WOOD, K.A. (1998). Distribution and abundance of landbirds in the County of Camden, New South Wales. Corella22: 1--16. (7 Eastern Ave., Mangerton, NSW 2500, Australia).

From 1988 to 1991, 15 to 37 teams of observers performed bi-annual, timed counts in 22 sub-areas of the County of Camden. Cumulatively, 92 observers counted 254,886 birds of 243 species. Data from these counts wore combined with data from similar counts in seven other sub-areas of the County of Camden from 1982 to 1987 to quantify distribution and abundance of 167 landbird species in six physiographic regions.

REILLY, P. (1998). Waterbirds on a small estuarine wetland - a six year study. Corella22: 17--23. (19 Lialeeta Ave., Fairhaven, Vic 3231, Australia).

Bird species and numbers on a small estuarine wetland in south-western Victoria were recorded for six years from 1990 to 1995 inclusive. Observations were made by telescope at least once daily and the maximum number of birds was recorded each half-month. Note was taken of the water level. Some seasonality and a preference for low to medium water levels was shown. This permanent wetland is important for its aesthetic value, as a foraging area and as a refuge in times of drought.

FITRI, L.L. & H.A. FORD. (1998). Aggression among Hooded Robins Melanodryas cucullata and other birds. Corella 22: 24--29. (Div. Zool., Univ. New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia).

Male Hooded Robins Melanodryas cucullata displayed more aggression towards conspecifics than did females, and may be involved in more aggression with other species. Intraspecific aggression was infrequent, with 2.5 acts per hour, probably because the species occurs at low density and most groups have few neighbours.

Most interspecific aggression was directed at ecologically similar ground or aerial foraging insectivores, such as other robins, Jacky Winters Microeca fascinans and Willie Wagtails Rhipidura leucophrys. This could have been due to misdirected intraspecific aggression, as these species resemble either male or female Hooded Robins, or due to potential competition for food. Smaller ground-feeding insectivores, such as thornbills, were also the recipients of Hooded Robin aggression.

Several interactions involved the notoriously aggressive honeyeaters, though Robins were often the aggressor rather than recipient of aggression. Robins sometimes attacked potential nest predators, such as Laughing Kookaburras Dacelo novaeguineae. Female Robins showed injury-feigning behaviour to an intruding Kookaburra and often to people near to her nest.

WOOLLER, R.D & S.J. WOOLLER. (1998). Wear rates of aluminium and stainless steel leg bands on Silver Gulls.Corella22: 29--31. (Biol. Sci., Murdoch Univ., WA 6150, Australia).

Aluminium wears more rapidly possibly causing differential band loss between studies.

LANE, S.G. (1998). An alternative method for applying shearwater bands (size 16SS).Corella 22: 32--33. (66 Fairview Rd., Moonee via Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450, Australia).

Three stage closure using Lambourne pliers.

GEERING, D.J., M. MADDOCK, G.R. CAM, C. IRELAND, S.A. HALSE & G.B. PEARSON (1998). Movement patterns of Great, Intermediate and Little Egrets from Australian breeding colonies.Corella22: 37--46. (Nat. Resour. Environ., P.O. Box 500, E. Melbourne, Vic. 3002, Australia).

The current state of knowledge about the movements of Great, Intermediate and Little Egrets from Australian breeding colonies is reviewed using published work, data provided by the Australian Bird and Bat Banding Scheme and the records of Project Egret Watch at the Shortland Wetlands Centre. The limited data available suggest that the three egret species undertake movements to all points of the compass but that inland birds tend to move north towards Queensland and New Guinea. Data from the coastal colonies in New South Wales indicate that fledglings disperse to foraging and night roosting locations on the floodplain where the colony is situated, before embarking on long-distance migration. Long-distance movements (up to 3 000 km) soon after fledging have been recorded from colonies in coastal and inland New South Wales and Western Australia. There is some evidence that a seasonal migration between nesting colonies and wintering locations may take place for at least some birds originating from coastal colonies.

BRIGGS, S,V., W.G. LAWLER & S.A. THORNTON. (1998). Relationships between control of water regimes in River Red Gum wetlands and abundance of water birds.Corella22: 47--55. (C/- CSIRO, P.O. Box 84, Lyneham, ACT 2602, Australia).

Twelve wetlands on the floodplain of the Murrumbidgee River (Murray-Darling Basin, Australia) were surveyed for waterbirds while they were flooded during 1989-90. At six of the wetlands, water regimes were controlled slightly or not at all; at the other six sites water regimes were controlled moderately or heavily. Abundances of six species of waterbird were related to control of water regimes at the wetlands during the early, middle and/or late stages of the flood. Little Pied Cormorants, White-faced Herons and ducks favoured wetlands with no or low degrees of water control during the early flood phase. Little Black and Little Pied Cormorants preferred wetlands with medium or heavy control of their water regimes during the late flood stage. Relationships between abundances of waterbirds and areas of wetland habitats varied with flood phase. During the first phase of flooding, abundances of several species of waterbirds were correlated with wetland area; during the second stage a few species were; and during the third stage of flooding, abundances of Pelecaniformes and the Pacific Black Duck were correlated with wetland area. The percentage of all waterbirds that were on the heavily regulated wetlands increased between the middle and late flood phases.

LAVEN, N.H & R. MACNALLY*. (1998). Association of birds with fallen timber in box-ironbark forest of central Victoria.Corella22: 56--60. (*Sec. Ecol., Dept. Biol. Sci., Monash Univ., Clayton, Vic. 3168, Australia).

The potential role of fallen timber in influencing avian microhabitat use was examined in box-ironbark forests in the Dunolly forest block in central Victoria, Australia. Six sites with relatively high levels of fallen timber across each site were selected. Within each site, areas with ('debris' areas) and without ('empty' areas) piles of fallen timber were delineated. In another six sites with virtually no fallen timber, comparable areas without fallen timber also were selected. We found that birds occurred more frequently and in greater diversity in areas with fallen timber than in areas without fallen timber, irrespective of whether the latter were in sites where the overall availability of timber was high or low. Thus, the occurrence of piles of fallen timber appears to influence the spatial location of birds in the forests. We consider two explanations for this pattern, namely, food availability and shelter.

GEERING, D.J. (1998). Playback tapes as an aid for mist-netting Regent Honeyeaters.Corella22: 61--63. (Nat. Resour. Environ., P.O. Box 500, E. Melbourne, Vic. 3002, Australia).

Playback tapes are a useful tool in censusing birds but their use as an aid for trapping birds for banding is generally overlooked. In the Capertee Valley, New South Wales, Regent Honeyeaters reacted strongly to playback tapes during the breeding season and were readily caught in mist-nets with the use of tapes. This technique offered great advantages over previously used techniques that were both time and labour intensive.

FRANKLIN, D.C. & T.A. BARNES. (1998). The downy young and juvenile of the Chestnut Rail, with notes on development. Corella22: 64--66. (Bioregional Assessment Unit, Pks. Wildl. Comm. NT, P.O. Box 496, Palmerston, NT 0831, Australia).

We describe the downy young and juvenile stages of the Chestnut Rail, a large, little-known rail of tropical mangrove forests, and provide notes on development. The information was obtained from four birds of two clutches hatched in the wild but raised in captivity. Young are precocial. Moult from downy to juvenile plumage commences at about three weeks of age and is substantially complete by six weeks of age. Juveniles are separable from adults mainly or solely on the colour of the eyes, bill and legs, distinctions which disappear well before one year of age.

CHARLEY, D.L. (1998). Seabird Islands No. 237: Cook Island, New South Wales. Corella22: 67--68. (13 Hurley St., Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia).
 
 

CHATTO, R. (1998). Seabird Islands No. 238: Higginson Islet, North-east Arnhemland, Northern Territory.Corella22: 69--70. (Pks. Wildl. Comm. NT, P.O. Box 496, Palmerston, NT 0830, Australia).
 
 

FRANKLIN, D.C., P.L. DOSTINE & S.A. TIDEMANN. (1998). Post- juvenile moult strategies of co-existing Gouldian, Long-tailed and Masked Finches. Corella 22: 73--79. (Pks. Wildl. Comm. NT, P.O. Box 496, Palmerston, NT 0831, Australia.).

The post-juvenile moult strategies of three coexisting woodland finch species in monsoonal northern Australia were compared. Juvenile Gouldian Finches tended to moult at the same time of year as each other regardless of age, whereas in juvenile Long-tailed and Masked Finches the commencement of moult was progressive through the year and may be related more directly to the age of the individual. Gouldian Finches retained obvious juvenile characters for longer than the other species. Juvenile Gouldian Finches undertook only a partial post-juvenile primary moult in their first year whereas in the Long-tailed and Masked Finch, the primary moult was complete. Primary moult of juvenile Masked Finches was more rapid than that of either Gouldian or Long-tailed Finches. In all three species, the post-juvenile primary moult occurred at the same time as that of adults. Juvenile Long-tailed and Masked Finches undertook this moult at a similar rate to adults. In contrast, the post-juvenile primary moult of the Gouldian Finch was much slower than that of adults, and the partial primary moult is probably required in order to finish the moult prior to Wet season dispersal. Juvenile Gouldian Finches moult at a time of the year when food availability is low. This is a seemingly anomalous and potentially stressful situation about which they may have little evolutionary choice given that Gouldian Finches are highly mobile exploiters of ephemeral food sources in the Wet season.

NEIL, V. & A. HILL. (1998). Mate guarding in the Magpie-lark. Corella 22: 80--86. (Dept. Biol. Sci. Psychol., Monash Univ., Clayton, Vic. 3168, Australia).

Socially monogamous Magpie-larks Grallina cyanoleuca were studied to evaluate whether the potential for sperm competition was reduced by mate guarding or frequent copulation with the mate. Breeding among nearby pairs was sufficiently asynchronous to generate opportunities for extra-pair copulations, but frequent intra-pair copulation was not evident. The mean intra-pair and pair-to-nest distances were significantly smaller in the female's fertile period than at other times in the breeding cycle. Males were significantly more likely than females to both pursue and approach their mate, particularly during the fertile period, and thereby maintain or reduce the intra-pair distance. Males thus regulated the intra-pair distance. Eighty-three per cent of territorial intrusions by conspecifics elicited aggressive approaches by the paired, territorial male. Intrusions did not elicit male aggression significantly more often during the female's fertile period, but they did cause an immediate reduction in the intra-pair distance more frequently at this time. Collectively these observations suggest that male Magpie-larks exhibited mate guarding with the potential to reduce the chance of cuckoldry. Some alternative explanations for the behavioural trends observed are reviewed and considered less likely.

EMISON, W.B., V.G. HURLEY, C.M. WHITE & D.J. BRIMM. (1998). Results from a banding study of Peregrine Falcon chicks in Victoria, 1972-1997. Corella22; 87--91. (Invertebrate Zool., Mus. Vic., P.O. Box 666E, Melbourne, Vic. 3001, Australia).

Since 1972, 807 Peregrine Falcon chicks have been banded in Victoria and 66 of these have been either recovered or resighted. There was a slight but significant (P < 0.05) female-bias in the sex ratios of both the nestlings banded and the subsequent band recoveries. Most (69.7%) recoveries were made more than 4 km from banding (nest) sites. Of the 66 recoveries, 60 were of either dead or injured birds, with the main determinable cause being flying accidents, particularly collisions with vehicles and overhead or fence wires. Females dispersed further, may have settled and bred further from their natal sites, and lived longer than did males. A large portion of the recoveries of banded birds were made within one year of their leaving the nests. Most recoveries of banded birds less than one year old were made within the first six months (December-May) of their leaving the nests, whereas recoveries of those birds which survived the first year were most often made during the four main breeding months of August-November.

RICHARDS, G. (1998). Elevated nets for catching high foraging species. Corella22: 92--93. ("Touchwood", Tullymorgan, NSW 2463, Australia).

Deployed between two trees using ropes, poles, clips and plastic rings as pulleys.

FRANKLIN, D.C. & R.A. NOSKE. (1998). Local movements of Honeyeaters in a sub-coastal vegetation mosaic in the Northern Territory. Corella 22: 97--103. (Pks. Wildl. Comm. NT, P.O. Box 496, Palmerston, NT 0831, Australia).

We examined the local, movements of honeyeaters in a vegetation mosaic near Darwin, Northern Territory over a 39-month period using mark-recapture banding and unquantified observations of nectar availability and the presence of birds. Thirty nectar source species provided nectar throughout the year, with the exception of interludes of several weeks between periods of prolific flowering during the Wet season. At least five species of honeyeater were present in the 470 ha study area throughout the study period. Banding returns suggest a moderate level of between-year site fidelity, as well as some local movements between nectar sources and habitats. Mark-resight techniques may prove more effective than mark-recapture techniques in further exploration of the patterns observed.

STEPHENSON, B.M, E.O. MINOT & P. OLSEN. (1998). Capturing, marking and radio-tracking a small owl, the Southern Boobook Ninox novaeseelandiae in Australasia. Corella22: 104--107. (Ecol. Sec., Inst. Nat. Resour., Massey Univ., Priv. Bag 11-222, Palmerston N., NZ).

This paper describes capture, marking and radio-tracking techniques for the Southern Boobook Ninox novaeseelandiae in Australasia. Techniques outlined include the use of taped calls and mist-nets, colour bands and reflective tape, handling and attachment of radio transmitters using harnesses.

ROGERS, K.G. & D. I. ROGERS. (1998). Primary moult should be recorded inside out.Corella22: 108--110. (340 Ninks Rd., St Andrews, Vic. 3761, Australia).

The primary moult scores of Red-necked Stints obtained when moult is recorded from the inside to the outside of the wing differ from those obtained when moult is recorded from the outside in. It is suggested that this is because moult of inner primaries is more likely to be recorded accurately when the inner primary is used as the starting point.

SPENNEMANN, D.H.R. (1998). A note on the nineteenth century sighting of a species of ground-dwelling bird on Bokak, a northern atoll of the Marshall Islands. Corella22: 111-112. (The Johnstone Ctr., Charles sturt Univ., P.O. Box 789, Albury, NSW 2640, Australia).

Absence of extant Rail could be due to extermination by former plumage hunters or a sighting of a non-breeding vagrant.

FULLER, P.J. & A.A. BURBIDGE. (1998). Seabird Islands No. 239: Bedout Island, Pilbara Region, Western Australia. Corella22: 113--115. (WA Dept. CALM, P.O. Box 51, Wanneroo, WA 6065, Australia).
 
 

FULLER, P.J. & A.A. BURBIDGE. (1998). Seabird Islands No. 240: North Turtle Island, Pilbara Region, Western Australia.Corella22: 116--117. (WA Dept. CALM, P.O. Box 51, Wanneroo, WA 6065, Australia).
 
 

BURBIDGE, A.A. & P.J. FULLER. (1998). Seabird Islands No. 241: Montebello Islands, Pilbara Region, Western Australia. Corella22: 118--121. ( WA Dept. CALM, P.O. Box 51, Wanneroo, WA 6065, Australia).

Description of island, access limitations, ornithological history, breeding seabirds and factors affecting their status. Notes current radiation hazards.

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