– Adult
Ads – Adults
Br – Breeding
N-br – Non-Breeding
C – Central
Cf. – Compare to
E – East(ern)
E. – Endemic
Esp. – Especially
Excl. – Excluding
Extr. – Extreme
I – Introduced
I. – Island
Irr – Irregular visitor
Is – Islands
Imm. – Immature
Imms – Immatures
Incl. – Including
Juv. – Juvenile
Juvs – Juveniles
L – Length in cm
N – North(ern), etc.; also in combination with E and W
NI – New Zealand’s North Island
Nom. – Nominate; the subspecies of a species that was the first described
Pl – Plate
R – Rare
S – South(ern)
Sec – Second or seconds
SI – New Zealand’s South Island
Ssp – Subspecies
Ssps – > 1 subspecies
Thr. – Throughout
V – Vagrant
W – Wingspan in cm; can also mean West(ern): depends on context
Countries
A.Sa – American Samoa
Co – Cook Islands
Fi – Fiji
FrPo – French Polynesia
Gu – Guam
Ha – Hawaii
Ki – Kiribati
Ma – Marshall Islands
Mi – Micronesia
Na – Nauru
Ni – Niue
NMa – Northern Marianas
NZ – New Zealand
Pa – Palau
Pi – Pitcairn Islands
Sa – Samoa
Tok – Tokelau
Ton – Tonga
Tu – Tuvalu
WaF – Wallis and Futuna
Glossary
Endemic A species that occurs only in an area with well-defined boundaries such as a continent, a country, an island or a habitat.
Forest A tall, multi-layered habitat in which high trees dominate the canopy, which is continuous and closed.
Gallery forest A riverine belt that is dominated by trees.
Jizz Typical silhouette and stance of a bird species.
Riverine belt Any growth along a river or stream that is higher and greener than the more distant surroundings.
Rufescent Tinged with red-rufous colour.
Savanna In this book: any (large) area with a continuous cover of (high) grasses, interrupted by shrub and (5–30%) tree canopy.
Second growth New natural forest developing in places where the original forest has disappeared.
Speculum Patch of colour on the wing contrasting with that of the rest of the wing.
Transient plumage Stage between Br and N-br plumages with traces of Br plumage still visable.
Woodland A habitat in which trees dominate, but the canopy is not closed.
Parts of a Bird
Introduction
Systematics and Names
In order to apply a uniform systematic approach and set of names that are valid in New Zealand, Hawaii, the USA, Asia, Europe and anywhere else, this book follows James F. Clements The Clements Checklist of the Birds of the World, 6th Edition (Helm, 2007) with regard to systematic status (species or subspecies) and names (scientific and English).
However, the best-known or most widely used common names used by New Zealanders and in Hawaii should not be neglected, if only to make it easier to find the birds of this book in regional publications. Therefore, alternative English names for species, advised by the Ornithological Society of New Zealand (OSNZ) for New Zealand and by the American Ornithological Union (AOU) for Hawaii, are indicated as insertions in the ‘Clements name’, preceded by ‘NZ’ or ‘AOU’ in superscript. For example:
the species indicated by number 20.9 (Plate 20, number 9) in this book is named the ‘INTERMEDIATE (or NZPlumed) EGRET’; the ‘Clements name’ is INTERMEDIATE EGRET, while the ‘OSNZ name’ is PLUMED EGRET;
number 28.1 in this book is named the ‘(NZAustralian) WHITE-EYED DUCK’; the ‘Clements name’ is WHITE-EYED DUCK and the ‘OSNZ name’ is AUSTRALIAN WHITE-EYED DUCK.
In a few cases, well-known alternative names are inserted in the ‘Clements names’, such as:
41.5 SNOWY (or Kentish) PLOVER
There are also many local names for subspecies, mentioned by the OSNZ and in use for those that occur in New Zealand; these names are given in numbered notes following the captions. An example is:
38.5 PURPLE SWAMPHEN44 Porphyrio porphyrio
ssp melanotus NZPukeko;
ssp pelewensis [Palau]
ssp samoensis [Samoa and Fiji]
In
