NATURE NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 36, 11 August 1934, Page 17

NATURE NOTES

NEW ZEALAND PETKELS

SOME RECENT DISCOVERIES

(By K. H. D. Stidolph, E.A.p.tr.)

Some valuable contributions -to our knowledge of petrels inhabiting the^ New Zealand coast have; been madej by: Mr. B. A. Falla, ornithologist of.,ithre Auckland 'Museum1. Several years''ago Mr. Falla discovered the breeding .place, Poor Knights Islands, of one of bur rarest petrels, a. species known as.JJullcr's shearwater, the first .specimen of w.bicli was found by the late Sir Walter Buller on Waikanae Beach in ,lߧt Although the Poor Knights is the ■only definite breeding-place of this petrel so far recorded, Mr. Falla says there is ho doubt that colonies of this species also breed at the Three Kings and at.'Whale Island. At both these places'lie; has seen large numbers of birds closing in on the islands at1 sunsetandalsb flying out from the shore at. daybreak;,.Froni observations made by him at the.Poq;r Knights the first Buller. shearwatei's arrive aj; these islands for.' breeding ay theend of August and others' viniSeptcniber. Preparations of the burrows, ho states,' probably., begins in Qetobcr and is continued in November. The oggs appear to be laid in the first lyeek' of December and most of the chicks-hatch before the; end of the mouth. By February. 24, he states, th.c chicks are. large but StilJ clothed in dowiiy •with: 'no feathers showing. Thpy are fledged and leave the nestsaliout the" en'd'of .March, and'by the end of-Aprirvery'few birda of thjs ;specie's aro;t!o ,be,.se.cn .at.aca.

Another important' discovery made by Mr. Falla is, a new species of, petrel breeding on Hen Island; near Whangfirei., It bears, some" resemblance • ■.. to Cook's petrel, t'foin' which,' tioVeyer; i* is disinguishable by several well-marked characters. A male, and ; a female were found together iv a new burrow! on Hen Island on January 27. ■ Oh" this date, on the Little Barrier Island) where Cook's : petrel/breeds,- this-bird already had w«n-grdwn nestlings. cent ■ investigations' haVe -indicated1 the possibility of Lit^lQ 33-rrier Island'being the only known breeding-place,of Cook's petrel. Mr.' Palla "states 'that1 theW are. no records by any observer • to' show definitely whether Cook's petrel ledyes these .waters at..any- part;of -fbp year, but . there . is:, some indication^ th^at ■it docs so. "Very little inforniatipn7about the range'and habits of Pyc'rdft's;pet'rel, ;as this new specie's has been named} in ; honour of Mr. A. .T. Py.croft/ of -Auckland, has yet been obtained.;,: Apparently the normal breeding season .commences at the end of November' and sometimes through December, which n-p- ---| pears to be soind Weeks later than that of Cook's petrol:-. The situation of,the nesting burrows on-the Hen Island offers a striking contrast to that usually occupied by Cook's petrel on Little Barrier. The burrows, so far disepverejd are ,not anywhere close together, but in small groups in dry, well-drained ground. Some of them are' comparatively shallow and in many dead leaves haye.;b.oen allowed to accumulate at the entrances in such quantity as almost to'block them. : '■'.'■■ .• ':■ "•".

One of the most widely-spread, breeding species of petrels in the. southern portion of New Zealand-is' the greyfaced petrel,. vi-liic.b, according to^Mr. Falla, breeds on every islet, where btirrbws can be made, on all suitable cliffs along the mainland coast and sometimes a mile or two inland* It is not a gregarious nor a colony-forming-bird,like most, of ...the shearwaters -and-lts-.abun-dance on ' certain islets: is due'• to the suitability of' the., gr.ou.udr jthe,re.-,,;Else-where a single burrpv^ may, be .found in some isolated spot. The" habits jot' this bird, Mr. Falla observes,. haye .been vaguely described by some •writers as nocturnal, apparently because, it is often found in burrows :by day. The position «eems to-be that a pair may remain for several days and nights'-in; a^burroTv and then spend a similar continuous period at sea. Although not1 common'in Coastal waters at any time,, when 'it floes appear it is frequently in pairs, especially in May. Although the female bird is sometimes found sitting on: quite fresh eggs, in the later stages of. inqubation only the male1' has been found sitting, at any rate during-the dayThe male has also been found in attendance during the day on- chicks up_ ; to ten days' old, after which the chipk is .only visited, at night. '.Throughout the year, except perhaps in January, old birds may be heard calling at night near the nesting places, and among several. notes the predominant one sis that represented by! the native name"ou." It is not unusual in January,to ! find fully-fledged young emerging f rppx the burrows after dark' and ambling about iii an aimless fashion- over tree stumps and other obstacles.;,

Tho black petrel is- apparently :ojiß of the rarest petrels in the world.; It has been recorded aslbreeding on Little Barrier Island and on/some inland mountain ranges, including the ■• Riin'utaka. Ranges near Wellington.- Jjp.iecent information has coiriotosha^d .about its breeding haunts on the mainlaiidland;it is possible it no longer^requents-maii.v; of these regionson acc6unt:of?thedeprcdations of introduced.animals; It- has also been found on Mt.Egmont.anaiin the ranges of tho Nelson district. ; A Specimen -was obtained- in ithe" latter locality on the dividing Grange between the head of the Hcaphy andrthe Bm Rivers. It was .found .ma: hole at the roots of a large rata; in.»dense :bu?li. There is supposed'to be an egg .of this species in the DominionMußeum,obtaui» cd. from the Eimutaka Ranges ma.pt years ago. ; ■■;■■" '.■■■•