Discovered and named by Capt. Bligh of the Bounty in 1788, he described them as “bare and desolate, with the inability to afford any vegetable production”. There might not be any vegetation but during the spring and summer the islands are breeding grounds for thousands of sea birds including Salvins Albatross and the endemic Erect Crested Penguin.
Bounty Islands
The Bounty Islands comprise over 20 small islands, islets and rocks, in three groups: Main, Centre and East. They are granite composition, of early Jurassic age. They are bare and spray-swept, with no soil development. Guano deposits accumulate in summer.
The Bounty Islands were discovered on 19 September 1788 by Captain William Bligh and named by him after his ship.
In 1807 a Sydney vessel, the Santa Anna, called in at the Bay of Islands (Northern New Zealand) and took on board a Maori chief, Ruatara, whose great ambition was to visit King George III. On arriving at the Bounty Islands, Ruatara and thirteen others were left to kill seals while the Santa Anna went off on further business. By the time it returned three of the men had died from hunger, thirst and exposure on the water less and barren Island. The others had survived on seal meat and sea birds. They had amassed a total of 8000 skins.
The Bounty Islands certainly lived up to their name as far as seals were concerned. In the first two years of sealing some 50,000 seals were killed at a profit of some £40,000. But by 1831 at the height of the breeding season Captain John Biscoe could only find five fur seals.
Erect-Crested Penguin
No terrestrial vegetation has been described, although lichens and green algae reportedly occur on a few sheltered rock faces.
Country or region: Bounty IslandsNumber of species: 12 Number of endemics: 1 Number of globally threatened species: 3 Number of introduced species: 1
The taxonomic order and nomenclature follows Clements 5th edition (updated 2005).
SPHENISCIFORMES: Spheniscidae Erect-crested Penguin Eudyptes sclateri Endangered Rockhopper Penguin Eudyptes chrysocome Vulnerable PROCELLARIIFORMES: Diomedeidae Shy Albatross Thalassarche cauta Near-threatened PROCELLARIIFORMES: Procellariidae Cape Petrel Daption capense Fulmar Prion Pachyptila crassirostris PROCELLARIIFORMES: Hydrobatidae Black-bellied Storm-Petrel Fregetta tropica PELECANIFORMES: Phalacrocoracidae Bounty Islands Shag Phalacrocorax ranfurlyi Endemic Vulnerable CHARADRIIFORMES: Recurvirostridae White-headed Stilt Himantopus leucocephalus Rare/Accidental CHARADRIIFORMES: Laridae Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus Red-billed Gull Larus scopulinus CHARADRIIFORMES: Sternidae Antarctic Tern Sterna vittata PASSERIFORMES: Sturnidae European Starling Sturnus vulgaris Introduced species
Bird Checklists of the World is part of Avibase and Bird links to the World, which are designed and maintained by Denis Lepage, and hosted by Bird Studies Canada, which is a co-partner of Birdlife International. © Denis Lepage 2006
