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The relationship between riverbed flooding and non-breeding wrybills on northern feeding grounds in summer

Notornis, 32 (1), 42-50

K.F.D. Hughey (1985)

Article Type: Paper

I investigated the relationship between floods on the riverbed breeding grounds of wrybills (Anarhynchus frontalis) and the number of wrybills censused on northern harbours the following summer. For the purposes of the study I assumed that most birds oversummering on northern harbours are first-year non-breeders and that flood flows of the Rakaia River are representative of most other wrybill breeding rivers. A highly significant negative correlation (r2=0.69; p<0.01) existed for the 1968-1982 period. The study’s findings provide some support for the observation that by the early 1960s the wrybill population, after many years of growth, had begun to stabilise. Serious flooding in the 1982 and 1983 breeding seasons may have again destabilised the population structure.

Snipe in Southland

Notornis, 32 (4), 327-328

C.M. Miskelly; W.J. Cooper; K. Morrison; J.V. Morrison (1985)

Article Type: Short Note

Long-tailed skuas Stercorarius longicaudus in New Zealand

Notornis, 32 (1), 51-73

D.S. Melville (1985)

Article Type: Paper

A wreck of long-tailed skuas (Stercorarius longicaudus) on North Island beaches in early 1983 is reported. Characters used to identify long-tailed and Arctic skuas in the hand are reviewed with reference to New Zealand material. It is suggested that there may have been several New Zealand records of long-tailed skuas before the first accepted specimen record in 1964. The importance of retaining all small skuas found on New Zealand beaches for critical examination is emphasised. The 1983 wreck may be related to the 1982/83 El Nino, which apparently caused a reduction of food for at least some seabird species.

Distribution of yellowheads (Mohoua ochrocephala) in New Zealand

Notornis, 32 (4), 261-269

P.D. Gaze (1985)

Article Type: Paper

Historical records show that yellowheads (Mohoua ochrocephala) were once present in most forest habitats of the South Island and Stewart Island but they have become less widespread over the last 100 years. Disappearance from some areas was rapid at the end of the last century but yellowheads survived in other forests until quite recently. Reasons for this decline should be investigated in the hope that appropriate management may prevent this species from becoming endangered.

A ruff in Southland

Notornis, 32 (4), 329-330

C.M. Miskelly; W.J. Cooper (1985)

Article Type: Short Note

The mineral content of the faeces of pukeko, Porphyrio p. melanotus

Notornis, 32 (1), 74-79

R.A. Fordham (1985)

Article Type: Paper

In coastal Manawatu pasture, faecal pellets of the pukeko (Porphyrio p. melanotus) vary in weight through the year and on average disintegrate in about 16 days (range 7-29). The seasonal concentrations of 11 minerals in the faeces are discussed briefly in relation to soil type and the topdressing regime. The addition of faecal minerals to the pasture is estimated per hectare through the year and per bird for autumn. The amounts deposited fall with increasing distance from the edge next to swamp and are largest in autumn when the population is highest.
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