OCEANIC BIRD LIFE

Hokitika Guardian, 18 October 1930, Page 3

OCEANIC BIRD LIFE

0 if THE DANA EXPEDITION. EXPERIENCES IN NEW ZEALAND iff , .f; WATERS. LONDON, Sept. 5. Slflie Danish Research ship Dana, sent out for a two years’ expedition round the world, by the Carjsberg Foundation in Copenhagen, under the leadership of Professor Jobs. Schmidt, director of the Oarlsiberg Laboratory, spent the months of December, 1928, and Jan jj ary. 1929, in New Zealand waters'! fFrom January 2nd to 13th, ihveist)i)gafiions were carried out in the waters east of New Zealand on a cruise)* going out from Auckland in a

southerly direction to a position sitmated about 49deg. S. Lat. and 177 deg. E. Long., from there going west to about 172 deg. E. Long., and farther north along, the east coast of the South Island *to Wellington. . AN-brief Account' ol the experiences in New Zealand waters is given hi Dr P Jesperson, of Copenhagen, in the. issue of August 23rd of the journal “Nature.” “As we had with us in New Zealand waters the New Zealand.. geologist, Mr R. A. Falla, a keen and clever ornithologist, on hoard the Dana as guest,” says the writer, ‘‘tlie ornithological observations on this cruise were made with a higher, degree of accuracy than in ordinary, circumstances. In very few areas-rtif the world, are the bird belonging to the order Tubinares represented by so many different species as in the New Zealand waters, and as Air Falla has especially studied, these birds, it is first of all due to Mr Falla’s knowledge about these ovaniy birds that the ornithplogical observations were so,extensive on .tir.s j articular cruise.”

With the. aid of diagrams and maps, Dr Jesperson shows that the two species '‘lie pale-footed shearwater (Puffinus earneipes) and Cpok’f Petrel Pterouroma cooki), hot h of which were observed in large nnmyinNthe waters round the north crpaSi >.pf the North Island, already ceasexi ito. appear when they passed off this--East Cape (.about 38deg. 8.). Beth species are also known to breed or. islets north of this point. Other northern breeding species extend their distribution more tp the south. In Cook strait they thus found the southern limit for the appearance of the white-faced Storm-Petrel . (Pelagodroma marina), but in regard to thils species it must be mentioned that its breeding area is not restricted, only to the North Island of. New Zealand, as it is also noted as breeding on Chatham Island and Auckland Island.

'“The southern limit shown, there fore, apparently only accounts ior the New, Zealand breeding specimen' of this species. A little more to tinsmith i.about ,42deg S 1 we find the most southern occurrence of the greatwinged Petrel (Pterodroma nrncropteraj, and „ the . grey-backed silearwater / Puffiitus buUeri) is oltfervecl as far south as off Banks Peninsula (about ,44deg. S.). Both the ' lastnamed species are in these regions only found breeding on the North Island of New Zealand and .surrounding islets.

“As we gradually came moie to the (south we met several species of birds at sea which we had not observed before, and all these species were breeding on the South Island of New Zealand, or in more southern latitudes. The northern limit of the southern, breeding species in this month off the year was found about 44deg. S. ’ “Off Banks Peninsula u:c thus met the first specimen of the 'broad-billed Prior (Prion vittatus), which is recorded as breeding on Stewart Island and Chatham Islands, but elsewhere on inlands under more southern latitudes. A little more the south we fixed the northern limit for the Pintad Petrel or Cape Pigeon (Daptioii capense), as this species is commonly called by sailors. The nearest known breeding place for this speoi.es is Antarctica, although it probably occurs at. the Snares and other sub-Antarc-tic islands. ■ FIRST OF THE SKUAS. “About 4odeg-4Gdeg S. Lat. the first specimen of the dark Skua (Catharacta Lonnbergi) was observed. • This species which is recorded 1 as breeding on the. South Island of New Zealand, appeared always singly. In the most southern part of the area investigated—between and 47deg S. Lat.— we further noted other species, which are only known breeding in the South Island or. in the sub-Antarctic islands of New Zealand'. There were the fol. lowing: the grey-backed Storm-Petrel (Garrodia nereis), Peale’s Petrel (Pterodroma lessoni), all of which only appeared as single specimens. In most oases the largest numbers of birds were observed during the morning and foreiioon, and nearly all were flying in an easterly direction, presumably indicating that they were breeding birds making seaward from land. . SPECIES OF ALBATROSS. “For certain species of sea-birds it has not been possible within this area to determine limits tor their distribution. Two species of Albatros s (Diometla exoinns and Thalassorclie molnnoplirys) and the Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus)—the nearest breeding places for these are presumably the sub-Antarctic island south of New Zealand—we thus met a little north of New Zealand and within the whole investigated area, and the Fluttering Shearwater (Puffinus gavis), which is found breeding both on the North and South Islands nod on the Snares south of New Zealand, was recorded rathei near land along the coast of both the

North and the South Islands. Furthermore, it may be mentioned that the Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus prisons) which is known to breed on. both the New Zealand Islands, on the southgoing trip was seen about 44dog. south latitude, but during the following part of the route, as well as in Cook Strait, the species was observed daily and sometimes in large numbers. To complete the list of large oceanic birds which were observed and determined with certainty during this cruse, it may be mentioned that several specimens of the Fairy Prion and the Little Penguin were observed during the passage through the Haurakj Gulk as well as in Cook Strait.”