Journal of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand Volume 22 Part 4 . December 1975 OFFICERS 1975 - 76 President -Mr. B. D. BELL, Wildlife Service, Dept. of Internal Affairs, Private Bag, Wellington Acting Vice-president -Mrs 1. B. HAMEL, '42 Ann Street, Roslyn, Dunedin Editor - Mr. E. W. DAWSON, P.O. Box 41-002, Eastbourne Treasurer - Mr. H. W. M, HOGG, P.O. Box 3011, Dunedin Secretary - Mr. P. D. GAZE, P.O. Box 30466, Lower Hutt Council Members: Mr. F. H. BOYCE, 19 Marybank Road, Nelson Dr. P. C. BULL, 131 Waterloo Road, Lower Hutt Mr. R. W. JACKSON, 9 Kenrick Road, Rotorua Mr. F. C. KINSKY, National Museum, Private Bag, Wellington Mr. D. V. MERTON, Wildlife Service, Dept. of Internal Affairs, Private Bag, Wellington Mrs. S. M. REED, 4 Mamaku Street, Auckland.5 Mr. R. R. SUTTON, Lorneville Post Office, Invercargill Conveners and Organisers: Rare Birds Committee: Mr. F. C. KINSKY, National Museum, Private Bag, Wellington Beach Patrol: Mr. C. R. VEITCH, Wildlife Service, Dept. of Internal Affairs, P.O. Box 2220, Auckland Card Committee: Mr. B. D. BELL, Wildlife Service, Dept. of Internal Affairs, Wellington Field Investigation Committee: Mr. B. D. BELL Librarian: Miss A. J. GOODWIN, R.D. 1, Clevedon Nest Records: Mr. D. E. CROCKETT, 21 McMillan Ave., Kamo, Whangarei Recording (including material for classified summarised notes) : Mr. A. T. EDGAR, Inlet Road, Kerikeri Representative on Member Bodies' Committee of Royal Society of NZ.: Mr. 11. D. BELL SUBSCRIPTIONS AND MEMBERSHIP Annual Subscription: Ordinary membership $6; HusbandIWife member- ship $9; Life membership $120 (age over 30); Junior member- ship (age under 20) $4.50; Family membership (one Notornis per household) other members of a family living in one house- hold where one is already a member $3; Institutional subscrip tions $10; overseas subscriptions 75 cents extra. Subscriptions are payable on a calendar year basis at the. time of application for membership and on receipt of invoice each January. Prompt payment of subscription will ensure continued receint of Notornis. Applicafions for membership, changes of address and leffers of resig- nation should be sent to the Treasurer. Editorial matters only should be addressed to the Editor. Exchanges and library subscriptions should be referred to the Treasurer. [Registered with POHO, Wellington, as a magazine] CONTENTS WATT, J. P. C. Notes on Whero Island and other roosting and breeding stations of the Stewart Island Shag (Leucocarbo carunculatus chalconotus) ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 265 ST PAUL, R. A bushman's seventeen years of noting birds. Part B - N.Z. Pipit, Grey Warbler, N.I. Fantail and Silvereye ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 273 HAMILTON JUNIOR NATURALISTS' CLUB Nesting of Kokako (Callaeas cinerea wilsoni) at Te Rauamoa ...... 283 MOEED, A. Diets of nestling Starlings and Mynas at Havelock North, Hawkes Bay ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 291 DILKS, P. J. The breeding of the feral pigeon (Columbrr livia) in Hawkes Bay ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 295 IMBER, M. J. Behaviour of petrels in relation to the moon and artificial lights ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 302 HARRISON, K.; HOWELL, P. Observations on a Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) near Christchurch airport, July to October 1974 ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 307 Classified Summarised Notes (Compiled by A. T. Edgar) ...... 313 Short Notes POWELL, W. J. Further sightings of Nankeen Kestrels in Hawkes Bay ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 341 ROBERTSON, C. J. R. Yellow-nosed Mollymawk recorded in the Chatham Islands ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 342 BARTLE, J. A. Further notes on Procellariiformes in Cook Strait 345 CHESHIRE, N. White form of the Southern Giant Petrel: further N.Z. records ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 347 SIBSON, R. B. Some thoughts on a difficult dotterel, Charadrius mongolus ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 347 FLACK, J. A. D. Display of the eyeline by the Chatham Island Warbler ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 294 LOVEGROVE, T. G. Bird notes from Hunua ...... ...... ...... 306 TAYLOR, M. J. A dawn chorus ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 350 Letter SMITH, G. A. Parakeet hybrids ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 351 R.B.S. Henrietta Mary McKenzie, 1897-1975 ...... ...... ...... 353 Reviews J.W. The Life of Birds, by Welty ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... 355 E.W.D. Native birds of New Zealand, by Brathwaite ...... ...... 356 E.W.D. The N.Z. Environment 1968-1974. A bibliography ...... 356 About our authors ...... .. .. .. .. .. ...... ...... 357 XVIth International Ornithological Congress ...... ...... ...... 359 The Society and its officers ...... ...... ...... inside front cover Regional Representatives ...... ..... ...... ...... inside back cover Printed by TE RAU PRESS LTD., Peel Street, Gisborne REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES &~\~~~~f~:/ D. E. Crockett, 21 McMillan Ave., Karno, Whangarei AUCKLAND: Mrs. S. Reed, 4 Mamaku Street, Auckland 5 SOUTH AUCKLAND: Mrs. Beth Brown, 39 Red Hill Rd., Papakura WAIKATO: T. Crocker, C/- Student Village, University of Waikato, Hamilton I BAY OF PLENTY: R. M. Weston, 250 River Road, Kawerau VOLCANIC PLATEAU: R. W. Jackson, 9 Kenrick Road, Rotorua GISBORNE/WAIROA: J.. C. Henley, 9 Mason Street, Gisborne TARANAKI: R. W. Wheeler, 307a Carrington Street, New Plymouth MANAWATU:, Dr I. G. Andrew, 6 Eton Place, Palmerston North HAWKES BAY: N. B. Mackenzie, Wildlife Trust, Main Road, Westshore, Napier WAIRARAPA: Miss H. Cook, 15 Wallace Street, Featherston WANGANUI: Michael O'Shea, 29 London Street, Wanganui WELLINGTON: M. L. Falconer, 188 Miromiro Road, Normandale, Lower Hutt NELSON: F. H. Boyce, 19 Marybank Road. Nelson MARLBOROUGH: J. A. Cowie, P.0. Box 59, Kaikoura CANTERBURY: R. Guest, P.O. Box 13343, Christchurch WEST COAST: Miss Joan Douglas, C/- Millerton P.O., via Westport OTAGO: Mrs. J. B. Hamel, 42 Ann Street, Roslyn, Dunedin SOUTHLAND: R. R. Sutton, P.O., Lorneville, Invercargill LITERATURE AVAILABLE From all bookshops: Annotated checklist of the birds of New zealand. (OSNZ) $4.95 A field guide to the birds of New Zealand, by R. A. Falla, R. B. Sibson and E. G. Turbolt, 2nd rev. ed. $5.00 From B. D. Heather, 10 Jocelyn Crescent, Pinehaven, Upper Huff: A biology of birds, by B. D. Heather. $1.33 From B. A. Ellis, 44 Braithwaife Street, Wellington 5: Field guide to the waders, by H. T. Condon & A. R. McGill. Post Free $1.20 The following are available from Mrs I. F. Skinner, P.O. Box 60083, Titirangi, Auckland 7: Back numbers of ' Notornis ' a.t 75c (Vols 2-13) and $1 .(Vols 14-21) and $1.50 (Vol 22-) per part. Complete sets available. OS~ZLibrary catalogue, 70 pp. 50c Banding reports, Nos 8-14, 50c each. Nos 1-7 are incorporated in early issues of N~tornis.~ Kermadec Expedition, 1964, by A. T. Edgar. 45c NOTORNIS is the journal of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand (Inc.) Editor: E. W. Dawson, P.O. BOX41-002, EASTBOURNE VOLUME 22 PART 4 DECEMBER, 1975 NOTES ON WHEW0 ISLAND AND OTHER ROOSTING AND BREEDING STATIONS OF THE STEWART ISLAND SHAG (Leucocarbo carunculatus chalconotus) By J P. C WATT ABSTRACT The adoption of Whero Island as a breeding station by the dimorphic Stewart Island Shag over the last 20 years is described. A review of other known breeding stations of this subspecies suggests that breeding sites are subject to periods of nontenancy. The relatively few records of the Stewart Island Shag indicate a distribution restricted to Foveaux Strait, and the Otago coast at Moeraki and near Dunedin. The total population is unlikely to exceed a few thousand birds. INTRODUCTION Whero (or Passage) Island at the entrance to Paterson Inlet, Stewart Island, must be one of the most intensively studied 0.2 hectares of sea bird habitat on the N.Z. coast (Richdale, 1942, c1944, 1963, 1965a, 196513). Motivated by the scientific possibilities offered by this " unspoilt treasure of virgin New Zealand " Richdale spent an aggregate of 29 weeks camped on the island in the years 1938 to 1942, and for further periods totalling 67 weeks through to 1956-57. While largely a study that he pursued in his own time, grants from the Nufield Foundation after 1952 enabled him to concentrate on the biology of the Muttonbird and on preparing manuscripts. The Southland branch of the Royal Society also assisted him, particularly with the provision of a hut. The absence of cats and rats on Whero, together with its compact size, made it an ideal field laboratory, and one from which predator impact on petrel populations on neighbouring islands could be gauged. Over 3000 seabirds were estimated to be on the island in the early 1940's. Eight species were reported nesting: the Diving Petrel (Pelecanoides urinatrix), White-faced Storm Petrel (Pelagodroma marina . maoriana), Broad-billed Prion (Pachyptila vittata), Fairy Prion 266 WATT NOTORNIS 22 (Pachyptila turtur), Sooty Shearwater (PufJinus griseus), Southern Skua (Stercorarius skua lonnbergi), and the introduced Starling (Sturnus vulgaris vulgaris) and Hedge Sparrow (Prunella modularis occidentalis). In later years the Blue Shag (Stictocarbo punctatus steadi) and Stewart Island Shag (Leucocarbo carunculatus chalcanotus) were added to the list. The five petrel species burrowed in ' loamy ' soil of up to 0.45 metres formed under a plant cover comprising the woody tree daisy ' tete-a-weka ' (Olearia angustifolia) which grew to 5 metres, punui (Stilbocarpa lyalli), Muehlenbeckia sp., and sedge and Poa species.