Habitat use by yellowheads, mohoua ochrocephala (Aves: Muscicapidae), in the hawdon river valley, arthur’s pass national park. 1. habitat preferences

An investigation of the diurnal use of habitat by yellowheads was conducted in mixed red beech and mountain beech forest. Observations of individual yellowheads were made after nesting (late Dec 1983-mid Feb 1984), when the birds were ranging widely. Yellowheads did not utilise the forest at random, but exploited the larger structural elements. They spent more time than expected by chance alone on red beech trees, on trees with large diameters, in forest types which contained a large red beech element, in tall forests, and in forests on steep slopes. The time spent in forests at different altitudes did not differ significantly from that expected by chance alone. Mountain beech and standing dead trees were exploited less often than would be expected if yellowheads were using the forest at random. The large proportion of time spent on bigger trees may have implications for management practices in areas where yellowheads remain.