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Birds of the Solander Islands

Notornis, 33 (2), 77-89

Cooper, W.J., Miskelly, C.M., Morrison, K., Peacock, R.J. (1986)

Article Type: Paper

Birds observed on the Solander Islands 25-27 July 1985 are discussed in relation to previous records from the islands. Black Shag, Banded Rail, Song Thrush and Greenfinch have not been reported previously. Solander Island had a major colony of Buller’s mollymawk, with an estimated 4000-5000 pairs. A further 300 pairs bred on Little Solander Island, which also had a large colony of Common Diving Petrels. On Little Solander, New Zealand’s southernmost gannet colony, were 20-10 Australasian Gannets. Red-crowned Parakeets seem to have displaced Yellow-crowned Parakeets on the Solander Islands since 1948. The faunal relationships of the Solander Islands are discussed, as is the apparent effect of predation by introduced weka on Solander Island.

An early account of some birds from Mauke, Cook Islands, and the origin of the “Mysterious Starling” Aplonis mavornata Buller

Notornis, 33 (4), 197-208

Olson, S.L. (1986)

Article Type: Paper

Overlooked manuscript notes made by Andrew Bloxam during the voyage of HMS Blonde detail his observations of birds on the island of Mauke, southern Cook group, on 9 August 1825, nearly 150 years before birds were again collected on the island. These notes establish that the unique type of the “Mysterious Starling” Aplonis mavornara Buller, a valid species previously of unknown origin and now extinct, was one of the three specimens collected on Mauke by Bloxam. The other two, which have not yet been located, if they still exist, were the kingfisher Halcyon tuta mauke and the fruit dove Ptilinopus rarotongensis cf. goodwini, the latter otherwise unknown on Mauke and probably now extinct there.

The orange-fronted parakeet (Cyanoramphus malherbi) is a colour morph of the yellow-crowned parakeet (C. auriceps)

Notornis, 33 (1), 17-22

Taylor, R.H., Heatherbell, E.G., Heatherbell, E.M. (1986)

Article Type: Paper

Cyanoramphus malherbi (Souance 1857) is relegated to synonymy with C. auriceps (Kuhl 1820) after cross-breeding in captivity showed that both are colour morphs of one species. The resulting parent-offspring data can be most simply explained by the Mendelian theory of dominant/recessive inheritance at a single locus, the factor for yellow-crowned being dominant.

Kermadec Islands expedition reports: European passerines in the Kermadec Group

Notornis, 33 (4), 209-218

Merton, D., Veitch, C.R. (1986)

Article Type: Paper

The history and status of European passerines on the Kermadec Islands are reviewed and supplemented by observations from the Ornithological Society of New Zealand’s expedition to the group from 13 November 1966 to 27 January 1967 and by more recent unpublished data. Of nine species of European passerine recorded from the group, four are established, all apparently self-introduced from the New Zealand mainland some 720-980 km distant. Counts on Raoul Island in January 1967 showed that the more abundant passerines were, in order of relative abundance, Starling, Song Thrush, Tui, Blackbird and Yellowhammer. Measurements of Song Thrush, Blackbird and Starling are recorded.

Food of the Kingfisher during nesting

Notornis, 33 (1), 23-32

Fitzgerald, B.M., Meads, M.J., Whitaker, A.H. (1986)

Article Type: Paper

Food of Kingfishers (Halcyon sancta) in forest in the Orongorongo Valley, near Wellington, was identified from remains in pellets ejected by nestlings at four nests and from pellets and droppings of birds caught in mist-nets. Food items included a wide variety of invertebrates, with cicadas, dragonflies and chafers especially important. Lizards, small birds and mice were also important. The lizards identified were the forest gecko and common skink, and the small birds were the Rifleman, Grey Warbler and Silvereye.  Kingfishers were absent from the study area from June to September; it is suggested that the seasonal movements of Kingfishers are related to changes in the availability of food.
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