Publications Archive

The first recorded occurrence of a Manx shearwater in the New Zealand region, being also the second record from the Australasian region, is reported. A description of the bird is given and a table presented of the main characters separating the fluttering, Manx, and Hutton’s shearwaters since it seems possible that Manx shearwaters, when present in New Zealand waters, associate with flocks of fluttering shearwaters and may be confused, as beach specimens, with both this species and Hutton’s shearwater. The breeding cycle and post-breeding migrations and movements of the Manx shearwater are outlined and discussed to account for the southern occurrences of this species.

Counts of grey (Anas superciliosa), mallard (A. platyrhynchos) and hybrid ducks were made on 500 yards of the Avon River and Lakes Victoria and Albert between 16 April and 18 July 1967. During the pre-shooting season (16 April to 5 May) duck numbers rose steadily from about 1150 to 1800. Numbers continued to rise about the same rate during the first five days of the shooting season (6 May to 11 May). During the remainder of the season (12 May to 5 June) the numbers remained about 2200. During the post-shooting season (6 June to 5 July) the numbers declined during the first 14 days to about 1300 and then remained about this level. The increase in numbers during the shooting season was significantly different from both the pre-shooting and post-shooting numbers. The latter were not significantly different from each other. Flight patterns, feeding habits and behaviour during the shooting season are discussed.