Publications Archive

During the period 20–21 December 1972 while travelling from Wellington, New Zealand, to Hallett Station, Antarctica, observations were made on the spatial distribution of Adelie penguin age groups. It was found that during this period one-year-old birds were found at a noticeably greater distance from an established breeding rookery than were the birds two years old or older.

Displays observed at sea for four species of albatross (Diomedea exulans, D. melanophris, D. cauta and D. chlororhynchus) off the south-west coast of South Africa are described. Incidence of occurrence is related to time of year and to number of birds. Displays were observed mainly in November and December, during the breeding seasons of all four species. It is suggested that displays at sea occur among non-breeding adult and immature birds and are similar to pair-formation displays at the breeding grounds.

A search was made throughout the Auckland Islands between November 1972 and February 1973 during the joint N.Z. Government/U.S. National Science Foundation Expedition. Although efforts were particularly concentrated on the northern and more sheltered coast of Adams Island where the species was last collected in 1902, the regretful conclusion is that the population has indeed disappeared.

Identifications of moa bones from 25 North Island, 2 D’Urville Island, 38 South Island and 2 Stewart Island archaeological sites are tabulated. In North Island sites the most widely represented genus is Dinornis, known from the north of the North Auckland peninsula to the Wellington area, followed in decreasing order of representation (though not necessarily of abundance at any one site) by Pachyornis, Euryapteryx and Anomalopteryx. In South Island sites Euryapteryx is the predominant genus, followed in decreasing order of abundance by Emeus, Dinornis, Pachyornis, Anomalopteryx and Megalapteryx. Dinornis, common all along the South Island east coast before the arrival of Man, is not known from archaeological sites on this coast north of Christchurch. Man was probably responsible for the final extinction of at least the larger moas, though natural causes may have con- tributed to a general decline in numbers.

This account discusses how to record natural sounds in the field, outlines a history of bird sound recordings and compares recording equipment used over the years since 1889 with what is used to-day. Uses of bird recordings are discussed, and a discography of recordings commercially available of the songs of New Zealand birds is added.