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Mottled Petrel
The mottled petrel (''Pterodroma inexpectata'') or kōrure is a species of seabird and a member of the gadfly petrels. It usually attains in length with a wingspan. This species is highly pelagic, rarely approaching land, except to nest and rear young. The mottled petrel feeds mostly on fish and squid, with some crustaceans taken. It is a transequatorial migrant, breeding in the islands of New Zealand, and migrating to the Bering Sea, concentrating in the Gulf of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. It was previously found on mainland New Zealand North and South Islands, but is now only found on smaller off-shore islands near Fiordland, Stewart Island and Snares Islands, with the largest populations on Codfish Island, Big South Cape Island and the Snares Islands. The mottled petrel uses burrows and rock crevices to nest in. It was formerly more numerous than today. The species' numbers have been and continue to be affected by predation by introduced mammals. Chicks have been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johann Reinhold Forster
Johann Reinhold Forster (; 22 October 1729 – 9 December 1798) was a German Reformed pastor and naturalist. Born in Tczew, Dirschau, Pomeranian Voivodeship (1466–1772), Pomeranian Voivodeship, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (now Tczew, Poland), he attended school in Dirschau and Marienwerder before being admitted at the Joachimsthalsches Gymnasium in Berlin in 1745. Skilled in classical and biblical languages, he studied theology at the University of Halle. In 1753, he became a parson at a parish just south of Danzig. He married his cousin Justina Elisabeth Nicolai in 1754, and they had seven children; the oldest child was Georg Forster, George Forster, also known as Georg. In 1765, Forster was commissioned by the Russian government to inspect the new colonies on the Volga. Accompanied by George on the journey, he observed the conditions of the colonists and made scientific observations that were later read at the Russian Academy of Sciences. After making a report that wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiordland
Fiordland (, "The Pit of Tattooing", and also translated as "the Shadowlands"), is a non-administrative geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lakes, and its steep, glacier-carved and now ocean-flooded western valleys. The name "Fiordland" derives from the New Zealand English spelling of the Scandinavian word for steep glacial valleys, "fjord". The geographic area of Fiordland is dominated by, and roughly coterminous with, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand's largest national park. Due to the often steep terrain and high amount of rainfall supporting dense vegetation, the interior of the Fiordland region is largely inaccessible. As a result, Fiordland was never subjected to notable logging operations, and even attempts at whaling, seal hunting, and mining were on a small scale and short-lived, p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birds Of The South Island
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the common ostrich. There are over 11,000 living species and they are split into 44 orders. More than half are passerine or "perching" birds. Birds have wings whose development varies according to species; the only known groups without wings are the extinct moa and elephant birds. Wings, which are modified forelimbs, gave birds the ability to fly, although further evolution has led to the loss of flight in some birds, including ratites, penguins, and diverse endemic island species. The digestive and respiratory systems of birds are also uniquely adapted for flight. Some bird species of aquatic environments, particularly seabirds and some waterbirds, have furthe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auckland War Memorial Museum
The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory Hill, the remains of a dormant volcano, in the Auckland Domain, near Auckland CBD. Museum collections concentrate on New Zealand history (and especially the history of the Auckland Region), natural history, and military history. Auckland Museum's collections and exhibits began in 1852. In 1867 Aucklanders formed a learned society—the Auckland Philosophical Society, soon renamed Auckland Institute. Within a few years Auckland Museum was transferred to Auckland Institute, thereafter known as Auckland Institute and Museum until 1996. Auckland War Memorial Museum was the name of the new building opened in 1929, but since 1996 it has been more commonly used for the institution as well. From 1991 to 2003 the Museum's Māori-language, Māori n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawke's Bay
Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural parts of the region are served by the towns of Waipukurau, Waipawa, and Wairoa. Name Hawke's Bay is named for the bay to its east, Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke by Captain James Cook during one of his voyages along the coasts of New Zealand. The Māori language name for Hawke's Bay is ''Te Matau-a-Māui'' ( the fishhook belonging to Māui). This name comes from a traditional story in which Maui lifted the islands of New Zealand from the waters. The story says that Hawke's Bay is the fishhook that Māui used, with Portland Island and Cape Kidnappers being the northern and southern barbs of the hook, respectively. Hawke's Bay is one of only two places in New Zealand with a possessive apostrophe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burrow Nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and Avian incubation, incubates its Bird egg, eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structures built by animals, structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American robin or Eurasian blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the Montezuma oropendola or the village weaver—that is too restrictive a definition. For some species, a nest is simply a shallow depression made in sand; for others, it is the knot-hole left by a broken branch, a burrow dug into the ground, a chamber drilled into a tree, an enormous rotting pile of vegetation and earth, a shelf made of dried saliva or a mud dome with an entrance tunnel. The smallest bird nests are those of some hummingbirds, tiny cups which can be a mere across and high. At the other extreme, some nest mounds built by the dusky scrubfowl measure more than in diameter and stand nearly tall. The study of birds' nests ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taukihepa / Big South Cape Island
Taukihepa / Big South Cape Island is an offshore island of New Zealand to the west of the southern tip of Stewart Island / Rakiura. The island is the largest of the Tītī / Muttonbird Islands, and as such has no permanent inhabitants but is visited by muttonbirders in search of sooty shearwaters, known in New Zealand as "muttonbirds". Māori named the island "Taukihepa" and Europeans, who arrived later, called it "Big South Cape". The island was given dual names in 1998 as part of a Treaty of Waitangi settlement with Ngāi Tahu. The island is the largest of a group of islands off the southwestern coast of Stewart Island / Rakiura, from which it is separated by a wide channel. Surrounding smaller islands include Poutama Island to the south, Putauhina Island and the Putauhina Nuggets to the northwest, and Solomon Island to the north. The island rises to a height of at its centre, and numerous small streams run to the coast. Named features on the island include two inlets – M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Codfish Island / Whenua Hou
Codfish Island / Whenua Hou is a small island () located to the west of Stewart Island in southern New Zealand. It reaches a height of close to the south coast. The island is home to Sirocco, an internationally famous kākāpō, a rare species of parrot. History and names The island is one of many geographic features in New Zealand to have a dual place name, consisting of the English and Māori names separated by a slash. The English name "Codfish Island" refers to the endemic blue cod, which is fished commercially in surrounding waters by trapping in baited pots. The Māori name "" means "new land", which dates back to the early days of European settlement in New Zealand. Responding to concerns and allegations that local Māori women were being harassed by sealers on nearby Stewart Island, the local Ngāi Tahu rangatira, Honekai, designated Whenua Hou as the site of a new mixed race settlement where early Europeans could live with their Māori wives under his protection. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snares Islands
The Snares Islands (; officially Snares Islands / Tini Heke), known colloquially as The Snares, is a group of uninhabited islands lying about south of New Zealand's South Island and to the south-southwest of Stewart Island / Rakiura. The Snares consist of the main North East Island and the smaller Broughton Island and Alert Stack, as well as the Western Chain Islands some to the west-southwest. Collectively, the Snares have a total land area of . The islands are listed with the New Zealand Outlying Islands. The islands are an immediate part of New Zealand, not part of any region or district, but instead ''Area Outside Territorial Authority'', like all the other outlying islands except the Solander Islands. History The islands were already known to the Māori, who called one of the larger islands ''Te Taniwha'' ("The sea-monster"). The island group was first sighted by Europeans on 23 November 1791 independently by the two ships HMS ''Discovery'' under Captain Geor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stewart Island
Stewart Island (, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura, formerly New Leinster) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a land area of . Its coastline is indented by Paterson Inlet (east), Port Pegasus (south), and Mason Bay (west). The island is generally hilly (rising to at Mount Anglem) and densely forested. Flightless birds, including penguins, thrive because there are few introduced predators. Almost all the island is owned by the New Zealand government, and over 80 percent of the island forms Rakiura National Park. Stewart Island's economy depends on fishing and summer tourism. Its permanent population was recorded at 408 people in the 2018 census. Most residents live in the settlement of Oban on the eastern side of the island. Ferries connect Oban to Bluff in the South Island. Stewart Island is part of the Southland District for local government p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Island
The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south by the Foveaux Strait and Southern Ocean, and to the east by the Pacific Ocean. The South Island covers , making it the List of islands by area, world's 12th-largest island, constituting 56% of New Zealand's land area. At low altitudes, it has an oceanic climate. The most populous cities are Christchurch, Dunedin, Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson and Invercargill. Prior to European settlement, Te Waipounamu was sparsely populated by three major iwi – Kāi Tahu, Kāti Māmoe, and the historical Waitaha (South Island iwi), Waitaha – with major settlements including in Kaiapoi Pā near modern-day Christchurch. During the Musket Wars expanding iwi colonised Te Tau Ihu Māori, Te Tau Ihu, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
