Authors: Charles G. Sibley and Jon E. Ahlquist.
In: Evolution Today, G. G. E. Scudder & J. L. Reveal (eds) . Proceedings
of the Second International Congress of Systematic and Evolutionary
Biology, pp. 301-335. 1981.
During 1980, 2,736 km of coast were patrolled by 146 members of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand and their friends. 4,351 dead seabirds were found. There were no major wrecks. During one patrol Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus) were found at a rate of 68.5 per kilometre. Unusual finds were: Eastern Little Tern (Sterna albifrons), Grey Ternlet (Procelsterna cerulea), Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) and Yellow-nosed Mollymawk (Diomedea chlororhynchos) which is also a new record for the Beach Patrol Scheme.
The first sightings of the North Atlantic (Cory’s) shearwater, Calonectris diomedea (Scopoli, 1769), in the Australasian region were made 47-78 km off the Canterbury Bight on the east coast of the South Island, New Zealand. These birds were
probably vagrants, and the species may also occur sporadically in Australian waters.
A summer and a winter survey of the distribution and numbers of the Southern Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus australis) were carried out in Canterbury during 1980-81. Grebes stayed on the alpine and subalpine lakes throughout the year. In summer grebes moved from lake to lake within a lake system, but during the winter they were concentrated on fewer lakes and some moved between lake systems. These observations are compared with those of the Southern Crested Grebe in Australia and
the Great Crested Grebe (P. cristatus cristatus) in Europe. Breeding season counts of the Ashburton lakes and the Alexandrina group during 1978-1981 indicate that the Crested Grebe population in Canterbury is stable after a possible increase during the 1970s.
Author: C. McGown, 1982. J. Zoo. Lond. 97, 173-219, 18 figs.
Authenticated records of chewing (feather) lice, largely from unpublished observations, are listed from birds in the New Zealand zoogeographic subregion, including the Ross Dependency in Antarctica. From a total of 388 host taxa (including 38 introductions), lice are reported from 250 hosts (including 27 introductions). These records comprise 267 lice species and subspecies; a further 138 records are listed at generic level only,
but all these do not necessarily represent separate species. Although some bird groups have been collected from frequently, there are many gaps in our knowledge, even for these hosts. With some orders (e.g. Passeriformes) and families of birds, little or no attention has been paid to their ectoparasites. An appeal is made for assistance in building up collections.
The first known record of the nesting of the Whistling Dove (Ptilinopus layardi) is presented, along with notes on its diet and very un-dove-like whistled calls. The fact that only the female was seen brooding the young may be of some significance to an understanding of the evolution of extreme sexual dichromatism in the Golden Dove Group to which the Whistling Dove belongs.
Late-August censuses gave minimum New Zealand totals of 266 Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis) in 1978, 624 in 1979, and 771 in 1980. This rising trend ceased in 1981 and 1982. The three years’ records are given for each region, and the late-August distribution is mapped. Arrival of birds was conspicuous in late April and early May and probably continued into June. A bird banded as a nestling in northern New South Wales was recovered, and a second banded bird was seen. Arrival was widespread,
mainly in the west, and by June most birds had moved to traditional farms. The main departure period seemed to be midOctober to mid-November, but many birds remained to December. A few over summered each year and passed through breeding
plumage. In New Zealand, the birds are very shy of humans, even though they associate with various gregarious farm animals, mainly cattle and sheep. In the New Zealand winter, the main observed food of the egrets is earthworms. Differences of plumage from the nominate race and the development of breeding plumage are
discussed.