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The black-winged petrel (Pterodroma nigripennis) in the south-west Pacific and the Tasman Sea

Notornis, 29 (4), 293-310

J.A.F. Jenkins; N.G. Cheshire (1982)

Article Type: Paper

Black-winged petrels (Pterodroma nigripennis) seen since 1959 in the Tasman Sea and between 1970 and 1979 in the south-west Pacific are charted to show their distribution in the region. They are absent from the end of June to the end of October. The limited information on their breeding islands is reviewed and is amplified whenever possible by unpublished data.

A breeding study of the South Island fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa fuliginosa)

Notornis, 29 (3), 181-195

M.H. Powlesland (1982)

Article Type: Paper

The breeding of the South Island fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa fuliginosa) was studied at Kowhai Bush, Kaikoura, for three breeding seasons from 1976 to 1978. Although 372 birds (nestlings and adults) were banded, few were seen again and very few bred in the study area. Breeding occurred from August to February. Some pairs raised three broods but attempted up to five if failures occurred. Details are given of nests, nest building, egg laying, clutch size, incubation, hatching and fledging success, and juveniles. Both sexes shared nest building, incubation, brooding, feeding nestlings and feeding juveniles, although the division of labour was sometimes unequal. Some aspects of behaviour differed slightly from that of the North Island subspecies. Females bred at one year old, but males could breed within one or two months of fledging when paired with an adult. A seemingly unpaired female successfully raised a brood of three young. Juveniles from one family group sometimes joined another family group and were accepted and fed by the foster parents. Black pairs produced young in the ratio of three black to one pied, and black x pied matings produced approximately equal numbers of black and pied young. Pied pairs produced 97.8% pied and 2.2% black young, which conflicts with the model previously proposed for the genetics of melanism in the Fantail.

The size of the sooty shearwater population at the Snares Islands, New Zealand

Notornis, 29 (1), 23-30

J. Warham; G.J. Wilson (1982)

Article Type: Paper

The size of the sooty shearwater (Puffinus griseus) population at the Snares Islands was estimated by counting burrows in the main vegetation types. Some 3,287,000 burrows were calculated for Main Island, the highest densities being 1.9/m2 in Poa meadows, with 1.2/m2 under the trees of the Olearia forest. Most burrows were occupied but data on rates of occupation by breeding birds were not satisfactory. Assuming a 75% occupancy rate, we get a total population of about 2,750,000 burrow-holding pairs on the 328 ha of the two largest islands.

The status of birds at the Bounty Islands

Notornis, 29 (4), 311-336

C.J.R. Robertson; G.F. van Tets (1982)

Article Type: Paper

Members of the first party to camp on the Bounty Islands in 170 years report on the ecology, behaviour and history of the penguin, mollymawk, Cape petrel, prion, shag and tern that breed there and on the giant petrel, skua, gull and starling that stray there.

The distribution and numbers of crested grebe in New Zealand 1980

Notornis, 28 (4), 301-310

P.M. Sagar (1981)

Article Type: Paper

The first national survey of the southern crested grebe Podiceps cristatus australis was carried out in the South Island, New Zealand, from 29 November to 14 December 1980. 170 adults were counted and 20+ more estimated on 28 of the 84 lakes covered during the survey. When other recent records are included, this survey indicates that the New Zealand population of adult crested grebes is about 240-250. The bulk (c. 55%) of the population was in Canterbury, where most birds were concentrated on two groups of lakes. Total numbers were probably greater than those recorded in 1970 but local declines have occurred. Some breeding data are also presented.

The subfossil distribution of extinct New Zealand coots Fulica chathamensis subspp. (Aves: Rallidae)

Notornis, 28 (1), 1-9

P.R. Millener (1981)

Article Type: Paper

The mainland form of the extinct New Zealand coot, Fulica chathamensis prisca (Hamilton), is recorded from 11 North Island and 21 South Island localities. Two published North Island records are shown to be invalid. It is noted that the Chatham Island form, Fulica c. chathamensis (Forbes), has been recorded from 18 named localities on Chatham Island and is also present in many collections for which no more detailed locality record than “Chatham Island (s)” is available.

Specific and sexual differences in body measurements of New Zealand honeyeaters

Notornis, 28 (2), 121-128

J.L. Craig; M.E. Douglas; A.M. Stewart; C.R. Veitch (1981)

Article Type: Paper

Morphometric measurements of the three New Zealand honeyeaters show that stitchbirds and bellbirds are of a similar size and both are markedly smaller than tuis. Males are larger than females in all three species but few measurements appear reliable discriminators of sex. Some implications of these differences are discussed briefly.

Notes on moult and seasonably variable characters of the Antarctic blue-eyed shag Phalacrocorax atriceps bransfieldensis

Notornis, 28 (1), 35-39

N.P.Bernstein; S.J. Maxson (1981)

Article Type: Paper

A summary of timing and patterns of moult is presented for adult Phalacrocorax atriceps bransfieldensis based on 14 months of continuous observation. Changes in flesh characters are also noted. Observations differ from reports in the literature, and the significance of the new data on taxonomic studies of the blue-eyed shag complex is discussed.
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