Chthonic Wildlife Ramblings

In NZ, we have a relative of the lapwing. It's merely a different (more southern) subspecies Vanellus miles novaehollandiae.

This is a rather noisy and somewhat aggressive bird. I've seen them chase off harrier hawks around the campus. It's also self-introduced from Australia (trade winds tend to bring over potential colonists from Australia ever so often).

Given that it is self-introduced naturally (albeit the increase in suitable habitat from forest clearance was a big aid), there have been no campaigns to eradicate it. In NZ it tends to favour open grasslands- such as golf courses and the boundaries of air ports. This also means it's becoming a more common source of bird-strikes on aircraft.

This bird here was photographed on Waiheke Island. It isn't fully mature yet.


It's a late afternoon photograph and consequently, I've had to boost the ISO on the camera to increase the shutter speed. (I should say that it isn't my favourite Australian invader...)