Notornis December 04.Indd

Short Note 229

SHORT NOTE citrinella) (“quite common”), skylark (Alauda arvensis) (“quite common”), and house sparrow (Passer domesticus) (“common”). Smith never saw New Zealand pigeon (Hemiphaga n. novaeseelandiae), The land bird fauna of bellbird (Anthornis m. melanura), South Island robin Stephens Island, New Zealand (Petroica a. australis), or South Island kaka (Nestor m. meridionalis) during his time on the island, and he 1915 - 1933 could not recall having seen a South Island rifl eman (Acanthisitta c. chloris) there. DAVID G. MEDWAY Principal lighthouse keeper Edward Wilson 25A Norman Street, New Plymouth, advised the Director of the Dominion Museum New Zealand. [email protected] by letter of 23 July 1915 that the native land birds frequenting Stephens Island at that time were I have not found any records of the land birds “cuckoo (two species)” (no doubt shining cuckoo present on Stephens Island between 1903 (Medway (Chrysococcyx l. lucidus) and long-tailed cuckoo 2004) and 1915. Richie Smith, who is rightly (Eudynamys taitensis)), fantail, kingfi sher, “hawks credited (Crook et al.1971) with the discovery of (two species)” (presumably harrier and falcon), and the Stephens Island frog (Leiopelma hamiltoni), “parrakeets”. The introduced land birds Wilson lived on the island as a boy from December 1914 mentioned were goldfi nch (Carduelis carduelis), until November 1916. Smith recalled (pers. comm.) “green linnet” (greenfi nch (Carduelis chloris)), and that the native land birds he saw there during house sparrow. He said that blackbird and song that period were South Island fantail (Rhipidura f. thrush were very numerous (Dominion Museum fuliginosa) (“common”), New Zealand pipit (Anthus 1913-1931). n. novaeseelandiae) (“quite common”), morepork When E. Philips Turner, Inspector of Scenic (Ninox n. novaeseelandiae) (“common”), South Island Reserves, was on Stephens Island in March 1916, he tomtit (Petroica m. macrocephala) (“fairly common”), was informed by the principal keeper that harrier, silvereye (Zosterops l. lateralis) (“common”), grey falcon, fantail, silvereye, pipit, and morepork warbler (Gerygone igata) (“a few”), Australasian (which Turner thought was possibly a chief enemy harrier (Circus approximans) (“abundant”: Smith of tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus)), were the native sometimes saw as many as 200-300 roosting on land birds to be found in small quantity on the the top of the island at dusk), New Zealand falcon island, and that starling (Sturnus vulgaris), house (Falco novaeseelandiae) (“a few”), tui (Prosthemadera n. sparrow, skylark, song thrush, blackbird, goldfi nch, novaeseelandiae) (“occasional visitor”), New Zealand and yellowhammer were also present. Turner kingfi sher (Halcyon sancta vagans) (“common”), mentioned that “in former times fruit-eating birds, parakeet (Cyanoramphus) sp? (“occasional visitor”), such as the native pigeon and the tui, used to be cuckoo sp? (“occasional visitor”). Introduced plentiful on the island. Excepting an occasional land birds Smith saw were song thrush (Turdus stranger, these birds are now absent from the island, philomelos) (“common”), blackbird (Turdus merula) so that one of the factors favouring the spreading (“very common”), yellowhammer (Emberiza and regeneration of the forest now no longer exists” (Turner 1916). Received 14 September 2004; accepted 20 October 2004 Harold Hamilton of the Dominion Museum Editor C. O’Donnell reported that tomtit, fantail, silvereye, and pipit were 230 Short Note the native land birds he noted when on the island the most common birds, nesting), goldfi nch (even in September 1916, and that introduced birds were more numerous than greenfi nch), chaffi nch, house house sparrow, song thrush, blackbird, goldfi nch, sparrow (a few), hedge sparrow (Prunella modularis) yellowhammer, “and others” (Hamilton 1916). (two or three families around houses, nesting), and Neither Turner nor Hamilton mentioned that starling (a small colony on western cliffs). kingfi shers were present on Stephens Island in 1916. Moncrieff did not mention seeing yellowhammer However, their presence there at that general time on the island, but did fi nd what she thought was is confi rmed by various persons who had recently a yellowhammer nest with three eggs, “situated been, or currently were, living on the island. In about 3 feet from the ground in a mass of Coprosma April 1913, former keeper Peter Grenfell advised rhamnoides surrounded by high grass. It was that kingfi shers preyed upon young tuatara there; entirely composed of a lining of native grass held in January 1914, keeper Robert Wilson included together by slender twigs”. Moncrieff collected kingfi shers among the natural enemies of tuatara; at least one of those eggs that she sent to Robert in February 1914, keeper E.W.Tutt said that he had Falla, then ornithologist at the Auckland Museum. often seen kingfi shers catch weta (Orthoptera) and Falla, and two other staff at the museum whom then beat them to death on the branch of a tree he said knew English birds eggs well, confi dently before eating them; and in October 1914, assistant identifi ed the egg as one of cirl bunting (Emberiza keeper Percy Willers reported that he had noticed circlus). However, there must be some uncertainty kingfi shers devouring very small tuatara, and that, about this record because, as Richard Holdaway has because they were “very destructive birds”, he had pointed out (pers. comm.), the literature indicates destroyed several kingfi shers and also their eggs that some yellowhammer and cirl bunting eggs are that were often found in decayed trees (Dominion indistinguishable from each other. Museum 1913-1931). As mentioned, Edward Wilson included kingfi shers among birds to be ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS found on Stephens Island in 1915, as had Richie I am grateful to the late Richie Smith who, in 1970, shared Smith in 1914-1916. W.R.B.Oliver of the Dominion with me his recollections of Stephens Island and its Museum noticed kingfi shers in every portion of the wildlife when he lived there as a boy in 1914-1916. Many years ago, the late Perrine Moncrieff kindly lent me the island in January 1922. He was advised by principal journal covering her visit to the island in 1933. I am also keeper Frederick Woodbury that they destroyed grateful to the late Fred Kinsky and other members of the numbers of young tuatara. Oliver recommended staff of the (then) Dominion Museum for their assistance that the legislative protection afforded kingfi shers in my search for early records relating to Stephens Island be removed as far as Stephens Island, or any other held by that repository. island where there were tuatara, was concerned (Oliver 1922). Accordingly, in 1924 protection was LITERATURE CITED removed temporarily from kingfi shers on Stephens Crook, I.G.; Atkinson, I.A.E.; Bell, B.D. 1971. Habitats of Island, and permission was given to the keepers the frog Leiopelma hamiltoni McCulloch on Stephens and Maud Islands, Cook Strait. New Zealand journal of there to destroy them. J. Allan Thomson, Director of science 14: 1082-1093. the Dominion Museum, who had been on Stephens Dominion Museum.1913-1931. Miscellaneous corres- Island in June 1918, thought that the number of pondence and memoranda relating to tuataras and kingfi shers there could hardly exceed 50 (Dominion frogs on Stephens Island. D.M. File 14/2/21. Museum of Museum 1913-1931). New Zealand, Wellington. In 1931, principal keeper F.N.Watts reported Hamilton, H. 1916. Report on visit to Stephens Island. Unpubl. that the “little grey owl”, presumably morepork, report dated 21 September 1916 to Director, Dominion did considerable damage to tuatara (Dominion Museum, Wellington (D.M. 14/2/3, Museum of New Museum 1913-1931). Zealand, Wellington). Medway, D.G. 2004. The land bird fauna of Stephens Conservationist Perrine Moncrieff spent two Island, New Zealand in the early 1890s, and the cause weeks on Stephens Island, from 14-28 January 1933 of its demise. Notornis 51: 201-211. (Moncrieff 1933). Native land birds recorded by Moncrieff, P.M. 1933. MS journal of visit to Stephens Moncrieff, with her summary of the status of each, Island, 14-28 January 1933. were harrier (seen but not resident, fl y to island Oliver, W.R.B. 1922. Expedition to Stephen Island. Unpubl. from mainland), shining cuckoo (two or three memorandum dated 28/1/1922 to Acting Director, seen), kingfi sher (nesting), pipit (very common, Dominion Museum, Wellington (Museum of New nesting), grey warbler (only one pair seen), tomtit Zealand, Wellington). (one family nesting); fantail (the only fantail seen Turner, E. P. 1916. Report on the dying of the bush on Stephen Island. Unpubl. report to Department of Internal Affairs, was a black one), silvereye (quite plentiful, nesting), Wellington. Copy in Auckland Museum, MS 309. and tui (seen but not resident, fl y to island from mainland). Introduced land birds and their status recorded by Moncrieff were greenfi nch (one of Keywords Stephens Island; land birds