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I conducted road counts on the North I and South I of New Zealand in Mar 2006 to evaluate relative abundance and distribution of Australasian harriers (
Circus approximans). Over 1670 km were traveled on the North I with 98 harriers detected, yielding 1 harrier/17.0 km traveled. Over 2430 km were traveled on the South I with 145 harriers detected, yielding 1 harrier/16.8 km traveled, with no difference in number of harriers detected/km traveled between islands (P > 0.25). Three survey routes, 1 on southeastern North I and 2 on northeastern and east-central South I, were particularly productive yielding 1 harrier/7.1-11.1 km traveled. My results provide empirical support for the frequently cited description that the Australasian harrier is now New Zealand