Dr Sparrman and J.R. Forster, who accompanied Captain Cook during his second voyage, first discovered the long-tailed cuckoo at Tahiti in August 1773. In February, 1777 when Cook touched Queen Charlotte's Sound in New Zealand on his last voyage, we find mention of this species once again, the first report of this species in New Zealand.
The Whitney South Seas Expedition during the years 1921 - 1933 collected a number of specimens of the long-tailed cuckoo from a wide range of localities. Information on unpublished material of other museums was also available. All in all, information was gathered from over 200 specimens from the range outside New Zealand, 130 of which are in the American Museum of Natural History, including the Rothschild collection. From this the map of its winter range was drawn.
Narena Olliver, Greytown, April, 2007
