Twenty four species and two subspecies of bird lice are recorded from New Zealand for the first time. Also, 52 new host-louse associations are listed for louse species already recorded from New Zealand. The genera Cuculiphilus Uchida, 1926, Franciscoloa Conci, 1942, Penenirmus Clay & Meinertzhagen, 1938 and Psittoecus Conci, 1942 are recorded from New Zealand for the first time. Since the publication of the previous list of chewing lice from New Zealand birds, four further lice have been published as new species, and another identified and reported in the literature. One species has been synonymised and its name is deleted from the fauna. Considering the above additions, deletion and other amendments, the total number of species and subspecies of bird lice recorded from the New Zealand region and the Antarctic Ross Dependency is now 301. A further 105 records still remain at generic level only, but all these do not necessarily represent different taxa.
The eastern shore of Lake Wairarapa is a nationally important site for waders. The monthly distributions of eleven species of wader and of white-faced herons (Ardea novaehollandiae) are presented from monthly counts between November 1983 and October 1994. Numbers of spur-winged plovers (Vanellus miles) increased dramatically during this period. Water levels in this shallow freshwater lake vary with regional rainfall, the management of floodgates at the outlet of the lake, and wind direction and strength. Numbers of pied stilt (Himantopus himantopus), banded dotterel (Charadrius bicinctus) and black-fronted dotterel (C. melanops), for which the lake is an important wintering site, declined once the water level rose over about 10.3 m above an imaginary reference point (datum), and also declined below about 9.95 m above datum. Our findings confirm the importance of managing lake levels and we discuss how these data were used in setting operating levels for a water right application to operate the floodgates at the outlet of the lake.
During 1996, participants in the Beach Patrol Scheme patrolled 3071 km of the New Zealand coastline. There were 4649 dead seabirds of 58 species recovered by patrollers. In addition, beach patrollers found 165 birds of 32 non-seabird species. Unusual finds included one Chatham Island mollymawk (Diomedea cauta eremita), one New Caledonian petrel (Pterodroma leucoptera caledonica), two channel-billed cuckoos (Scythrops novaehollandiae) and two spine-tailed swifts (Hirundapus caudacutus). There was a moderate-sized wreck of sooty shearwaters (Puffinus griseus) on North Island west coast beaches in November. The highest annual totals of Pitt Island shag (Stictocarbo featherstoni) and Chatham Island shag (Leucocarbo onslowi) were recorded in 1996. The mean annual recovery rates of Buller’s mollymawks (Diomedea bulleri) and black-billed gull (Larus bulleri) were the highest recorded since the start of the Beach Patrol Scheme. Red-billed gulls (Larus novaehollandiae scopulinus) had their lowest annual recovery rate in 1996. Causes of seabird mortality are discussed in the paper.
Snares Island snipe (Coenocorypha aucklandica huegeli) were studied on the Snares Islands during parts of six breeding seasons between 1982 and 1987. Laying was between 4 November and 19 February; the breeding season (including chick-rearing) spanned the months November to May. Nests were well concealed among dense vegetation with solid overhead cover. Most birds were monogamous, with shared incubation of the two-egg clutch. Males incubated for 51% of the time, mainly at night and during late afternoon; females incubated 49% of the time, mainly during the morning and early afternoon. The eggs hatched synchronously and the chicks stayed in the nest for less than 13 h. The male cared for the first chick to leave the nest. Growth of chicks is described using Gompertz equations. Full juvenile plumage took c. 54 days to attain, and adult size in all growth parameters was attained soon after independence (c. 65 days). Chatham Island snipe (C. pusilla) were studied on Rangatira Island during the 1983-84 breeding season. Laying was estimated to extend from late September to the end of December. Most nests found (86%) were under Carex sedges. Incubation of the two-egg clutch was shared; incubation patterns were not determined. The eggs were 19% smaller in relation to predicted egg-weight than those of Snares Island snipe. The eggs hatched synchronously and the chicks stayed in the nest for less than 11.5 h. The male cared for the first chick to leave the nest. Full juvenile plumage took c. 47 days to attain. The bill grew much more rapidly than for Snares Island snipe and chicks became independent much earlier (c. 41 days old).
We observed that South Polar skuas (Catharacta maccormicki) breeding near the Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) western colony at Cape Crozier, Ross Island, Antarctica were able to forage throughout the colony, the majority of which was not defended by territorial skuas as in other Ross Island colonies. All local skuas were able to find enough food on the colony throughout January to support breeding and none were seen to forage at sea. Skuas foraged as individuals to obtain penguin eggs and chicks but kleptoparasitism usually occurred so that several skuas fed in turn on a single carcass. At the end of each feeding event a general melee occurred in which up to 30 skuas fought over the chick remains. The implications for skua breeding of this foraging regime, in which any skuas in the local area can obtain penguin food, are considered. We suggest that the high levels of food availability contributed to the unusually high success for this region of these skuas in raising both chicks. Desertion of chicks while foraging, however, leads to some mortality among older chicks later in the season through predation. It is recommended that further research on skuas at super-large penguin colonies be undertaken.
The archaeological and fossil avifauna of Niue Island in the southwest Pacific is described from ten sites. Fourteen species of birds, including an extinct species each of Gallirallus and Nycticorax, and an extirpated megapode (Megapodius pritchardii) were found. This increases the number of taxa known for the Niue fauna to 15 resident species, but faunas from surrounding islands indicate this is almost certainly an under-estimate of original diversity.
Wrybill (Anarhynchus frontalis) and banded dotterel (Charadrius bicinctus) are territorial birds which breed on braided riverbeds in Canterbury, New Zealand. Home ranges of wrybill pairs were bigger than those of banded dotterel pairs on the Rakaia and Ashley Rivers. For wrybill there were no significant differences in home range size between years and rivers, but home ranges of banded dotterel pairs were larger on the Rakaia R. than on the Ashley R. Wrybill home range size on the Rakaia R. was related to the presence of preferred minor channel feeding habitats; small home ranges contained mostly minor channels and large home ranges contained mostly major channels. The larger home ranges for banded dotterel on the Rakaia R. is thought to be related to greater habitat instability compared to the Ashley R. If large scale diversion of water occurs from these rivers then flows need to be managed so that the characteristics of the natural flow regime are maintained.