Mortality and dispersal of Hardheads banded in Victoria

Abstract

Between 1957 and 1966, 454 Hardheads were banded at twelve sites in Victoria by the Fisheries and Wildlife Department. Up to the end of 1969, fifty-two banded birds were recovered in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. These recoveries provided information from which rates of mortality and survival were calculated. Most recoveries (55.8%) occurred within a year of banding and within four years 88.5 per cent of the recoveries had been made. Movement from Victoria is generally into New South Wales, but dispersal into South Australia and Queensland is recorded. Because few Hardheads breed in Victoria, occurrence of the species in this State is probably caused by influxes from New South Wales where conservation measures arc different.