From 13 to 17 August 1990, we surveyed from Doubtful to Milford Sounds, Fiordland, for Fiordland crested penguins. Minimum total estimates were 65 nests and 283 penguins. Proper counts were not made at a few sites and some small breeding groups were probably missed, but we are confident that all major breeding sites in the survey area were located. These penguins breed primarily in small isolated colonies on islands, or in small caves on the mainland coastline. The largest breeding site in the survey area was on the Shelter Islands, at the entrance to Doubtful Sound. Most nests were in dugouts under trees or on small ledges under rocky overhangs. A few penguins were breeding on islands up to 30 km from the open sea. We tentatively propose that there are less than 1000 nests for the species annually.
Four species of Pterodroma petrel (P. macroptera, P. cervicalis, P. pycrofti and P. nigripennis) responded strongly to human calls (termed by us the “war-whoop” method). This response was greater in the larger species and included the following behaviour: more frequent calling, movement towards the observer, and fighting. The level of response in P. macroptera was greatest during courtship and incubation and decreased during the chick rearing stage. Our findings support Warham’s (1988) hypothesis that mainly unpaired birds respond to human calls and that the birds associate these sounds with sexual advertisement.
Attempts to re-establish wekas, brown kiwis and red-crowned parakeets in the Waitakere Ranges were made between 1976 and 1986. None appears to have been successful, although wekas did breed at Huia for several seasons.
Observations of ducks on Macquarie Island in December 1985 and 1986 are summarised. Although the island has many wetlands, previous records suggest that ducks mainly use those within wet tussock grasslands in the lowland, coastal areas: recent observations confirm this. Reduced primary productivity on plateau wetlands may result in minimal secondary production of foods in a relatively harsh environment, one where nesting cover has been degraded by introduced rabbits and where predatory skuas are prevalent. Ducks, including hybrids between grey duck and the alien mallard, used Square Lake and Duck Lagoon for feeding and resting, although their rate of feeding was higher at Square Lake. Broods were recorded only at Duck Lagoon, where Poa foliosa provides extensive cover. Introgression on Macquarie Island has occurred unsupported by local liberations, distant from human activity, and has implications for the gene pool of grey duck elsewhere.
Four surveys for kokako were conducted in the Hunua Range between November 1986 and May 1988, by playing tapes of the local song dialect. Three of the four surveys were done in conjunction with the Auckland and South Auckland branches of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand. Forty kokako were recorded, of which 12 were definitely in pairs, one was a definite juvenile and another a possible juvenile. Some of the remaining 26 were likely to have been paired. Thirty-eight birds were recorded in tawa-podocarp forest and two in adjacent second-growth scrub. The 40 birds ranged in altitude between 300 and 660 m ad. with an average of 490 m. They were distributed in the following catchments: Mangatangi (20 birds), Mangatawi (12), Orere (5), Tapapakanga (2) and Hauarahi (1). Most records were of birds heard rather than seen, and tape responses were low compared with those in surveys elsewhere. Comparisons are made with past surveys and survey techniques, and the discussion includes options for forest management in the Hunua Range.
The osteology of the New Zealand genera Mohoua and Finschia shows that they are definitely not referable to the Pachycephalinae or any other group within the corvine assemblage. This is in contrast to Sibley and Ahlquist’s original interpretation of their DNA-DNA hybridization studies and supports a recent reanalysis of that data by critics, who concluded that these genera belong among the “Passerida”. Within that group, the relationships of Finschia and Mohoua remain uncertain. No osteological basis could be found for continuing to separate the genus Finschia from Mohoua. The three species in the expanded genus Mohoua show increasing specialization for use of the hindlimb in foraging and in order of most primitive to most derived should be listed as M. novaeseelandiae, M. albicilla, and M. ochrocephala. The last two species are very distinct from one another osteologically and are not to be regarded as subspecies of a single species.
Between April 1985 and March 1987, standardised shipboard censuses were conducted during 23 monthly transects from shore to well beyond the continental shelf. The average transect distance was 66 km and maximum depth 4200 m. Twelve (probably 13) species and 231 1 birds were recorded. Regular petrels (listed in descending percentage abundance) had zonal and seasonal distributions as follows: Pterodroma macroptera (50%), pelagic, spring and summer; P. solandri (24%), pelagic, autumn, winter and spring; Daption capense (16%), neritic, winter and spring; Macronectes spp. (5%), marginally neritic, winter and spring; small Pterodroma spp. (“Cookilaria”) (4%), pelagic, summer and autumn; P. lessonii (1%), pelagic, autumn, winter and spring. Petrels rarely observed were Fulmarus glacialoides (1), Pterodroma neglecta (3), Procellaria parkinsoni (4) and Pseudobulweria rostrata (1). Temperature preferences, morphological characters, behaviour and breeding status are discussed. The 200 + “Cookilaria” observed during two cruises in April 1985 may have been associated with a slope-water intrusion generated by the East Australian Current.
Mixed-species flocks of insectivorous birds were investigated at Kowhai Bush, Kaikoura, in monthly transect counts between July 1986 and June 1988. Four native species (brown creeper, silvereye, grey warbler and fantail) and two introduced species (chaffinch and redpoll) foraged in mixed flocks. Brown creepers and silvereyes appeared to behave as nuclear species by determining the direction of movement of mixed flocks. Mixed flocks were found throughout the day. The mean number of species per flock was 2.5 and the mean number of birds in flocks was 8.5. Mixed flocks were seasonal with none encountered during the main breeding period (Sep-Dec).
We give weights and measurements of 16 species of birds mist-netted in forest on Little Barrier Island, including 67 whiteheads (Mohoua albicilla) and 111 stitchbirds (Notiomystis cincta). The following criteria for distinguishing sexes were established. Female whiteheads weighed up to 15.9 g and males weighed 16.1 g or more. Most female stitchbirds had wings up to 92 mm long and most males had wings 95 mm or longer. Incidental observations of moult, ectoparasites and movements are recorded.