Publications Archive

Seabirds seen during a yacht voyage from Auckland, New Zealand, to Lautoka, Fiji, between 30 April and 7 May 1977, and during the return voyage to Whangarei between 22 May and 1 June are listed. Field characters of Pterodromas and storm petrels are illustrated.

The present and past naturalized distribution of the red-vented bulbul, Pycnonotus cafer, in the Pacific is described. The species was first recorded in Fiji at the turn of the century and probably arrived with indentured Indian labour. Its restricted distribution in the Fiji lslands coincides with that of several weed species which constitute its main food supply and probably limit its spread.

Incubation temperatures of the North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx australis mantelli) were studied by telemetry methods. Using the equipment described, the temperature was found to be 37.0°C on the upper surface of the egg in contact with the male’s brood patch and 35.0°C at an approximate embryo depth within the egg. Using the temperatures obtained and to test the observation that the eggs are not turned, artificial incubation of a kiwi egg was successfully carried out.

By Ian Saem Majnep and Ralph Bulmer. Illustrations by Christopher Healey; published by Auckland University Press & Oxford University Press, 219 pp., 1977

A transect through pastoral land, from Foxton on the coast to Palmerston North inland, was traversed regularly by car. Counts of most birds except finches, showed starlings to be commonest in the area, followed by white-backed magpies and southern black-backed gulls. There was little seasonal variation in starlings for 1974 but an apparent increase in numbers during 1975. Magpies, gulls, Australasian harriers and pukeko were seen less often during spring than at other times of year, whereas blackbirds and welcome swallows were more frequently counted in spring or summer. Fewer starlings, blackbirds, and kingfishers were seen near the coast than elsewhere, while magpies and harriers were most abundant near the coast and less frequent inland.