BirdingNZ.net

This was reported on eBird yesterday (3rd Nov).

https://ebird.org/checklist/S61131651

Photos confirm identity.

Not far from the port so this could be a likely origin.

P

Yip its already got a lot of crosshairs circling it! Get in quick if you want it for a 'spot'

I saw the bird today. It was on a tree over looking the container wharf so there is a high probability it is ship assisted. I am not sure anyone has been trying to capture it.

Its on the MPI reportable species list so I called the hotline just now. The guy I spoke to didnt say it had already been called in - so I wonder if anyone has reported it before now. I would hope so!

That’s interesting I’d heard it had already been called in... clearly mpi are useless at talking to each other.

I liked the bulbuls in the resort gardens and on a small island when on holiday in Fiji and would love to have them here in NZ. The DOC have offered a reward for information, since lapsed, and claim that they "can cause significant damage to fruit and vegetable crops and are known to chase and attack other birds". Well, birds attacking other birds is commonplace and no reason IMO for exterminating them. The "can" cause damage to fruit and vegetables is also true of some of our endemics eg the NZ Kaka. https://www.doc.govt.nz/news/media-rele ... ward-ends/. I found them during short visits to Fiji in modified environments and not in the forest remnants. On Toberua, they hung out with jungle mynahs, another vigorous and engaging bird.

Both Red-vented Bulbul and Common Myna are invasive species known to chase and attack native birds. Common Myna is also known to remove chicks from nests and taking over the nest site. Both species are also known to predate on native skinks, geckos and insects.

"Invasion by the red-vented bulbul: an overview of recent studies in New Caledonia"
M. Thibault1,3, E. Vidal2, M.A. Potter3, F. Masse1,4, A. Pujapujane1, B. Fogliani1, G. Lannuzel1, H. Jourdan2, N. Robert5, L. Demaret5, N. Barré1 and F. Brescia

Link to study: http://www.issg.org/pdf/publications/20 ... ibault.pdf

Thanks for the link. Studies referenced in the article show the RVB a threat to natives in Tahitian forest, while in Fiji and other places favoring settled, modified environments, perhaps filling a niche not already occupied by native birds and adding diversity and resilience to novel ecosystems. My main point is to consider the whole ecosystem and interfere based on good data and with clearly defined objectives. Habitat preservation and restoration to nurture native species will do more for conservation by excluding avian invaders than direct extermination I think, but that's just an opinion. The pest bird extermination approach could be more effective, I just don't know. I think we need to agree on what exactly we are hoping to achieve. Maybe richly diverse and thriving natural environments with native and introduced species coexisting in some places and native or introduced species predominating in others.

Is there a specific benefit that you think RVB could provide that a native species could not? Given their propensity to act aggressively to other species, I can think of several natives that occur in urban environments that could be negatively impacted. Seems to me that this risk should far outweigh any perceived benefit. In my opinion, any introduction of exotic species to NZ needs to be carefully considered, given the mistakes made in the past.

I agree that any new introduction needs to be carefully considered. Even if mistaken introductions eg mustelids to combat rabbits had been carefully considered from an environmental, as well as economic point of view, it would have been based on what was known at the time and might not have been considered a serious threat to native birds. The question of RVB bringing benefit that a native could not is hard to answer. I think that because in Fiji I noticed they appeared to be most common in places where the mynahs were also common, that would also be the case in NZ. In that case, it could be argued they would not be such a threat to urban natives because the natives already coexist with mynahs.