Seasonal movements of New Zealand pigeons from a lowland forest reserve | Notornis and Birds New Zealand

[摘要] Radio-tagging of 54 New Zealand Pigeons (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae) captured at Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve, Marlborough, showed that about half of the birds which fed there in spring on deciduous foliage moved away from the reserve from early summer onwards. They travelled 2-18 km to other areas of native forest. Most remained away for 2-9 months and at least some bred at their summer destinations. Individual birds tracked in different years provided strong evidence for their using traditional seasonal ranges, although the timing of movements varied between years, depending on fruiting phenology and breeding success. Some birds made up to three return movements from and back to Pelorus Bridge within a year, visiting different destinations in different seasons. Late summer and autumn movements were apparently linked to feeding on miro (Prumnopitys ferruginea) fruit. Five of 25 radio-tagged pigeons which moved to known destinations away from the reserve occupied areas of privately owned native forest during the breeding season.

[学科分类] 动物科学

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