Predation by mustelids and rodents on the eggs and chicks of native and introduced birds in Kowhai Bush, New Zealand

Abstract

Prior to human settlement the endemic New Zealand avifauna evolved in the absence of mammalian predators. Subsequently mustelids, rodents and feral cats have become established and frequently prey on birds and nests. It has been suggested that, because of their evolutionary history, the endemic birds are especially susceptible to such predators. In this paper predation by mustelids and rodents on the eggs and nestlings of eight species of native bird is compared with that on five species of introduced European passerine inhabiting the same lowland forest.Final outcomes were known for 101 nests of native birds and 48 nests of introduced birds found during three breeding seasons. There was no significant difference between the two groups in frequency of predation. Native birds lost 70‐1% of their nests to predators and introduced birds 64‐6%. Most predations occurred during the egg stage. Clutch size did not influence frequency of predation, but brood size did for Fantails and introduced birds. Stoats and weasels were responsible for 77‐9% of predations on native birds and 77‐4% on introduced birds; corresponding percentages for rodents (principally ship rats) were 14‐7% and 19‐4%. Mustelids destroyed proportionately more nests with chicks than with eggs, whereas rodents did the reverse. Predation on both groups of birds was not influenced by their nesting habitat, the species of tree used for nesting, or the height and position of the nest. The vulnerability to introduced predators of native New Zealand birds is discussed in relation to the historical declines of many species, and also their life‐history patterns.