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.
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 mid-October 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.
Thirty-one records from Kowhai Bush and the Nest Record Scheme show that shining cuckoos (Chrysococcyx lucidus) laid from mid-October to early January. At Kowhai Bush, a cuckoo was seen to “freeze” while it apparently watched a pair of grey warblers (its host), and warblers were distressed when a stuffed cuckoo was put near their nest. Dissection of a female cuckoo disclosed an egg-shell (probably a warbler’s) in its gizzard. The newly hatched shining cuckoo bears natal feathers (trichoptiles) and is thus unusual among Cuculinae. The physical and behavioural development of nestlings is described, and weights and tarsal lengths are given. Fledgling cuckoos were fed by their foster parents for up to 28 days.