Publications Archive

The grey heron (Ardea cinerea) was placed on the Suspense List of the 1970 OSNZ Checklist, as the Checklist Committee could not confirm the existence of an 1898 specimen reported by Buller. Buller’s “third collection,” including this heron, is in Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. The grey heron should be readmitted to the main New Zealand list, but under the name A. c. jouyi Clark rather than A. c. rectirostris Gould.

Features of plumage and behaviour of the soft-plumaged petrel are described and compared with those of other species of Pterodroma, especially P. inexpectata, and Procellaria cinerea, as an aid for further reports of the species at sea.

The occurrence of a white-winged triller (Lalage sueurii) at Macandrew Bay, Otago Peninsula, in February 1969, is documented, being the first record of this species for New Zealand.

The variable oystercatcher (Haematopus unicolor), which has melanistic, pied and intermediate phases, was studied in the field in New Zealand from 1969 to 1972 inclusive. Parents and their progeny were colour-banded, and the development of plumage with age was checked for non-genetic variation. The parent-offspring data can be most simply explained by a genetic model involving a major gene (W) whose dominance is modified only in the heterozygous condition. In the model, the pied condition is homozygous dominant (WW), the melanistic condition is homozygous recessive (ww), and all intermediate-plumaged birds are heterozygous Ww. The wide range of plumage variability in the intermediate phase seems most likely explained by the action of polygenic modifiers acting cumulatively at a number of loci, and specifically on the Ww genotype. Gene frequencies and genotype frequencies are in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, indicating that selection does not operate against the heterozygote to form an isolating mechanism between the homozygous pied and melanistic phases. The three phenotypes are therefore best considered as colour phases of one species, H. unicolor.

The pink-billed parrot finch (Erythrura kleinschmidti) occurs on Viti Levu island, Fiji. Its habitat is defined as rain-forest at both high and low altitudes. Generally rare, it is common locally. Although it does take vegetable food, insects appear to make up the bulk of its diet, and are taken in a variety of ways, some highly specialised. Notes on its nesting are presented.

The hand-rearing of a royal albatross chick is documented. The fledging period of chicks and their survival is discussed in relation to the tendency for individual breeding pairs of the royal albatross to fledge their chicks at similar intervals each season.