Publications Archive

During two weeks on the south-west Pacific islands of Wallis and Futuna in September-October 1993 I notes 24 of the 35 species of birds recorded by French ornithologists during a fuller survey in December 1985 and January 1986. A count of boobies on Futuna showed that 5% were adult Brown Boobies. Of the remainder, 27% were adult white morph Red-footed Boobies and 54% were adult Red-footed Boobies of the “white-tailed brown” morph. The continued presence of good numbers of Blue-crowned Lories on Futuna may indicate a lack of ship rats.

We review 16 published and 17 previously unpublished accounts of the nesting of North Island Kokako (Callaeas cinerea wilsoni) recorded between 1880 – 1989. Nests were on average 8.5 m above ground, in many different tree species, but usually with dense overhead cover. Kokako laid eggs from October to February. The modal clutch had three eggs or young, four nests had two. Only the female built the nest, incubated, and brooded young, though the male fed the female at or near the nest throughout the nesting period. Incubation took about 18 days and fledging about 31 days. We suggest that several aspects of Kokako nesting evolved in response to diurnal avian predation, and that these behaviours give ineffective protection against nocturnal, arboreal, introduced mammal predators.

During 1976-89, 490 Black Shag (Phalacrocorax carbo) nestlings were banded at Matthews and Boggy Pond wildlife reserves, and Te Hopai Lagoon, Wairarapa. Forty-one (8.4%) have been recovered, all dead, 20 of unknown causes. Of 21 for which the cause of death was known, 13 drowned in set nets, 11 of these birds being less than 6 months old. Six shags had been shot, all prior to 1986 when the Black Shag received partial protection. While 85% of the shags were found within a 100 km of the banding sites, mainly to the north and west, one bird was recovered about 2000 km away on Lord Howe Island.

Kiwi distribution in Northland was surveyed during 1992, largely by listening for calls. Kiwi were recorded at 242 sites in six Ecological Districts. High call rates were recorded in the central and northern parts of Northland in forest remnants of varying sizes, but remnants over 100 ha had significantly higher call counts. Kiwi have declined in abundance and range in southern Northland since the late 1970s. Threats and potential threats to Northland kiwi include habitat destruction and deterioration, but particularly predation by dogs and other introduced mammals.

Observations of birds were made while working on fishing trawlers intermittently for a total of almost a year in New Zealand subantarctic waters. Large numbers of several species of albatrosses and petrels are attracted to trawlers to scavenge and their numbers vary throughout the year. Species not attracted are seen less commonly. Scavenging behaviour around trawlers is discussed. There seems to have been an increase in scavenging by certain species in the last 30 years.

There are major sexual differences in the calls of Thin-billed Prion Pachyptila belcheti. This allowed birds to be sexed initially by calls, and then by their measurements. Males were on average larger than females for six out of eight morphometric characters, with the greatest difference being in the bill. We then investigated the possibility of sexing birds on the basis of external measurements: a discriminant function analysis based on the eight measurements allowed correct classification of 84.4% of the 281 birds. In 89% of breeding pairs, males had greater bill depth than their partner. A stepwise discriminant analysis revealed that bill depth, head length and body weight were the three most discriminant variables. The combinations of two measurements (bill depth and body weight, or bill depth and total head length) allowed correct classification of 84.3 and 83% of the birds respectively, whilst a classification solely based on bill depth gave a 83.2% correct classification. The degree of sexual dimorphism in this species is similar to that found in other tubenoses.

Kaka (Nestor meridionalis) less than one year old can be distinguished from older birds by a pale ring of skin around the eye (periophalmic ring). In birds less than five months old this has a yellow tinge, as does the cere, gape and the soles of the feet. A further distinguishing feature of Kaka between three and six months of age are protruding rachides (feather quills) on the tips of the tail feathers. On Kapiti and Little Barrier Islands, most Kaka nestlings fledge in February and receive food from their parents until June or July. Fledglings can often be detected during this period by their conspicuous and frequent food-begging behaviour. Juvenile characteristics in the Kaka persist for a much shorter period than in the Kea (N. notabilis), its sole extant congener. The loss of juvenile characteristics prior to sexual maturity suggests that juvenile Kaka becomes socially independent of adults earlier than Kea, presumably because of more readily obtainable food sources in their environment.

During a census in gardens in Hamilton, 71.8% of the 4428 birds observed belonged to introduced species. A total of 15 species were observed. Bird species richness was positively correlated with native plant biomass and, more strongly, with total plant biomass. More birds were present in gardens with more native plants. Among the most common species, the abundance of the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) decreased with increasing percentage of native plants, the Silvereye (Zosterops lateralis) increased, while Blackbirds (Turdus merula) and Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) showed no significant change. This was typical for a other introduced bird species. Most other birds, including the Fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa) and the Grey Warbler (Gerygone igata), were most abundant in gardens with higher native plant biomass. Notable was the absence of the Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) from all censused areas in Hamilton at the time of observation. No significant variation between morning and evening samples was noted.