Menu By
|
|
| |
Australian Field Ornithology (AFO)
|
|
Introduction
The AFO is a quarterly journal of interest to the more advanced birdwatcher in Australia and overseas.
It contains reports of field behaviour, research, and records of new birds for the Australian region.
The journal is the successor to The Australian Bird Watcher, which the Bird Observers Club of
Australia published for forty-four years. BOCA believes that AFO can fill an important niche in
publishing the findings of rigorous field research on birds of the Australian region conducted
by amateur and professional ornithologists. Papers dealing with most aspects of field
ornithology will be considered for publication, including studies of behaviour, ecology,
breeding biology, records of rare species, important surveys and topical reviews.
AFO will also be a valuable forum for publication of the results of incomplete, but
rigorously conducted postgraduate and honours studies.
The aim of the editors and editorial board
is to build on the valuable contribution to Australian ornithological research made by
The Australian Bird Watcher and make Australian Field Ornithology a high quality journal
that all serious ornithologists in
Australia and many overseas will want to read. To achieve this goal we need your support.
We invite you to become a subscriber to AFO and, if you are actively involved in
research on Australian birds, to seriously consider submitting your work to the journal and
encouraging your research colleagues to do likewise.
The Co-ordinating Editor is Dr. Stephen Debus PhD.
The Chair of the Editorial Board is Associate Professor Alan Lill PhD.
Subscription
The AFO is a quarterly journal of interest to the more advanced birdwatcher.
Subscription to AFO is an independent subscription, separate from BOCA membership.
To subscribe to AFO click here.
About the current issue of AFO
| |
|
CONTENTS
VOL.24(1) March 2007 |
 |
|
An Atlantic Petrel Pterodroma incerta at Sea off Western Victoria
Rohan H. Clarke
A Long-term Breeding Trio of Pied Oystercatchers Haematopus longirostris
Bo Totterman and Annette Harrison
Duelling and Nest Failures in Southern Boobooks Ninox novaeseelandiae
Jerry Olsen and Susan Trost
An Inland Record of the Pacific Baza at Tibooburra, Far North-western New South Wales
Robert Green, Raymond Turnbull and David M. Watson
Foods of the Glossy Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus lathami
Tamra F. Chapman
Food Remains in Nests of Rainbow Bee-eaters Merops omatus in Old-growth Woodland of South-western Australia
Graham R. Fulton and A.B. Rose
An Orange-bellied Fruit-Dove Ptilinopus iozonus on Boigu Island, Torres Strait: The First Record for Australian Territory
Rohan H. Clarke
|
Sample Article (extract)
|
AUSTRALIAN FIELD ORNITHOLOGY 2007, 24,7-12
|
|
|
|
An Atlantic Petrel Pterodroma incerta at Sea off Western Victoria
|
|
|
|
ROHAN H. CLARKE
|
|
|
|
School of Life and Environmental Sciences,
|
|
Deakin University, Burwood, Victoria 3125
|
|
(Email: rohan.clarkeejideakin.edu.au)
|
|
_____________________________________________
|
|
|
|
Summary
|
|
An Atlantic Petrel Pterodroma incerta was seen and well photographed on 6 February
2005 during a pelagic excursion off western Victoria. The sighting has been accepted by the
Birds Australia Rarities Committee as the first confirmed record of the species for Australia.
|
|
|
|
The sighting
|
|
A pelagic excursion aboard the vessel Michael J IV departed from Port Fairy,
western Victoria, with 13 seabird enthusiasts aboard on 6 February 2005 for a day
at sea. By late morning we were stationed ~52 km south-east of Cape Nelson
Lighthouse, Victoria (38°51.62'S, 141°49.45'E), having attracted large numbers
of seabirds to the ~lOO-m-Iong berley trail. Species present included Great-winged
Petrels Pterodroma macroptera, White-headed Petrels P. lessonii and numerous
albatrosses. Here the seabed is at 350 fathoms, though, being near to the edge of
the continental shelf, the depth increases to 600+ fathoms within 500 m of this
position. The weather was fine and mild with high hazy cloud, meaning that viewing
conditions were good. The wind had been decreasing through the morning and
was blowing at ~5 knots; as a result the sea was slight on a 2-m swell.
|
|
|
|
At 1117 h (Eastern Summer Time) a large pale-bellied petrel Pterodroma sp.
flew towards the feeding scrum of seabirds directly behind the vessel and promptly
alighted on the water within 5 m of the stern. Before taking off and circling the
vessel, it made attempts to take pieces of shark liver that were thrown to it. On
several passes it flew directly overhead, 3-5 m above the observers, before again
alighting on the water behind the boat. This pattern of alighting to take berley,
then lifting and circling the boat, was repeated many times during the next 20
minutes, so that all on board obtained excellent and sustained views of the bird.
At 1137 h the bird left, only to return at 1145 h for a further 10 minutes. These
extended observation periods allowed ample time to note salient features and
take numerous photographs. After the bird departed for the second time, we
decided to move to another berley point at 38°50.99'S, 141°45.33'E, which we
reached at 1220 h. Here, over 290 fathoms of water, we dispensed berley for
45 minutes. Just before we left at 1303 h, ~65 minutes since the bird was last seen,
it again approached the boat, this time for several minutes. Unique plumage
characters (e.g. pattern of fresh and worn secondary coverts) indicated that it was
the same individual.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
If you wish to download a pdf copy of the complete article, An Atlantic Petrel Pterodroma incerta at Sea off Western Victoria, click here. (550kB - approx. 3 mins on 56kB dialup)
To read a downloaded document you will need Adobe Reader, which you may download and use for free.
Please note that when downloading a pdf file, a blank screen may be displayed during the time the Adobe reader is loaded and as the file is downloaded.
Click to download
Adobe Reader
Notes for Contributors
Australian Field Ornithology
welcomes original papers and short notes on Australian ornithology,
particularly those reporting data derived from observing birds in the field. Black-and-white or colour photographic prints and
transparencies of adequate contrast are acceptable. Line drawings illustrating
behaviour etc. in the text are also welcome. Authors are encouraged to submit
relevant colour photographs suitable for the front cover.
Papers are considered on the understanding
that they are not simultaneously being offered elsewhere. Papers submitted as
hard copy should be typed, wide spaced with generous margins, and submitted in
triplicate to the relevant editor (see inside front cover). However, authors
are strongly encouraged to send initial submissions as email attachments, so
the editorial and refereeing process can be
conducted electronically with minimal delay. English bird names, scientific
names, and sequence of families and species follow Christidis
& Boles (1994), The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and Its
Territories, RAOU Monograph 2 and, where
necessary, Handbook of Australian, New
Zealand and Antarctic Birds.
All papers should have a summary, and
internal structuring with appropriate subheadings. The 24-hour
clock and SI units are used. Dates are
written as 1 January 2003 in the text, but may be abbreviated (1.1.03) in
tables. Numbers 1 to 9 are spelt in the text, except as quantities with units
(e.g. 1 kg, 2 km).
The conventions adopted in Australian
Field Ornithology follow those in the Style
Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers, revised edition, Snooks &
Co., Brisbane, 2002. References follow the author-date (Harvard) system.
The proportions of graphs, figures and
tables should be selected so that they can fit within all or part of a single
page, or in exceptional cases a double page. Figures should be of professional
quality, or laser-printed if computer generated.
Authors are asked to consult a current
issue of the journal as a guide, particularly on style, layout and capitalisations
in titles, subheadings and references. Detailed guidelines are available from
the editors. Papers will be refereed.
Authors submitting final, revised
manuscripts and illustrations on disk should supply two hard copies. Tables,
figures and illustrations should not be embedded in the text; figures and
illustrations on disk or CD should be submitted separately as JPEG or TIFF files.
If illustrations are submitted
in colour, the hard copy should also be in
colour. Title, author and operating system used to generate the file should be
indicated on the disk label. The word processor and version should be
indicated. A current version of 'Word' for PC is preferred. Preferably, final versions
should be submitted electronically, as an
email attachment, to the relevant editor.
The authors of a paper are entitled to one
free copy of the issue of AFO in which
their paper is published. Additional copies can be ordered at cost ($6.50 each + postage)
from the BOCA.
Articles may be submitted through BOCA.
|
