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Post by Melanie on Jul 12, 2008 23:10:08 GMT
Fam.TETRAONIDÆ
Coturnix Novæ Zealandiæ (New-Zealand Quail.)
Coturnix novæ zealandiæ, Quoy et Gaim. Voy. de l'Astr. (Zool.) i. p. 242, pl. 24. fig. 1
(1830).
Native names.–Koreke and Kokoreke.
ad. supra rufescenti-brunneus: dorsi plumis medialiter fulvo striatis, utrinque nigro marginatis, plumis
quibusdam nigro irregulariter maoulatis aut vermiculatis: pileo saturatius brunneo, supercilio et linea
verticali fulvescentibus: collo postico et laterali fulvescente: facie laterali et gutture toto castaneis, genis et
regione auriculari paullo nigricante variis: tectricibus alarum minimis et medianis dorso concoloribus, his
magis fulvescentioribus: remigibus nigricantibus, secundariis anguste fulvo vermiculatis: rectricibus nigris,
fulvo transfasciatis, scapis etiam rufescenti-fulvis: subtus albioans, pectore superiore et abdomine imo
fulvescentibus: pectoris plumis nigro marmoratis, fascia latâ nigrâ transfasciatis, abdominis plumis fasciis
sagittiformibus nigris notatis: hypochondriis rufescenti-fulvis nigro transversim irregulariter fasciatis, et
conspicue medialiter albo striatis: crisso et subcaudalibus nigro notatis et fasciatis: subalaribus albidis,
anguste brunneo marginatis, margine alari brunneo vario: rostro nigro, versus apicem dilutiore: pedibus
pallide carneis: iride pallide brunneâ.
? ad . mari similis, sed paullo major, ubique dilutior: facie castaneâ et pectore nigro absentibus: facie
laterali guttureque fulvescenti-albis, illâ brunneo maculatâ: corpore reliquo subtus rufescente, abdomine
medio albicante, plumis omnibus nigro marginatis, pectoris plumis et hypochondriis medialiter albo
lineatis.
? juv . similis feminae, sed facie laterali et gutture pallide rufescentibus: corporis subtus plumis latius nigro
marginatis.
? juv . similis feminæ adultæ, sed corporis subtus plumis magis distincte nigro marginatis.
Adult male. Crown of the head and nape dark brown edged with paler, a series of feathers down the
centre and on the sides marked in the middle with yellowish white; shoulders, mantle, and all the upper
surface rufous brown, beautifully varied with black, and marked with numerous Ianceolate stripes of
white. On closer examination it will be found that this effect is produced by each feather having a broad
lanceolate mark of white down the shaft, bordered on each side with black, dark brown on the webs,
fancifully rayed, or banded transversely, and largely tipped with rufous brown. Lores, line over the eyes,
sides of head, and throat rufous, with a lunar mark from the ear-coverts on each side, and an anterior
edging or border of black; lower part of the neck mottled or obscurely spotted with black and white, the
former preponderating; examined separately, however, each feather is black crossed by irregular bands
and largely tipped with white; sides and long plumage overlapping the thighs rufous brown, each feather
margined and marked down the centre with white, and handsomely streaked and barred on the webs
with brownish black; abdomen fulvous white, the under tail-coverts barred with black; primaries and
outer secondaries dark brown, the latter rayed on their outer webs with zigzag lines of paler brown; inner
secondaries and all the wing-coverts, as well as the tail-feathers, greyish brown, varied with pale rufous,
each feather with a narrow shaft-line of white. Irides light hazel; bill black, paler at the tip; tarsi and toes
pale flesh-brown. Total length 8·5 inches; extent of wings 14; wing, from flexure, 4·25; tail 1·5; bill, along
the ridge ·5, along the edge of lower mandible .6; tarsus 1; middle toe and claw 1·25. Adult female. In the female there is no rufous colour on the face or throat; the upper surface is light
ferruginous brown mixed with fulvous, and handsomely varied with black; the lanceolate stripes are
yellowish white, changing to fulvous on the longer secondaries and on the lower part of the back; the
throat, fore neck, sides, and flanks ferruginous brown, and the breast fulvous white, all more or less
varied with black; on the neck and breast each feather is marked near the tip with a broad crescent, and
on the webs with irregular spots of brownish black; the feathers covering the sides, and the long feathers
overlapping the thighs, have a broad stripe of white down the shaft and are streaked and marbled on
both webs with black; the abdomen is white, the sides fulvous, and the under tail-coverts dark fulvous
varied with black. The female is, moreover, slightly larger than the male in all its proportions.
Young male. In the young male the prevailing colour of the upper surface more nearly approaches that
of the adult female. The rufous colouring on the cheeks and throat is very pale, and the lunate marks are
less distinct than in the adult. The plumage of the underparts is largely washed with fulvous, and the dark
crescents are broader and more conspicuous.
Young female. The only perceptible difference in the markings of the young female is that the dark
crescents on the under surface are better defined and less blotched than in the adult bird. In my old
collection (now in the Colonial Museum) there are two young females from the same nest, in one of
which the prevailing tint of the plumage resembles that of the adult female, while in the other it approaches
very near to that of the adult male.
Very young state. Crown of the head light fulvous varied with dark brown; ear-spots black; back and
upper surface of wings yellowish brown, with dull black markings, each feather with a lanceolate stripe of
fulvous white down the centre; throat and fore neck buffy white; breast and underparts pale buff, each
feather marked near the tip with two converging elongate spots of a dull black colour. Bill, tarsi, and toes
pale brown.
Obs. A beautiful male specimen obtained many years ago at Whangarei, in the North Island, and
presented to me by Major Mair, differs from all my South-Island examples in having the whole of the
plumage darker, the breast being almost entirely brownish black, relieved only by a few touches of
fulvous white; the rufous colour on the face and throat is brighter, the lanceolate markings on the upper
surface are very distinct, and the abdomen is fulvous.
Thishandsome species—the only indigenous representative in New Zealand of the order Gallinæ—was
“on the verge of extinction” when I published my former edition. It is probably now extinct, for no
specimen has been heard of for at least twelve years. In the early days of the colony it was excessively
abundant in all the open country, and especially on the grass-covered downs of the South Island. The
first settlers, who carried with them from the old country their traditional love of sport, enjoyed some
excellent Quail-shooting for several years; and it is matter of local history that Sir D. Monro and Major
Richmond, in 1848, shot as many as forty-three brace in the course of a single day within a few miles of
what is now the city of Nelson: while a Canterbury writer has recorded that “in the early days, on the
plains near Selwyn, a bag of twenty brace of Quail was not looked upon as extraordinary sport for a
day's shooting.” But, partly owing to the introduction of dogs, cats, and rats, and partly to the prevalence
of the so-called “bush-fires” or burning of the runs (a necessary incident of sheep-farming in a new
country), the Quail rapidly disappeared, and if not so already, it will ere long be numbered among the
many extinct forms of animal life in New Zealand. Its place, however, has been more than adequately
supplied by several introduced species, all of which appear to thrive well and multiply in their new home.
Among these we may enumerate the following as being now permanently established in the country, viz.
the common English Pheasant ( Phasianus colchicus), the Chinese Pheasant ( P. torquatus), the
Partridge ( Perdix cinerea), the Californian Quail ( Ortyx californicus), and the Australian Quail (
Coturnix pectoralis) *To these may now be added the Swamp-Quail ( Synoïcus australis), which has rapidly spread itself
over the North Island, being plentiful even in the Taupo country. Three specimens of this bird (obtained
at Tauranga) were sent to me by the Hon. Dr. Pollen, the then Premier, and I afterwards handed them
over to the Colonial Museum with the following note:—“Two of these are in the normal plumage of the ?
and ?; the other is a remarkable instance of melanism. The entire plumage is a brownish slate-colour,
paler on the underparts; on the crown and nape there are obsolete shaft-lines, and the whole of the upper
surface is obscurely varied and mottled with blackish brown, washed with chestnut-brown on the wings.
It is slightly smaller than the other specimens and proved on dissection to be a male.” (Trans. N.-Z. Inst.
vol. xiv. p. 534.)
. The last-mentioned bird closely resembles the subject of this notice both in appearance and habits; and
it will be curious to observe whether it will succeed in resisting for any length of time those physical
conditions which have proved so fatal to the indigenous species.
According to the Maoris, even in the North Island it was formerly very abundant, certain grassy plains,
like the Murimotu, in the Taupo district, being noted for them. Even at the present day, in the investigation
of title in the Native Lands Court, the older generation of Maoris, when giving their evidence, often refer
to the Quail preserves of former times in support of the tribal title
*Extract from Aporahama Te Kume's evidence in the Tokoroa case, at Cambridge, June
1880:—“Wahineiti died at Tauranga. He said to Ngatikes, Don't take me to Maungatautari but to
Tokoroa, that the rushes of my land may grow over me, and that my body may drink the dews of
Tokoroa.’ This occasioned the name of Horohau: hence, too, the proverb ‘Nga wi o Tokoroa.’ These
plains were famous for the abundance of Quail.”
.
Sir Edward Stafford related to me the following circumstance in illustration of the suddenness with which
the Quail disappeared from localities where it had once been plentiful:—On one occasion about the year
1848, accompanied by two other sportsmen, he went out to his own estate, about thirty miles from
Nelson, for a day's Quail-shooting; and in the course of a few hours the party bagged 29½ brace. In the
hope of preserving the game, he prohibited any shooting over this ground during the following year; but in
the ensuing season, when he naturally looked for some good sport, there was not a single Quail to be
found!
Sir Frederick Weld (the present Governor of the Straits Settlements), about the same period, tried a
similar experiment on his property at Stonyhurst, but with no better success. Finding the Quails very
abundant in a particular locality, and being anxious to preserve them, he protected a suitable cover of
about 2000 acres, never allowing the sheep upon it, nor permitting fires to overrun it. When this
protection was first extended, there were almost incredible numbers of Quails on the land; but in less than
a year they had all disappeared. In 1851 Dr. Shortland found it very numerous on the open downs of
Waikouaiti; and as late as 1861, as we learn from Haast's ‘Journal of Exploration in the Nelson
Province,’ it was “still very abundant on the grassy plains of the interior, rising close to the feet of the
traveller at almost every step.”
A specimen was shot by Major Mair at Whangarei in 1860; Sir James Hector reports the taking of a
pair at Mangawhai in 1866; Captain Mair saw one at Maketu in 1867; and the Hon J. C. Richmond met
with some in the Taranaki district in the months of November and December 1869. These are, I believe,
the last recorded instances of its occurrence in the North Island. In the more retired portions of the South
Island it was occasionally to be found down to 1875; but it had before that entirely disappeared from the
settled country on the eastern side of the Alps In the autumn of 1860 I met with a bevy of nine on a dry grassy ridge in the midst of some shallow
swamps about two miles from Kaiapoi (in the provincial district of Canterbury); and having with me a
good pointer, I fortunately succeeded in bagging the whole of them. They afforded capital shooting, rising
quickly and, after a low rapid flight of fifty yards or more in a direct line, dropping suddenly into the grass
again. The stomachs of those I opened contained green blades of grass and a few bruised seeds, as well
as some small fragments of quartz. The bevy consisted of an adult male and female, with seven birds of
the first year; and as we may infer from the circumstances under which they were found that they
comprised a single family, we have some evidence that this species is not less prolific than the other
members of the extensive tribe to which it belongs.
Mr. Potts, writing of the bird before it had become rare, says:—“They often give utterance to a low
purring sound that one might suppose to proceed from an insect rather than from a bird. The call is
indulged in most frequently during moist or wet weather; it sounds something like ‘twit, twit, twit,
twee-twit,’ repeated several times in quick succession. In very stormy gusty weather these birds appear
dull and silent, secreting themselves among thick tussocks. When flushed, they do not rise
perpendicularly, but still very straight for a few feet from the ground. In confinement they are fond of
picking about amongst sand, and thrive well on soaked bread, grain of various kinds, and the larvæ of
insects. The male is not an attentive mate at feeding-time; and where several are kept in the same
enclosure, constant little bickerings take place without actual hostilities being indulged in. The eggs require
twenty-one days’ incubation; and the chicks are most active directly they emerge from the shell. They
grow very rapidly; and at about four months old the young cannot very readily be distinguished from adult
birds, either by contrast of size or plumage.”
It may be interesting to mention, as showing the value attaching to extinct or rapidly expiring forms, that a
skin of this bird (and that, too, a female) sent from the Canterbury Museum to Italy fetched as much as
·75. My own collection contains an adult male and female (from the North and South Islands
respectively), a young male of the first year, and another in the “very young state” described above. The
last-named bird was one of a clutch of four, and I am indebted for this, among other rare specimens, to
my lamented friend Sir Julius von Haast, the announcement of whose death in New Zealand reached me
whilst these pages were passing through the press.
There is a specimen of the egg of this species (probably the only one in Europe) in Professor Newton's
fine collection at Cambridge; and there are five examples in the Canterbury Museum which exhibit a slight
variation in form and a considerable difference in colour. Two of them (presumably from the same nest)
are of a regular oval form and of equal size, measuring 1·3 inch in length by in breadth; these are of a pale
yellowish-brown or buff colour, thickly marked with umber, the dark colour often preponderating and
having the appearance of daubs or smudges on the outer surface of the shell. Two others (also exactly
alike) are of a slightly larger size and of a thicker or broader form; these are of a dull cream-colour,
sprinkled and minutely dotted all over with blackish brown. In one of them the spots are confluent at the
larger end, forming a greyish-brown patch nearly half an inch in diameter; and in both the more
conspicuous spots have a light or faded centre. The fifth egg is smaller and more rounded than any of the
rest; it is of a yellowish-white colour, covered all over, but more thickly at the ends, with small smudgy
spots of umber; and it has likewise a more glossy appearance than the others. On comparing the eggs of
this species with those of Coturnix pectoralis , of Australia, there is a manifest difference, those of the
latter bird being, as a rule, creamy white, with very obscure surface-spots.
After the above article had been sent to press, I received from the Colony the welcome intelligence that
the last refuge of this well-nigh extinct species had lately been discovered. During the recent expedition of
the Government steamboat ‘Stella’ to the Kermadec Islands, for the purpose of annexing them to New
Zealand, Captain Fairchild, on his return voyage, landed on the Three Kings, a group of small islands
situated about 32 miles W.N.W. of Cape Maria Van Diemen, the largest of them being only 1 ¾ miles long by ¾ of a mile in width, and rising about 900 feet above the sea-level. There is no “bush” on this
island, but the surface is covered with stunted Leptospermum , fern, flax, and sedges, with here and
there a grassy flat. Notwithstanding the scantiness of the vegetation, no less than five plants were
discovered entirely new to the New-Zealand flora, and these have since been described and named by
Mr. Cheeseman, F.L.S., not the least interesting one being Pittosporum fairchildi . But, from an
ornithologist's point of view, the most important discovery made was the existence there of several bevies
of New-Zealand Quail, which were comparatively tame and fearless; and the explorers being fortunately
without firearms they were left unharmed.
It is to be earnestly hoped that prompt steps will be taken by the Government to save and perpetuate
this last remnant of an expiring race
Source: Buller: A History of the Birds of New Zealand
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Post by another specialist on Jul 8, 2009 20:39:17 GMT
Thanks Peter very interesting fingers crossed they turn out to be them and not introduced birds.  Source: www.wildlifeextra.com/zealand-quail.html. Are these the birds in question? as this photo is being used on all webpages with this news. 1.^ NZ quail may not be extinct say scientists after Haurauki Gulf island discovery, Massey News, Issue 3, 11 March 2007. Accessed 2008-01-24. The results of a two year genetic study has shown that the quail species on Tiritiri Matangi island is the Australian brown quail Coturnix ypsilophora. Sequences were derived for all quail species within the Australian and New Zealand Coturnix sp, complex. A neighbour joining phylogenetic distance tree was constructed in PAUP4 with 1000 bootstrap replications conducted to determine the strength of groupings. The sequences used for the tree were derived from 3 separate mitochondrial control region sequences. This tree analysis also showed a close phylogeneic relationship between the New Zealand quail Coturnix novaezelandiae and the Australian stubble quail Coturnix pectoralis but confirmed that they are separate species. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_Quail |
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Post by Melanie on Sept 4, 2009 12:58:00 GMT
Ancient DNA Resolves Identity and Phylogeny of New Zealand's Extinct and Living Quail (Coturnix sp.) Background: The New Zealand quail, Coturnix novaezealandiae, was widespread throughout New Zealand until its rapid extinction in the 1870’s. To date, confusion continues to exist concerning the identity of C. novaezealandiae and its phylogenetic relationship to Coturnix species in neighbouring Australia, two of which, C. ypsilophora and C. pectoralis, were introduced into New Zealand as game birds. The Australian brown quail, C. ypsilophora, was the only species thought to establish with current populations distributed mainly in the northern part of the North Island of New Zealand. Owing to the similarities between C. ypsilophora, C. pectoralis, and C. novaezealandiae, uncertainty has arisen over whether the New Zealand quail is indeed extinct, with suggestions that remnant populations of C. novaezealandiae may have survived on offshore islands. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using fresh and historical samples of Coturnix sp. from New Zealand and Australia, DNA analysis of selected mitochondrial regions was carried out to determine phylogenetic relationships and species status. Results show that Coturnix sp. specimens from the New Zealand mainland and offshore island Tiritiri Matangi are not the New Zealand quail but are genetically identical to C. ypsilophora from Australia and can be classified as the same species. Furthermore, cytochrome b and COI barcoding analysis of the New Zealand quail and Australia’s C. pectoralis, often confused in museum collections, show that they are indeed separate species that diverged approximately 5 million years ago (mya). Gross morphological analysis of these birds suggests a parallel loss of sustained flight with very little change in other phenotypic characters such as plumage or skeletal structure. Conclusion/Significance: Ancient DNA has proved invaluable for the detailed analysis and identification of extinct and morphologically cryptic taxa such as that of quail and can provide insights into the timing of evolutionary changes that influence morphology. www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0006400www.plosone.org/article/fetchObjectAttachment.action?uri=info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0006400&representation=PDF |
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Post by Melanie on Oct 25, 2009 17:47:33 GMT
A Massey biology researcher has used DNA analysis to prove quail on Tiritiri Matangi Island are Australian and not remnants of an extinct New Zealand species. PhD researcher Mark Seabrook-Davison from the Institute of Natural Sciences at Albany says the introduced bird could enhance our forests if allowed to thrive in other regions. Mr Seabrook-Davison, who has just completed his studies and will graduate next April, undertook a two-year project analysing ancient DNA from museum specimens of the extinct New Zealand quail Coturnix novaezelandiae and from living Australian brown quails. In a paper just published in the international Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE and co-authored with an Australian and two Massey scientists as part of his PhD on conservation management in New Zealand, he set out to clarify the relationship between the extinct New Zealand quail and two Australian quail species introduced here as game birds. Using sophisticated new DNA gene coding, he found quail on Tiritiri Matangi to be genetically identical to the Australian brown quail. As a result of the study, some museums around the world will have to rename their exhibits of quail, with Coturnix pectoralis (Australian stubble quail) previously labelled as Coturnix novaezelandiae. The New Zealand quail was once widespread throughout the country but declined rapidly in the mid-1800s as a result of large-scale deforestation and predation by dogs, cats and rats, and was declared extinct by 1875. The Australian brown quail was introduced as a game bird to replace it. As well as clearing up an enduring mystery over the identity of quails on the island, Mr Seabrook-Davison's research findings open up another debate on the role of introduced species in New Zealand. Unlike the 70 million Australian possums that devastate native forests, and harm bird and insect species, the quail could prove beneficial to our forests as an "ecological engineer" by tilling leaf litter and distributing seeds, he says. "The main reasons are that it is similar to the extinct New Zealand quail and appears to benefit an ecosystem and has no detrimental impact on threatened native species. I propose that exotic species should be used for ecological rehabilitation when it can be shown that these surrogate species contribute to ecosystem function." However, he acknowledges the idea may be controversial idea among conservationists, he says there are very good reasons for allowing the Australian quail to proliferate here. Despite being a small ground bird with limited flight, is well-adapted to avoiding predators due to its protective group behaviour and vocal call used as a warning when suspected predators are near. It is currently found in the upper parts of the North Island, but Mr Seabrook-Davison would like to see the species translocated to other offshore islands with limited vegetation where it could spread tree and plant seed. Other introduced species thriving here but endangered in their countries of origin could be given special conservation status if they are not a threat to native species, "In some ways New Zealand is an important reservoir of species that are going extinct in Australia. We have already repatriated a wallaby species that went extinct in across the Tasman. Also, the British view our populations of their song birds such as goldfinches, greenfinches, yellowhammers, skylarks as critical for their conservation as many of these British birds are threatened with extinction in the British Isles." www.voxy.co.nz/national/tiri-quails-found-be-aussie-imports/5/28309 |
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