Evidence of lizard predation by New Zealand kingfishers (Todiramphus sanctus vagans) and potential implications for threatened species translocations

Figures & data

Table 1  Status and density of lizard species present on Motuora and Tiritiri Matangi Islands.

	Motuora		Tiritiri Matangi
Species	Status	Density	Status	Density
Oligosoma aeneum	Remnant	Not available	Remnant	6173/ha^a
Oligosoma moco	Remnant	Not available	Remnant	4617/ha^a
Oligosoma smithi	Translocated in 2006	30 individuals	Translocated in 2006	30 individuals
Hoplodactylus duvaucelii	Translocated in 2006	20 individuals	Translocated in 2006	19 individuals
Woodworthia maculatus	Absent	–	Remnant	Not available
^aDensity estimates were calculated from within for grassland habitats (Habgood 2003).

Figure 1  Percentage of regurgitated kingfisher pellets containing prey items from Tiritiri Matangi (n=100) and Motuora (n=7) Islands.

Table 2  Average number (±SEM) of skink bones recorded in regurgitated kingfisher pellets containing lizard remains, on Tiritiri Matangi and Motuora Islands in 2007.

	Lizard remains/pellet
Island	n ^a	Braincase	Jaw	Frontal bone	Pelvic girdle
Tiritiri Matangi	88	1.8 (±0.2) [0–6]	13.2 (±1.6) [0–29]	3.6 (±0.3) [0–8]	2.1 (±0.3) [0–7]
Motuora	3	0.5 (±0.5) [0–2]	0.7 (±0.7) [0–2]	0.5 (±0.5) [0–2]	0.3 (±0.3) [0–1]
Numbers in square brackets represent the range. ^aNumber of regurgitated kingfisher pellets containing lizard remains.