Publications Archive

The laughing owl (Sceloglaux albifacies), one of the two owls native to New Zealand, was once widely-distributed but is now close to extinction – if not already so. It began to disappear in the North Island in the early 19th century or before, and rapidly became scarce in the South Island after about 1880. It has not been “officially” seen since 1914, though persistent reports of its continued presence in parts of the South Island are still received. The species’ appearance, calls, behaviour, food habits and breeding biology are described and speculations made about the reasons for its disappearance.

The presence of the Australian white-browed wood swallow in N.Z. is described together with the possible sighting of a masked wood swallow. Both are new records for New Zealand.

The range of the Kerguelen petrel (Pterodroma brevirostris) is outlined and extensions into the South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, based on observations from the ships Eltanin and Eastwind, are documented, suggesting a nearly circumpolar movement. “At sea” characters of flight pattern, plumage appearance and foot colour are noted.

A preliminary analysis of bird lists from Otago suggests that during the breeding season pipits (Anthus novaeseelandiae) are absent from areas with a mean annual rainfall of under 30 inches (767 mm). Skylarks (Alauda arvensis) seem less affected by low rainfall and are abundant even where the mean annual rainfall is as low as 13 in. (330 mm). Some factors possibly influencing these correlations are discussed.