New Zealand Seabirds. A Natural History. A new book by Kerry-Jayne Wilson

A new seabird book has been published this month.  Written by Kerry-Jayne Wilson of the West Coast Penguin Trust, the book features the many seabirds to be found in and around New Zealand.  In the current absence of an ACAP review copy, the publisher’s ‘blurb’ about the book and its author follows.

“New Zealand is the seabird capital of the world – no other country has so many species of breeding seabirds, while about a third of them are only found here.  New Zealand Seabirds, the first book to be written specifically about these birds, describes the different groups of seabirds, where in New Zealand they occur, their breeding biology, feeding behaviours, the conservation threats they face, and the vast distances they often travel to feed and breed. Written using non-technical language by ornithologist Kerry-Jayne Wilson, this book is an essential companion for anyone who appreciates the wildlife of our coastlines and the oceans beyond.”

Kerry-Jayne Wilson MNZM, with King Penguins in the South Atlantic

“As an undergraduate student Kerry-Jayne Wilson stood on the cliffs of the sub-Antarctic Snares Islands and watched penguins, shearwaters, petrels and albatrosses head out to sea and wondered where they went, how they caught food and how they navigated the open ocean.  These questions have intrigued her ever since and led her to undertake conservation-related research on seabirds in New Zealand, the Chathams and sub-Antarctic islands, the Southern Ocean, Antarctica, Newfoundland and briefly in several other parts of the world. She was a Senior Lecturer in ecology and conservation at Lincoln University for many years and has worked for the last 12 years as an ornithologist, natural-history writer and educator. New Zealand Seabirds is her fourth book.  In 2019 she was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) for services to seabird conservation.  She lives on the South Island’s West Coast.”

Read about Kerry-Jayne’s work with the globally Endangered and nationally Naturally Uncommon Westland Petrel Procellaria westlandica here.

Reference:

Wilson, K.-J. 2021.  New Zealand Seabirds.  A Natural History.  Nelson: Potter & Burton.  140 pp.  Hardback.  ISBN: 9781988550 251.  NZD 49.99.

John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 09 November 2021