WELCOME SWALLOWS FROM AUSTRALIA

Press, Volume C, Issue 29673, 17 November 1961, Page 14

WELCOME SWALLOWS FROM AUSTRALIA

The unfamiliar birds reported near Christchurch in a letter to “The Press” by Mr R. F. Savill yesterday, were probably Australian welcome swallows, according to Mr E. G. Turbott, actingdirector of the Canterbury Museum and a leading ornithologist. He was delighted by this indication that the newcomers may be settling in the South Island. “This common Australian swallow has begun to nest in New Zealand after its arrival about 1958,” Mr Turbott said. “At least three pairs were known to have nested near Awanui, Northland, in that year. Later there were reports from the Bay of Plenty, Rotorua, Auckland, and Foxton, although nesting has not been recorded in all these localities. “The highest number seen in Northland is 30 and the swallows are evidently quite widely spread and breeding from about Whangarei northwards.” said Mr Turbott. “It has been expected that they

would colonise southern districts of New Zealand, and the observations of Mr Savill are probably the first in the South Island. I should be grateful to receive any similar reports. “The establishment of the welcome swallow in New Zealand is of special interest because other species of Australian birds have also become established here in the last 15 years," said Mr Turbott. “The best known of these is the white-faced heron and others which have settled in the southern part of the South Island are the Australian coot and the spur-winged plover.”