alaska, and spends the non-breeding season on the coasts of western Europe, Africa, south Asia, Australasia, and the Pacific Islands; A. i. morinella (Linnaeus, 1766) – breeds in north-east Alaska and across most of Arctic Canada and winters from South Carolina south to central Chile and northern Argentina (Nettleship 2000; del Hoyo & Collar 2014). The nominate subspecies is the only form known from Australasia (Higgins & Davies 1996; Melville et al. 2020).

Arenaria interpres interpres (Linnaeus)
Ruddy Turnstone

Tringa interpres Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 148 – Europe and North America, restricted to Gotland, Sweden (fide Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 271).

Morinella collaris Meyer & Wolf, 1810: Taschenb. Vögel. 2: 383 (footnote). Unnecessary nomen novum for Tringa interpres Linnaeus, 1758.

Charadrius Cinclus Pallas, 1811: Zoogr. Rosso-Asiatica 2: 148 – Siberia to Kamchatka Peninsula.

Tringa oahuensis Bloxham, 1826: in Byron, Voy. “Blonde”: 251 – Hawai’ian Islands, Pacific Ocean.

Cinclus interpres (Linnaeus); G.R. Gray 1841, List Gen. Birds (2nd edition): 85.

Strepsilas collaris (Meyer & Wolf); Holböll 1843, Naturhist. Tidsskr. 4: 407.

Strepsilas interpres (Linnaeus); Anon. 1870, Cat. Colonial Mus.: 74.

Morinella interpres oahuensis (Bloxham); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 250.

Arenaria interpres cinclus (Pallas); Mathews 1931, Ibis 1 (13th series): 45.

Arenaria interpres interpres (Linnaeus); Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 49.

Arenaria interpres (Linnaeus); Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 139.

Checklist Committee (1990) included the ruddy turnstone in the Charadriidae, but Sibley & Monroe (1990), Christidis & Boles (1994, 2008) and Higgins & Davies (1996) included it in the Scolopacidae. The latter placement is followed here. The East Asian–Australasian Flyway population was estimated at 28,000 birds in 1993, of which c. 14,000 migrated to Australia (Watkins 1993). The third most numerous arctic wader visiting New Zealand, with c. 1,600 in recent summers (Riegen & Sagar 2020). Widespread, but tends to concentrate in certain favoured coastal localities, principally the northern harbours, Nelson–Marlborough region, and southern estuaries (Sagar et al. 1999; Medway 2000c). A regular summer visitor to Norfolk Island (J. Moore 1999), Chatham Islands (Aikman & Miskelly 2004), Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020), and probably Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004). Vagrant at Snares Islands / Tini Heke (Miskelly et al. 2001a), Antipodes Islands (Tennyson et al. 2002), Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku (Kinsky 1969), and Macquarie Island (Milius 2003). Found in a Kaikoura midden and Chatham Island dune deposits (Checklist Committee 1990).

Genus Calidris Merrem

Calidris Merrem, 1804: Allg. Lit. Zeitung 2(168): col. 542 – Type species (by tautonymy) Tringa calidris Gmelin = Calidris canutus (Linnaeus).

Philomachus Merrem, 1804: Allg. Lit. Zeitung. 2(168): col. 542 – Type species (by monotypy) Tringa pugnax Linnaeus = Calidris pugnax (Linnaeus).

Ereunetes Illiger, 1811: Prodromus Syst. Mamm. Avium: 262 – Type species (by monotypy) Ereunetes petrificatus Illiger = Calidris pusilla (Linnaeus).

Erolia Vieillot, 1816: Analyse Nouv. Ornith. Elem.: 55 – Type species (by monotypy) Erolia variegata Vieillot = Calidris ferruginea (Pontoppidan).

Limicola Koch, 1816: Syst. Baierischen Zool. 1: 316 – Type species (by monotypy) Numenius pygmaeus Bechstein = Calidris falcinellus (Pontoppidan).

Pelidna Cuvier, 1817: Règne Anim. 1: 490 – Type species (by original designation) Tringa alpina Linnaeus = Calidris alpina (Linnaeus).

Eurynorhynchus Nilsson, 1821: Ornith. Svecica: 29 – Type species (by monotypy) Platalea pygmea Linnaeus = Calidris pygmea (Linnaeus).

Crocethia Billberg, 1828: Synop. Faun. Scand. 1(2): 132 – Type species (by monotypy) Charadrius calidris Linnaeus = Calidris alba (Pallas).

Pisobia Billberg, 1828: Synop. Faun. Scand. 1(2): 136 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Tringa minuta Leisler = Calidris minuta (Leisler).

Platyrhamphus Billberg, 1828: Synop. Faun. Scand. 1: 172 – Type species (by monotypy) Numenius pusillus Bechstein = Calidris falcinellus (Pontoppidan).

Limonites Kaup, 1829: Skizz. Entw.-Gesch. Eur. Thierw.: 37 – Type species (by monotypy) Tringa temminckii Leisler = Calidris temminckii (Leisler).

Falcinellus Kaup, 1829: Skizz. Entwick.-Gesch. Nat. Syst.: 37 – Type species (by monotypy) Tringa platyrhynchus Temminck = Calidris falcinellus (Pontoppidan).

Ancylochilus Kaup, 1829: Skizz. Entw.-Gesch. Eur. Thierw.: 50 – Type species (by monotypy) Scolopax subarquata Güldenstaedt = Calidris ferruginea (Pontoppidan).

Actodromas Kaup, 1829: Skizz. Entw.-Gesch. Eur. Thierw.: 55 – Type species (by monotypy) Tringa minuta Leisler = Calidris minuta (Leisler).

Canutus Brehm, 1831: Handb. Naturgesch. Vög. Deutschl.: 653 – Type species (by tautonymy) Tringa canutus Linnaeus = Calidris canutus (Linnaeus).

Aphriza Audubon, 1839: Ornith. Biography 5: 249 – Type species (by monotypy) Tringa townsendi Audubon = Calidris virgata (Gmelin).

Schaeniclus G.R. Gray 1844: List Birds Brit. Mus. 3: 104 – Type species (by monotypy) Tringa cinclus Linnaeus = Calidris alpina (Linnaeus).

Tryngites Cabanis, 1856: Journ. für Ornith. 4(6): 418 – Type species (by monotypy) Tringa rufescens Vieillot = Calidris subruficollis (Vieillot).

Micropalama Baird, 1858: Expl. Surv. Miss. River Pac. Ocean. Birds: 714, 726 – Type species (by monotypy) Tringa himantopus Bonaparte = Calidris himantopus (Bonaparte).

Heteropygia Coues, 1861: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad.: 190 – Type species (by original designation) Tringa bonapartei Baird = Calidris fuscicollis (Vieillot).

Limnocinclus Gould, 1865: Handb. Birds Australia 2: 254 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Totanus acuminatus Horsfield = Calidris acuminata (Horsfield).

Anteliotringa Mathews, 1913: Birds Australia 3: 274 – Type species (by original designation) Totanus tenuirostris Horsfield = Calidris tenuirostris (Horsfield).

Caladris; Oliver 1955, New Zealand Birds, 2nd edition: 406. Misspelling.

We follow R. Gibson & Baker (2012) and R.C. Banks (2012) in synonymising genera Limicola, Philomachus, and Tryngites within Calidris. We follow R.C. Banks (2012) in giving Calidris priority over Philomachus. The species sequence follows R.C. Banks (2012).

➤ Calidris tenuirostris (Horsfield)
Great Knot

Totanus tenuirostris Horsfield, 1821: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 13(1): 192 – Java, Indonesia.

Anteliotringa tenuirostris (Horsfield); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 178.

Calidris tenuirostris (Horsfield); Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 50.

Breeds in north-east Siberia. Migrates to south Asia, the Philippines, and Australia, especially to the north and north-west coasts. An uncommon but probably annual visitor to New Zealand; the first record was of three at the Manawatu River estuary in Oct. 1967 (Andrew 1968). Recorded, mostly from the North Island, at harbours, coastal lakes, and estuaries from Kaipara Harbour to Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora (Higgins & Davies 1996; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023). Usually single birds, but up to four present in 2003 at the Manawatu River estuary, and three present in 2004 at Mangere sewage ponds, Auckland (Medway 2004b; Rare Birds Committee 2005).

➤ Calidris canutus (Linnaeus)
Red Knot | Huahou

Tringa canutus Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 149 – Sweden.

Breeds in widely separated parts of the high arctic. Migrates to temperate and tropical estuaries of both hemispheres (Higgins & Davies 1996). The second most numerous arctic wader visiting New Zealand each year, with an estimated 32,000 in the country every summer (Riegen & Sagar 2020). Widespread; favoured localities being Kaipara Harbour, Manukau Harbour, Firth of Thames, and Farewell Spit (Sagar et al. 1999; Medway 2000c; Riegen & Sagar 2020). An occasional visitor to Norfolk Island (Schodde et al. 1983; J. Moore 1985a, 1999; Hermes et al. 1986) and Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004); a regular summer visitor to the Chatham Islands (Aikman & Miskelly 2004); and a straggler to Auckland / Maukahuka, Campbell / Motu Ihupuku, and Macquarie Islands (Higgins & Davies 1996; Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020). Six subspecies are recognised (Higgins & Davies 1996; Tomkovich 2001). Found in one North Island midden and in Chatham Island dunes (Checklist Committee 1990).

Calidris canutus rogersi (Mathews)
Red Knot | Huahou

Tringa canuta; Travers 1883, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 15: 187. Not Tringa canutus Linnaeus, 1758.

Tringa canutus; Hutton 1904, Index Faunae N.Z.: 32. Not Tringa canutus Linnaeus, 1758.

Canutus canutus rogersi Mathews, 1913: Birds Australia 3: 270, 273, pl. 163 – Shanghai, China.

Canutus canutus; Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 261. Not Tringa canutus Linnaeus, 1758.

Calidris canutus rogersi (Mathews); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 46.

Calidris canutus canutus; Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 49. Not Tringa canutus Linnaeus, 1758.

The predominant subspecies of red knot in New Zealand (Riegen & Sagar 2020). Breeds in north-east Siberia. Migrates to Australia and New Zealand (Higgins & Davies 1996; Tomkovich 2001). The world population was estimated at 50,600 to 62,000 birds (D. Rogers et al. 2010).

Calidris canutus piersmai Tomkovich
Red Knot | Huahou

Canutus canutus piersmai Tomkovich, 2001: Bull. Br. Ornithol. Club 121: 259 – Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island, New Siberia Islands.

Up to 25% of the red knots in New Zealand may be this subspecies (D. Rogers et al. 2010). Evidence for their presence in New Zealand includes two specimens in Te Papa (NMNZ OR.017279 & OR.019001) identified by Pavel Tomkovich in Mar. 2015, 12 individually colour-banded birds from New Zealand that were identified as C. c. piersmai from their breeding plumage while at Bohai Bay, China during migration to their breeding grounds (D. Rogers et al. 2010), and six of a sample of 15 red knots from Manawatu estuary being genotyped as C. c. piersmai (Conklin et al. 2022). Breeds in the New Siberia Islands (northern Siberia). Migrates to Australia and New Zealand (D. Rogers et al. 2010; Riegen & Sagar 2020). The world population was estimated at 48,700 to 60,100 birds (D. Rogers et al. 2010).

➤ Calidris pugnax (Linnaeus)
Ruff

Tringa pugnax Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 148 – Europe, restricted to Sweden (fide Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 288).

Philomachus pugnax (Linnaeus); Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 148.

Calidris pugnax (Linnaeus); Banks 2012, Zootaxa 3513: 87.

Breeds from northern Europe east to eastern Siberia. Migrates mostly to southern Europe, Africa, and India (Higgins & Davies 1996). A rare visitor to New Zealand. Fifteen records: Colac Bay / Ōraka, Dec. 1984–Mar. 85 (Miskelly & Cooper 1985); Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, Dec. 1984–Jan. 1985, Nov. 1991, Dec. 1999–Jan. 2000 (K. Harrison et al. 1985; Medway 2000a, 2001a); Lake Poukawa, Hawke’s Bay, Nov. 1985 (L. Howell 1987); Wainono Lagoon, South Canterbury, Nov. 1987, Oct. 2002 (Maloney 1988; Medway 2003a); Firth of Thames, Nov. 2001 (Medway 2002d); Ahuriri River estuary, Hawke’s Bay, Dec. 2001 (Medway 2002f); New Plymouth, Oct. 2002 (Medway 2002f); Rakaia River mouth, Jun. 2003 (Medway 2003b); Kaiapoi, Feb. 2004 (Miskelly et al. 2011); Maketu estuary, Bay of Plenty, Dec. 2005 (Scofield 2006); Nelson Haven, Nov. 2007 (Scofield 2008); Miranda, Feb. 2022 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023).

➤ Calidris falcinellus (Pontoppidan)
Broad-billed Sandpiper

Scolopax falcinellus Pontoppidan, 1763: Danske Atlas 1: 623, pl. 13 – Denmark.

Calidris falcinellus (Pontoppidan); Banks 2012, Zootaxa 3513: 87.

Two subspecies. Breeds in northern Europe and northern Siberia. Migrates mainly to east Africa, south Asia, and Australia (Higgins & Davies 1996).

Calidris falcinellus sibirica (Dresser)
Eastern Broad-billed Sandpiper

Limicola sibirica Dresser, 1876: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1876 (44): 674 – China.

Limicola falcinellus sibiricus Dresser; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 148. Unjustified emendation.

Limicola falcinellus sibirica Dresser; Higgins & Davies 1996, HANZAB 3: 333.

Calidris falcinellus sibirica (Dresser); Gibson & Withrow 2015, Western Birds 46: 115.

The correct spelling of the subspecific name is sibirica (Higgins & Davies 1996). Breeds in eastern Siberia. Migrates mainly to South-east Asia and Australia. An uncommon visitor to New Zealand, mostly single birds in the North Island (Higgins & Davies 1996). The only South Island record is from Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora in Jan. 2001 (Medway 2001d).

➤ Calidris acuminata (Horsfield)
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper | Kohutapu

Totanus acuminatus Horsfield, 1821: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 13(1): 192 – Java, Indonesia.

Tringa australis Jardine & Selby, 1830: Illust. Ornith. 2: [66], pl. 91 – “New Holland” = Australia.

Schæniclus australis (Jardine & Selby); G.R. Gray 1844, List Birds Brit. Mus. 3: 105.

Limnocinclus australis (Jardine & Selby); Potts 1873, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 5: 171.

Limnocinclus acuminatus (Horsfield); Travers 1883, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 15: 187.

Tringa acuminata (Horsfield); Buller 1887 (Oct), History of the Birds of N.Z., 2nd edition 2 (part 2): 37.

Heteropygia acuminata (Horsfield); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 187.

Pisobia maculata acuminata (Horsfield); Iredale 1913, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 45: 86.

Heteropygia maculata acuminata (Horsfield); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 260.

Limnocinclus acuminatus rufescens Mathews, 1916: Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club 36: 82 – north-west Australia.

Erolia acuminatus; Stidolph 1927, Emu 26: 216. Unjustified emendation.

Erolia acuminata; Stidolph 1932, Emu 31: 234.

Erolia acuminata (Horsfield); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 284.

Calidris acuminata (Horsfield); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 46.

Breeds in north-east Siberia. Migrates mainly to New Guinea and Australia (Higgins & Davies 1996). The East Asian–Australasian Flyway population was estimated at 85,000 birds in 2016, most of which migrate to Australia (Hansen et al. 2016). The seventh most numerous arctic wader visiting New Zealand each year, but in numbers much less than visit Australia. About 20 in New Zealand every summer. Widespread; favoured localities being Firth of Thames, Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, and the estuary at Invercargill (Sagar et al. 1999; Medway 2000c). Regular visitor to Norfolk Island (J. Moore 1999) and occasional visitor to Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004). Vagrant at Snares Islands / Tini Heke (Miskelly et al. 2001a), Chatham Islands (Freeman 1994; Miskelly et al. 2006), and Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020).

➤ Calidris himantopus (Bonaparte)
Stilt Sandpiper

Tringa himantopus Bonaparte, 1826: Ann. Lyc. Nat. Hist. N.Y. 2: 157 – Long Branch, New Jersey, USA.

Micropalama himantopus (Bonaparte); Medway 2001, Notornis 48: 61.

Calidris himantopus (Bonaparte); Sangster et al. 2004, Ibis 146: 153.

Sangster et al. (2004) considered that morphological, behavioural, and molecular studies indicated that the stilt sandpiper was best placed in Calidris, and this was confirmed by R. Gibson & Baker (2012) based on multiple gene sequences. Breeds in north Alaska. Migrates to central South America. Accidental in Western Europe, Japan, and Australia (Higgins & Davies 1996). Vagrant to New Zealand. One record: Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, Sep. 1998 (Medway 2000a, 2001a; Hill 2006).

➤ Calidris ferruginea (Pontoppidan)
Curlew Sandpiper

Tringa ferrugineus Pontoppidan, 1763: Danske Atlas 1: 624 – Christiansø Islands, off Bornholm, Denmark.

Scolopax testacea Pallas, 1764: in Vroeg, Cat. Raisonné Coll. Oiseaux, Adumbr.: 6 – Holland.

Scolopax subarquata Güldenstaedt, 1775: Novi Comment. Acad. Scient. Imperial. Petropol. 19: 471 – near the Caspian Sea.

Tringa (Pelidna) chinensis J.E. Gray, 1831: Zool. Miscell. 1: 2 – China.

Ancylochilus subarquatus (Güldenstaedt); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 187.

Tringa subarquata (Güldenstaedt); A. Hamilton 1909, Hand-list Birds New Zealand: 10.

Erolia ferruginea (Brünnich) [sic]; Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 259.

Erolia testacea chinensis (G.R. Gray); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 177.

Erolia testacea; Stidolph 1927, Emu 26: 216.

Erolia testacea (Pallas); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 286.

Calidris ferruginea (Pontoppidan); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 47.

Caladris testacea (Pallas); Oliver 1955, New Zealand Birds, 2nd edition: 406. Misspelling.

Breeds mainly in central Siberia. Migrates to Africa, south Asia, and Australasia (Higgins & Davies 1996). The East Asian–Australasian Flyway population was estimated at 250,000 birds in 1993, of which c. 188,000 migrated to Australia, dropping to 90,000 by 2016 (Watkins 1993; Hansen et al. 2016). The ninth most numerous arctic wader visiting New Zealand each year, but in numbers much less than visit Australia. About eight in New Zealand in recent summers (Riegen & Sagar 2020). Widespread; favoured localities include Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, Firth of Thames, Parengarenga Harbour, and Awarua Bay (Sagar et al. 1999; Medway 2000c). Three records (1970, 1984, 1987) at Norfolk Island (Hermes et al. 1986; J. Moore 1999). Vagrant at Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Dec. 1972; Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020) and Chatham Island (Jan. 1997; Miskelly et al. 2006).

➤ Calidris subminuta (Middendorf)
Long-toed Stint

Tringa subminuta Middendorff, 1851: Reise Nord. Ost. Sibir. 2(2): 222, pl. 19, fig. 6 – Stanowoj Mountains, Siberia.

Pisobia subminuta (Middendorff); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 176.

Erolia subminuta (Middendorff); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 283.

Calidris subminuta (Middendorff); Medway 2001, Notornis 48: 61.

Breeding distribution poorly known, widely scattered in Siberia. Migrates mostly to South-east Asia and Philippines, some reaching Australia annually (Higgins & Davies 1996). Vagrant to New Zealand. Three records, all from Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora: Aug.–Sep. 1997, Dec. 2000, and Dec. 2022 (Medway 2001c; Petch et al. 2002); Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023).

➤ Calidris ruficollis (Pallas)
Red-necked Stint

Trynga ruficollis Pallas, 1776: Reise durch verschiedene Provinzen des Russischen Reichs 3: 700 – “Circa lacus salsos Dauriae campestris” = Kulussutai, southern Transbaikalia, Russia (fide Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 282).

Limonites ruficollis (Pallas); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 186.

Pisobia minuta ruficollis (Pallas); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 260.

Pisobia ruficollis (Pallas); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 176.

Erolia ruficollis; Stidolph 1927, Emu 26: 216.

Erolia ruficollis (Pallas); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 282.

Calidris ruficollis ruficollis (Pallas); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 47.

Calidris ruficollis (Pallas); Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 50.

Breeds in northern Siberia and north-west Alaska. Migrates to Malaysia, the Philippines, and Australasia (Higgins & Davies 1996). Most abundant migrant wader in Australasia. The East Asian–Australasian Flyway population was estimated at 315,000 birds in 2015, of which c. 270,000 migrated to Australia (BirdLife International 2016). The fifth most numerous arctic wader visiting New Zealand each year, but in numbers much less than visit Australia. About 90 in New Zealand in recent summers, most at Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora (Riegen & Sagar 2020). Awarua Bay, Manukau Harbour, and Farewell Spit are also important localities (Sagar et al. 1999; Medway 2000c; Riegen & Sagar 2020). Occasional visitor to Norfolk Island (Schodde et al. 1983; J. Moore 1985a, 1999). Vagrant at Chatham Islands (Freeman 1994; Miskelly et al. 2006). Seven records from Enderby Island, Auckland Islands / Maukahuka, 1963–2008 (Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020), and one at Snares Islands / Tini Heke, Oct. 2001 (D. Houston in Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020).

➤ Calidris alba (Pallas)
Sanderling

Trynga alba Pallas, 1764: in Vroeg, Cat. Raisonné Coll. Oiseaux, Adumbr.: 7 – coast of the North Sea.

Crocethia alba; Stidolph 1927, Emu 26: 216.

Crocethia alba (Pallas); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 281.

Calidris alba (Pallas); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 47.

Breeds at scattered localities from northern North America to northern Russia and islands in the Arctic Ocean. Migrates to tropical and temperate regions of both hemispheres (Higgins & Davies 1996). An uncommon but probably annual visitor to New Zealand. Recorded from Northland to Southland, usually single birds but sometimes small flocks of up to six birds (Higgins & Davies 1996). Three on Chatham Island, Dec. 1985 (Freeman 1994), and one on Enderby Island, Auckland Islands / Maukahuka Nov. 2007 – Feb. 2008 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2019; Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020).

➤ Calidris alpina (Linnaeus)
Dunlin

Tringa alpina Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 149 – Lapland, Sweden.

Pelidna alpina (Linnaeus); Sharpe 1896, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 24: 602.

Erolia alpina alpina (Linnaeus); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 286.

Calidris alpina (Linnaeus); Checklist Committee 1980, Notornis (Suppl.) 27: 18.

Breeds in North America, east Greenland, Iceland, and north Eurasia. Migrates to winter on northern hemisphere coasts (Higgins & Davies 1996). Vagrant to New Zealand. Four records, all single birds: Kaipara Harbour Feb. 1974 (B. Brown 1975), Firth of Thames Mar. 1977 (B. Brown 1979), and Manukau Harbour Jun. 1979 and Apr. 2006 (Habraken 1980; Miskelly et al. 2011). As many as 11 subspecies of Calidris alpina have been recognised (Higgins & Davies 1996; but see Marthinsen et al. 2007). The subspecific identity of birds recorded in New Zealand is not known.

➤ Calidris bairdii (Coues)
Baird’s Sandpiper

Actodromas (Actodromas) Bairdii Coues, 1861: Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 13: 194 – “North America east of the Rocky Mountains”, restricted to Fort Resolution, Great Slave Lake, Mackenzie District, Canada (fide Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 284).

Heteropygia bairdi (Coues); Sharpe 1896, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 24: 570. Unjustified emendation.

Erolia bairdii (Coues); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 284.

Calidris bairdii (Coues); Checklist Committee 1980, Notornis (Suppl.) 27: 17.

Breeds in north-east Siberia, north-west Alaska, arctic Canada, and north-west Greenland. Migrates mainly to western and southern South America (Higgins & Davies 1996). Vagrant to New Zealand. Six records: Manukau Harbour, Mar. 1970, Apr. 1976 (McKenzie et al. 1971; Edgar 1976); Firth of Thames, Dec. 1970, Oct. 1972 (J. Brown et al. 1971; Edgar 1973); Manawatu Estuary, Oct. 1976 (Kinsky 1977a); and Portland Island, Nov. 2002 (Scofield 2008).

➤ Calidris minuta (Leisler)
Little Stint

Tringa minuta Leisler, 1812: Nachträge Bechsteins Naturgeschichte Deutschlands 1: 74 – Hanau am Main, Germany.

Limonites minuta (Leisler); Sharpe 1896, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 24: 538.

Erolia minuta; Stidolph 1927, Emu 26: 216.

Erolia minuta (Leisler); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 282.

Calidris minuta (Leisler); Crocker et al. 2002, Notornis 49: 182.

Breeds in west and central Palaearctic. Migrates mainly to Africa. Small numbers regularly visit Australia (Higgins & Davies 1996). Vagrant to New Zealand. Five records: Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, Nov. 1992–Apr. 1993, Jan. –Apr. 1995, Mar. 2001, Oct. 2019 (Crocker et al. 2002; Miskelly et al. 2011; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021); Manukau Harbour, Sep. 2019 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021).

➤ Calidris minutilla (Vieillot)
Least Sandpiper

Tringa minutilla Vieillot, 1819: Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd. 34: 466 – “Amérique jusq’ua delà du Canada”, restricted to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (fide American Ornithologists Union 1931, Check-list North Amer. Birds, 4th edition: 120).

Limonites minutilla (Vieillot); Sharpe 1896, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 24: 548.

Erolia minutilla (Vieillot); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 283.

Erolia minutilla; Stidolph 1953, Notornis 5: 115.

Calidris minutilla subspecies; Brathwaite 1955, Notornis 6: 145, 149.

Calidris minutilla (Vieillot); Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 231.

Breeds in northern North America. Migrates south as far as Chile and Brazil (Higgins & Davies 1996). Possibly recorded in New Zealand: single birds reported at Wairoa River mouth, Hawke’s Bay, Nov. 1952 (Stidolph 1953); Westshore Domain, Napier, Nov. 1953–Jan. 1954 (Brathwaite 1955); Firth of Thames, 1972, no details (Falla et al. 1981). Placed in Suspense List by Checklist Committee (1990).

➤ Calidris fuscicollis (Vieillot)
White-rumped Sandpiper

Tringa fuscicollis Vieillot, 1819: Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd. 34: 461 – Paraguay (ex Azara, 1805).

Heteropygia fuscicollis (Vieillot); Sharpe 1896, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 24: 574.

Erolia fuscicollis (Vieillot); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 284.

Calidris fuscicollis (Vieillot); Checklist Committee 1980, Notornis (Suppl.) 27: 17.

Calidris fusicollis (Vieillot); Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 146. Unjustified emendation.

Breeds in arctic Canada, rarely in northern Alaska. Migrates mainly to southern South America (Higgins & Davies 1996). Vagrant to New Zealand. Two records: Manukau Harbour (two birds), Dec. 1969 (McKenzie 1970), Parengarenga Harbour, Mar. 1971 (Edgar 1971a).

➤ Calidris subruficollis (Vieillot)
Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Tringa subruficollis Vieillot, 1819: Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd. 2, 34: 465 – Paraguay.

Tringa rufescens Vieillot, 1819: Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd. 2, 34: 470 – Louisiana, U.S.A.

Tryngites rufescens (Vieillot); Cabanis 1856, Journ. für Ornith. 4(6): 418.

Tryngites subruficollis (Vieillot); Ridgway 1885, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. 8: 356.

Calidris subruficollis (Vieillot); Peterson 2020, Field Guide Birds Western North America: 124.

Breeds from north-east Siberia (Chukchi Peninsula) east to northern Alaska and Canada. Migrates to South America (mainly south-east Bolivia to north-east Argentina; Higgins & Davies 1996). Three records, probably of two birds: Papakanui Spit, South Kaipara Head, Mar. 2014; Ashley River estuary, Nov. 2019; and Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, Dec. 2019 (Miskelly et al. 2015; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021).

➤ Calidris melanotos (Vieillot)
Pectoral Sandpiper

Tringa melanotos Vieillot, 1819: Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd. 34: 462 (ex Azara, 1805) – Paraguay.

Tringa maculata Vieillot, 1819: Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd. 34: 465 – Antilles.

Pelidna pectoralis Say, 1823: in Long, Exped. Rocky Mts 1: 171 – USA.

Limnocinclus pectoralis (Say); Gould 1865, Handb. Birds Australia 2: 254.

Heteropygia maculata (Vieillot); Sharpe 1896, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 24: 562.

Erolia maculata; Stidolph 1927, Emu 26: 216.

Limnocinclus maculata (Vieillot); Mathews 1931, Ibis 1 (13th series): 45.

Pisobia pectoralis; Stidolph 1932, Emu 31: 234.

Erolia melanotos (Vieillot); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 284.

Calidris melanotos (Vieillot); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 47.

Breeds across northern Siberia, and in northern Alaska and Canada. Migrates mainly to southern South America (Higgins & Davies 1996). An uncommon but probably annual visitor to New Zealand in small numbers. Widespread, occurring at many estuaries and coastal lakes and lagoons from Northland to Southland (Higgins & Davies 1996). Occasional visitor to Norfolk Island (J. Moore 1985a, 1999); vagrant at Chatham Islands (Miskelly et al. 2006, 2015).

See comments under curlew sandpiper (C. ferruginea) regarding the status of Cox’s sandpiper (C. paramelanotos) and its occurrence in New Zealand.

➤ Calidris pusilla (Linnaeus)
Semipalmated Sandpiper

Tringa pusillus Linnaeus, 1766: Syst. Nat., 12th edition 1: 252 – Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

Ereunetes pusillus (Linnaeus); Sharpe 1896, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 24: 514.

Calidris pusilla; Sibson & Mackenzie 1967, Notornis 14: 84.

Calidris pusilla (Linnaeus); Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 231.

Breeds on the arctic coast of North America. Migrates south mostly to West Indies and northern South America (Higgins & Davies 1996). Possibly recorded in New Zealand: single bird reported at Westshore Lagoon, Napier, Jan. 1966 (Sibson & Mackenzie 1967). Placed in Suspense List by Checklist Committee (1990).

➤ Calidris mauri (Cabanis)
Western Sandpiper

Ereunetes Mauri Cabanis, 1857: Journ. für Ornith. 4(6): 419 – Cuba.

Ereunetes mauri Cabanis; Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 281.

Calidris mauri (Cabanis); Blackburn & Bell 1965, Notornis 12: 109.

Breeds mainly on coasts of north and west Alaska. Migrates mostly to coastal California, Mexico, Central America, and northern South America (Higgins & Davies 1996). Vagrant to New Zealand. Eight records: Farewell Spit Oct. 1964 (Blackburn & Bell 1965); Rangaunu Harbour Nov. 1970 (Edgar 1971a); Firth of Thames Feb. 1971 and Nov. 1984 (Edgar 1972a; Fennell 1986); Parengarenga Harbour Apr. 1976 and Jan. 1979 (Edgar 1976; Sibson 1979); Whangateau Harbour, North Auckland, and Whitford estuary, South Auckland, Feb. 2022 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023).

Subfamily SCOLOPACINAE Rafinesque: Snipes, Woodcocks, and Dowitchers

Scolopacea Rafinesque, 1815: Analyse de la Nature: 70 – Type genus Scolopax Linnaeus, 1758.

Some authorities use Tribe Limnodromini for dowitchers (Limnodromus) and Tribe Scolopacini for woodcocks and snipes (Scolopax, Coenocorypha, Gallinago, and Lymnocryptes) (e.g. Dickinson & Remsen 2013; Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International 2020).

Genus Limnodromus Wied

Macrorhamphus J.R. Forster, 1817. Synonymic Cat. Brit. Birds. London: British Museum 17: 22 – Type species: (by original designation) Scolopax grisea Gmelin = Limnodromus griseus (Gmelin). Junior homonym of Macrorhamphus Fischer, 1813.

Limnodromus Wied, 1833: Beitr. Naturg. Brasil. 4: 716 – Type species (by monotypy) Scolopax novaeboracensis Gmelin = Limnodromus griseus (Gmelin).

Pseudoscolopax Blyth, 1859: Journ. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 18: 280 – Type species (by monotypy) Macrorhamphus semipalmatus Blyth = Limnodromus semipalmatus (Blyth).

➤ Limnodromus semipalmatus (Blyth)
Asiatic Dowitcher

Macrorhamphus semipalmatus Blyth, 1848: Journ. Asiatic Soc. Bengal 17(1): 252 – Calcutta, India.

Limnodromus semipalmatus (Blyth); Fennell et al. 1985, Notornis 32: 323.

Breeds from central Asia to Manchuria. Migrates mostly to south-east India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and north-west Australia. Vagrant to New Zealand (Higgins & Davies 1996). Six records, all single birds: Avon–Heathcote estuary / Ihutai, Aug. 1985 (Fennell, Fennell et al. 1985); Firth of Thames, Feb. 1987 (Keeley 1988); Farewell Spit, Jan. 1988 (Miskelly et al. 2013); Maketu estuary, Bay of Plenty, Nov. 1998 (Medway 2001c); Ohiwa Harbour, Bay of Plenty, Dec. 2002 (Medway 2003a); and Motueka sandspit, Dec. 2016 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2017).

Genus Coenocorypha G.R. Gray

Coenocorypha G.R. Gray, 1855: Cat. Genera Subgen. Birds Brit. Mus.: 119 – Type species (by original designation) Gallinago aucklandica G.R. Gray.

The elevation of Coenocorypha barrierensis, C. iredalei, and C. huegeli to species level follows Worthy, Miskelly et al. (2002). The order in which the species are treated follows that of Holdaway et al. (2001). Beyond the New Zealand region, the genus formerly occurred in Fiji (C. miratropica Worthy, 2003) and New Caledonia (C. neocaledonica Worthy, Anderson & Sand, 2013). An extinct form of Coenocorypha from Norfolk Island (Holdaway et al. 2001) has yet to be described. Of the New Zealand Coenocorypha, C. barrierensis, C. iredalei, and C. chathamica are extinct.

➤ †Coenocorypha barrierensis Oliver
North Island Snipe

Coenocorypha aucklandica barrierensis Oliver, 1955: New Zealand Birds, 2nd edition: 275 – Little Barrier Island, New Zealand.

Coenocorypha aucklandica medwayi Medway, 1971: Notornis 18: 219 – Awakino, Mahoenui area. Nomen nudum: = Coenocorypha barrierensis Oliver, 1955 (fide Checklist Committee 1990: 141).

Coenocorypha barrierensis Oliver; Holdaway et al. 2001, New Zealand Journ. Zool. 28: 133, 174.

Checklist Committee (1990) regarded the so-called Little Barrier snipe as a subspecies of C. aucklandica. Extinct. Formerly widespread in the North Island where it is known from Holocene bones (Worthy, Miskelly et al. 2002). One bird was reputedly shot on Browns Island (Motukorea), Hauraki Gulf, in 1820 (Miskelly 1987). Formerly on Hauturu / Little Barrier Island where a unique specimen was caught in 1870 (Miskelly 1988).

➤ †Coenocorypha iredalei Rothschild
South Island Snipe | Tutukiwi*

Coenocorypha aucklandica iredalei Rothschild, 1921: Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club 41: 63 – Jacky Lee Island, New Zealand.

Coenocorypha iredalei Rothschild; Holdaway et al. 2001, New Zealand Journ. Zool. 28(2): 133, 174.

Checklist Committee (1990) regarded the so-called Stewart Island snipe as a subspecies of C. aucklandica. Formerly widespread in the South Island where it is known only from Holocene bones (Worthy, Miskelly et al. 2002), apart from a possible record in Dusky Sound in 1773 (Medway 2007). It survived into the 20th Century on several islands around Stewart Island / Rakiura (Higgins & Davies 1996; Miskelly 1987, 2012b). Extinct as a consequence of the extirpation of its last known population, on Taukihepa / Big South Cape Island, following the arrival of ship rats (Rattus rattus) there in the early 1960s (Blackburn 1965; Miskelly 2012b).

*Also used for Snares Island snipe Coenocorypha huegeli.

➤ †Coenocorypha chathamica (Forbes)
Forbes’ Snipe

Gallinago chathamica Forbes, 1893: Ibis 5 (6th series): 545 – Chatham Islands.

Coenocorypha chathamica (Forbes); Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 142.

Worthy, Miskelly et al. (2002) did not examine the status of this taxon. It is retained here at species level as in Checklist Committee (1990), but with a change in its vernacular name from extinct Chatham Island snipe to the more appropriate Forbes’ snipe as used by Holdaway et al. (2001) and Worthy, Miskelly et al. (2002). Extinct. Endemic to the Chatham Islands. Known only from natural and midden deposits (Oliver 1955; Checklist Committee 1990).

➤ Coenocorypha pusilla (Buller)
Chatham Island Snipe

Gallinago pusilla Buller, 1869: Ibis 5 (new series): 41 – small rocky islet off Chatham Island.

Coenocorypha aucklandica pusilla (Buller); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 261.

Coenocorypha pusilla (Buller); Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 142.

Checklist Committee (1990) regarded the Chatham Island snipe as being specifically distinct from other Coenocorypha taxa. It is retained here at species level following Worthy, Miskelly et al. (2002) and A. Baker et al. (2010). Endemic to the Chatham Islands. Currently restricted to Rangatira, Mangere, Little Mangere, and Star Keys of the Chatham Islands, and occasionally seen on Pitt Island / Rangiauria and Rabbit Island (Higgins & Davies 1996; Aikman & Miskelly 2004). Total population estimated at c. 1,000 pairs (Higgins & Davies 1996; Aikman & Miskelly 2004). Bones abundant in natural and midden deposits (Checklist Committee 1990).

➤ Coenocorypha huegeli (Tristram)
Snares Island Snipe | Tutukiwi*

Gallinago huegeli Tristram, 1893: Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club 1: 47 – Snares Islands.

Coenocorypha aucklandica huegeli (Tristram); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 262.

Coenocorypha huegeli; Holdaway et al. 2001, New Zealand Journ. Zool. 28(2): 133, 178.

Checklist Committee (1990) regarded the Snares Island snipe as a subspecies of C. aucklandica. Endemic to the Snares Islands / Tini Heke. Common on North East and Broughton Islands, and recorded on Alert Stack (Miskelly et al. 2001a). Breeding population probably fluctuated between 325 and 480 pairs in 1982–87 (Miskelly et al. 2001a). Translocated to Putauhinu, Codfish / Whenua Hou, Kundy, and Mokinui Islands near Stewart Island / Rakiura (Miskelly, Charteris et al. 2012; Miskelly & Powlesland 2013).

*Also used for South Island snipe Coenocorypha iredalei.

➤ Coenocorypha aucklandica (G.R. Gray)
Subantarctic Snipe

With the elevation of C. barrierensis and C. iredalei to species level, the vernacular name New Zealand snipe was no longer appropriate for C. aucklandica whose subspecies inhabit the Auckland / Maukahuka, Antipodes, and Campbell / Motu Ihupuku Islands. Therefore, the vernacular name of C. aucklandica was changed to the more appropriate subantarctic snipe.

Coenocorypha aucklandica aucklandica (G.R. Gray)
Auckland Island Snipe

Gallinago aucklandica G.R. Gray, 1845: in Richardson & J.E. Gray (Eds), Zool. Voy. ‘Erebus’ & ‘Terror’, Birds 1(8): 13 – Auckland Islands, restricted to Enderby Island (fide Miskelly & Taylor 2020, Notornis 67: 19).

Scolopax holmesii Peale, 1848: U.S. Expl. Exped. 8: 229 – Auckland Islands.

Scolopax auclandica G.R. Gray; Finsch 1867, Journ. für Ornith. 15: 346. Unjustified emendation.

Scolopax aucklandica G.R. Gray; Anon. 1870, Cat. Colonial Mus.: 74.

Gallinago tristrami Rothschild, 1894: Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club 3: 12 – “Antipodes Island”, error for Auckland Islands (fide Hartert 1927, Novit. Zool. 34(1): 14).

Gallinago Aucklandica G.R. Gray; A. Hamilton 1909, Hand-list Birds New Zealand: 10.

Coenocorypha aucklandica aucklandica (G.R. Gray); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 261.

Coenocorypha aucklandica tristrami (Rothschild); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 262.

Coenocorypha aucklandica; Holdaway et al. 2001, New Zealand Journ. Zool. 28(2): 133, 178.

Endemic to the Auckland Islands / Maukahuka. Confined to Adams, Disappointment, Enderby, Rose, Ewing, and Ocean Islands, where breeding (Shepherd et al. 2020). Also reported on Dundas and Figure of Eight Islands (Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020).

Coenocorypha aucklandica meinertzhagenae Rothschild
Antipodes Island Snipe

Coenocorypha aucklandica meinertzhagenae Rothschild, 1927: Novit. Zool. 34(1): 15 – Antipodes Island.

Coenocorypha meinertzhagenae Rothschild; Holdaway et al. 2001, New Zealand Journ. Zool. 28(2): 174, 178.

Checklist Committee (1990) regarded the Antipodes Island snipe as a subspecies of C. aucklandica. The taxon is retained here at subspecies level following Worthy, Miskelly et al. (2002), A. Baker et al. (2010), and Shepherd et al. (2020). Endemic to the Antipodes Islands. Widespread on Antipodes Island in 1969 (Warham & Bell 1979). Population on Antipodes, Bollons, Archway, and Inner Windward Islands estimated at 8,000 birds in 1995 (Tennyson et al. 2002). Breeding recorded only on Antipodes Island, but probably throughout (Higgins & Davies 1996).

Coenocorypha aucklandica perseverance Miskelly & Baker
Campbell Island Snipe

Coenocorypha sp. Miskelly 2000: Notornis 47: 131.

Coenocorypha “Campbell Island” Holdaway et al. 2001: New Zealand Journ. Zool. 28: 133.

Coenocorypha sp. Barker et al. 2005: Notornis 52: 145.

Coenocorypha undescribed sp. Miskelly & Fraser 2006: Notornis 53: 353.

Coenocorypha “Campbell” Baker et al. 2010: Conserv. Genet. 11: 1366.

Coenocorypha aucklandica perserverance Miskelly & Baker, 2010: Notornis 56: 114 – Campbell Island.

This subspecies was discovered in 1997 and described in 2010 (D. Barker et al. 2005; Miskelly & Baker 2010a,b). It is known only from the Campbell Island group (Miskelly & Baker 2010a). Subspecies status supported by Shepherd et al. (2020).

Genus Gallinago Brisson

Gallinago Brisson, 1760: Ornithologie 5: 298 – Type species (by tautonymy) Scolopax gallinago Linnaeus = Gallinago gallinago (Linnaeus).

Capella Frenzel, 1801: Beschr. Vög. Eier Wittenberg: 58 – Type species (by monotypy) Scolopax coelestis Frenzel = Gallinago gallinago (Linnaeus).

Ditelmatias Mathews, 1913: Birds Australia 3: 282 – Type species (by original designation) Gallinago hardwickii (J.E. Gray).

➤ Gallinago hardwickii (J.E. Gray)
Japanese Snipe

Scolopax australis Latham, 1801: Index Ornith. Suppl.: lxv – Australia. Not Scolopax australis Scopoli, 1769.

Scolopax Hardwickii J.E. Gray, 1831: Zool. Miscell. 1: 16 – Tasmania, Australia.

Gallinago australis (Latham); Cheeseman 1899, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 31: 105.

Gallinago hardwickii (J.E. Gray); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 262.

Ditelmatias hardwickii (J.E. Gray); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 180.

Gallinago hardwicki; Brathwaite 1955, Notornis 6: 148. Unjustified emendation.

Breeds in Japan and east Asian mainland. Migrates to New Guinea and eastern Australia (Higgins & Davies 1996). A rare visitor to New Zealand where sightings have probably been of this species rather than the very similar, but much less likely, Swinhoe’s snipe Gallinago megala (Swinhoe, 1861). Has been recorded, usually at freshwater wetlands, from Auckland to Southland (Miskelly et al. 1985). One record (1985) at Snares Islands / Tini Heke (Miskelly et al. 2001a). Four records (1969, 1976, 1980, 1981) at Norfolk Island (J. Moore 1985a; Higgins & Davies 1996).

Subfamily TRINGINAE Rafinesque: Shanks and Phalaropes

Tringaria Rafinesque, 1815: Analyse de la Nature: 71 – Type genus Tringa Linnaeus, 1758.

Phalaropodinae Bonaparte, 1831: Saggio dist. Metodica Anim. Vert.: 59 – Type genus Phalaropus Brisson, 1760.

Some authorities use Tribe Phalaropodini for phalaropes, and Tribe Tringini for the remaining members of the subfamily (e.g. Dickinson & Remsen 2013; Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International 2020).

Genus Phalaropus Brisson

Phalaropus Brisson, 1760: Ornithologie 1: 50, 6: 12 – Type species (by tautonymy) Tringa fulicaria Linnaeus = Phalaropus fulicarius (Linnaeus).

Crymophilus Vieillot, 1816: Analyse Nouv. Ornith. Elem.: 62 – Type species (by monotypy) Tringa fulicaria Linnaeus = Phalaropus fulicarius (Linnaeus).

Lobipes Cuvier, 1817: Règne Anim. 1: 495 – Type species (by original designation) Tringa hyperborea Linnaeus = Phalaropus lobatus (Linnaeus).

Steganopus Vieillot, 1819: Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd. 2, 32: 136 – Type species (by monotypy) “Le Chorlito a tarse comprimé of Azara” = Phalaropus tricolor (Vieillot).

➤ Phalaropus fulicarius (Linnaeus)
Grey Phalarope

Tringa Fulicaria Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 148 – Hudson Bay, North America.

Crymophilus fulicarius (Linnaeus); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 191.

Phalaropus fulicarius (Linnaeus); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 262.

Phalaropus fulicaria (Linnaeus); Checklist Committee 2010, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 208.

We follow David & Gosselin (2000, 2002a) and Dickinson & Remsen (2013) in regarding Phalaropus as masculine, hence the species name should be Ph. fulicarius (contra Parkes 1982 and Checklist Committee 2010). The vernacular name grey phalarope is adopted consistent with current international usage. Breeds mainly near the coast across North America and Eurasia. Migrates to winter at sea mostly off west and south-west Africa, and west of Chile (Higgins & Davies 1996). A rare visitor to New Zealand. Twelve records: Wainono Lagoon, Jun. 1883, Jun. 1987 (Oliver 1955; Maloney & Watola 1989); Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, 1925 (Oliver 1955); Hastings Jul. 1934 (Oliver 1955); Kaituna River mouth, Jun. 1977 (B. Brown & Latham 1978); Manukau Harbour, Jul. 1992 (Medway 2000a); Inch Clutha Lagoon, Jul. 1993 (Medway 2000a); Ninety Mile Beach, Jul. 2003 (Scofield 2006); offshore from Tolaga Bay, May 2004 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2017); Farewell Spit, Mar. 2005 (Scofield 2005a); Napier, Jul. 2012 (Miskelly et al. 2013); and off Kaikoura, Jul. 2019 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021).

➤ Phalaropus lobatus (Linnaeus)
Red-necked Phalarope

Tringa tobata [sic] Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 148 – Hudson Bay, North America.

Tringa lobata Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 824. Emendation.

Lobipes lobatus (Linnaeus); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 293.

Phalaropus lobatus (Linnaeus); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 48.

Breeds in arctic and subarctic North America, Europe, and Asia. Migrates to winter at sea in three distinct areas: off coast of Arabian Peninsula, off coasts of Ecuador and Perú, and north and west of New Guinea (Higgins & Davies 1996). A rare visitor to New Zealand. Seventeen records: Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, Mar. 1929, Dec. 2000, Jan. 2002 (Oliver 1955; Medway 2001d, 2002f); Whanganui River estuary Apr. 1935 (Oliver 1955); Washdyke Lagoon, Mar. 1961 (Crockett 1961); Manukau Harbour, Jun. 1985 (J. Jenkins et al. 1986); Firth of Thames, Dec. 1996 (Medway 2000a); Farewell Spit, Nov. 2000, Oct. 2002, Feb. 2008 (Medway 2001c, 2003a; Scofield 2008); Lake Grassmere / Kapara Te Hau, Nov. 2002, May 2005, Jan. 2007 (Medway 2003a; Scofield 2006, 2008); Ahuriri estuary, Napier, Jun. 2010 (Miskelly et al. 2011); Nelson, May 2018 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021); Waituna Lagoon, Southland, Feb. 2022, and Grovetown Lagoons, Blenheim, Nov. 2022 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023).

➤ Phalaropus tricolor (Vieillot)
Wilson’s Phalarope

Steganopus tricolor Vieillot, 1819: Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd. 32: 136 – Paraguay.

Phalaropus tricolor (Vieillot); Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 157.

Christidis & Boles (1994) considered that biochemical and mtDNA studies demonstrated that Wilson’s phalarope was sufficiently divergent from the two other species of Phalaropus to be placed in its own monotypic genus Steganopus, and that Steganopus can be distinguished from Phalaropus by its osteology. However, Sangster et al. (1999) considered that results of phylogenetic analyses based on allozymes, mtDNA, and morphology were contradictory with regard to the alleged polyphyletic origin of the phalaropes. Because of this, they believed the recognition of Steganopus for Wilson’s phalarope was unjustified, and retained Wilson’s phalarope in Phalaropus. Sangster et al. (1999) are followed here. Breeds on marshes of North American prairies. Migrates to wetlands in South America, mainly in Argentina (Higgins & Davies 1996). Vagrant to New Zealand. Five records: Manawatu River estuary, Sep. 1983 (J. Moore & Moore 1984); Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, Nov. 1983–Apr. 84, two birds (Sagar & Harrison 1984); Taharoa, Oct. 2004 (Scofield 2005a); Ahuriri estuary, Napier, Nov. 2016 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2017); and east of Wairoa, Mar. 2017 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2019).

Genus Xenus Kaup

Xenus Kaup, 1829: Skizz. Entwick.-Gesch. Nat. Syst.: 115 – Type species (by monotypy) Tringa cinerea (Güldenstaedt) = Xenus cinereus (Güldenstaedt).

Terekia Bonaparte, 1838: Comp. List Birds Europe & North Amer.: 52 – Type species (by monotypy) Totanus javanicus Horsfield = Xenus cinereus (Güldenstaedt).

We follow Pereira & Baker (2005) and R. Gibson & Baker (2012) in separating Xenus and Actitis from Tringa. The genus and species sequence for Xenus, Actitis, and Tringa follows Dickinson & Remsen (2013) and Chesser et al. (2020).

➤ Xenus cinereus (Güldenstaedt)
Terek Sandpiper

Scolopax cinerea Güldenstaedt, 1774: Novi Comment. Acad. Scient. Imperial. Petropol. 19: 473, pl. 19 – shores of the Caspian Sea near mouth of the Terek River.

Scolopax Terek Latham, 1790: Index Ornith. 2: 724 – shores of the Caspian Sea near mouth of the Terek River.

Totanus javanicus Horsfield, 1821: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 13(1): 193 – Java, Indonesia.

Terekia cinerea (Güldenstaedt); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 171.

Xenus cinereus (Güldenstaedt); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 45.

Tringa terek (Latham); Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 156.

Tringa cinerea (Güldenstaedt); Sibley & Monroe 1990, Distr. and Taxon. Birds of the World: 238.

Monroe (1989) and Sibley & Monroe (1990) are followed here in the use of the specific epithet cinereus for the Terek sandpiper. Breeds from Finland across Siberia. Migrates to Africa, south and South-east Asia, the Philippines, and Australasia (Higgins & Davies 1996). An uncommon visitor to New Zealand. Recorded at estuaries and coastal lagoons from Northland to Southland, most records from the North Island (Higgins & Davies 1996). Rare visitor to Norfolk Island (Higgins & Davies 1996; J. Moore 1999).

Genus Actitis Illiger

Actitis Illiger, 1811: Prodromus Syst. Mamm. Avium: 263 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Tringa hypoleucos Linnaeus = Actitis hypoleucos (Linnaeus).

➤ Actitis hypoleucos (Linnaeus)
Common Sandpiper

Tringa Hypoleucos Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 149 – Europe, restricted to Sweden (fide Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 269).

Actitis hypoleucos (Linnaeus); Illiger, 1811: Prodromus Syst. Mamm. Avium: 263.

Actitis hypoleucus (Linnaeus); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 171. Unjustified emendation.

Tringa hypoleucos Linnaeus; Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 48.

Breeds across Europe and Asia to the Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan. Migrates to Africa, southern and south-east Asia, the Philippines, New Guinea, and Australia (Higgins & Davies 1996). A rare, usually solitary, visitor to New Zealand. Recorded from estuaries, coastal lagoons, and sewage ponds from Northland to Stewart Island / Rakiura (latter in Nov. 2005; Miskelly et al. 2013). Most records are from the North Island (Higgins & Davies 1996; Miskelly et al. 2013, 2015). Two records from Norfolk Island (Hermes et al. 1986; J. Moore 1999).

Genus Tringa Linnaeus

Tringa Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 148 – Type species (by tautonymy) Tringa ochropus Linnaeus.

Trynga Moehring, 1758: Geslach. Vogel. 7: 67. Unjustified emendation.

Totanus Bechstein, 1803: Ornith. Taschenb. Deutschland 2: 282 – Type species (by tautonymy) Totanus maculatus Bechstein = Tringa totanus (Linnaeus).

Glottis Koch, 1816: Syst. Baierischen Zool. 42: 294 – Type species (by tautonymy) Totanus glottis Bechstein = Tringa nebularia (Gunnerus).

Iliornis Kaup, 1829: Skizz. Entwick.-Gesch. Nat. Syst.: 156 – Type species (by monotypy) Totanus stagnatilis Bechstein = Tringa stagnatilis (Bechstein).

Heteroscelus Baird, 1858: Rep. Expl. Surv. Miss. River Pac. Ocean. Birds 9: 734 – Type species (by monotypy) Tringa brevipes (Vieillot).

Heteractitis Stejneger, 1884: Auk 1: 236. Unnecessary nomen novum for Heteroscelus Baird, 1858.

We follow Pereira & Baker (2005) and R. Gibson & Baker (2012) in synonymising Heteroscelus with Tringa, and keeping Xenus and Actitis separate from Tringa. The genus and species sequence for Tringa follows Dickinson & Remsen (2013) and Chesser et al. (2020).

➤ Tringa brevipes (Vieillot)
Grey-tailed Tattler

Totanus brevipes Vieillot, 1816: Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd. 6: 410 – no locality = Timor (fide Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 270).

Heteractitis brevipes (Vieillot); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 170.

Heteroscelus brevipes (Vieillot); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 270.

Heteroscelus incanus brevipes (Vieillot); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 45.

Tringa brevipes (Vieillot); Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 48.

Breeds patchily across north Asia to far-eastern Siberia and the Kamchatka Peninsula. Migrates to South-east Asia, the Philippines, Australasia, and islands in the south-west Pacific as far east as Fiji (Higgins & Davies 1996). An uncommon but annual visitor to New Zealand. Widespread; numerous sight records of one or two birds from Northland to Southland; prefers tidal mudflats and beaches to rocky shores (Higgins & Davies 1996). More common than T. incana in New Zealand. An uncommon but probably regular visitor to Norfolk Island (Schodde et al. 1983; J. Moore 1985a, 1999) and Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004); vagrant at Chatham Islands (Freeman 1994; Miskelly et al. 2006; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2019). Four records of up to three birds at Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (all from Enderby Island: Apr. 1980 (3), Mar. 1982 (2), Apr. 1983, Jan.–Feb. 1984; Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020), and two records at Snares Islands / Tini Heke (Dec. 1968 & Dec. 2005: Warham & Keeley 1969; Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020).

➤ Tringa incana (Gmelin)
Wandering Tattler

Scolopax incana Gmelin, 1789: Syst. Nat., 13th edition 1(2): 658. Based on the “Ash-coloured Snipe” of Latham 1785, Gen. Synop. Birds 3(1): 154, no. 29 – “Eimeo” = Moorea Island, Society Islands, French Polynesia (fide Medway 2004, Notornis 51: 157).

Totanus incanus (Gmelin); Buller 1887 (Oct.), History of the Birds of N.Z., 2nd edition 2 (part 2): 38.

Heteractitis incanus (Gmelin); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 186.

Heteroscelus incanus (Gmelin); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 259.

Tringa incanus; Stidolph 1932, Emu 31: 233. Unjustified emendation.

Heteroscelus incanus incanus (Gmelin); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 45.

Heteroscelus incanus subsp.; Brathwaite 1955, Notornis 6: 147.

Tringa incana (Gmelin); Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 48.

Breeds in far-eastern Siberia, coastal Alaska, and north-west Canada. Migrates to coasts of America from California to Perú, and islands of central and eastern Pacific Ocean as far south as French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Tonga, and Fiji (Higgins & Davies 1996). An uncommon but probably annual visitor to New Zealand. The first record was of two shot at Portland Island, Hawke’s Bay in autumn 1883 (Buller 1887–88). Widespread, usually single birds, mostly on the east coast from Northland to Canterbury, preferring rocky shores to tidal mudflats and beaches (Higgins & Davies 1996). Less common than T. brevipes in New Zealand. An uncommon but probably regular visitor to Norfolk Island (Schodde et al. 1983; J. Moore 1985a, 1999) and Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004); vagrant at Chatham Islands (Freeman 1994; Miskelly et al. 2006; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021, 2023). One record from Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Enderby Island Feb. 1988; Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020).

➤ Tringa flavipes (Gmelin)
Lesser Yellowlegs

Scolopax flavipes Gmelin, 1789: Syst. Nat., 13th edition 1(2): 659 – New York, North America.

Tringa flavipes (Gmelin); Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 47.

Breeds in Alaska and much of western Canada. Migrates mostly to South America (Higgins & Davies 1996). A rare visitor to New Zealand. There were 15 records, from Manukau Harbour to Wainono Lagoon, between 1963 and 1993, all of single birds (Higgins & Davies 1996). The most recent record is of a single bird at Wanstead Lagoon, near Waipukurau, Hawke’s Bay, 2004 (Medway 2004b). Most sightings at coastal marshes and pools; two inland at freshwater lakes. A yellowlegs at Porirua in 1962, originally identified as a greater yellowlegs T. melanoleuca (Gmelin, 1789), may have been T. flavipes (Fleming 1963; Falla 1964; Kinsky 1970a). One record from Chatham Island (Nov. 1985; Freeman 1994).

➤ Tringa nebularia (Gunnerus)
Common Greenshank

Scolopax nebularia Gunnerus, 1767: Leem’s Beskr. Finm. Lapp.: 251 – Norway.

Scolopax glottis Latham, 1787: Gen. Synop. Suppl. 1: 292 – Europe.

Totanus glottis (Latham); Von Pelzeln 1860, Sitzungsber. K. Akad. Wissen., Math.-Naturwissen. Cl., Wien 41: 327.

Totanus glottoides Vigors & Gould, 1831: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1830–1831 (1): 173 – Himalayan Mountains, India.

Glottis nebularius (Gunnerus); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 186.

Tringa nebularia (Gunnerus); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 45.

Christidis & Boles (1994) and Higgins & Davies (1996) are followed here in the use of the vernacular name common greenshank. Breeds from Scotland and Scandinavia across Asia to eastern Siberia. Migrates to Africa, Arabia, India, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Australasia (Higgins & Davies 1996). An uncommon visitor to New Zealand. Usually single birds, from Northland to Southland, at coastal lagoons and estuaries (Higgins & Davies 1996). Two records at Chatham Islands (1978, Oct. 2020; Sibson 1978; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021); one record at Snares Islands / Tini Heke (Nov.–Dec. 1968; Miskelly et al. 2001a); one record at Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku (Jan.–Feb. 1978; Imber 1988). One record at Macquarie Island (1962; Higgins & Davies 1996), and two records at Norfolk Island (1977, 1990; J. Moore 1999).

➤ Tringa stagnatilis (Bechstein)
Marsh Sandpiper

Totanus stagnatilis Bechstein, 1803: Ornith. Taschenb. Deutschland 2: 292, pl. 29 – Germany.

Iliornis stagnatilis addenda Mathews, 1915: Austral Avian Rec. 2: 126 – Northern Territory, Australia.

Iliornis stagnatilis (Bechstein); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 169.

Tringa stagnatilis (Bechstein); Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 48.

Breeds from eastern Europe to eastern Siberia. Migrates to Africa, south Asia, and Australasia (Higgins & Davies 1996). An uncommon but probably annual visitor to New Zealand. Recorded at coastal lagoons, lakes, and estuaries from Northland to Southland (Higgins & Davies 1996). Usually single, but six seen together at Miranda in Firth of Thames, 1998 (Medway 2000a). Vagrant at Chatham Islands and Norfolk Island (J. Moore 1985a; Freeman 1994).

Suborder LARI: Pratincoles, Skuas, Auks, Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers

Family GLAREOLIDAE Brehm: Coursers and Pratincoles

Subfamily GLAREOLINAE Brehm: Pratincoles

Glareolidae Brehm, 1831: Handb. Naturgesch. Vög. Deutschl.: 564 – Type genus Glareola Brisson, 1760.

Genus Glareola Brisson

Glareola Brisson, 1760: Ornithologie 1: 48, 5: 141 – Type species (by tautonymy) Hirundo pratincola Linnaeus = Glareola pratincola (Linnaeus).

Stiltia G.R. Gray, 1855: Cat. Genera Subgen. Birds Brit. Mus.: 111 – Type species (by original designation) Glareola isabella Vieillot.

➤ Glareola maldivarum J.R. Forster
Oriental Pratincole

Glareola (Pratincola) maldivarum J.R. Forster, 1795: Faunula Indica, 2nd edition: 11 – open sea near the Maldive Islands, northern Indian Ocean.

Glareola orientalis Leach, 1821: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 13(1): 132 – Java, Indonesia.

Glareola grallaria; Buller 1899, Trans. N.Z. Inst. 31: 23. Not Glareola grallaria Temminck, 1820 = Glareola isabella Vieillot, 1816.

Stiltia isabella; Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 192. Not Glareola isabella Vieillot, 1816.

Glareola maldivarum maldivarum J.R. Forster; Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 185.

Glareola maldivarum orientalis Leach; Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 185.

Glareola maldivarum J.R. Forster; Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 52.

Breeds in south Asia from Pakistan and India to Mongolia, China, Taiwan, and north Philippines (Higgins & Davies 1996). Almost entire migratory population may spend non-breeding season in Australia (Sitters et al. 2004). A rare visitor to New Zealand. Eleven records: Westport 1898 (Falla 1959); Appleby, Nelson, May 1959 (Falla 1959); Port Adventure, Stewart Island / Rakiura, Apr. 1963 (Falla 1963a); Raoul Island, Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua, May 1976 (Veitch et al. 2004); Wainono Lagoon, Mar. 1977 (Pierce 1978); South Turnbull, Westland, May 1977 (Edgar 1977); Kaipara Harbour, Nov. 1985 (L. Howell 1987); Ruapuke Island, Feb. 1988 (O’Donnell & West 1989); Farewell Spit, Jan. 1994 (Medway 2000a); New Plymouth, May 1999 (Medway 2000a); Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora, Feb.–May 2002 (Medway 2002d; Miskelly et al. 2013). One record from Norfolk Island (J. Moore 1999).

Family STERCORARIIDAE Gray: Skuas

Stercorariinae G.R. Gray, 1870: Hand-list Birds 3: 110 – Type genus Stercorarius Brisson, 1760.

Several studies have revealed skuas to be a recent radiation, with poor congruence between external morphology and genetic relationships (Olson 1985b; Furness 1996; Cohen et al. 1997; Andersson 1999a,b; Braun & Brumfield 1998; Chu et al. 2009). We follow Olson (1985b), Chu et al. (2009), and Dickinson & Remsen (2013) in placing all skua species in the genus Stercorarius. The smaller species are also known as jaegers.

Genus Stercorarius Brisson

Stercorarius Brisson, 1760: Ornithologie 1: 56 – Type species (by tautonymy) Stercorarius Brisson = Larus parasiticus Linnaeus = Stercorarius parasiticus (Linnaeus).

Catharacta Brünnich, 1764: Ornithologia Borealis: 32 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Catharacta skua Brünnich = Stercorarius skua (Brünnich).

Lestris Illiger, 1811: Prodromus Syst. Mamm. Avium: 272 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Larus parasiticus Linnaeus = Stercorarius parasiticus (Linnaeus).

Coprotheres Reichenbach, 1852: Avium Syst. Nat. 3: 5 – Type species (by original designation) Lestris pomarinus Temminck = Stercorarius pomarinus (Temminck).

Megalestris Bonaparte, 1856: Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 43: 643 – Type species (by monotypy) Larus catarractes Linnaeus = Stercorarius skua (Brünnich).

➤ Stercorarius antarcticus (Lesson)
Southern Skua

Lestris antarcticus Lesson, 1831: Traité d’Ornith. 8: 616 – Falkland Islands and New Zealand, restricted to Falkland Islands (fide Mathews 1912, Novit. Zool. 18(3): 212).

Three subspecies recognised: Stercorarius a. antarcticus (breeding Falkland Islands and south-east Argentina), S. a. hamiltoni Hagen, 1952 (breeding Tristan da Cunha and Gough Island), and S. a. lonnbergi (breeding circumpolar on subantarctic islands). The latter also occurs on northern parts of the Antarctic Peninsula, where breeding overlaps with S. maccormicki Saunders, 1893 (Furness 1996). Stercorarius skua (Brünnich, 1764) and S. antarctica have often been treated as conspecific (Devillers 1977, 1978; Cramp & Simmons 1983; Furness 1987; Higgins & Davies 1996). However, a split between northern and southern forms of great skuas was supported by Cohen et al. (1997). We have followed Mathews (1912–13), R. Brooke (1978), P. Harrison (1983), Furness (1996), and Olsen & Larsson (1997) by treating the subantarctic skua as a subspecies of S. antarctica. Some authors regard the subantarctic skua as a full species, e.g. Sibley & Monroe (1990).

Stercorarius antarcticus lonnbergi (Mathews)
Subantarctic Skua | Hākoakoa

Lestris antarcticus; G.R. Gray 1843, in E. Dieffenbach, Travels in N.Z. 2: 200. Not Lestris antarcticus Lesson, 1831.

Stercorarius antarcticus madagascariensis Bonaparte, 1856: Consp. Gen. Avium 2: 207. Suppressed and invalid (fide ICZN 1995, Opinion 1814. Bull. Zool. Nomenclature 52(2): 222).

Lestris catarractes; Hutton 1871, Cat. Birds N.Z.: 39. Not Larus catarractes Linnaeus,1766.

Stercorarius catarractes; Sharpe 1875, in Richardson & J.E. Gray (Eds), Zool. Voy. ‘Erebus’ & ‘Terror’, Birds 1: 32. Not Larus catarractes Linnaeus,1766.

Stercorarius antarcticus; Hutton 1879, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 11: 338. Not Lestris antarcticus Lesson, 1831.

Stercorarius parasiticus; Finsch 1888, Ibis 6 (5th series): 309. Not Larus parasiticus Linnaeus, 1758.

Megalestris antarctica; Saunders 1896, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 25: 319. Not Lestris antarcticus Lesson, 1831.

Catharacta antarctica lönnbergi Mathews, 1912: Novit. Zool. 18(3): 212 – New Zealand seas.

Catharacta lönnbergi lönnbergi Mathews; Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 248.

Catharacta lönnbergi Mathews; Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 150.

Catharacta skua lönnbergi Mathews; Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 310.

Catharacta skua lonnbergi Mathews; Marples 1946, New Zealand Bird Notes 1 (Suppl.): 6.

Stercorarius skua lonnbergi (Mathews); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 49.

Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi Mathews; Olsen & Larsson 1997, Skuas and Jaegers: 76.

Stercorarius antarcticus lonnbergi (Mathews); Dickinson & Remsen 2013, Howard & Moore Complete Checklist Birds World, 4th edition, 1: 223.

In the New Zealand region, breeds on Campbell / Motu Ihupuku, Auckland / Maukahuka, Antipodes, Snares / Tini Heke, Chatham, Stewart / Rakiura and Solander (Hautere) Islands and their outliers (Higgins & Davies 1996). Rarely reported nesting in Fiordland (Higgins & Davies 1996), e.g. a mainland nest and eggs reported at Puysegur Point, Nov. 1962 (Checklist Committee 1970). Also breeds nearby on Macquarie Island. Straggles to the Ross Sea in summer (Court & Davis 1990) but possibly breeding on the Balleny Islands (Watson 1975). Disperses north to 30°S in autumn, reaching southern Australia and the New Zealand mainland (Higgins & Davies 1996). Rare at Norfolk Island (Higgins & Davies 1996). Natural deposit and midden records from North, South, and Chatham Islands, and Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Checklist Committee 1990; Millener 1991; Tennyson 2020a).

➤ Stercorarius maccormicki Saunders
South Polar Skua

Stercorarius maccormicki Saunders, 1893: Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club 3: 12 – Possession Island, Victoria Land, Antarctica.

Megalestris maccormicki (Saunders); Saunders 1896, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 25: 321, pl. 1.

Catharacta maccormicki wilsoni Mathews, 1913: Birds Australia 2: 495 – Weddell Sea, Antarctica.

Catharacta maccormicki maccormicki (Saunders); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 249.

Catharacta skua maccormicki (Saunders); Marples 1946, New Zealand Bird Notes 1 (Suppl.): 6.

Stercorarius skua maccormicki Saunders; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 49.

Catharacta maccormicki (Saunders); Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 159.

Breeds on shores and offshore islands of Antarctica, mainly near penguin and petrel colonies; winters at sea, some ranging to the North Pacific, northern Indian and North Atlantic Oceans (Ainley et al. 1986; Higgins & Davies 1996). First recorded from New Zealand at Port Ross, Auckland Islands / Maukahuka, Mar. 1904 (Miskelly 2020a). Subsequently recorded on the North Island at: Rangitikei, Jan. 1940; Muriwai, Apr. 1940 (Falla 1940a). Scarce but likely annual migrant to New Zealand, with at least 25 records from Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua south to Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku (Checklist Committee 2022; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023). There are two recoveries of birds well north of their banding sites in the Ross Sea, Antarctica: one banded at Cape Hallett, Jan. 1964, was recovered in Japan in Apr. 1966 (C. Robertson 1972a), and a Cape Crozier band was found in a northern giant petrel nest on the Chatham Islands in 1973 (Imber 1994). Tentatively identified from Holocene remains on Chatham Island (Checklist Committee 1990; Millener 1991).

➤ Stercorarius pomarinus (Temminck)
Pomarine Skua

Lestris pomarinus Temminck, 1815: Manuel d’Ornith.: 514 – Arctic regions of Europe.

Catharacta pomarina (Temminck); Mathews 1912, Novit. Zool. 18(3): 213.

Coprotheres pomarinus (Temminck); Mathews 1913, Birds Australia 2: 497.

Coprotheres pomarinus nutcheri Mathews, 1917: Austral Avian Rec. 3: 72 – Broken Bay, New South Wales, Australia.

Coprotheres pomarinus pomarinus (Temminck); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 151.

Stercorarius pomarinus (Temminck); Falla 1936, Rec. Auck. Inst. Museum 2: 4.

Breeds in arctic regions, migrating to the Southern Hemisphere; an uncommon though regular visitor to New Zealand south to Foveaux Strait (Falla 1936; Higgins & Davies 1996) and east to the Chatham Islands (Imber 1994; Nilsson et al. 1994; Miskelly et al. 2006). More pelagic than Stercorarius parasiticus (Higgins & Davies 1996). An unusual assemblage of 38 counted, 56 nautical miles west of Waikato River mouth, Feb. 1984 (Checklist Committee 1990).

➤ Stercorarius parasiticus (Linnaeus)
Arctic Skua

Larus parasiticus Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 136 – within Tropic of Cancer of Europe, America, and Asia, restricted to coast of Sweden (fide Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 311).

Larus crepidatus Banks, 1773: in J. Cook’s Voy., Hawkesworth’s ed. 2: 15 – Atlantic Ocean, 8°25’ N, 22°4’ W.

Lestris parasiticus (Linnaeus); Hutton 1871, Cat. Birds N.Z.: 40.

Stercorarius crepidatus (Banks); Buller 1887 (Oct), History of the Birds of N.Z., 2nd edition 2 (part 2): 66.

Catharacta parasitica (Linnaeus); Mathews 1912, Novit. Zool. 18(3): 213.

Stercorarius parasiticus visitori Mathews, 1915: Austral Avian Rec. 2: 126 – Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Stercorarius parasiticus (Linnaeus); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 49.

Breeds in arctic and subarctic regions; migrates to the Southern Hemisphere, where it is in New Zealand waters mainly between Oct. and May (Falla 1936; Higgins & Davies 1996). In New Zealand it occurs from the Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua south to Foveaux Strait and east to the Chatham Islands; sometimes in large gatherings, e.g. Kaipara Heads, c. 50 in Dec. 1955 (Higgins & Davies 1996) and 60+ in Apr. 1996 (Johnson 1997). One seen off the Antipodes Islands (Warham & Bell 1979).

➤ Stercorarius longicaudus Vieillot
Long-tailed Skua

Stercorarius longicaudus Vieillot, 1819: Nouv. Dict. Hist. Nat., nouv. éd. 21: 157 – north Europe, Asia, and America, restricted to northern Europe (fide Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 312).

Lestris longicaudus Brisson [sic]; Finsch 1872, Journ. für Ornith. 20(4): 241.

Stercorarius crepidatus (Banks); Buller 1887 (Oct.), History of the Birds of N.Z., 2nd edition 2 (part 2): 66. In part.

Stercorarius longicaudus Vieillot; Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 53.

Breeds in arctic and subarctic regions, migrating to the Southern Hemisphere; generally rare in the south-west Pacific. Two subspecies: S. l. longicaudus breeding in arctic and subarctic Scandinavia, east to delta of Lena River, and S. l. pallescens Løppenthin, 1932 breeding in arctic Greenland, North America, and Siberia, east of Kolyma River (Higgins & Davies 1996). Subspecies migrating to Australasian region unknown but presumed to be S. l. pallescens (Sibson 1967; Higgins & Davies 1996). Rare visitor to New Zealand, reaching south to Foveaux Strait (Dec. 2022; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023) and east to near the Chatham Islands (two in Mar. 1985, and one in Dec. 2009; Higgins & Davies 1996; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021). First recorded in New Zealand on 30 Apr. 1864 (live) at Whanganui (Melville 1985). Subsequently, dead specimens at: Muriwai, Apr. 1942 (probable), Jan. 1964, and Nov. 1971 (probable); Himatangi (probably two), Mar. 1969; Dargaville, Dec. 1971 (probable) (Melville 1985). More regularly reported since 1981, especially Jan.–Feb. 1983, when 17 dead (from Northland to Wellington) and a further probable 19 dead and 19 live in the same period (Melville 1985; NMNZ OR.022964). All New Zealand records are Sep.–Apr. (Melville 1985; Powlesland & Powlesland 1994b; Higgins & Davies 1996; G. Taylor 1996; Medway 2000a; Stephenson 2006). Tentatively identified from Holocene remains on Chatham Island (Melville 1985; Checklist Committee 1990; Millener 1991).

Family LARIDAE Rafinesque: Noddies, Gulls, and Terns

We follow A. Baker, Pereira & Paton (2007), Ödeen et al. (2010), and D. Jackson et al. (2012) in placing all noddies, gulls, and terns in a single family (Laridae). This same approach was used by Dickinson & Remsen (2013), Clements et al. (2019), Chesser et al. (2020), Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International (2020), and F. Gill et al. (2021). Subfamily structure and the genus sequence within these follows Dickinson & Remsen (2013). These phylogenetic studies revealed that noddies (Anous) and then white tern (Gygis) were sister to other members of the family, requiring recognition of four subfamilies, in the sequence: Anoinae, Gyginae, Larinae, and Sterninae.

Subfamily ANOINAE Bonaparte: Noddies

Anoeae Bonaparte, 1854: Ann. Sci. Nat., Zool. Paris, 4th series 1: 144 – Type genus Anous Stephens, 1826.

Genus Anous Stephens

Anoüs Stephens, 1826: in G. Shaw, General Zool. 13(1): 139 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Anoüs niger Stephens = Anous stolidus (Linnaeus).

Megalopterus Boie, 1826: Isis von Oken, Heft 10: col. 980 – Type species (by monotypy) Sterna tenuirostris Temminck = Anous tenuirostris (Temminck).

Procelsterna Lafresnaye, 1842: Mag. Zool., Paris 4(2): pl. 29 – Type species (by monotypy) Procelsterna tereticollis Lafresnaye = Anous ceruleus (F.D. Bennett).

Micranous Saunders, 1895: Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club 4: 19 – Type species (by original designation) Micranous tenuirostris (Temminck) = Anous tenuirostris (Temminck).

Cibois et al. (2016) revealed Procelsterna to be embedded within Anous. We follow Cibois et al. (2016) in treating Procelsterna Lafresnaye, 1842 as a junior synonym of Anous Stephens, 1826. The preferred common names for noddies follow Gochfeld & Burger (1996) and Holdaway et al. (2001).

➤ Anous stolidus (Linnaeus)
Brown Noddy

Sterna stolida Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 137 – “Americæ Pelago” = Antilles and Atlantic Ocean (fide Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 145).

Circumtropical, seldom ranging outside subtropical seas. Four subspecies recognised, differing in size and coloration of head and body, but differences between races are slight (Higgins & Davies 1996). Only one subspecies is known from the New Zealand region (Higgins & Davies 1996).

Anous stolidus pileatus (Scopoli)
Brown Noddy

Sterna pileata Scopoli, 1786: Delic. Flor. Faun. insubr. 2: 92 – no locality = Philippines (fide Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 346).

Sterna unicolor Nordmann, 1837: in Erman, Nat. Atlas Reise Erde: 17 – Society and other Pacific Islands.

Anoüs stolidus; G.R. Gray 1862, Ibis 4: 249. Not Sterna stolida Linnaeus, 1758.

Anoüs stolidus unicolor (Nordmann); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 145.

Anous stolidus; Oliver 1930, New Zealand Birds, 1st edition: 252. Not Sterna stolida Linnaeus, 1758.

Anous stolidus pileatus (Scopoli); Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 169.

Breeds widely in the Indian and Pacific Oceans; common breeder at Norfolk Island (Higgins & Davies 1996); not known at the Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua until c. 25 pairs found nesting on Curtis Island in Oct.–Nov. 1989 (Veitch et al. 2004). At least 20 birds reported from multiple sites in Kermadec Islands in Mar.–Apr. 2016 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2019). Two unverified early records: east coast of North Island (1885) and “high seas” (19th Century) (Iredale 1913; B. Gill & Driessen 1993). Singles dead on Muriwai Beach, Auckland, Jun. 1992 (B. Gill & Driessen 1993) and near Waitara, Taranaki, Jun. 2002 (Medway 2004b), with live sightings at Muriwai, west Auckland, Jan. 2022, and Whangarei Harbour entrance, Feb. 2022 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023).

➤ Anous minutus Boie
Black Noddy

Breeds mainly in the south-west Pacific region, with smaller numbers of breeding sites in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic, east Pacific, and in south-east Asia (Higgins & Davies 1996). Seven subspecies are recognised, differing in size and coloration of cap and darkness of rest of plumage, but relationships between populations are poorly understood (Higgins & Davies 1996). Only the nominate form is known from the New Zealand region (Higgins & Davies 1996). Anous minutus is treated as a separate species from A. tenuirostris (Temminck) – which breeds in the Indian Ocean – following Serventy et al. (1971) and Higgins & Davies (1996).

Anous minutus minutus Boie
Black Noddy

Anous minutus Boie, 1844: Isis von Oken, Heft 37: col. 188 – New Holland, restricted to Raine Island, Queensland, Australia (fide Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 146).

Anous leucocapillus Gould, 1846: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1845 (13): 103 – north coast of Australia.

Anoüs leucocapillus Gould; G.R. Gray 1862, Ibis 4: 250.

Anous melanogenys; Cheeseman 1891, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 23: 221. Not Anous melanogenys G.R. Gray, 1846.

Micranous leucocapillus (Gould); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 163.

Megalopterus minutus minutus (Boie); Iredale 1913, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 45: 85.

Megalopterus minutus kermadeci Mathews, 1916: Austral Avian Rec. 3: 55 – “Kermadec Island”, error for MacKay, Queensland, Australia (fide Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 146).

Anoüs minutus minutus Boie; Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 347.

Anous tenuirostris minutus Boie; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 52.

Anous minutus Boie; Lindsay 1963, Notornis 10: 304.

Anous minutus minutus Boie; Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 56.

Anous tenuirostris; Medway 2001, Notornis 48: 62. Not Anous tenuirostris Temminck, 1823.

Breeds widely in the south-west Pacific from Tuamotu to Samoa, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Australia, and Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands; in the New Zealand region breeds commonly at Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Higgins & Davies 1996). Rarely strays outside subtropical waters to mainland New Zealand. North Island records are: Kaipara Harbour, Oct. 1953, Aug. 1964; Spirits Bay, Jan. 1965; Whangarei Heads, Feb. 1965; Houhora Harbour, (dead) Mar. 1975; Muriwai Beach, (dead) Jan. 1986; Karikari Bay, (dead) Jan. 1986 (Powlesland 1989a); Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands, May 1989 (Loh 1990); near Dargaville, (dead) Oct. and Nov. 1989 (G. Taylor 2004); Rangaunu Harbour, Sep. 1990 (Guest 1991); Mangawhai Spit, (dead) Jan. 1997; Ruapuke Beach, (dead) Jan. 1997; Muriwai Beach, (dead) Oct. 1998 (G. Taylor 2004); Te Werahi Beach, Apr. 2009 (Miskelly et al. 2011); Chicken Islands, Dec. 2018 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2019); Milford Beach, Auckland, Jan. 2020; near the Cavalli Islands, Jun. 2020 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021); and Maunganui Bluff, Ninety Mile Beach, Feb. 2022 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023). Recorded from the South Island on about seven occasions: Farewell Spit, Jan. 1961; two off Waipara River mouth, May 1975; Taieri River mouth, Apr. 1977 (Powlesland 1989a; Higgins & Davies 1996); Nelson, Oct. 1998 (unconfirmed; Gaze 2001); Stephens Passage, Feb. 2000 (unconfirmed, Medway 2000b); Rapahoe, Sep. 2000 (Medway 2001a); and Duffers Reef, outer Pelorus Sound, Mar. 2021 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023).

➤ Anous albivittus (Bonaparte)
Grey Noddy

Anous cinereus Gould, 1846: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1845 (13): 104 – Lord Howe Island, Australia. Junior secondary homonym of Sterna cinerea Haldeman, 1843.

Procelsterna albivitta Bonaparte, 1856: Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 42: 773. Nomen novum for Anous cinereus Gould, 1846.

Anoüs cinereus Gould; G.R. Gray 1862, Ibis 4: 250. Not Sterna cinerea Haldeman, 1843.

Anoüs cinereus Gould; Cheeseman 1891, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 23: 222. Not Sterna cinerea Haldeman, 1843.

Procelsterna cinerea (Gould); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 161. Not Sterna cinerea Haldeman, 1843.

Procelsterna cerulea cinerea (Gould); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 246. Not Sterna cinerea Haldeman, 1843.

Procelsterna cerulea kermadeci Mathews, 1916: Austral Avian Rec. 3: 55 – Kermadec Islands.

Procelsterna cerulea albivitta Bonaparte; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 52.

Procelsterna albivitatta albivitatta Bonaparte; Condon 1975, Checklist Birds Australia 1: 159. Unjustified emendation.

Procelsterna cerulea; J. Moore 1985, Notornis 32: 317. Not Sterna cerulea F.D. Bennett, 1840.

Procelsterna cerulea albivitatta Bonaparte; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z: 171. Unjustified emendation.

Procelsterna albivitta Bonaparte; Gochfeld & Burger 1996, in del Hoyo, Elliot & Sargatal Handb. Birds World 3: 666.

Procelsterna albivitta albivitta Bonaparte; Dickinson & Remsen 2013, Howard & Moore Complete Checklist Birds World, 4th edition, 1: 224.

Anous albivittus (Bonaparte); Cibois, Thibault, Rocamora & Pasquet 2016, Ibis 158: 437.

Breeds at Isla Salas y Gómez, San Ambrosio, San Félix, Easter, Henderson, Austral, Tongan, Lord Howe, and Norfolk Islands, and in the New Zealand region on Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua and occasionally on islands off the North Island: Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands (West Island; Scofield 1994a; Higgins & Davies 1996) and in the Bay of Plenty (Volkner Rocks, Sugarloaf Rock, and Aldermen Islands; Falla 1970; P. Latham 2003). Occasionally in large flocks in the outer waters of the North Island from Northland to East Cape but rarely on the North Island’s west coast (Higgins & Davies 1996; Foreman 2000). First recorded in the North Island in 1882 at Cape Maria van Diemen (Buller 1887–88). A single South Island record: Banks Peninsula, one wrecked in the 1968 “Wahine storm” (P. Latham 2003). The preferred common name is grey noddy, following Holdaway et al. (2001) and Dickinson (2003); it is also called grey ternlet.

Some authorities recognise separate subspecies on Lord Howe, Norfolk, Kermadec and Austral Islands, and Tonga, (A. a. albivittus), Henderson, Easter, and Salas y Gómez Islands (A. a. skottsbergii (Lönnberg, 1921)), and San Ambrosio and San Félix Islands (A. a. imitatrix (Mathews, 1912)) (del Hoyo, Elliot & Sargatal 1996; Dickinson & Remsen 2013). Anous albivittus was previously treated as a subspecies of Anous ceruleus (F.D. Bennett, 1840) (=Procelsterna cerulea), which occurs in the tropical Pacific at Christmas Island, north-west Hawai’ian, Marshall, northern Tuamotu, Society, and Marqueses groups, Phoenix, Ellice, and Samoan Islands, and at Gambier group (Dickinson & Remsen 2013).

Subfamily GYGINAE Verheyen: White Tern

Gyginae Verheyen, 1959: Bull. Inst. Roy. Sci. Nat. Belgique 35(9): 14 – Type genus Gygis Wagler, 1832.

Genus Gygis Wagler

Gygis Wagler, 1832: Isis von Oken, Heft 11: col. 1223 – Type species (by monotypy) Sterna candida Gmelin = Gygis alba candida (Gmelin).

Leucanous Mathews, 1912: Birds Australia 2: 432 – Type species (by original designation) Gygis microrhyncha Saunders = Gygis alba microrhyncha Saunders.

➤ Gygis alba (Sparrman)
White Tern

Sterna alba Sparrman, 1786: Mus. Carlsonianum 1: no XI, pl. 11 – East Indies, Cape of Good Hope, and islands of the Pacific Ocean, restricted to Ascension Island, south Atlantic Ocean (fide Mathews 1912, Birds Australia 2: 441).

Circumtropical, also ranging widely over subtropical seas. Several forms named but relationships between populations are debated (e.g. Gochfeld & Burger 1996; Olson 2005; Yeung et al. 2009). We follow Holyoak & Thibault (1976), Kinsky & Yaldwyn (1981) and Higgins & Davies (1996) in recognising G. a. candida (Gmelin, 1789) as the form breeding in the New Zealand region.

Gygis alba candida (Gmelin)
White Tern

Sterna candida Gmelin, 1789: Syst. Nat., 13th edition 1(2): 607 – Christmas Island, Pacific Ocean.

Gygis candida Wagler [sic]; G.R. Gray 1862, Ibis 4: 249.

? Gygis alba; Finsch 1872, Journ. für Ornith. 20(4): 254. Not Sterna alba Sparrman, 1786.

Gygis candida Gould [sic]; Cheeseman 1889, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 21: 122.

Gygis alba; Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 163. Not Sterna alba Sparrman, 1786.

Gygis alba candida (Gmelin); Mathews 1912, Novit. Zool. 18(3): 211.

Gygis alba royana Mathews, 1912: Birds Australia 2: 433 – Kermadec Islands.

Leucanous albus royanus (Mathews); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 142.

Leucanous albus candidus (Gmelin); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 143.

Gygis alba; Lindsay 1963, Notornis 10: 304. Not Sterna alba Sparrman, 1786.

Gygis alba alba; Gochfeld & Burger 1996, in del Hoyo et al. Handb. Birds World 3: 666. Not Sterna alba Sparrman, 1786.

Breeds at Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua and at many sites in the tropical Indian and Pacific Oceans (Higgins & Davies 1996). Straggles rarely to the North Island: Waipu, (two) Mar. 1883 (Iredale 1913); Te Henga (Bethells Beach), May 1960; Pakotai (Northland), May 1964; Palmerston North, Jun. 1972; Otaki Beach, May 1986 (Powlesland 1989a); Te Horo Beach, Apr. 1988; Muriwai Beach, May 1990 (Guest 1991); near Dargaville, Jul. 1990 (Powlesland et al. 1993); Taupiri, May 1998 (Clifford 2000a); Dargaville Beach, Jul. 1998 (G. Taylor 2004); two on Otaki coast, Jun. 2019; Kaimai Range, May 2020 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021). One offshore from Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands, Apr. 2007 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2017). Records at sea off Northland (Jan. 2005; Davies 2005a) and Ohiwa Harbour (Nov. 2006; Anon. 2007b) are unverified. Only three records from the South Island: Ettrick, Otago, Mar. 1945 (Powlesland 1989a); Greymouth, Jan. 2002 (NMNZ OR.027993); near Hokitika, undated (NMNZ OR.027989).

Subfamily LARINAE Rafinesque: Gulls

Laridia Rafinesque, 1815: Analyse de la Nature: 72 – Type genus Larus Linnaeus, 1758.

Pons et al. (2005) presented a complete gull phylogeny based on mitochondrial DNA, which showed that Larus sensu Chu (1998) was not monophyletic. Pons et al. (2005) recommended that ten gull genera be recognised, and this was largely followed by Christidis & Boles (2008), Dickinson & Remsen (2013), and the American Ornithologists’ Union (e.g. Chesser et al. 2020). This taxonomy is supported by the Checklist Committee, and we follow the subfamily structure and generic sequence used by Dickinson & Remsen (2013). Boie (1844: 196) listed “Larus melanoleucos” as from New Zealand but, as it does not include a description of the bird, it is a nomen nudum (Mathews & Iredale 1913: 248).

Genus Chroicocephalus Eyton

Gavia Boie, 1822: Isis von Oken, Heft 5: col. 563 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Linnaeus). Junior homonym of Gavia Moehring, 1758.

Chroicocephalus Eyton, 1836: Cat. Brit. Birds: 53 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Larus capistratus Temminck = Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Linnaeus).

Gelastes Bonaparte, 1853: Journ für Ornith. 1: 47 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Larus gelastes Lichenstein = Chroicocephalus genei (Brème).

Bruchigavia Bonaparte, 1857: Consp. Gen. Avium 2: 228 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Larus novaehollandiae Stephens = Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae (Stephens).

Astogavia Mathews, 1944: Emu 43: 244 – Type species (by original designation) Bruchigavia melanorhyncha Buller = Chroicocephalus bulleri (Hutton).

➤ Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae (Stephens)
Silver Gull

Larus Novae-Hollandiae Stephens, 1826: in G. Shaw, General Zool. 13(1): 196 – New South Wales, Australia.

Gavia Andersonii Bruch, 1853: Journ. für Ornith. 1: 100 – New Zealand, error for New South Wales, Australia (fide Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 147).

Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae (Stephens); Christidis & Boles 2008, Syst. Taxon. Australian Birds: 26, 146.

Three subspecies are recognised (R. Johnstone 1982; Higgins & Davies 1996): C. n. novaehollandiae (Australia); C. n. forsteri (Mathews, 1912) (New Caledonia and south-west Pacific); and C. n. scopulinus (New Zealand). Chroicocephalus hartlaubii Bruch, 1853 of South Africa is sometimes treated as a subspecies of C. novaehollandiae (e.g. Checklist Committee 1990), but they are not closely related (Given et al. 2005). Schodde et al. (1983), Sibley & Monroe (1990), and Given et al. (2005) treated C. scopulinus as a full species but we await the inclusion of C. n. forsteri in a study before adopting this approach. Early reports of C. n. novaehollandiae in New Zealand (Dwight 1925) have not been verified (R. Johnstone 1982). The species straggles to Norfolk Island, where it has bred, but subspecies unknown, although both C. n. novaehollandiae and C. n. scopulinus suggested (Schodde et al. 1983; Hermes et al. 1986; Higgins & Davies 1996; J. Moore 1999).

Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae scopulinus (J.R. Forster)
Red-billed Gull | Tarāpunga

Larus scopulinus J.R. Forster, 1843: in G.R. Gray, in E. Dieffenbach, Travels in N.Z. 2: 200. Nomen nudum.

Larus scopulinus J.R. Forster, 1844: in M.H.C. Lichtenstein, Descrip. Animalium: 106 – Dusky Sound, Fiordland.

Larus Jamesoni; G.R. Gray 1844, List Birds Brit. Mus. 3: 171. Not Larus jamesoni Wilson, 1831 = Larus novaehollandiae Stephens, 1826.

Larus novae Hollandiae; G.R. Gray 1845, in Richardson & J.E. Gray (Eds), Zool. Voy. ‘Erebus’ & ‘Terror’, Birds 1(8): 18. Not Larus novaehollandiae Stephens, 1826.

Chroicocephalus schimperi Bonaparte, 1857: Consp. Gen. Avium 2: 229. Not Chroicocephalus Schimperi Bruch, 1853.

Lestris scopulinus (J.R. Forster); Ellman 1861, Zoologist 19: 7472.

Xema jamesonii; Layard 1863, Ibis 5: 245. Not Larus jamesoni Wilson, 1831 = Larus novaehollandiae Stephens, 1826.

Gelastes scopulinus (J.R. Forster); Blasius 1865, Journ. für Ornith. 13(6): 384.

Larus (Gelastes) ?Andersonii G.R. Gray, 1871: Hand-list Birds 3: 116 – New Zealand. Junior secondary homonym of Gavia andersonii Bruch, 1853 = Larus novaehollandiae Stephens, 1826.

Larus scopulorum J.R. Forster; Potts 1872, Ibis 2 (3rd series): 38. Unjustified emendation.

Larus Novae-Hollandiae; Finsch 1872, Journ. für Ornith. 20(4): 241. Not Larus novaehollandiae Stephens, 1826.

Larus scopulinus J.R. Forster; Saunders 1896, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 25: 238.

Bruchigavia novaehollandiae scopulinus (J.R. Forster); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 247.

Bruchigavia novae-hollandiae; Belcher 1914, Ibis 2 (10th series): 595.

Bruchigavia novaehollandiae coincidens Mathews, 1944: Emu 43: 244 – subantarctic islands of New Zealand.

Larus novaehollandiae scopulinus J.R. Forster; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 50.

Larus novaehollandiae; Lindsay 1963, Notornis 10: 304. Not Larus novaehollandiae Stephens, 1826.

Chroicocephalus scopulinus (J.R. Forster); Crochet et al. 2000, Journ. Evolut. Biology 13: 54.

Chroicocephalus schimperi; Voisin & Voisin 2011, Journ. Nat. Mus. (Prague) Nat. Hist. Ser. 180(4): 45. Not Chroicocephalus Schimperi Bruch, 1853.

Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae scopulinus (J.R. Forster); Dickinson & Remsen 2013, Howard & Moore Complete Checklist Birds World, 4th edition, 1: 226.

Breeding on coasts and islets from Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands to Stewart / Rakiura, Chatham, Snares / Tini Heke, Auckland / Maukahuka and Campbell / Motu Ihupuku Islands; also breeds inland at Lake Rotorua (Gurr & Kinsky 1965, Higgins & Davies 1996). Straggler to the Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (possibly C. n. novaehollandiae; Veitch et al. 2004), Lord Howe Island (McAllan et al. 2004), and New South Wales, Australia (banded bird, Sep. 2017; Mills et al. 2020). Natural deposit and midden records from North, South, Stewart / Rakiura, and Chatham Islands, and Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Checklist Committee 1990; Millener 1991; Tennyson 2020a); a few probable Late Pleistocene records (Worthy & Grant-Mackie 2003).

➤ Chroicocephalus bulleri (Hutton)
Black-billed Gull | Tarāpuka

Bruchigavia melanorhyncha Buller, 1869 (Jan.): Ibis 5 (new series): 43 – South Island. Junior secondary homonym of Larus melanorhynchus Temminck & Laugier, 1830 = Larus philadelphia (Ord, 1815).

Larus (Bruchigavia) melanorhyncha [sic] Buller; Finsch 1869 (Oct.), Ibis 5 (new series): 381. Not Larus melanorhynchus Temminck & Laugier, 1830 = Larus philadelphia (Ord, 1815).

Larus bulleri Hutton, 1871: Cat. Birds N.Z.: 41. Nomen novum for Bruchigavia melanorhyncha Buller, 1869.

Larus bulleri Potts, 1872 (Jan.): Ibis 2 (3rd series): 38 – Near the mouth of the Waimakeriri [sic] River. Junior primary homonym and junior synonym of Larus bulleri Hutton, 1871.

Larus melanorhynchus (Buller); Potts 1872, Ibis 2 (3rd series): 38. Not Larus melanorhynchus Temminck & Laugier, 1830 = Larus philadelphia (Ord, 1815).

Larus (Bruchigavia) Bulleri Potts, 1872 (May): Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 4: 203 – Near the mouth of the Waimakariri River. Junior primary homonym and junior synonym of Larus bulleri Hutton, 1871.

Larus Pomarae [sic]; Finsch 1872, Journ. für Ornith. 20(4): 248. Not Gavia pomare Bruch, 1855 = nomen dubium.

Larus pomare; Sharpe 1875, in Richardson & J.E. Gray (Eds), Zool. Voy. ‘Erebus’ & ‘Terror’, Birds 1: 32. Not Gavia pomare Bruch, 1855 = nomen dubium.

Larus bulleri Hutton; Saunders 1896, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 25: 233.

Hydrocoleus bulleri (Hutton); Dwight 1925, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 52: 293.

Bruchigavia melanorhynchus [sic] Buller; Dwight 1925, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 52: 293. Not Larus melanorhynchus Temminck & Laugier, 1830 = Larus philadelphia (Ord, 1815).

Bruchigavia (Astogavia) melanorhyncha (Buller); Mathews 1944, Emu 43: 244. Not Larus melanorhynchus Temminck & Laugier, 1830 = Larus philadelphia (Ord, 1815).

Chroicocephalus bulleri (Hutton); Crochet et al. 2000, Journ. Evolut. Biology 13: 54.

Throughout New Zealand but mainly south of the Auckland isthmus; breeding mainly on South Island riverbeds but some breed on the coast; some movement north and to coastal areas in the non-breeding season (Higgins & Davies 1996). A few go south to Stewart Island / Rakiura and straggle to Snares Islands / Tini Heke (Higgins & Davies 1996; Miskelly et al. 2001a). North Island breeding range is expanding and includes: Kaipara Harbour; Manukau Harbour; near Clevedon; Firth of Thames; Coromandel Harbour; Matakana Island; Ohiwa Harbour; Waioeka River estuary; Lake Rotorua; Whakarewarewa; Lake Rotomahana; Lake Rerewhakaaitu; Lake Rotokawa; Lake Taupo; Poverty Bay; Wairoa; Portland Island; near Clive; Black Reef; Porangahau; Manawatu River; inland Wairarapa (D. Reid & Reid 1965; Drake 1980; G. Taylor & Parrish 1994a; Higgins & Davies 1996; Parrish & Lock 1997). Natural deposit and midden records from the South Island; midden only from the North Island (Checklist Committee 1990; Millener 1991).

Gavia pomare [sic] Bruch, 1855: 285 has been regarded as a synonym of L. bulleri but its identity is in doubt because its type locality, the Society Islands, is outside the known range of this species and the type specimen no longer exists (Steadman 2002; see also Saunders 1896: 233, 235). Notwithstanding the identity of Gavia pomare Bruch, 1855, that name is preoccupied by Gavia pomarre Bruch, 1853: 103, in turn a junior synonym of Larus novaehollandiae novaehollandiae Stephens, 1826.

Genus Leucophaeus Bruch

Leucophaeus Bonaparte, 1853: Journ. für Ornith. 1(1): 47. Nomen nudum.

Leucophaeus Bruch, 1853: Journ. für Ornith. 1(2): 108 – Type species (by monotypy) Larus haematorhynchus King = Leucophaeus scoresbii (Traill).

Melanolarus Heine & Reichenow, 1890, Nom. Mus. Hein. Ornith.: 359 – Type species (by original designation) Larus franklini (Swainson & Richardson) = Leucophaeus pipixcan (Wagler).

➤ Leucophaeus atricilla (Linnaeus)
Laughing Gull

Larus atricilla Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat. 10th edition 1: 136. Based on “Larus major” of Catesby 1731: Nat. Hist. Carolina, Florida & Bahamas 1: 89 – America = Bahamas Islands (fide Catesby 1731).

Larus major T. Forster, 1817: Synop. Cat. Brit. Birds: 32. Unnecessary nomen novum for Larus atricilla Linnaeus, 1758.

Xema atricilla (Linnaeus); Boie 1822, Isis von Oken 5: 563.

Gavia atricilla (Linnaeus); Macgillivray 1842, Man. Brit. Ornith. 2: 240.

Chroicocephalus atricilla (Linnaeus); Bruch 1853, Journ für Ornith. 1: 106.

Atricilla Catesbyi Bruch, 1855: Journ für Ornith.3: 287 – North America.

Atricilla megalopterus Bruch, 1855: Journ für Ornith. 3: 287 – Perú and Gulf of Mexico.

Atricilla micropterus Bruch, 1855: Journ für Ornith.3: 288 – Southern North America.

Atricilla catesbaei (Bruch); Bonaparte 1856, Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 42: 771. Invalid emendation.

Atricilla macroptera Bonaparte, 1856: Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 42: 771 – no locality.

Atricilla minor Bonaparte, 1856: Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 42: 771 – no locality.

Chroecocephalus atricilla (Linnaeus); A. & E. Newton 1859: Ibis 1: 371. Misspelling.

Leucophaeus atricilla (Linnaeus); Pons et al. 2005, Mol. Phyl. Evol. 37: 692.

Breeds eastern and southern United States, Mexico, Caribbean, Venezuela, and French Guiana, migrating south to northern Brazil and Perú. Two subspecies: L. a. megalopterus (Bruch, 1855) is migratory, breeding in United States and Mexico; the more southerly L. a. atricilla is sedentary (Higgins & Davies 1996). One near Opotiki in Dec. 2016 was the first record from New Zealand (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2017). Probably the same bird was subsequently recorded in the same vicinity in Dec. 2017, at Wairoa in Jan. 2018, and at Cape Kidnappers in Oct. 2018 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2019, 2021).

➤ Leucophaeus pipixcan (Wagler)
Franklin’s Gull

Larus atricilla Sabine, 1823: App. Franklin’s Polar Sea: 695. Not Larus atricilla Linnaeus, 1758.

Larus Pipixcan Wagler, 1831 (May): Isis von Oken, Heft 4: col. 515 – Mexico.

Larus Franklinii Jameson, 1831 (Aug.): Wilson’s American Ornithology 4: 245 – Saskatchewan River, Manitoba. Nomen nudum.

Larus Franklinii Swainson & Richardson, 1832 [1831] (fide Browning & Monroe 1991, Archiv. Nat. Hist. 18: 393): Fauna Boreali–Americana, Birds 2: 424, pl. 71 – Saskatchewan River, Manitoba.

Xema franklini (Swainson & Richardson); Bonaparte 1838, Comp. List Birds Europe & North Amer.: 62.

Xema pipixcan (Wagler); Boie 1844, Isis von Oken, Heft 37: col. 194.

Larus pipixcan Wagler; G.R. Gray 1846, Gen. Birds 3(21): 654.

Larus cucullatus Reichenbach, 1848: Natatores, pl. 23, fig. 296 (ex Lichtenstein manuscript) – Mexico.

Chroicocephalus Franklini (Swainson & Richardson); Bruch 1853, Journ. für Ornith. 1: 104.

Chroicocephalus cucullatus (Reichenbach); Bruch 1853, Journ. für Ornith. 1: 104.

Chroicocephalus Kittlitzii Bruch, 1853: Journ. für Ornith. 1: 104 – Chile.

Chroicocephalus Schimperi Bruch, 1853: Journ. für Ornith. 1: 104 – New Zealand.

Chroicocephalus serranus Bruch, 1853: Journ. für Ornith. 1: 106 – Perú. Not Larus serranus Von Tschudi, 1844.

Gavia cucullata (Reichenbach); Bonaparte 1856, Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 42: 771.

Gavia pipixan [sic] (Wagler); Bonaparte 1856, Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 42: 771.

Gavia franklini (Swainson & Richardson); Bonaparte 1856, Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 42: 771.

Gavia kittlitzii (Bruch); Bonaparte 1856, Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 42: 771.

Chroicocephalus franklinii (Swainson & Richardson); Lawrence in Baird 1858, Rep. Pacific R. R. Expl. Surv. 9: 851.

Larus cinereo-caudatus Philippi & Landbeck, 1861: Wiegmann’s Archiv für Naturg. 1: 293 – Chile.

Larus schimperi Bonaparte; G.R. Gray 1862, Ibis 4: 248. Not Chroicocephalus Schimperi Bruch, 1853.

Larus franklini (Swainson & Richardson); Schlegel 1863, Mus. Hist. Nat. Pays-Bas, Lari 6: 36.

Chroicocephalus atricilla Sclater, 1864: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1864 (2): 179 – Mexico City. Not Larus atricilla Linnaeus, 1758.

Chroecocephalus franklini (Swainson & Richardson); Snow 1873, Cat. Birds Kansas: 12.

Larus (Chroecocephalus) franklini (Swainson & Richardson); Coues 1874, Birds of the Northwest: 653.

Melanolarus franklini (Swainson & Richardson); Heine & Reichenow 1890, Nom. Mus. Hein. Ornith.: 359.

Larus pipixcan Wagler; Onley & Schweigman 2004, Notornis 51: 49.

Leucophaeus pipixcan (Wagler); Pons et al. 2005, Mol. Phyl. Evol. 37: 692.

Breeds in North America; moving south, chiefly to South America, when not breeding. Vagrants have been reported across the Pacific Ocean reaching as far as Australia (Peters 1934; Onley & Schweigman 2004). Four New Zealand records: Raoul Island, Jul. 1988 (Veitch et al. 2004); Tomahawk Lagoon, Dunedin, Jun.–Jul. 2002 (Onley & Schweigman 2004); Papakura, Oct. 2009 (Miskelly et al. 2011); Tuamarina, Marlborough, Jul. 2013 (Miskelly et al. 2015).

Bruch (1853) described Chroicocephalus Schimperi from New Zealand; his description (in German) translates as “About a third smaller than black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus); white, with a grey back; head black; flight feathers black with white tips; bill short and stout, beautiful red.” Saunders (1896) listed C. schimperi Bruch, 1853 as a junior synonym of Larus franklini (= Leucophaeus pipixcan). The connection of the type specimen(s) with New Zealand is unknown, and likely to be in error. Bonaparte (1857) cited Chroicocephalus schimperi Bruch, 1853 as from New Zealand. Voisin & Voisin (2011) listed three specimens – which may have been examined by Bonaparte – of Larus scopulinus (= Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae scopulinus) from New Zealand labelled as Larus schimperi or Gelastes schimperi. None of the three specimens are listed as types, and they do not match Bruch’s 1853 description. Therefore, we list Chroicocephalus Schimperi Bruch, 1853 and one variant as a junior synonym of L. pipixcan. Two other citations to Chroicocephalus schimperi Bonaparte, 1857 are listed under the synonymy for C. n. scopulinus.

Genus Larus Linnaeus

Larus Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat. 10th edition 1: 136 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Larus marinus Linnaeus.

Dominicanus Bruch, 1853: Journ für Ornith. 1: 100 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Larus marinus Linnaeus.

Clupeilarus Bonaparte, 1856: Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 42: 770 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Larus fuscus Linnaeus.

A report of an immature Pacific gull (Larus pacificus) on Dargaville Beach in Jan. 2010 was initially accepted by the Records Appraisal Committee, before the report was reviewed and rejected, and the species removed from the New Zealand list in 2021 (Miskelly et al. 2013; Unusual Bird Report database, viewed Feb. 2022). The timing of these two decisions meant that the species never featured in a checklist published by the Ornithological Society of New Zealand.

➤ Larus dominicanus Lichtenstein
Southern Black-backed Gull | Karoro

Larus dominicanus Lichtenstein, 1823: Verzeich. Doubl., Berlin: 82 – coasts of Brazil.

Larus fuscus; G.R. Gray 1843, in E. Dieffenbach, Travels in N.Z. 2: 200. Not Larus fuscus Linnaeus, 1758.

Larus antipodus ? G.R. Gray, 1844: List Birds Brit. Mus. 3: 169 – New Zealand.

Dominicanus antipodus (G.R. Gray); Bruch 1853, Journ. für Ornith. 1: 100.

Dominicanus Antipodum Cabanis [sic]; Bruch 1855, Journ. für Ornith. 3: 281.

Clupeilarus antipodum (G.R. Gray); Bonaparte 1856, Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 42: 770.

Lestris antarcticus Ellman, 1861: Zoologist 19: 7472 – New Zealand. Junior primary homonym of Lestris antarcticus Lesson, 1831.

Lestris fuscus Latham [sic]; Ellman 1861, Zoologist 19: 7472. Not Larus fuscus Linnaeus, 1758.

Larus antipodum G.R. Gray; G.R. Gray 1862, Ibis 4: 248.

Larus pacificus; Layard 1863, Ibis 5: 245. Not Larus pacificus Latham, 1801.

Larus dominicanus Lichtenstein; Finsch 1870, Journ. für Ornith. 18(5): 360.

Larus ?antipodum G.R. Gray; G.R. Gray 1871, Hand-list Birds 3: 112.

Larus dominicanus antipodus (Bruch) [sic]; Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 248.

Larus dominicanus (antipodus); Mathews 1930, Emu 29: 280.

Larus dominicanus absolutus Mathews, 1944: Emu 43: 246 – subantarctic islands of New Zealand.

Larus dominicanus dominicanus Lichtenstein; Checklist Committee 1980, Notornis (Suppl.) 27: 18.

The Checklist Committee (2010) recognised five subspecies following Jiguet (2002): L. d. dominicanus Lichtenstein (South America, Australia, New Zealand and its subantarctic islands); L. d. vetula (Bruch, 1853) (southern Africa); L. d. austrinus Fleming, 1924 (Antarctica); L. d. judithae Jiguet, 2002 (south Indian Ocean); and L. d. melisandae Jiguet, 2002 (Madagascar). Subsequent genetic research indicates that New Zealand birds are not L. d. dominicanus but are most closely related to Antarctic and Kerguelen Islands birds (Sternkopf 2011). A morphological review (Jiguet et al. 2012) recommends that six subspecies be recognised, with the New Zealand subspecies being Larus dominicanus antipodus G.R. Gray, 1844, and L. d. dominicanus being in South America. However, this study also recommends “further molecular studies of this widely distributed species before making further definitive taxonomic recommendations”. Without further research the Committee considers that New Zealand birds should be considered of indeterminate subspecies. Note that the synonyms listed here apply only to birds in the New Zealand region.

South America, Australia, and New Zealand. In the New Zealand region, breeds throughout coastal districts and on most offshore islands, including Chatham, Bounty, Antipodes, Snares / Tini Heke, Auckland / Maukahuka, and Campbell / Motu Ihupuku Islands; also inland on riverbeds and high into the mountains (Kinsky 1963; Higgins & Davies 1996; Miskelly et. al. 2001a; Tennyson et al. 2002). Also breeds on Macquarie Island (Higgins & Davies 1996), and straggles north to Norfolk Island (Hermes et al. 1986), the Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004), Lord Howe Island (Higgins & Davies 1996), and Niue (Worthy et al. 1998; Powlesland et al. 2000), and south to Ross Sea, Antarctica (Spurr et al. 1990). Natural deposit and midden remains from North, South, Stewart / Rakiura, and Chatham Islands, and Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Checklist Committee 1990; Millener 1991; Tennyson 2020a); rare records from Late Pleistocene sites (e.g. Worthy 2000; Worthy & Grant-Mackie 2003).

Subfamily STERNINAE Bonaparte: Terns

Sterninae Bonaparte, 1838: Geogr. Comp. List. Birds: 61 – Type genus Sterna Linnaeus, 1758.

Most recommendations from a study of tern relationships, based on mtDNA (Bridge et al. 2005), were adopted by the Taxonomic Subcommittee of the British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (Sangster et al. 2005) and the American Ornithologists’ Union Committee on Classification and Nomenclature (R.C. Banks et al. 2006). This follows many years of disagreement about the generic classification of terns for which 3–12 genera have been used (see Bridge et al. 2005). The genera and their sequence recommended by Bridge et al. (2005) are accepted here.

Genus Onychoprion Wagler

Onychoprion Wagler, 1832: Isis von Oken, Heft 2: col. 277 – Type species (by monotypy) Sterna serrata J.R. Forster = Onychoprion fuscatus serratus (J.R. Forster).

The gender of the genus Onychoprion is masculine, therefore, according to Article 30.1.2 of ICZN (1999), the species and subspecies names for the New Zealand taxa should be O. fuscatus serratus, O. lunatus, and O. anaethetus.

➤ Onychoprion fuscatus (Linnaeus)
Sooty Tern

Sterna fuscata Linnaeus, 1766: Syst. Nat., 12th edition 1: 228 – Santo Domingo, West Indies.

Anous fuscatus (Linnaeus); G.R. Gray 1846, Gen. Birds 3(21): 661.

Onychoprion fuscata [sic] (Linnaeus); Christidis & Boles 2008, Syst. Taxon. Australian Birds: 25, 144.

Onychoprion fuscatus (Linnaeus); Checklist Committee 2010, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 234.

Circumtropical, ranging widely over subtropical seas and sometimes into temperate waters. Several subspecies have been described and the number accepted varies among authors; the differences between the subspecies are slight, involving coloration of underparts and measurements; the status of all need re-examination (Higgins & Davies 1996). Although the race O. f. serratus is supposedly confined to breeding around Australia and in the South Pacific (Higgins & Davies 1996), a chick banded at the Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua was found breeding at the Seychelles, Indian Ocean (Cossee 1995), where the supposed race O. f. nubilosus (Sparrman, 1788) breeds (Higgins & Davies 1996).

Onychoprion fuscatus serratus (J.R. Forster)
Sooty Tern

Sterna serrata J.R. Forster, 1830: in J.G. Wagler, Natur. Syst. Amphib. Säug. Vögel.: 88, note 2 – New Caledonia.

Sterna fuliginosa; Cheeseman 1891, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 23: 221. Not Sterna fuliginosa Gmelin, 1789.

Onychoprion fuscatus serratus (J.R. Forster); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 245.

Onychoprion fuscatus kermadeci Mathews, 1916: Austral Avian Rec. 3: 55 – “Kermadec Islands”, error for Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (fide Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 142).

Sterna fuscata kermadeci (Mathews); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 338.

Sterna fuscata serratus J.R. Forster; Oliver 1955, New Zealand Birds, 2nd edition: 343. Unjustified emendation.

Sterna fuscata; Lindsay 1963, Notornis 10: 304. Not Sterna fuscata Linnaeus, 1766.

Sterna fuscata serrata J.R. Forster; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 165.

Onychoprion fuscatus serratus (J.R. Forster); Checklist Committee 2010, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 234.

Breeds abundantly in the south-west Pacific, including at Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua. Strays to the North Island, often after storms (Turbott 1952; J. Jenkins 1962; Powlesland & Powlesland 1994a; Higgins & Davies 1996), south to Foveaux Strait (W. Cooper 1991) and east to the Chatham Islands (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023). An exceptional sighting was of at least 13 alive at Pakiri Beach, Jul. 1986 (Fennell 1987).

➤ Onychoprion lunatus (Peale)
Grey-backed Tern

Sterna lunata Peale, 1848: U.S. Expl. Exped. 8: 277 – Vincennes Island, Paumotu [= Tuamotu] Group, French Polynesia.

Sterna lunata; Scofield 2006, Southern Bird 27: 8.

Onychoprion lunatus (Peale); Banks et al. 2006, Auk 123: 927.

Breeds throughout much of Oceania, including islands between the northern Mariana and Hawai’ian Islands and the Fijian and Tuamotu Groups; possibly as far east as Easter Island; becomes pelagic in the Pacific Ocean after breeding (Gochfeld & Burger 1996). Three New Zealand records: Papakanui Spit, Kaipara Harbour, Jan.–Feb. 1999 and Dec. 2022; mouth of the Pungaereere Stream, Taranaki, Jan. 2002 (Scofield 2006); Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023).

➤ Onychoprion anaethetus (Scopoli)
Bridled Tern

Sterna Anaethetus Scopoli, 1786: Delic. Flor. Faun. insubr. 2: 92 – “In Guinea”, error for Panay, Philippine Islands (fide Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 337).

Sterna anaethetus Scopoli; Tunnicliffe & Langlands 1990, Notornis 37: 131.

Onychoprion anaethetus (Scopoli); Banks et al. 2006, Auk 123: 927.

Breeding and widely distributed in tropical seas, seldom straying to temperate waters. Four subspecies: O. a. anaethetus breeds eastern Indian Ocean, South-east Asia, Australia, western Pacific; O. a. antarcticus (Lesson, 1831) breeds Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and west Indian Ocean; O. a. melanopterus (Swainson, 1837) breeds West Indies and West Africa; O. a. nelsoni (Ridgway, 1919) breeds Pacific coast of Mexico and Central America (Higgins & Davies 1996). Two New Zealand records: a beach-cast specimen, New Brighton, Canterbury, Nov. 1987 (Tunnicliffe & Langlands 1990) and a live bird at Ninety Mile Beach, Feb. 2022 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023).

Genus Sternula Boie

Sternula Boie, 1822: Isis von Oken, Heft 5: col. 563 – Type species (by monotypy) Sterna minuta Linnaeus = Sternula albifrons (Pallas).

➤ Sternula albifrons (Pallas)
Little Tern

Sterna albifrons Pallas, 1764: in Vroeg, Cat. Raisonné Coll. Oiseaux, Adumbr.: 6 – Maasland, Netherlands.

Widespread world-wide, with three subspecies: S. a. albifrons breeds Europe and North Africa and east to central Asia; S. a. sinensis breeds east Asia to Australia; S. a. guineae (Bannerman, 1913) breeds central and West Africa (Higgins & Davies 1996).

Sternula albifrons sinensis (Gmelin)
Eastern Little Tern | Tara Teo

Sterna sinensis Gmelin, 1789: Syst. Nat., 13th edition 1(2): 608 – China.

Sterna minuta; Finsch 1867, Journ. für Ornith. 15: 339, 347. Not Sterna minuta Linnaeus, 1766.

Sternula placens Gould, 1871: Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., London 8 (4th series): 192 – Torres Straits.

Sternula inconspicua Masters, 1875: Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales 1: 63 – Cape York, Australia.

Sterna sinensis placens (Gould); Mathews 1912, Novit. Zool. 18(3): 208.

Sterna sinensis tormenti Mathews, 1912: Novit. Zool. 18(3): 209 – Point Torment, north-west Australia.

Sternula albifrons sinensis (Gmelin); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 140.

Sterna albifrons sinensis Gmelin; Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 55.

Breeds in east Asia, east from Sri Lanka to New Guinea, and north and east Australia south to Tasmania (Higgins & Davies 1996). Not recognised in New Zealand until the 1940s (McKenzie & Sibson 1957). Now known as a regular non-breeding summer visitor, occasionally in flocks of 60+, especially at the big shallow inlets of northern New Zealand; also casually visits estuarine habitats south to Stewart Island / Rakiura (Pierce 1992; Higgins & Davies 1996). Vagrants have reached Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004) and Chatham Islands (Dec. 1997–Feb. 1998, and Nov. 2020; M. Bell & Bell 2002; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021). Banding records have confirmed that some New Zealand migrants breed in Japan (Lawrie & Habraken 2001; Habraken 2002; Anon. 2003). Some juveniles, and the occasional birds that adopt breeding plumage in New Zealand during the southern summer, are considered to have Southern Hemisphere origins (Lawrie & Habraken 2001; Saville 2002; Pulham 2003). Immatures (Sibson & Edgar 1962), and occasionally birds in breeding plumage (e.g. McKenzie & Sibson 1957; Tennyson 1990a), may overwinter.

➤ Sternula nereis Gould
Fairy Tern

Sternula nereis Gould, 1843: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1842 (10): 140 – Bass Strait.

Predominantly an Australian species (nominate subspecies) of the south and west coasts, with two other subspecies: S. nereis exsul (Mathews, 1912) in New Caledonia and S. nereis davisae in New Zealand. One possible record from Norfolk Island (White 1937; Hitchcock 1959; Hermes et al. 1986; Higgins & Davies 1996).

Sternula nereis davisae Mathews & Iredale
New Zealand Fairy Tern | Tara Iti

Sterna minuta; Anon. 1870, Cat. Colonial Mus.: 76. Not Sterna minuta Linnaeus, 1766.

Sterna neris [sic] Gould [sic]; Anon. 1870, Cat. Colonial Mus.: 76.

Sterna (alba, sp. nov.?) Potts, 1871: Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 3: 106 – Plains from the Rangitata to the Rakaia, Canterbury. Junior primary homonym of Sterna alba Sparrman, 1786.

Sterna nereis; Buller 1872 (Dec.), History of the Birds of N.Z., 1st edition (part 4): 285. Not Sternula nereis Gould, 1843.

Sternula nereis davisae Mathews & Iredale, 1913: Ibis 1 (10th series): 245 – New Zealand.

Sterna nereis davisae (Mathews & Iredale); Oliver 1930, New Zealand Birds, 1st edition: 245.

Rare; known to breed only on the coasts of Northland at Ruakaka–Waipu, Mangawhai–Pakiri, and the Kaipara Harbour (Parrish & Pulham 1995; Pulham 2004); formerly used to breed at Tauranga, the lower North Island coast and inland on eastern South Island shingle riverbeds (N. Macdonald 1953; Oliver 1955; Parrish & Pulham 1995). Moves locally, but not wholly migratory. South of Auckland, recent records from Firth of Thames, Jul. 1985, Jul.–Aug. 1988, Mar. 2002, and Jun.–Jul. 2005 (G. Taylor 1990; Battley & Pulham 2005); Manawatu River estuary, Dec. 1999 and Dec. 2020 (Medway 2001a; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021); and Maketu estuary, Bay of Plenty, Nov. 2004 (Cuming & Barnard 2005; Scofield 2006). Holocene records from North Island dunes (Millener 1991). Supposed midden records on Chatham Island were misidentifications (Holdaway et al. 2001).

Genus Gelochelidon Brehm

Gelochelidon Brehm, 1830: Isis von Oken, Heft 23: col. 994 – Type species (by monotypy) Gelochelidon meridionalis Brehm = Gelochelidon nilotica (Gmelin).

➤ Gelochelidon nilotica (Gmelin)
Gull-billed Tern

Sterna nilotica Gmelin, 1789: Syst. Nat., 13th edition 1(2): 606 – Egypt.

Gelochelidon nilotica (Gmelin); Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 163.

Almost cosmopolitan, breeding across the temperate Northern Hemisphere and in Australia; migratory and nomadic. Six or seven subspecies recognised globally (Gochfeld & Burger 1996; Higgins & Davies 1996). Until recently the subspecies occurring in New Zealand had not been confirmed (Checklist Committee 2010; Miskelly et al. 2013). First recorded in New Zealand near Invercargill, where two overwintered in 1955 (McKenzie 1955). Now numerous sight records from coastal estuaries and marshes, occasionally in small flocks, e.g. eight in 1975–76 and six in 1976–77, Manukau Harbour (Falla et al. 1981), and six on Kaipara Harbour, Nov. 2001 (Riegen 2003). First recorded breeding at Awarua Bay, Southland, Dec. 2019 (failed nest; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021), followed by a newly-fledged dependent chick at New River estuary, Invercargill, in Feb. 2021 (Jacques et al. 2023).

In addition to G. n. macrotarsa, there is a single record of the Asian migrant subspecies G. n. affinis (Horsfield, 1821) from New Zealand (a bird at Big Sand Island, Kaipara Harbour on 22 Jan. 2023; UBR 2023/007). This record was too late for inclusion in the most recent report of the Records Appraisal Committee (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023), and will be considered in full in the next round of Checklist amendments. See also D. Rogers & van de Kam (2004) and D. Rogers et al. (2005).

Gelochelidon nilotica macrotarsa (Gould)
Australian Gull-billed Tern

Sterna macrotarsa Gould, 1837: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1837 (5): 26 – “in terrâ Van Diemen” = Tasmania, Australia.

Gelochelidon macrotarsa (Gould); Boie 1844, Isis von Oken, Heft 37: col. 187.

Gelochelidon nilotica normani Mathews, 1915: Austral Avian Rec. 2: 125 – Normanton, Queensland, Australia.

Gelochelidon nilotica cloatesi Mathews, 1924: Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club 45: 41 – Point Cloates, Western Australia.

Gelochelidon nilotica macrotarsa (Gould); Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 54.

One bird among a major influx of the species to New Zealand in 2011 was confirmed as being G. n. macrotarsa (Miskelly et al. 2013).

Genus Hydroprogne Kaup

Hydroprogne Kaup, 1829: Skizz. Entw.-Gesch. Eur. Thierw.: 91 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Sterna caspia Pallas = Hydroprogne caspia (Pallas).

Sylochelidon Brehm, 1831: Handb. Naturgesch. Vög. Deutschl.: 770 – Type species (by monotypy) Sterna caspia Pallas = Hydroprogne caspia (Pallas).

Heroprogne Buller, 1905: Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 157. Unjustified emendation.

➤ Hydroprogne caspia (Pallas)
Caspian Tern | Taranui

Sterna caspia Pallas, 1770: Novi Comment. Acad. Scient. Imperial. Petropol. 14(1): 582, pl. 22, fig. 2 – Caspian Sea.

Sterna Tschegrava Lepechin, 1770: Novi Comment. Acad. Scient. Imperial. Petropol. 14(1): 500, pl. 13, fig. 2 – Shores of the Caspian Sea. Suppressed and invalid (fide ICZN 1969, Opinion 904. Bull. Zool. Nomenclature 26(5/6): 225).

Sylochelidon strenuus Gould, 1846: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1846 (14): 21 – southern coasts of Australia.

Sylochelidon strenua Gould; Bonaparte 1856, Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 42: 772. Unjustified emendation.

Sterna major Ellman, 1861: Zoologist 19: 7472 – New Zealand.

Sterna (Sylochelidon) strenuus (Gould); G.R. Gray 1862, Ibis 4: 248.

Heroprogne caspia (Pallas); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 157.

Hydroprogne tschegrava oliveri Mathews & Iredale, 1913: Ibis 1 (10th series): 242 – New Zealand.

Hydroprogne caspia caspia (Pallas); Oliver 1930, New Zealand Birds, 1st edition: 240.

Hydroprogne caspia strenua (Gould); Oliver 1930, New Zealand Birds, 1st edition: 240.

Hydroprogne caspia oliveri Mathews & Iredale; Oliver 1930, New Zealand Birds, 1st edition: 240.

Hydroprogne tschegrava strenua (Gould); Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 331.

Hydroprogne caspia (Pallas); Checklist Committee 1970, Annot. Checklist Birds N.Z.: 54.

Sterna caspia Pallas; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 164.

Almost cosmopolitan; breeding locally across temperate zones of Eurasia, Africa, and North America, and in Australia and New Zealand (Barlow & Dowding 2002). No subspecies accepted here. Partially migratory (Barlow 1998; Barlow & Dowding 2002). Occurs around the main islands of New Zealand, breeding in small colonies or singly, most commonly in the north. Mainly breeds coastally but often inland, especially on Canterbury’s braided riverbeds (Pierce 1984b; Bull et al. 1985; Higgins & Davies 1996). Some movement away from breeding colonies in the non-breeding season, especially north from southern colonies (Barlow 1998; Barlow & Dowding 2002). Two records from the Chatham Islands (Dec. 1985 and Feb. 2005; Imber 1994; Miskelly et al. 2006) and one from the Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Dec. 1983; Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020). May have reached the Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua (Veitch et al. 2004). Rarely found in Holocene deposits and middens in the North and South Islands (Checklist Committee 1990; Millener 1991; Sibson 1992).

Genus Chlidonias Rafinesque

Chlidonias Rafinesque, 1822: Kentucky Gazette (new series) 1(8): 3, col. 5 – Type species (by monotypy) Sterna nigra Linnaeus = Chlidonias niger (Linnaeus).

Hydrochelidon Boie, 1822: Isis von Oken, Heft 5: col. 563 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Sterna nigra Linnaeus = Chlidonias niger (Linnaeus).

Viralva (Leach MS) Stephens, 1826: in G. Shaw, General Zool. 13(1): 166 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Sterna nigra Linnaeus = Chlidonias niger (Linnaeus).

Maoristerna Mathews, 1944: Emu 43: 246 – Type species (by original designation) Hydrochelidon albostriata G.R. Gray = Chlidonias albostriatus (G.R. Gray).

➤ Chlidonias leucopterus (Temminck)
White-winged Black Tern

Sterna leucoptera Temminck, 1815: Manuel d’Ornith.: 483 – shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

? Hydrochelidon leucoptera (Temminck); Finsch 1872, Journ. für Ornith. 20(4): 254.

Hydrochelidon leucoptera (Temminck); Buller 1872 (Dec.), History of the Birds of N.Z., 1st edition (part 4): 287.

Hydrochelidon leucoptera grisea; Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 242. Not Sterna grisea Horsfield, 1821.

Chlidonias leucoptera (Temminck); Oliver 1930, New Zealand Birds, 1st edition: 238.

Childonias [sic] leucoptera; Stidolph 1932, Emu 31: 234.

Chlidonias leucopterus (Temminck); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 50.

Breeds in marshes across Eurasia, north to Siberia, and probably in East Africa; migrates to the Southern Hemisphere and prone to wander, especially first-year birds. A regular visitor to New Zealand, from the harbours of Northland to Southland lagoons (Higgins & Davies 1996); sometimes in small flocks, e.g. 15 at Ahuriri Lagoons, Napier, in 1972 (Todd & Lloyd 1980) and 14 at Coopers Lagoon / Muriwai, Canterbury, in 1995 (O’Donnell & West 1996). The earliest New Zealand record was a pair in breeding plumage on the Waihopai River, Marlborough, in Dec. 1868 (Buller 1882). Stead (in Oliver 1955) suspected breeding in Canterbury as long ago as 1927; Pierce (1974) proved it in 1973 (Kinsky 1977b). The picture is obscured because white-winged black terns may be seen in breeding plumage in New Zealand in any month.

➤ Chlidonias niger (Linnaeus)
Black Tern

Breeds in marshes across Europe, western Asia, and North America; migrates to western and southern Africa, and South America, with occasional vagrants elsewhere (del-Hoyo et al. 1996). Two subspecies recognised; there are three accepted records of the American subspecies (C. n. surinamensis) from Australia (Higgins & Davies 1996; Menkhorst et al. 2017).

Chlidonias niger niger (Linnaeus)
Black Tern

Sterna nigra Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition, 1: 137 – Europa, restricted to near Uppsala, Sweden (fide Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 328).

Sterna fissipes Linnaeus, 1766: Syst. Nat., 12th edition 1: 228 – Europa.

Viralva nigra (Linnaeus); Stephens 1826, in G. Shaw, General Zool. 13(1): 167.

Hydrochelidon fissipes Gray ex Linnaeus 1849 [sic]; Coues 1862, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 14: 554. In part.

Hydrochelidon nigra (Linnaeus, 1758); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 242.

Chlidonias nigra nigra (Linnaeus, 1758); Peters, 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 328.

Sterna niger; Cox, Percival & Colwell 1994, Technical Rep. Florida Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit 50: 38.

Chlidonias nigra (Linnaeus, 1758); Pérez del Val 2001, Manuales Técnicos de Museología, Madrid 11: 37.

Chlidonias niger (Linnaeus, 1758); Banks, Cicero et al. 2006, The Auk 123: 927.

Chlidonias niger niger (Linnaeus, 1758); Dickinson & Remsen 2013, Howard & Moore Complete Checklist Birds World, 4th edition, 1: 231.

Breeds in marshes across Europe and western Asia, migrating to western and southern Africa (del-Hoyo et al. 1996). One accepted record of a single bird on the Kapiti coast and then at Plimmerton, Wellington, Jan.–Feb. 2022 (Thomas & Hunt 2023). There is one record from Papua New Guinea; not known from Australia (Finch 1986; Higgins & Davies 1996; Menkhorst et al. 2017).

➤ Chlidonias hybridus (Pallas)
Whiskered Tern

Sterna hybrida Pallas, 1811: Zoogr. Rosso-Asiatica 2: 338 – south Russia.

Three subspecies recognised (Higgins & Davies 1996): Ch. h. hybridus (south Eurasia and North Africa), Ch. h. delalandii (Mathews, 1912) (south and east Africa and Madagascar), and Ch. h. javanicus (Australia). We have followed the recommendation of Mees (1977) in spelling the specific name as Ch. hybridus – as in Christidis & Boles (1994) and Higgins & Davies (1996) – rather than as Ch. hybrida, as used by Checklist Committee (1990), Christidis & Boles (2008), and recommended by David & Gosselin (2002a).

Chlidonias hybridus javanicus (Horsfield)
Whiskered Tern

Sterna javanica Horsfield, 1821: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 13: 198 – Java, Indonesia.

Hydrochelidon fluviatilis Gould, 1843: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1842 (10): 140 – New South Wales, Australia.

Chlidonias leucopareia fluviatilis (Gould); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 134.

Chlidonias hybrida; Oliver 1955, New Zealand Birds, 2nd edition: 328. Not Sterna hybrida Pallas, 1811.

Chlidonias hybridus javanicus (Horsfield); Higgins & Davies 1996, HANZAB 3: 765.

Vagrants to New Zealand thought to be from Australia, where the species breeds mainly in the south-east (Heather & Jones 1979; Higgins & Davies 1996). Seventeen sight records: Lake Horowhenua, Aug.–Oct. 1977 (two birds) and May–Sep. 1978; lower Waikato River, Aug.–Sep. 1978; Tuakau, Pukekohe, Mar. 1980; Lake Rotorua, May 1987 (Heather & Jones 1979; Higgins & Davies 1996); Bromley, Christchurch, Dec. 2005; Travis wetland, Christchurch, Dec. 2005 (Crossland 2011); Ripiro Beach, Kaipara Harbour, Oct. 2009 (Miskelly et al. 2011); Invercargill, Oct. 2017; Lake Rotoiti, Rotorua, Dec. 2017; Lake Taupo, Jan. 2018 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2019); Balclutha, Jan. 2020 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021); Mangere sewage ponds, Oct. 2017; Upukerora River, Te Anau, Jan. 2021; Pharazyn Reserve, Kapiti Coast, Oct. 2021; Waituna Lagoon, Southland, Jan. 2022; New River estuary, Southland, Jun–Jul 2022 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023). Reported sightings at Blenheim in Jan. 2006 (Anon. 2006b) and Lake Grassmere / Kapara Te Hau in Feb. 2006 (Anon. 2006c) remain unverified.

➤ Chlidonias albostriatus (G.R. Gray)
Black-fronted Tern | Tarapirohe

Sterna antarctica J.R. Forster, 1832: in J.G. Wagler, Isis von Oken, Heft 11: 1223 – Queen Charlotte Sound, Marlborough. Junior primary homonym of Sterna antarctica Lesson, 1831.

Sterna antarctica J.R. Forster, 1844: in M.H.C. Lichtenstein, Descrip. Animalium: 107 – New Zealand. Junior primary homonym of Sterna antarctica Lesson, 1831 and of Sterna antarctica J.R. Forster, 1832.

Hydrochelidon albostriata G.R. Gray, 1845: in Richardson & J.E. Gray (Eds), Zool. Voy. ‘Erebus’ & ‘Terror’, Birds 1(8): 19, pl. 21 – New Zealand.

Sternula antarctica (Wagler); Bonaparte, 1856: Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 42: 773. Not Sterna antarctica Lesson, 1831.

Hydrochelidon albistriata G.R. Gray; Bonaparte, 1856: Compt. Rend. Séa. Acad. Sci., Paris 42: 773. Unjustified emendation.

Sterna cinerea Ellman, 1861: Zoologist 19: 7473 – New Zealand. Junior primary homonym of Sterna cinerea Haldeman, 1843.

Hydrochelidon hybrida; Finsch 1867, Journ. für Ornith. 15: 347. Not Sterna hybrida Pallas, 1811.

Sterna albistriata (G.R. Gray); Buller 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 158. Unjustified emendation.

Sterna albistriata albistriata (G.R. Gray); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 243. Unjustified emendation.

Hydochelidon [sic] albistriata G.R. Gray; Mathews 1930, Emu 29: 279.

Chlidonias albistriata (G.R. Gray); Oliver 1930, New Zealand Birds, 1st edition: 237. Unjustified emendation.

Clidonias albistriata (G.R. Gray); Stead 1932, Life Histories New Zealand Birds: 25. Unjustified emendation.

Maoristerna albostriata (G.R. Gray); Mathews 1944, Emu 43: 246.

Chlidonias hybrida albistriata (G.R. Gray); Sibson 1948, New Zealand Bird Notes: 12. Unjustified emendation.

Chlidonias hybrida albostriatus (G.R. Gray); Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 50.

Chlidonias albostriata (G.R. Gray); Oliver 1955, New Zealand Birds, 2nd edition: 327.

Sterna albostriata (G.R. Gray); Checklist Committee 1980, Notornis (Suppl.) 27: 19.

Chlidonias albostriatus (G.R. Gray); Bridge et al. 2005, Molec. Phylogen. Evolution 35: 461.

Breeds only on the riverbeds of the eastern South Island, from Marlborough to Southland, rarely in Westland. In the non-breeding season, most feed coastally and at sea off the eastern South Island (Higgins & Davies 1996). Some regularly reach Stewart Island / Rakiura and as far north as the Bay of Plenty (Lalas 1979; P. Latham 1981; G. Taylor 2000a); rarely hundreds cross Cook Strait (e.g. at Waikanae, 1985; Fleming & Fleming 1985); rarely reaches as far north as Northland (e.g. Higgins & Davies 1996; Parrish & Lock 1996; Davies 2007) and as far south as Snares Islands / Tini Heke (Miskelly et al. 2001a). One possible record from Norfolk Island (McAllan 2000). May formerly have bred on the North Island’s Volcanic Plateau (Sibson 1948; Higgins & Davies 1996). Checklist Committee (1953, 1970) placed the black-fronted tern in the genus Chlidonias, but studies by Mees (1977) and Lalas & Heather (1980) led to its placement in Sterna (Checklist Committee 1980, 1990). However, mtDNA work by Bridge et al. (2005) firmly placed its relationships among the species of Chlidonias and that conclusion is followed here. Rarely found in eastern South Island Holocene deposits (e.g. Worthy & Holdaway 1996; Worthy 1998d); midden and Holocene records from the North and Chatham Islands (Millener 1991) have been questioned (Holdaway et al. 2001).

Genus Sterna Linnaeus

Sterna Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 137 – Type species (by tautonymy) Sterna hirundo Linnaeus.

Sterna vulgaris Ellman (1861: 7472 – New Zealand) is a junior synonym of Sterna striata according to Sibson (1992) but the description is inadequate, the beak colour does not fit S. striata, the Māori name refers to S. caspia and there is no type specimen; therefore, S. vulgaris cannot be identified and is a nomen dubium. Sterna parva Ellman (1861: 7473 – New Zealand) could refer to several small tern species and, with no type specimen to confirm its identity, S. parva is also a nomen dubium.

➤ Sterna striata Gmelin
White-fronted Tern | Tara*

Sterna striata Gmelin, 1789: Syst. Nat., 13th edition 1(2): 609 – New Zealand.

Sterna velox Gould, 1843: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1842 (10): 139 – Bass Strait. Junior primary homonym of Sterna velox Cretzschmar, 1827 = Sterna bergii velox Cretzschmar, 1827.

Sterna frontalis G.R. Gray, 1845: in Richardson & J.E. Gray (Eds), Zool. Voy. ‘Erebus’ & ‘Terror’, Birds 1(8): 9, pl. 20 – New Zealand.

Sterna melanorhyncha Gould, 1848: Birds of Australia 7(36): pl. 26 – Tasmania. Junior secondary homonym of Sternula melanorhyncha Lesson, 1847.

Sterna albifrons Peale, 1848: U.S. Expl. Exped. 8: 279, 337 – Bay of Islands. Junior secondary homonym of Sternula albifrons Pallas, 1764.

Sterna atripes Ellman, 1861: Zoologist 19: 7473 – New Zealand.

Sterna longipennis; Finsch 1867, Journ. für Ornith. 15: 339, 347. Not Sterna longipennis Nordmann, 1835.

Sterna longipennis Nordon (sic); Potts 1882, Out in the Open: 216. Not Sterna longipennis Nordmann, 1835.

Sterna bethunei Buller, 1896: Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 28: 349 – Auckland Islands. Not Sterna bethunei Travers, 1896.

Sterna striata incerta Mathews, 1912: Novit. Zool. 18(3): 208. Unnecessary nomen novum for Sterna melanorhyncha Gould, 1848.

Sterna striata christopheri Mathews, 1912: Novit. Zool. 18(3): 209 – Point Cloates, Western Australia.

Sterna striata striata Gmelin; Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 244.

Sterna striata bethunei Buller; Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 244. Not Sterna bethunei Travers, 1896.

Sterna striata yorki Mathews, 1914: Austral Avian Rec. 2: 86 – Cape York, Queensland, Australia.

Sterna striata melanorhyncha Gould; Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 139.

Sterna striata aucklandorna Mathews, 1929: Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club 50: 19. Unnecessary nomen novum for Sterna bethunei Buller, 1896.

Sterna striata Gmelin; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 51.

Breeds abundantly from Northland (not Manawatāwhi / Three Kings Islands) to Stewart Island / Rakiura and at the Chatham and Auckland Islands / Maukahuka; small numbers breed on some islands in Bass Strait (Higgins & Davies 1996; G. Taylor 2000a). A rare visitor to Norfolk (Hermes et al. 1986), Snares / Tini Heke (Miskelly et al. 2001a), Campbell / Motu Ihupuku, and Macquarie Islands (Higgins & Davies 1996). Part of the New Zealand population, including many immature birds, migrates to south-east Australia (Hindwood 1946; W. Clark & Dawson 1957; Serventy et al. 1971; Powlesland & Powlesland 1994b; Higgins & Davies 1996). G. Taylor (2000a) recognised Sterna striata aucklandorna as breeding at Chatham and Auckland Islands and the distinctiveness of this subspecies is worthy of further investigation (Higgins & Davies 1996). Holocene and midden records from North, South, and Chatham Islands (Checklist Committee 1990; Millener 1991); one Late Pleistocene record (Worthy & Grant-Mackie 2003).
*Also used as a general name for terns Sterninae.

➤ Sterna sumatrana Raffles
Black-naped Tern

Breeds on islands in tropical western Pacific and Indian Oceans (del-Hoyo et al. 1996). Two subspecies recognised, with S. s. mathewsi in the western Indian Ocean (Dickinson & Remsen 2013).

Sterna sumatrana sumatrana Raffles
Black-naped Tern

Sterna sumatrana Raffles, 1822: Trans. Linn. Soc. London 13(2): 329 – Sumatra, Indonesia.

Sterna sumatrana sumatrana Raffles; Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 336.

Breeds on islands in tropical western Pacific, including on the Great Barrier Reef and around New Caledonia (Higgins & Davies 1996). The single New Zealand record was of a bird seen alive and then found dead at Muriwai, west Auckland, in Feb. 2022 (Auckland Museum specimen LB15957; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023).

➤ Sterna vittata Gmelin
Antarctic Tern

Sterna vittata Gmelin, 1789: Syst. Nat., 13th edition 1(2): 609 – Christmas Harbour, Kerguelen Island, south Indian Ocean.

Circumpolar; five subspecies recognised following Higgins & Davies (1996) but variation between races needs clarification.

Sterna vittata bethunei Travers
New Zealand Antarctic Tern

Sterna bethunei Travers, 1896: in Buller, Trans. Proc. N.Z. Inst. 28: 348 – Bounty Islands.

Sterna vittata; Buller, 1905, Suppl. Birds N.Z. 1: 158. Not Sterna vittata Gmelin, 1789.

Sterna vittata bollonsi Mathews & Iredale, 1913: Ibis 1 (10th series): 244 – subantarctic islands of New Zealand.

Sterna vittata macquariensis Falla, 1937: BANZARE Reports, series B, 2: 260 – Macquarie Island.

Sterna vittata bethunei Buller [sic]; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 51.

Sterna vittata bethunei Travers, 1896; Checklist Committee 2010, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 241.

Breeds at Stewart Island / Rakiura (Port Pegasus / Pikihatiti) and its outliers (including Stage, Rerewhakaupoko / Solomon and Moggy Islands) and subantarctic islands: Snares / Tini Heke, Antipodes, Bounty, Auckland / Maukahuka, Campbell / Motu Ihupuku, and also Macquarie Island (Blackburn 1965; Higgins & Davies 1996; Sagar et al. 2003). One accepted record north of Foveaux Strait (off Otago Peninsula, Sep. 2018; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2019). Has probably strayed to the Chatham Islands (R. Murphy 1938; M. Bell & Bell 2002). Holocene bones of this species, and/or of Sterna paradisaea, have been found in Chatham Island dunes (Checklist Committee 1990; Millener 1991).

➤ Sterna paradisaea Pontoppidan
Arctic Tern

Sterna Paradisaea Pontoppidan, 1763: Danske Atlas 1: 622 – no locality = Christiansø Island, off Bornholm, Denmark (fide Brünnich 1764, Ornithologia Borealis: 46).

Sterna macrura Naumann, 1819: Isis von Oken, Heft 3: col. 1847 – Nordstrand Island, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

Sterna paradisea [sic]; Falla 1930, N.Z. Journ. Sci. & Tech. 12 (1): 27.

Sterna paradisaea Pontoppidan; Checklist Committee 1953, Checklist N.Z. Birds: 51.

Sterna macrura Naumann; Oliver 1955, New Zealand Birds, 2nd edition: 334.

Circumpolar, breeding in arctic and subarctic regions; strongly migratory, using two main routes to Antarctica (including the Ross Sea) by the eastern Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans (Storr 1958; Higgins & Davies 1996; Egevang et al. 2010). No subspecies recognised here. First recorded in New Zealand at Waikanae in 1929 (Falla 1930). Probably an annual visitor; confirmed records in New Zealand Sep.–Jun., most commonly in Nov. (P. Latham 1979; Sibson 1982; Higgins & Davies 1996; Scofield 2005a). Records include Chatham Islands (Imber 1994), Snares / Tini Heke (Miskelly et al. 2001a), Antipodes Island (Tennyson et al. 2002), Auckland Islands / Maukahuka (Miskelly, Elliott et al. 2020), Bounty Islands (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021), and Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku, and also Macquarie Island (Higgins & Davies 1996). Kinsky (1969) considered that all Campbell Island / Motu Ihupuku records may refer to Antarctic terns. A banded juvenile from Sweden was found dead on Stewart Island / Rakiura in Dec. 2003 (Morgan 2004). Holocene bones of this species, and/or Sterna vittata, have been found in Chatham Island dunes (Checklist Committee 1990; Millener 1991).

➤ Sterna hirundo Linnaeus
Common Tern

Sterna Hirundo Linnaeus, 1758: Syst. Nat., 10th edition 1: 137 – Europe, restricted to Sweden (fide Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 332).

Breeds in eastern North America and across temperate Eurasia, both on the coast and inland; strongly migratory on a broad front. Three subspecies recognised (Higgins & Davies 1996): S. h. hirundo (breeds eastern North America, Caribbean, Europe, North and West Africa, and Middle East east to western Siberia); S. h. longipennis (breeds east Siberia to north-east China, non-breeding areas from south-east Asia to New Guinea and Australasia); and S. h. tibetana Saunders, 1876 (breeds Asia, in the region of western China).

Sterna hirundo longipennis Nordmann
Eastern Common Tern

Sterna longipennis Nordmann, 1835: in A. Erman, Verz. Thieren Pflanzen.: 17 – mouth of Kukhtuy River, Okhotsk, eastern Siberia.

Sterna hirundo longipennis Nordmann; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 168.

A regular migrant to the east coast of Australia (Blakers et al. 1984; Higgins & Davies 1996) but not recognised with certainty in New Zealand until three sightings in 1984 (Pukerua Bay and Waikanae River mouth in Jan. and Rangitaiki River mouth in Apr.; P. Latham 1986; Guest 1992). Since then, sightings have been reported most years, with more than 75 accepted records from Rangaunu Harbour south to Bluff (Checklist Committee 2022; Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023).

Genus Thalasseus Boie

Thalasseus Boie, 1822: Isis von Oken, Heft 5: col. 563 – Type species (by subsequent designation) Thalasseus cantiacus (Gmelin) = Thalasseus sandvicensis (Latham).

We follow Bridge et al. (2005), Sangster et al. (2005), R.C. Banks et al. (2006), and Dickinson & Remsen (2013) in using genus Thalasseus for crested tern.

➤ Thalasseus bergii (Lichtenstein)
Crested Tern

Sterna bergii Lichtenstein, 1823: Verzeich. Doubl., Berlin: 80 – Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.

Thalasseus bergii (Lichtenstein); Christidis & Boles 2008, Syst. Taxon. Australian Birds: 26, 144.

Thalasseus bergii cristatus is thought to be the subspecies reaching New Zealand (Turbott 1952). It breeds in south-east Asia, Indonesia, Australia, and western and central Pacific east to the Tuamotu Archipelago. Extralimital subspecies are: T. b. bergii, breeds in Namibia and South Africa; T. b. thalassina (Stresemann, 1914), breeds in Tanzania; and T. b. velox (Cretzschmar, 1827), breeds in the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Indian Ocean (Higgins & Davies 1996).

Thalasseus bergii cristatus (Stephens)
Crested Tern

Sterna cristata Stephens, 1826: in G. Shaw, General Zool. 13(1): 146 – China and many of the south-eastern islands of Asia, restricted to China (fide Peters 1934, Check-list Birds World 2: 342).

Sterna poliocerca Gould, 1837: Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1837 (5): 26 – “in terrâ Van Diemen” = Tasmania, Australia.

Sterna rectirostris Peale, 1848: U.S. Expl. Exped. 8: 281, pl. 75, fig. 2 – Fiji Islands.

Thalasseus bergii rectirostris (Peale); Mathews & Iredale 1913, Ibis 1 (10th series): 243.

Thalasseus bergii cristatus (Stephens); Mathews 1927, Syst. Avium Australasianarum 1: 137.

Thalassius [sic] bergii; Marples 1946, New Zealand Bird Notes 1 (Suppl.): 5. Not Sterna bergii Lichtenstein, 1823.

Sterna bergii cristata Stephens; Turbott 1952, Rec. Auck. Inst. Museum 4: 189.

Sterna bergii poliocerca Gould; Condon 1975, Checklist Birds Australia 1: 156.

Sterna bergii; Checklist Committee 1990, Checklist Birds N.Z.: 168. Not Sterna bergii Lichtenstein, 1823.

Thalasseus bergii cristatus (Stephens); Dickinson & Remsen 2013, Howard & Moore Complete Checklist Birds World, 4th edition, 1: 233.

A vagrant to the New Zealand region: Raoul Island, Kermadec Islands / Rangitāhua, Mar.–Apr. 1910; Spirits Bay, Mar. 1951; Farewell Spit, Jan. 1960; Firth of Thames, Mar. 1974; Napier, Apr. 1981; Wellington Harbour and west coast, 1981–95 (Higgins & Davies 1996, Veitch et al. 2004); Kaikoura, May 1985 (Fennell 1986); Manawatu River estuary, Jan. 1995 (Medway 2000a); Washdyke Lagoon, Nov. 1995 (Canterbury; southernmost record; Medway 2000a); near New Plymouth, 1995–97 (Jowett 1997; Medway 1997, 2001a; Medway & Hartley 1998; Hartley 2000; Tennyson & Taylor 2000); Wellington Harbour, 2002 (L. Howell & Esler 2007); Whatipu Beach, Auckland, Jul. 2011; Christchurch, Jan. 2012; (Miskelly et al. 2013); Waipu estuary, Northland, Mar.–Dec. 2014 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2015, 2017); Maketu, Bay of Plenty, Mar. 2015 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2017); Whanganui River estuary, Oct. 2019 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2021). One found dead 35 km west of Cape Egmont, Jul. 2011, had been banded as a chick at Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia, Dec. 2009 (Miskelly, Crossland et al. 2023).