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Breeding of North Island robins was monitored at two sites in Pureora Forest Park, central North Island, during the 19961 97 and 1997/98 breeding seasons. A total of 146 nests was found. First clutches were laid in September-October (mean: 20 September) and last clutches in November-January (mean: 17 December). Pairs had time to rear three broods during the breeding season (September-March), although most reared only two. Nest materials and nest location are described: mean nest height was 5.3 m (range 1.0 – 13.6). Mean clutch size was 2.60 (clutches of 2 or 3). Monthly mean clutch size increased from September to November, then decreased. The breeding biology of the North Island subspecies of robin at Pureora was similar to that of the South Island robin at Kaikoura. Nesting success improved dramatically after brushtail possums were poisoned by aerially distributed 1080 (sodium monofluoroacetate) baits, because mammalian predators were also poisoned. Robins are easy to monitor, and predation is a common cause of nest failure, so the species is potentially a valuable indicator of predator activity.

An annotated checklist of the bird species of Niue Island in the southwest Pacific is provided from published and unpublished sources, and from observations during April-May, September, and December 1994. Results for common species were derived from five-minute counts, numbers seen per kilometre while travelling by motorcycle along roads, and single species surveys. The number of species on Niue is 31 (6 seabirds, 10 shorebirds, and 15 land birds). The common noddy (Anous stolidus) was confirmed as nesting on the island. Recommendations are made for the future management of the hunted Pacific pigeon (Ducula pacifica) and the scarce blue-crowned lory (Vini australis).

We studied North Island robins over 7 breeding seasons following their reintroduction to Tiritiri Matangi Island. All robins bred in their first year if a mate was available. They usually retained pair bonds for life but some females switched mates within or between breeding seasons. There were 2 instances of sequential polyandry, where a female laid a clutch with a new male while her previous mate was rearing her fledglings. The 1st clutches were usually laid in early September and the last clutches in late December or early January. Mean clutch size was 2.3 eggs, and clutches were largest in the middle of the breeding season. Females reared a maximum of 3 broods per year, and a maximum of six fledglings. Females that survived the breeding season fledged an average of 2.48 young, and 51% of clutches found before hatching fledged at least one young. Juveniles were fed for 4- 7 weeks after fledging, and stayed in the natal territory for 7-10 weeks. Dispersing juveniles were often chased when entering other territories, but there were 4 instances of juveniles being fed by unrelated lone males. The juvenile survival rate declined as the population grew. Permanent territories were restricted to patches with a canopy of at least 6 m, totalling about 13.4 ha, and the breeding population levelled off at 65 in the 5th year. The decline in juvenile survival was similar for males and females, suggesting that both sexes needed to compete for territories even though there were always males without mates because of an initial bias in sex ratio. Males had delayed plumage maturation whereby they appeared similar to females or juveniles until after their first breeding season. We suggest this could be advantageous for territory acquisition because male territory holders cannot be preferentially aggressive toward juvenile males.