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Home , Coprosma, Coprosma propinqua, Cordyline australis, Coriaria arborea, Fuchsia excorticata, Metrosideros umbellata

SHORT NOTES KOTORNIS 46

Food of Bellbird (Antbornis melanura), (Prostbemudera novaeseelandiae) and Pigeon (Hemipbaga novaeseelandiae) in

I saw the Bellbird (Antbornis melanura) and Tui (Prostbemadera novaeseelandiae). and New Zealand Pigeon (Hernzphaganovaeseelandiae) eating the following New Zealand native foods in Dunedin between July 1992 and December 1997 (May 1998 for New Zealand Pigeons). Table 1 shows the number of days that each food type was seen being eaten by each species. Most of the records are from the Town Belt, the Botanic Gardens, Ross Creek, the Pineapple Track and private gardens.

TABLE 1 - New Zealand native plants used by Bellbirds, Tui and New Zealand Pigeons in Dunedin, July 1992 - December 1997 (May 1998 for New Zealand Pigeon).

Plant species Food type Bellbird Tui NZ Pigeon

Fruit Aristotelia serrata (wineberry) 7 9 Beilschmiedia tawa (tawa) 0 0 Carpoderus serratzcs (marbleleaf) 3 0 areoiata 9 2 1 1 Copmsma grandifolia (raurekau) 2 0 Coprosma Iinariifolia 4 4 Copmsna Iucida (bramu) 9 6 Copmsma parvzj2ora 1 0 11 1 (taupata) 1 0 Coprosma rharnnoides 1 0 Coprosrna robusta (bramu) 54 6 Coprosrna rotundifolia 7 I 2 0 australis (cabbage ) 1 0 arborea (tutu) 1 0 Corokia sp.6 1 6 Daqurrpus dacrydioides (kahikatea) 3 0 Elaeocarpus hooken'anus (pokaka) 0 0 Fushcia excorticata (hchsia) 0 0 Griselinia littoralis (broadleaf) 3 2 lleosty [us micranthus () 4 1 Lophom.vrtus bullata (ramarama) 5 4 Lophomyrtus obcordata (rohutu) 3 2 Melicytus a[pinus (porcupine bush) 5 0 MeJicytus lanceolcsrus (rnahoeaao) 0 0 Melicytus obouatus 2 0 ilfelicytus ramzj2orus (mahoe) 10 0 Muehlenbeckia australis (pohuehue) 13 6 Mqporum Iaetum (ngaio) 1 1 (mapou) 26 4 Mysine salicina (toro) 0 7 cunninghamii (black maire) 0 0 SHORT NOTES

Nestegis lanceolata (white maire) Pennantia corymbosa (kaikomako) Podocatpus totara (totara) Prumnopitysferruginea (miro) Prumnopitys tazifolia (matai) Pseudopanax spp. (fivefinger) Pseudopanav crassifolius (lancewood) Pseudopanax edgerleyi (raukawa) Pseudowintera colorata (pepper tree) scandens (supplejack) SchefJIera digitata (pate) Solanum laciniatum @oroporo) Streblus heterophyllus (milk tree) antarctica (mistletoe) Vitex lucens (puriri) Clianthuspuniceus (kaka beak) excorticata (fuchsia) Hebe spp. Hoheria sp. (lacebark) Knightia excelsa (rewarewa) excelsa (pohutukawa) (northern rata) (southern rata) spp. (flax) crassifolium -0) (lemonwood) Pittosporum umbellatum (haekaro) Pseudopanax spp. (fivefinger) Sophora spp. (kowhai) Vitex lucens @uriri) Sap Nothofagus solandri var. clz&fortioides (mountain beech) , buds andlor Calystegia tuguriorum (bindweed) (karamu) Hoheria sp. (lacebark) Kunzea ericoides (kanuka) Melicytus ramz@'orus (mahoe) Muehlenbeckia australis (pohuehue) Myrsine australis (mapou) Parsonsia heterophylla (jasmine) Plagianthus regius (ribbonwood) Sophora spp. (kowhai) Streblus beterophyllus (milk tree)

New Zealand Pigeons ate fruit and leaves in every month, but records of fruit eating were scarce from July to December. Most of the records of eating were from June to September. From mid-spring until the fuchsia ripens New Zealand Pigeons fed mainly on exotic plants. The honeyeaters took nectar most commonly from June to January, while fruit was eaten mainly between February and August. Tui were much less commonly encountered than Bellbirds and New Zealand Pigeons, hence the lower number of records for this species. Tui were most evident SHORT NOTES NOTORNIS 46

in winter and early spring, when they concentrated around urban food sources, especially kowhai. The months when the most frequently observed foods were eaten were as follows: Bellbird: Fruit - mapou -January-August; pohuehue - February-May; Coprosma robusta - March-September; totara - April-August. Nectar - fuchsia - January- December, chiefly July-November; puriri - February-August; kowhai - May- November; five finger - May-October. Tui: Nectar - flax - Decmber-February; kowhai - May-November; five finger - May-October; fuchsia - June-November. New Zealand Pigeon: Fruit - fuchsia - December-March; mapou - January- June; wineberry - January-March; Coprosma robusta, mahoe and pepper tree - February-May;marbleleaf, cabbage tree and ngaio - March-June;broadleaf - March- May. Leaves, buds andlor flowers - kowhai - January-December, chiefly June- September; mahoe - June-August; ribbonwood - July-September.

KEYWORDS: Honeyeaters, NZ Pigeon, native plants, foods.

ALAN BAKER, 48 Pacific Street, Dunedin, New Zealand

Manuscript received 28 February 1998, revised and accepted 15 February 1999