The birds of Canterbury: History and present status: A dissertation presented as a requirement for the Diploma in Parks and Recreation (National Parks Option) [Lincoln College]

This dissertation is intended as a general summary of Canterbury's avifauna, from the earliest geological and fossil record, to the present day. It has involved logically searching through the available literature, in an attempt to portray this Province's ornithological history. This is a base of knowledge that helps bring into perspective the things that surround us in our daily lives. Increased awareness and understanding of our environment, whether that environment be the neighbour's orchard or the Tropical Rainforest Biome, benefits the individual and mankind. The study of biology should be a dynamic happening, for the subject matter is forever on the move. Populations come (introductions) and go (extinctions). This study is as much about people as birds, for the history of our avifauna is intricately tied up with the people of the Province, who introduced them, who studied them and who created or destroyed their habitat . Ever since the arrival of man, Canterbury has been subjected to extreme habitat modifications. These have resulted in the loss of the Giant Moas, and their many and varied contemporaries, but these changes have also meant the opening up of Canterbury to a new and varied range of birds