Content uploaded by Peter Menkhorst
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Peter Menkhorst on Apr 27, 2017
Content may be subject to copyright.
A preview of the PDF is not available
The Australian Bird Guide
... Conversely, painted button-quails responded positively to high-extreme severity burns, similar to mountain quails (Oreortyx pictus) in North America (Brunk et al., 2023). The painted button-quails' preference for high-severity fires in our study likely reflects their preference for dry open forests with sparse understories (Menkhorst et al., 2017), as well as their opportunistic foraging behaviour that attracts them to burns that promote canopy-released seeds (Newman et al., 2020). ...
... In our study, wet forest birds-specifically, the superb lyrebird, satin bowerbird and wonga pigeon-exhibited the strongest responses to vegetation type. These species predominantly favour rainforests and wet sclerophyll forests (Menkhorst et al., 2017), which was evident in our results. In particular, we observed higher superb lyrebird activity in wet forest than in dry forest, irrespective of burn status. ...
... However, all three bird species were generally more active in unburnt sites throughout the study. This is in contrast to painted-button quails which are a dry forest species (Menkhorst et al., 2017) and ...
1. Climate change and human activities have disrupted historical fire regimes, leading to complex and far-reaching impacts on global ecosystems. Despite extensive research in fire ecology, studies exploring vertebrate responses to megafires, and to nuanced fire characteristics, remain limited.
2. We collected camera trap data 3-27 months following Australia's 2019-20 'Black Summer' megafires from 30 burnt sites and 10 unburnt sites. Our data included 14 animal species/groups, encompassing mammalian predators, small and medium-sized mammals, large herbivores, and birds. We used generalised additive mixed models to assess the influence of time-since-the-fires, burn status, fire severity, proportional area burnt, and vegetation type on species' activity.
3. Models that included fire variables were well-supported for all species. The proportional cover of low-moderate or high-extreme severity fire had substantial support for five species, particularly herbivores, which generally showed a preference for burnt sites but at differing fire severities. The proportional area burnt, disregarding severity, was well supported for four species. At highly burned sites fox activity peaked shortly after the fires while small to medium-sized mammal activity increased more gradually. Vegetation type strongly influenced the response of four species to fire; in particular, wet forest birds preferred unburnt areas.
4. Policy implications. We document variable short-to medium-term responses of a range of species to fire which could help guide management interventions. We demonstrate that animal species' responses to fire are diverse and better captured using broader landscape scale fire variables. We found that species were strongly influenced by proportional area burnt, fire severity and vegetation type. Introduced foxes were attracted to recently burnt areas, so timely predator control may benefit vulnerable prey species. Wet forest species were sensitive to fires and could benefit from preservation and restoration of these habitats. Some species exploited low-moderate severity burnt areas, while others preferred
... Assessing and understanding such responses is most valuable when undertaken at a landscape scale because: i) it accounts for the heterogeneity of land-uses in cities; and ii) bird species may use a range of different land-uses to fulfil their resource requirements. For example, some species regularly move between different parts of urban landscapes, such as nectarivores that follow flowering resources ('blossom nomads'; Menkhorst et al., 2017), or hollow-nesting species that forage in open habitats but require trees and native vegetation (e.g., urban parks) for roosting and breeding. For such species, suitable habitat depends not only on resources they may access at a particular site, but also the structure of the broader landscape (Conole and Kirkpatrick, 2011). ...
... We used this classification as it: i) covered the same geographic area as our study region; ii) provided an independent classification that could be tested with our current data; and iii) offered an opportunity to consider whether bird responses to urbanization have changed Table 1 Terrestrial bird species (n = 56) recorded in this study (excluding raptors and nocturnal species). Taxonomy follows Menkhorst et al. (2017). Urban tolerance classifications (avoider, adapter, exploiter) were derived from Conole and Kirkpatrick (2011). ...
... over time (20 years). Taxonomy for bird species in the present study follows Menkhorst et al. (2017). ...
Urbanization threatens global biodiversity, yet numerous species persist in cities, highlighting opportunities for habitat restoration and conservation. To facilitate conservation planning, species frequently are assigned to urban tolerance groups such as ‘avoiders’, ‘adapters’ and ‘exploiters’. To be useful, species in such groups must show consistent responses to major gradients of change in urban landscapes. We used a landscape-scale approach to investigate the relative influence of housing cover and canopy tree cover on individual bird species and compared the results for species independently classified as urban avoiders, adapters or exploiters. We surveyed birds in 30 landscapes, positioned along concurrent gradients of housing and canopy tree cover, in residential areas of Melbourne, Australia. We modelled relationships between reporting rate for 42 species and the landscape cover of housing and canopy trees, for each gradient independently and in combination. Responses typically were non-linear and varied between species but generally were consistent within groups. Many species (∼40%) responded to a combination of both housing and canopy tree cover. Responses to housing typically were negative, while responses to tree cover were positive for avoiders and adapters, but negative for exploiters. Relationships with tree cover were stronger in landscapes with higher housing density. Whilst species responses likely represent a continuum, the relative consistency within and differences between urban tolerance groups affirm such general classifications to be a useful framework for synthesizing responses of multiple species to urbanization. Importantly, however, the status of at least four species changed considerably over the last 20 years, highlighting that such classifications are dynamic and respond to both environmental change in urban environments and changing biotic relationships.
... The nominate subspecies breeds from Europe across Russia to western Asia, and migrates to western and southern Africa (del Hoyo et al. 1996;Thomas & Hunt 2023), making the New Zealand bird at least 12,000 km beyond its usual range. There are three accepted records of black tern from Australia and one from Papua New Guinea (Finch 1986;Menkhorst et al. 2017). The Australian birds are all considered to have been of the American subspecies C. n. surinamensis, while the Papua New Guinea bird (an adult in breeding plumage in May 1985) and the New Zealand bird are thought to have been of the nominate subspecies (Finch 1986;Higgins & Davies 1996;Menkhorst et al. 2017; information in this report). ...
... There are three accepted records of black tern from Australia and one from Papua New Guinea (Finch 1986;Menkhorst et al. 2017). The Australian birds are all considered to have been of the American subspecies C. n. surinamensis, while the Papua New Guinea bird (an adult in breeding plumage in May 1985) and the New Zealand bird are thought to have been of the nominate subspecies (Finch 1986;Higgins & Davies 1996;Menkhorst et al. 2017; information in this report). ...
... Black-naped tern breeds on the Great Barrier Reef and in New Caledonia, and also further afield in the tropical south-west Pacific and Indian Ocean (Higgins & Davies 1996;Menkhorst et al. 2017). The black-naped tern from the Auckland west coast was found during Cyclone Dovi. ...
We report Records Appraisal Committee (RAC) decisions regarding Unusual Bird Reports received between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2022. Among the 160 submissions accepted by the RAC were the first New Zealand records of black tern (Chlidonias niger), black-naped tern (Sterna sumatrana), and Matsudaira's storm petrel (Hydrobates matsudairae). We also report the second accepted sightings of northern pintail (Anas acuta) and bridled tern (Onychoprion anaethetus), the third accepted sightings of long-toed stint (Calidris subminuta) and grey-backed tern (Onychoprion lunatus), and the third to fifth accepted records of Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae). Other notable records included the first record of long-tailed cuckoo (Eudynamys taitensis) from Campbell Island and of sooty tern (Onychoprion fuscatus) from the Chatham Islands. Miskelly, C.M.; Crossland, A.C.; Saville, I.; Southey, I.; Tennyson, A.J.D.; Bell, E.A. 2023. Vagrant and extra-limital bird records accepted by the Birds New Zealand Records Appraisal Committee 2021-2022. Notornis 70(2): 60-73.
... The overall impression of these birds was quite strik ingly different from all the presumed winterplum aged Saunders's photographed in Arabia and east ern Africa, which generally exhibited a slightly darker grey upperside, rump and tail as well as a dusky crown, giving definition to a short white 'eyebrow', subtly mirroring the diagnostic extent of the white forehead in summerplumaged Little. Further searches for Saunders's photographs pro duced images from Bangaram Island (Lakshadweep, India), Kandooma Island (Mal dives) and South Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands in Australian territorial waters, where it has recently been es tablished that Saunders's occurs (Menkhorst et al 2017). Of particular significance was a BirdLife Australia Rarities Committee (BARC) submission by Nigel Jackett et al (2019) that documented with photographs a hightide roost of at least 12 Saun ders's and four suspected Little observed together on South Island on 10 February 2019. ...
... Such a defined trailing edge does not occur in Saunders's Tern in any plumage. Having dis covered this important 'new' feature indepen dently, we subsequently came across mention of it in Menkhorst et al (2017). Subsequent research suggests that the 'broad white triangular area on the rear of the wing' was first noted in print by Carter & McAllan (2007) in their documentation of the first recorded occurrence of Saunders's on the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the winter of 2006-07. ...
This article discusses a series of field characters useful for the separation of Saunder's and Little Terns, two species long subject to much confusion in the past but which are, in fact, readily separable in all plumages. These field characters are illustrated in four specially painted, detailed colour plates and over 50 photographs with detailed captions. Field characters that allow the separation of juvenile and winter-plumaged birds are mainly novel and presented for the first time. A radical revision of the relative status and distribution of both species in the Indian Ocean in the non-breeding season is suggested.
... Schodde (1975), P. buceroides yorki has prevailed for Queensland populations (Higgins et al. 2001, Christidis & Boles 2008, Pizzey & Knight 2012, Menkhorst et al. 2017, BirdLife Australia 2022. Recent literature has seen reversion to P. yorki at species rank (e.g., Gill & Wright 2006, Jønsson et al. 2016, Marki et al. 2017, Davies et al. 2022) sometimes with openly stated reservations (e.g., Gill et al. 2023) but I know of no explicitly argued defence. ...
... Hornbill Friarbird was introduced by Gill & Wright (2006) as an English name for Queensland populations, which they also recognised as Philemon yorki, but they proffered no basis for either decision. Hornbill Friarbird has since entered popular usage (e.g., del Hoyo & Collar 2016, Gregory 2017, BirdLife Australia 2022, Clements et al. 2022, Davies et al. 2022. Reflecting the discussion above, Gill et al. (2023) noted that the species status of 'Hornbill Friarbird P. yorki' is dubious and they wisely called for more study. ...
A trend to treat Queensland populations of Helmeted Friarbird Philemon buceroides (Swainson, 1838) sensu lato of Indonesia, Australia and Papua New Guinea as Hornbill Friarbird P. yorki Mathews, 1912, while consistent with >100 years of scientific name usage before 1975, and not without merit, has been poorly defended. Given the region's biogeography, rigorous assessment is needed of which of several taxa described from New Guinea and often treated as subspecies of P. novaeguineae (S. Müller, 1843) might be most closely related to yorki. This will be critical in establishing nomenclatural priority. Introduction of ‘Hornbill Friarbird’ evidently overlooks ‘Helmeted Friarbird’ having been associated almost exclusively with Queensland populations for >100 years. Clarifying relationships within and among Australian populations to each other and to those in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea will be a key starting point in eliminating legitimate, lingering dissatisfaction with the broader group’s taxonomy and nomenclature.
... The Dusky Woodswallow Artamus cyanopterus is a medium-sized, dark-coloured passerine within the family Artamidae (Menkhorst et al. 2017). It occurs commonly throughout open habitats in south-eastern Australia, including open sclerophyll woodlands, where it forages on invertebrates, mainly insects, and occasionally on nectar, fruit and seeds (Higgins et al. 2006). ...
This note describes an observation of a Dusky Woodswallow Artamus cyanopterus employing a seldom observed and unusual defensive behaviour against a Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus. Instead of mobbing or fleeing, the Woodswallow hid beneath a branch to avoid detection and potential predation. We discuss various predator-avoidance and defensive behaviours and explain the advantages of hiding as a quick and safer survival strategy. This observation reveals additional tactics used by woodswallows and expands our understanding of avian predator avoidance. Understanding these unconventional strategies broadens our knowledge of defensive behaviours in passerine birds.
... Immature survival within Australia does not reflect the juvenile birds that perish along their migration; only the strongest juveniles arrive in Australia and it is their survival that is being estimated, causing the appearance of a higher rate of immature survival than adult survival here. Not only this, the immature birds also do not migrate the following year after they first arrive in Australia (Menkhorst et al., 2019), which takes out two potentially arduous long-distance migrations to and from the breeding grounds, compared to their adult con-specifics. ...
The rapid destruction of natural wetland habitats over past decades has been partially offset by an increase in artificial wetlands. However, these also include wastewater treatment plants, which may pose a pollution risk to the wildlife using them. We studied two long-distance Arctic-breeding migratory shorebird species, curlew sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea, n = 69) and red-necked stint (Calidris ruficollis, n = 103), while on their Australian non-breeding grounds using an artificial wetland at a wastewater treatment plant (WTP) and a natural coastal wetland. We compared pollutant exposure (elements and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances/PFASs), disease (avian influenza), physiological status (oxidative stress) of the birds at the two locations from 2011 to 2020, and population survival from 1978 to 2019. Our results indicated no significant differences in blood pellet pollutant concentrations between the habitats except mercury (WTP median: 224 ng/g, range: 19-873 ng/g; natural wetland: 160 ng/g, 22-998 ng/g) and PFASs (total PFASs WTP median: 85.1 ng/g, range: <0.01-836 ng/g; natural wetland: 8.02 ng/g, <0.01-85.3 ng/g) which were higher at the WTP, and selenium which was lower at the WTP (WTP median: 5000 ng/g, range: 1950-34,400 ng/g; natural wetland: 19,200 ng/g, 4130-65,200 ng/g). We also measured higher blood o,o'-dityrosine (an indicator of protein damage) at the WTP. No significant differences were found for adult survival, but survival of immature birds at the WTP appeared to be lower which could be due to higher dispersal to other wetlands. Interestingly, we found active avian influenza infections were higher in the natural habitat, while seropositivity was higher in the WTP, seemingly not directly related to pollutant exposure. Overall, we found limited differences in pollutant exposure, health and survival of the shorebirds in the two habitats. Our findings suggest that appropriately managed wastewater treatment wetlands could provide a suitable alternative habitat to these migratory species, which may aid in curbing the decline of shorebird populations from widespread habitat loss.
The nervous system of birds is comparable in most respects to that of mammals, including relatively large brains. The central and peripheral nervous systems of birds are described in detail, with particular emphasis on the anatomy and function of avian brains. The impressive cognitive abilities and many species of birds are also described. The general and special senses of birds are discussed, including the special senses of olfaction, taste, vision, hearing, and static and dynamic equilibrium. The senses of smell and taste have been found to be important for many species of birds and many examples are provided. Most birds have impressive vision and the structure and function of the eyes of both diurnal and nocturnal species of birds are discussed in detail. The structure and function of avian ears, and the relative importance of the sense of hearing in different species of birds, are also discussed. The ability of birds, especially some species of owls, to localize the source of sounds is explained. The use of echolocation by a few species of birds, including swiftlets and Oilbirds, is also described.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.