Australian and NZ names for birds from southern hemisphere migrating northwards (1 Viewer)

[Andy Hurley]

You lost me. You imply a link between this and PB's comment about long-tailed koel?
Faunal regions and their distinctness may have their roots in the movements of tectonic plates - or may not.

Sorry, I didn't mean to. I think the definition of Australasia is not clear in my mind at least. This threw me a bit.

Australasia | Realm & Subrealms | One Earth is one definition and I am sure there are many others.

The fact that the southern part of New Guinea and Australia share a tectonic plate may also be a reason they are seen as one region by e.g. RAMSAR.org, but I don't know.

They list Oceania as Australia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Is, New Zealand, Palau, PNG, Samoa and Vanuatu. (See Countries | The Convention on Wetlands, The Convention on Wetlands. This may be because they only having Ramsar sites in those countries.)

They don't include many south Pacific islands or any north of the equator, or Indonesian Islands in their definition, so Australasia and Oceania are clearly two different entities, each with more than one definition.

Too much confusion for my brain to cope with..
https://www.ramsar.org/country-profile/vanuatu

 

[Andy Hurley]

I'm trying to find out the breeding and winter ranges of the [[Rainbow Bee-eater]]. According to Opus and Avibase: Australia, eastern Indonesia, New Guinea and, occasionally, the Solomon Islands. e.g. they don't migrate but probably disperse instead.

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_bee-eaters are a common species and can be found during the summer in forested areas in most of southern Australia, excluding Tasmania. They migrate north during the winter into northern Australia, New Guinea, and some of the southern islands of Indonesia.[6][3] A vagrant has been recorded on Miyako Island, Japan.[8]

6 Pizzy and Knight OZ Field guide 3 BotW 8 Ikenaga, Hiroshi et al. (2009). "Analysis and reconfirmation of a bee-eater specimen from Japan". Ornithological Science. 8 (2): 169–171. doi:10.2326/osj.8.169. S2CID 84797852.

And http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/sowb/flyways/8_EastAsia_Australasia_NEW.pdf Very few Australian breeding birds migrate beyond the country's borders and of those that do (e.g.Channel-billed Cuckoo Scythrops novaehollandiae, Sacred Kingfisher Todiramphus sanctus and Rainbow Bee-eater Merops ornatus) none penetrate Asia beyond Wallace’s Line

Any of you Aussie birders know which is which?

Thanks for you help

 

[Andy Hurley]

I'm trying to find out the breeding and winter ranges of the [[Rainbow Bee-eater]]. According to Opus and Avibase: Australia, eastern Indonesia, New Guinea and, occasionally, the Solomon Islands. e.g. they don't migrate but probably disperse instead.

Sorted!

 

[Andy Hurley]

This is what I've added to the Migration - BirdForum Opus wrt austral migration in Australia and New Zealand. If anything is incorrect or missing, feel free to add it to this thread. Many thanks again for all your help!

• Austral Migration. Austral breeders generally do not regularly migrate in Australasia. There are some exceptions.
• Australian species that migrate within the country include;
• Baillon's Crake Z. p. palustris The population that breeds in southern Australia, winters to north.
• Scarlet Myzomela migrates north in the austral autumn and return in the spring using the eastern coastline.
• Yellow-faced Honeyeater also migrates north in the austral autumn, returning in the spring using the eastern seaboard.
• Welcome Swallow H.n. neoxena breeds in south-eastern and eastern Australia, including Tasmania, with some migrating north to north-eastern Australia.
• Tasmanian breeders that cross the Bass Strait include;
• Silvereye Z. l. lateralis breeds in Tasmania and Flinders Island (Bass Strait), winters to coastal eastern Australia.
• Swift Parrot Breeds in Tasmania, winters to south-east mainland Australia.
• Orange-bellied Parrot Breeds in south-western Tasmania, winters to coastal south-eastern Australia.
• New Zealand's breeding migrants that cross the Tasman Sea, include;
• Double-banded Plover
• New Zealand's South Island breeding migrants that cross the Cook Strait include;
• Wrybill Endemic to New Zealand. Breeds in northern river beds on South Island and winters to North Island.
• Black Stilt is restricted during the breeding season to the upper Waitaki Valley, South Island. Small numbers overwinter to North Island.

• Those moving outside Australasia include;
• Shining Bronze Cuckoo C.l. lucidus breeds in New Zealand and winters to northern Melanesia, C.l.plagosus breeds in southern Australia and Tasmania and winters to Queensland and northern Melanesia.
• Australian Pratincole breeds in Australia and winters to southern New Guinea and Greater Sundas.
• Buff-breasted Paradise Kingfisher T. s. sylvia Breeds in northern Queensland and winters to New Guinea.
• Channel-billed Cuckoo S. n. novaehollandiae breeds in northern and eastern Australia and winters to New Guinea, Lesser Sundas, and Moluccas
• Long-tailed Koel Breeds in New Zealand, Kapiti, Great and Little Barrier, Stewart and Chatham Islands and Kermadecs. Migrates to Oceania, found in non-breeding season in Palau, Carolines and Marshalls through Fiji, Tonga and Samoa to Cook, Society Islands, Marquesas and and Pitcairn Islands. Also on Bismarck Archipelago, Solomons, Vanuatu, Norfolk Island, Lord Howe Island and on various other islands.
• Pacific Koel E. o. subcyanocephalus Breeds northwestern Australia to northwestern Queensland, winters to southern Moluccas. E. o. cyanocephalus Breeds northern Queensland to southern New South Wales, winters to Moluccas.
• Horsfield's Bronze Cuckoo Breeds in Australia including Tasmania. Winters to Java and irregularly beyond (e.g. Singapore)
• Sacred Kingfisher T. s. sanctus Breeds in Australia to the Solomon Islands, winters to New Guinea.
• Rainbow Bee-eater Breeds in Australia, eastern Indonesia and New Guinea. Winters to Northern Australia, Sulawesi, the Banda Arc and New Guinea.
• Australian Pelican Breeds Australia and Tasmania, winters to New Guinea.
• Brush Cuckoo C. v. variolosus (Australian Brush Cuckoo) Breeds northern and eastern Australia, winters to Moluccas and New Guinea
• Torresian Imperial Pigeon The Australian Top End Northern Territories populations are migratory, crossing the Torres Strait from New Guinea in August and departing by April.
• Pied Stilt Breeds from Indonesia to Australia and New Zealand, winters to the Philippines.
• Australian Hobby F. l. longipennis Breeds southwestern and southeastern Australia and Tasmania. It is partially migratory, winters to the Moluccas, New Guinea, and New Britain
• Plumed Egret Australian birds may winter to New Guinea.

 

[Dave Boyle]

Just to be pedantic, Long-tailed Cuckoo doesn't breed in the Chathams, it's just a very rare vagrant - I only know of 3 records

 

[Andy Hurley]

Just to be pedantic, Long-tailed Cuckoo doesn't breed in the Chathams, it's just a very rare vagrant - I only know of 3 records

Not pedantic Dave! Just the sort of info that is needed! Thanks very much!

 

[Andy Hurley]

A final note;
I found this passage in a paper by Hugh Dingle, "Bird migration in the southern hemisphere: a review comparing continents" in Emu, 2008, 108, 341–359

Finally, although the term ‘austral migrant’ is often used to mean migrants in South America (e.g. Chesser 1994; Jahn et al. 2004), I follow Hayes (1995) and use it here as a term for migration by birds breeding anywhere within the southern hemisphere.