Allan..
> Apparently there are an estimated 2000 birds in New Zealand but only
400
> breeding pairs. The reason for their decline is stated in this story
as
> habitat loss and predation of nests by rats and possums?
>
> Are possums predators of birds in Australia or is this purely a New
> Zealnd phenomon?
It is suspected that possums are also a significant threat to the
isolated population of Glossy Black Cockatoos on Kangaroo Island, South
Australia. There, as in New Zealand, the possums are present in
inflated numbers - this time due to changes in land use accompanied by
lack of predators, rather than by introduction. The recovery team
working on K.I. took several anti-possum measures in breeding areas and
have had very positive results, lending significant weight to the
theory that possums are one of the main threats to nests.
For more details see the web site at http://dove.net
.au/~rwoolly/glossy/gbc.html
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Keith M. Martin Tel +32 16 32 18 62
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Fax +32 16 32 19 86
Dept. Elektrotechniek-ESAT
Kardinaal Mercierlaan 94
B-3001 Heverlee
Belgium
http://www.esat.kuleuven.ac.be/~martin/
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