Ectoparasitic insects of birds and mammals of Raoul and Meyer Islands, Kermadec Islands, are recorded. Included are 52 Phthiraptera, 4 Diptera and 4 Siphonaptera, of which 40 Phthiraptera, 2 Diptera (Stomoxys calcitrans and Ornithoica exilis) and 1 Siphonapteron are new records for the islands. A simple key to the main groups of ectoparasites is given. Attention is drawn to the need for quarantine measures to prevent introductions of further pest species to the islands.
During 1969, 1,665 miles of coast were patrolled by 99 members of O.S.N.Z. and 2,534 dead seabirds were found. No species was exceptionally abundant but there was a high proportion of albatrosses relative to other years The rarest specimens were an oriental cuckoo Cuculus saturatus horsfieldi and an Arctic tern Sterna paradisaea.
Bird species found on the islands of the Moturoa group are listed and other natural features such as physiography and vegetation briefly described. The presence of other animals is mentioned and the history of the group outlined.
On 31 December 1970 an adult gannet was trapped on Horuhoru close to where it had been banded on 20 February 1954. It had been hatched on 19 December 1953, and was therefore slightly over 17 years and one week old. Here we describe the work undertaken in banding chicks on the islands in the Hauraki Gulf, to find where they go while developing from juvenile to adult plumage, and when and where they return to breed.