Vocabulary Flashcards: The New Zealand avifauna

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the lecture notes on the New Zealand avifauna.

Endemic

Not found in any other country; NZ has a large number of endemic bird species (Approx 94).

Avifauna

The birds of a particular region or area (e.g., New Zealand’s avifauna).

Taxonomy

The science of classifying organisms into hierarchical groups such as genus, family, and order.

Order (taxonomy)

A major taxonomic group of organisms; in birds, higher than family (e.g., Passeriformes, Charadriiformes).

Genus

A rank in taxonomy grouping closely related species; smaller than a family.

Family

A taxonomic rank grouping related genera.

Dispersal

Migration or movement of a species from one region to another, often establishing new populations or colonies.

Vicariance

Geographic separation of a population by a barrier or fragmentation of its range, leading to divergence.

Zealandia

The submerged-to-subaerial landmass that includes New Zealand and surrounding areas; connected to Gondwana in the past.

Gondwana

An ancient southern supercontinent whose breakup helped shape current continental distributions.

Endemism

The ecological state of being native to and restricted to a particular region.

Dinornithiformes

Order containing the moa, a group of extinct flightless birds from New Zealand.

Aptornithiformes

Order containing the adzebills (Aptornis), an extinct NZ endemic group.

Sphenisciformes

Order that includes penguins.

Procellariiformes

Order including albatrosses, petrels, shearwaters, and related seabirds.

Gruiformes

Order that includes cranes and rails.

Charadriiformes

Order covering wading birds, gulls, and related groups.

Podicipediformes

Order containing grebes.

Anseriformes

Order of waterfowl, including ducks, swans, and geese.

Pelecaniformes

Order that includes herons and related water birds.

Strigiformes

Order of owls.

Accipitriformes

Order of birds of prey (raptors), including eagles and hawks.

Aegotheliformes

Order containing owlet-nightjars.

Apterygiformes

Order containing the kiwis (e.g., Apteryx) in New Zealand.

Psittaciformes

Order of parrots and parakeets (e.g., kakapo is a flightless parrot).

Passeriformes

Order of perching birds; the largest bird order; contains many NZ birds.

Acanthisittidae

Family of New Zealand wrens; ancient and evolutionarily significant group with debated origins.

Haast’s eagle

Extinct NZ raptor (Hieraaetus moorei) that illustrates historic predator extinctions.

Kakapo

Flightless, nocturnal parrot native to NZ (Strigops habroptilus); highly endangered.

Adzebill

Common name for extinct NZ rail-like birds in Aptornithidae; genus Aptornis.

Post-settlement extinction

Extinctions occurring after human settlement (around 1000 AD), often due to introduced predators; many NZ endemics were lost in this period.

Deep time extinction

Extinctions in the ancient past (before 1000 AD), predating human arrival.