BirdingNZ.net

I see that Birds New Zealand's Records Appraisal Committee has accepted a record of a new bird species for NZ.

A dead Rose-crowned Fruit Dove was found on 23 August 2019 "at sea, 75 km south-west of Hawera, South Taranaki Bight". Does anyone know about this? If so, I'd be interested to get a photo if possible.

Here's the link to the Unusual Bird Reports database: http://rare.birds.org.nz/

Thanks,
Michael

I was browsing the Birds NZ Rare Birds Database today and see there is a record of a Rose-crowned Fruit Dove at sea off Hawera last year, a new record for NZ. Anyone know anything about it? I hadn't heard about it.

Cheers, Phil

http://rare.birds.org.nz/

I've also posted a thread about this on the discussion section: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10090

Ah, the other forum...

I mean it was found dead (or died?) which raises more questions. Hopefully someone in the committee can clarify things.

If it's a specimen, then it should be in a museum...and if you try searching the scientific name not the common name then bingo!

https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/1836342

There's a lovely specimen on a stick, collected on the oil tanker Raroa at the Maari field in the South Taranaki Bight.

So close, and yet so far, to the NZ mainland... Hopefully the report will be published formally some time. Colin?

Phil

Colin will fill you in... it's a really complicated story

I see that the specimen is now with Te Papa: https://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/object/1836342

Thanks Alan!

I had hoped to publish a blog about this discovery concurrent with the UBR website being updated. However, coordinating anything is a challenge at present when many folk necessarily have their attention elsewhere. I'll see what can be achieved when business hours resume tomorrow.

Nga mihi
Colin

Colin Miskelly's blogpost about how it was found and then destroyed:

https://blog.tepapa.govt.nz/2020/04/08/ ... uy76Vb5WNM