Publications Archive

We counted the black shags (Phalacrocorax carbo) frequenting a night roost at Melling, 4.5 km up-river from the Hutt River mouth, Wellington, New Zealand, and studied the timing of breeding at various colonies in the Wellington region. Numbers at the roost were counted from Oct 1993 to Sep 1998: maximum and minimum mean monthly counts were in Feb and Aug, respectively. The main egg-laying period of 3 coastal colonies (0–2 km) (Mar–May) was c. 3 months earlier than at 2 inland (5 – 33 km) colonies (Jun–Aug. We discuss the possibility that the difference in timing of breeding by shags in colonies at different distances from the coast is related to the different timing of peak prey availability in the 2 habitats (coastal marine, and inland riverine).

[First paragraphs…] Lieutenant James Cook was at Dusky Sound in southern New Zealand for 6 weeks from Mar-May 1773 in the course of his 2nd voyage round the world. On board HMS Resolution with him were Reinhold Forster, the official naturalist on the voyage, and Forster’s son, George, as an assistant naturalist and natural history draughtsman (Beaglehole 1961). On 15 Apr 1773 Cook, accompanied by the 2 Forsters, set out from the Resolution to continue a survey of the northwest side of Dusky Sound. The party arrived back on board on the evening of the following day bringing with them “about 9 Shags, about 40 Waterhens, 27 Ducks, 1 Curlew, 1 Woodcock, 1 Sandpiper, 1 large Pigeon, several Pohebirds, two large Parrots, a Parrokeet, & several other small birds” that had been killed during the previous 2 days. Cook sent to “every Mess of petty-Officers a parcel of birds & gave some to his boats-Crew” (Forster, in Hoare 1982: 256-257). The success of the expedition prompted George Forster to observe that “there is no part of New Zeeland so well stocked with birds of all kinds as Dusky Bay” (Forster, in Kahn 1968: 104).Reinhold Forster, in his Descriptiones Animalium that was written as the voyage proceeded, included a commentary that covers the period of his 1st visit to New Zealand from 27 Mar-7 Jun 1773. In this, Forster included Scolopax gallinago among the previously-known birds they had met with in New Zealand: “A single Tetrao coturnix of the order of game birds came my way. I will list the others here: Anas strepera; Procellaria vittata; Diomedea exulans & palpebrata; Pelecanus carbo, graculus & bassanus; Larus naevius & fuscus; Ardea alba & jugularis; Scolopax gallinago; Haematopus ostralegus” (Forster 1772-1775:1: 97; Lichtenstein 1844: 61). Scolopax gallinago, now Gallinago gallinago, is the common snipe.

[First paragraph…]The North Is kokako (Callaeas cinerea wilsoni) is an endangered member of the New Zealand endemic wattlebird family (Callaeatidae). Typically described as being omnivorous (e.g., Best & Bellingham 1990; Powlesland 1987), kokako eat predominantly fruit and leaves, but flowers, moss, and insects can be important depending on their availability (Innes et al. in press) and the time of year (Powlesland 1987). Despite its being widely distributed across the North Island before European settlement (Innes et al. in press), the kokako is now restricted to scattered locations on the mainland because of the effects of introduced mammalian pests and competitors, and habitat clearance (Innes et al. 2006). Several attempts have been made to introduce kokako to off-shore islands, and 6 kokako were transferred to Tiritiri Matangi I from Mangatutu (via a breeding programme at Mt Bruce National Wildlife Centre) and Mapara in 1997-98 (Innes & Flux 1999). The habitat of Tiritiri Matangi I consists of a mosaic of replanted and regenerating forest, 10-20 years old. The predominant species planted were pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), mahoe (Melicytus ramiflorus), cabbage tree (Cordyline australis), and New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax). In addition, there are 4 small areas of remnant broadleaf coastal forest, whose canopies are dominated by kohekohe (Dysoxylum spectabile), pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), and taraire (Beilschmiedia tarairi). The introduction of kokako to Tiritiri Matangi was controversial, because the island lacked the large areas of structurally complex forest thought to be necessary to sustain a population of kokako (Jones 2000).

[First paragraph…] The ‘sandspit’ on the True Right bank of the Manawatu River, in Foxton Beach Village, (175°14’E 40°30’S) is a significant roosting site for migratory and resident waders, gulls, terns, pied stilts (Himantopus himantopus), royal spoonbills (Platalea regia), shags, ducks, and other birds. The ‘sandspit’ is 2-5 ha, depending on the state of the tide, c.1 km from the Tasman Sea, It is surrounded on 3 sides by the main course of the river and by tidal flats, and as well as this natural isolation, it is protected as a “bird sanctuary” by local bye-laws.

[First pargraph…] As I crossed a car park at 0740, 13 Apr 2006, on the Massey University grounds, Albany, Auckland, I observed a subadult Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) with an adult female blackbird (Turdus merula) in its bill. The blackbird appeared freshly dead, so I approached to check the bird. The magpie dropped the blackbird as I approached and then backed off c.4 m. The blackbird was still warm and had clearly died only recently. I left the blackbird on the ground, and retreated 10 m. The magpie quickly returned to the blackbird, and proceeded to feed on the body. Several times it picked up the blackbird and carried it up to 2 m, sometimes dragging it along the ground. Each time it stopped, the magpie turned the blackbird on to its belly, and removed feathers and pecked at its back and the back of its head. The magpie vigorously defended the blackbird when a different subadult magpie approached, and then continued to feed on the blackbird.

[First paragraphs…] Northern giant petrels (Macronectes halli) have a circumpolar distribution in the Southern Hemisphere, ranging from the pack ice northward to about 55°S, with occasional sightings as far north as 25°S. It breeds from Jul to Feb at several subantarctic islands, including the Prince Edward, Marion, Crozet, Kerguelen, Macquarie, Chatham, Stewart, Auckland, Antipodes, and Campbell groups (Harrison 1983). Chick-rearing ends in early Mar almost every year (Harrison 1983; Voisin 1989). Northern giant petrels fledge in March (Patterson & Hunter 2000), after which. juvenile M. halli disperse widely at sea, reaching the coasts of Africa and Australia (Harrison 1983). They typically spend several years at sea before returning to their natal colonies and eventually breeding, but the dispersal and movements at sea of this bird are poorly known (Voisin 1989, 1990). At least some may circle Antarctica, and some venture northwards along the coasts of eastern Australia and southern South America, or to South Africa (Voisin 1990). Sightings have been documented in the Humboldt Current (37°S) in February (Weimerskirch et al. 1985). There have been other sightings farther north on the east coast of South America (Hunter 1984).

[First paragraph…]On 16 Nov 2005, we observed a pair of variable oystercatchers (Haematopus unicolor) at the eastern end of Rabbit Island, Tasman Bay. Both birds were banded and each had an orange Darvic flag on the tibia indicating that they had been marked as chicks in Tasman Bay. A search revealed a nest with 2 eggs. On 16 Dec, 1 egg had been lost and the other was pipping; the adults were aggressive towards us. The chick was seen following the parents on 18 Dec and until 21 Dec but was not seen after that date. There were many stoat (Mustela erminea) tracks in the vicinity.

[First paragraph…] A “Sandpiper” was among the many birds killed by a surveying party in Dusky Sound in southern New Zealand on 16 Apr 1773 during Lieutenant James Cook’s sojourn there in the course of his 2nd (1772-1775) voyage (Forster in Hoare 1982: 256). This “Sandpiper” is likely to be the specimen that Johann Reinhold Forster, the official naturalist on the voyage, described as Charadrius torquatula (Forster 1772-1775: II: 18v,19r). His description was dated 17 Apr 1773. He said that the bird inhabited “portu obscuro” (= Dusky Sound). Forster’s detailed manuscript description in Latin was edited and published later by Lichtenstein (1844: 108-109) who, however, omitted Forster’s date of description. What was almost certainly the same specimen was drawn by Forster’s son, George, an assistant naturalist and the natural history draughtsman on the voyage. George Forster’s undated painting, folio 121, is now in The Natural History Museum, London (Lysaght 1959: 301). The original painting has never been published, but it can be viewed online at http://piclib.nhm.ac.uk. Forster’s description and the younger Forster’s painting are of an adult male shore plover Thinornis novaeseelandiae (Gmelin, 1789). The Forsters are not known to have taken any specimens of the shore plover back to England.

Roost sites in Whangarei Harbour and Ruakaka Estuary were used regularly by 12 wader species and 6 other species were present occasionally between 1974 and 2000. Counts at 7 roost sites in Nov, Jun/Jul, and Mar showed that 4 species, eastern bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica), lesser knot (Calidris canutus), pied stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus), and South Island pied oystercatcher (Himantopus ostralegus finschi) contributed 70–99% (median 94%) of the waders. Most of the common waders used several roosts at each tide, but numbers and species richness of resident and vagrant species were greatest along the southern margin of the harbour. Changes in roost structure and proximity to feeding areas, and differences in migration patterns affected counts at individual roosts and the overall totals of wading birds counted in the harbour and its environs.

New Zealand average atmospheric temperatures showed little increase from the 1850s onwards for almost 100 years, but increased rapidly after c. 1940. The increase in temperatures was accompanied, at least in parts of New Zealand, by an increase in precipitation,. We investigated the relationship between the arrival years (1st breeding) of the bird species that self-introduced to New Zealand during the 20th century and the period of turpentine increase. Because these birds come from Australia the warming might be a prerequisite to colonize New Zealand. When considering the 1st breeding years as events in a univariate point process the process is non-stationary and the rate function has its estimated maximum in 1953. This estimate may indicate that the sequence of invasions of New Zealand by additional bird species could be a response to climate changes although the coincidence is on its own not sufficient to prove that climate changes have affected the self-introduction of birds from Australia into New Zealand. Alternative and additional explanations are discussed.

[First paragraph…] The austral thrush (Turdus falcklandii) (Aves: Tur- didae) is the southernmost of the c.300 species of turdids distributed in all parts of the world except Antarctica (Woods 1988). T. falcklandii is resident from 27°S in Chile and 37°S in Argentina to Tierra del Fuego, Staten Island, Malvinas Islands, and is- lands south of the Beagle Channel (Ridgely & Tudor 1989; Woods & Woods 1997). Over this large range, the species occupies a variety of habitats, including tussock islands, settlements with bushes, trees, and out-buildings. The nesting season is late Aug to Dec. A single T. falcklandii was sighted on Potter Peninsula, 25 de Mayo/King George I, South Sandwich Is, on 18 Sep 2002. The bird was perched on a box under the building of the Argentinean Jubany Station (62°14´S 58°40´W); it disappeared that afternoon. The bird was photographed and a full description was taken: the species has not been reported in the Antarctic before.

[First paragraph…]The Patagonian Shelf extends from Uruguay in the north to the Strait of Magellan in the south and reaches a maximal width of some 850 km in its southern part and covers an area of c.2.7 million km2 (Bakun 1993). Influenced by 2 major currents, the warm, saline, southward-flowing Brazil Current and the cool nutrient rich, northward flowing Falklands/Malvinas Current, the Patagonian Shelf resources provide rich year-round foraging grounds for several marine top predators and also attract a diverse and large-scale commercial fisheries fishing for squid (Loligo gahi, Illex argentinus) and a variety of fin-fish species, including hake (Merluccius spp.), Atlantic anchovy (Engraulis anchovita), kingclip (Genypterus blacodes), and Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) (Bakun 1993; Croxall & Wood 2002; Bastida et al. 2005).

[First paragraph…] Members of the parvorder Corvida, including the Australian magpie Gymnorhina tibicen, have a relatively high level of innovative behaviour amongst birds (Timmermans et al. 2000; Lefebvre et al. 2004). An example of this behaviour is tool use in Corvus spp. (Hunt 1996; Caffrey 2000). Although Australian magpies (magpies hereafter) are known to manipulate objects in behaviour such as play (Pellis 1981ab; Kaplan 2004) they have not been reported to use tools. Here, I report a possible case of tool use by an adult magpie.

Roost sites in Whangarei Harbour and Ruakaka Estuary were used regularly by 12 wader species and 6 other species were present occasionally between 1974 and 2000. Counts at 7 roost sites in Nov, Jun/Jul, and Mar showed that 4 species, eastern bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica), lesser knot (Calidris canutus), pied stilt (Himantopus leucocephalus), and South Island pied oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus finschi) contributed 70-99% (median 94%) of the waders. Most of the common waders used several roosts at each tide, but numbers and species richness of resident and vagrant species were greatest along the southern margin of the harbour. Changes in roost structure and proximity to feeding areas, and differences in migration patterns affected counts at individual roosts and the overall totals of wading birds counted in the harbour and its environs.

[First paragraphs…] At c.0800 h on 6 Nov 2006, PB and TC caught a whitehead (Mohoua albicilla) while mist-netting on Tiritiri Matangi I, Hauraki Gulf, North I, New Zealand. The net was set in “Bush 1”, on the northwestern side of the island. The bird carried a metal band (B57955) and 2 (green, blue) faded, inter-twined wrap-around plastic bands: the band combination could have been either metal-GB or metal-BG. It was thought to be male because it had a bright white head (Gill & McLean 1986) and an enlarged cloacal area. The only whiteheads that had been banded recently on the island had all been processed by NL and received split colour bands. We therefore thought that this whitehead was from the original trans-located population which was transferred to Tiritiri Matangi I from Little Barrier I in 1989 and 1990, which would mean that it was at least 16 years old. age of 8 years 7 months for another Little Barrier I bird (Gill 1993).

[First paragraph…]New Zealand pipits (Anthus n. novaeseelandiae) were apparently common in the open landscapes of the last glacial period (Worthy & Holdaway 1996). Before humans arrived, there were no mammalian predators in New Zealand but the pipit was an important food of the New Zealand falcon (Falco novaeseelandiae) and the laughing owl (Sceloglaux albifacies) (Worthy & Holdaway 2002). New Zealand pipits would have been likely to increase as more open habitats developed during the 700 years since Polynesian settlement, because their close relatives on continents live with mammalian and avian predators (Sibley & Ahlquist 1990), and New Zealand pipits have an 8-month (Aug-Mar) breeding season during which multiple clutches of 1-4 are raised (Heather & Robertson 1996). Pipits did apparently initially increase in numbers during the phase of forest and scrub clearance following European settlement (Buller 1888, Guthrie-Smith 1927), but no recent studies have found pipits in high densities in any habitat (Beauchamp 1995). The factors that could be controlling pipit numbers include the deteriorating quality of open habitats (Lovegrove 1980), and high levels of predation by endemic avian and introduced mammalian predators (Wilkinson & Wilkinson 1952).

Collections of bird specimens assembled by T.F. Cheeseman

We investigated whether the abundance of the South Island robin (Petroica australis australis) could be explained by the abundance, species richness, diversity, or evenness of leaf-litter invertebrates. We recorded robin abundance indices and collected leaf-litter invertebrates in 3 forest types: mature Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii); mature Monterey pine (Pinus radiata); and old growth kanuka-manuka (Kunzea ericoides – Leptospermum scoparium). Robins were attracted to stations using 5-min playbacks of robin full song in each forest type. Invertebrates were extracted from leaf-litter samples using ‘Tullgren-type’ heat extraction funnels. There was no significant difference between the numbers of robins detected in the Douglas fir (1.14 5 min count-1), or kanuka-manuka forest (0.86 5 min count-1), and no robins were detected in the Monterey pine forest. Kanuka-manuka forest had the greatest biomass and species richness of leaf-litter invertebrates, but the lowest evenness. We believe that the abundance of the South Island robin can not be sufficiently explained by the density or directly of leaf-litter invertebrates.