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Pigeon bath-time

Southern Bird, 9 (Mar), 7-7

J. Wilson (2002)

Article Type: Article

History and causes of the extirpation of the providence petrel (Pterodroma solandri) on Norfolk Island

Notornis, 49 (4), 246-258

D.G. Medway (2002)

Article Type: Paper

The population of providence petrels (Pterodroma solandri) that nested on Norfolk Island at the time of 1st European settlement of that island in 1788 was probably >1 million pairs. Available evidence indicates that Europeans harvested many more providence petrels in the years immediately after settlement than previously believed. About 1,000,000 providence petrels, adults and young, were harvested in the 4 breeding seasons from 1790 to 1793 alone. Despite these enormous losses, many providence petrels were apparently still nesting on Norfolk Island in 1795 when they are last mentioned in documents from the island. However, any breeding population that may have survived there until 1814 when Norfolk Island was abandoned temporarily was probably exterminated by the combined activities of introduced cats and pigs which had become very numerous by the time the island was re-occupied in 1825.

Twitchathon 2002

Southern Bird, 12 (Dec), 5-5

S. Saville (2002)

Article Type: Article

Survival of breeding Finsch’s oystercatchers (Haematopus finschi) on farmland in Canterbury, New Zealand

Notornis, 49 (4), 233-240

P.M. Sagar; R.J. Barker; D. Geddes (2002)

Article Type: Paper

We investigated the annual survival of Finsch’s oystercatchers (Haematopus finschi) breeding on farmland in mid-Canterbury, New Zealand. Annual survival from 1987 to 2000 averaged 0.892, with evidence of a small amount of variation in survival rates through time (estimated SD = 0.034). We found no indication that survival rates differed between males and females. However, recapture probabilities showed that males had stronger fidelity to breeding territories than did females. These results are similar to those reported from populations of H. ostralegus in Europe. Because oystercatchers are long-lived, the survival rate of adults is the key component in determining population size. Intensification of agriculture on the breeding grounds and disruption to coastal feeding grounds may reverse the trend for population increase in this species. Consequently, the survival rate presented here provides a basis for predicting future population trends.
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