A synopsis of game bird banding in New Zealand to year 2000

The organised banding in New Zealand of birds that are seasonally hunted as game commenced in 1947 when wild grey ducks (Anas superciliosa) and mallards (A. platyrhynchos) were captured in Manawatu. From 1950, California quail (Callipepla californica) were caught and banded in central Otago and near Taupo as field studies of other game birds by Department of Internal Affairs Wildlife Branch staff commenced. At the same time, captive-raised mallards and common pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) were banded at release by acclimatisation societies, pre-empting a later legal requirement for banding of all released captive-raised game birds. By year 2000, approximately 150,000 of five species of introduced upland game birds (Galliformes) had been banded in New Zealand, including chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar), grey partridge (Perdix perdix), and red-legged partridge (Alectoris rufa), the latter two species ultimately failing to acclimatise. From this total, 7,267 were reported shot. By year 2000, approximately 370,000 of six species of wetland game birds — black swan (Cygnus atratus), Canada goose (Branta canadensis), paradise shelduck (Tadorna variegata), Australasian shoveler (Spatula rhynchotis), grey duck, and mallard (and their hybrids) — had been banded. From this total, 62,566 were reported shot. Banding records, and details arising from the reported recoveries of banded birds, were initially administered by the Wildlife Branch, Department of Internal Affairs 1947–66, after which records were amalgamated with the nascent Ornithological Society of New Zealand’s bird ringing scheme for all other species, to form the New Zealand Bird Banding Scheme. Administered 1967–87 by the Wildlife Service, the scheme has been managed thereafter by the Department of Conservation. This narrative summarises the scales, locations, and durations of bandings of each game bird species, quantifies the recovery records for each, and reports on all published outcomes arising from the banding activities. Supplementary files provide recovery arrays (banding year by recovery year) for each of the wetland species to preserve historic records and encourage belated appraisal of much unprocessed band-recovery information.