New Zealand fairy tern/tara-iti
With a population of around 36 individuals that includes only ten breeding pairs, the New Zealand fairy tern is probably New Zealand's rarest breeding bird. It is ranked as an endangered species, and carries a 'Category A' priority for conservation action. A Department of Conservation Recovery Plan is currently in action.
New Zealand parakeet/kākāriki
Kākāriki, meaning ‘small green parrot’ in Māori, are beautiful forest birds. There are five main species of kākāriki: yellow-crowned parakeet, orange-fronted parakeet, red-crowned parakeet, Forbes' parakeet and Antipodes Island parakeet.
New Zealand pigeon/kererū
New Zealand's native pigeon, also known as kererū, kūkū and kūkupa, is the only disperser of large fruits, such as those of karaka and taraire, we have. The disappearance of the kererū would be a disaster for the regeneration of our native forests.
The kererū is a large bird with irridescent green and bronze feathers on its head and a smart white vest. The noisy beat of its wings is a distinctive sound in our forests. The pigeon is found in most lowland native forests of the North, South and Stewart islands and many of their neighbouring islands.
Orange-fronted parakeets/kākāriki (Cyanoramphus malherbi) are small forest-dwelling birds. They are bright green with blue feathers along the outer edge of the wing.
Classified as ‘nationally critical’, the species has a high risk of extinction with only 100 – 200 birds in the wild. The four known remaining populations are all within a 30 km radius in beech forests of upland valleys within Arthur’s Pass National Park and Lake Sumner Forest Park in Canterbury, South Island.
Paradise duck/ pūtakitaki/pūtangitangi
The paradise shelduck is New Zealand’s only shelduck, a worldwide group of large, often semi-terrestrial waterfowl that have goose-like features. Unusually for ducks, the female paradise shelduck is more eye-catching than the male; females have a pure white head and chestnut-coloured body, while males have a dark grey body and black head.
Paradise shelducks are commonly observed flying in pairs or grazing on pasture. They are very vocal birds, with males giving a characteristic ‘zonk zonk’, while females make a more shrill ‘zeek zeek’ while flying or as a warning to intruders.
Penguins
Penguins are a unique group of flightless seabirds that are at home on land and in the sea. They are covered with a waterproof coat of dense, short and flattened feathers, and their wings are modified into flippers. On land they walk upright, standing up to one metre high, and in water they can swim rapidly and dive for food.
Rowi
Rowi, formerly known as Okarito brown kiwi, are New Zealand’s rarest kiwi, with an estimated 300 surviving in just 10,000 hectares in South Okarito Forest, in South Westland.
It was in 1994 that they were found to be an entirely new species and given the name rowi.
Royal albatross/toroa
Saddleback/tīeke
The saddleback or tīeke belongs to New Zealand's unique wattlebird family (Callaeidae), an ancient group which includes the endangered kōkako and the extinct huia. It is a medium sized bird, and adults of both sexes have similar plumage. The bird's main feature is a conspicuous chestnut-coloured saddle on its back, but it also has chestnut on the tip of its tail, a black bill, black legs, and orange, "fleshy" wattles either side of its throat.
Stitchbird/hihi
The stitchbird/hihi (Notiomystis cincta) is one of New Zealand’s rarest birds. A medium-sized forest species, hihi compete with tui and bellbirds for nectar, insects and small fruits.
But apart from diet, hihi share few qualities with tui and bellbird, which are members of the honeyeater family. Recent DNA analysis has shown that hihi are in fact the sole representative of another bird family found only in New Zealand whose closest relatives may be the iconic wattlebirds that include kokako, saddleback and the extinct huia.
Subantarctic teal
New Zealand's rarest duck
Subantarctic teal include the Auckland Island teal, and the distinctly different Campbell Island species, which is one of the world's rarest ducks.
Few people have ever seen these small, dark brown ducks in the wild. They are mainly nocturnal, and are very secretive. Although they are flightless they make very good speed by running rapidly across the ground at the first sign of danger.
Each of the two species has a different conservation status. In 1992 the Campbell Island teal was listed as critically endangered, and the Auckland Island teal was listed as endangered.
The outlook for the Campbell Island species in particular looked very bleak, so a Department of Conservation Recovery Plan was actioned. This plan contains different priorities for each species.
Thankfully there has been some fantastic progress made with captive breeding programmes during the past few years, and the population has increased to a healthier level.
Takahē
The flightless takahē (Porphyrio [Notornis] hochstetteri) is a colourful green and blue bird with an impressive red beak and stout legs.
This unique bird, the largest living member of the rail family, was once thought to be extinct. There were only four recorded sightings of takahē last century and then none were seen until 1948. In that year a few pairs were rediscovered in the alpine tussock grasslands of the Murchison Mountains, Fiordland.
Tūī
Tūī are common throughout New Zealand in forests, towns and on off-shore islands. They are adaptable and are found not only in native forests, bush reserves and bush remnants but also in suburban areas, particularly in winter if there is a flowering gum about.
These attractive birds can often be heard singing their beautiful melodies long before they are spotted. If you are fortunate to glimpse one you will recognise them by their distinctive white tuft under their throat, which contrasts dramatically with the metallic blue-green sheen to their underlying black colour.
Weka
The weka is a large, brown flightless bird that has a famously feisty and curious personality. These two qualities traditionally made the bird an easy food source for Māori and early European settlers.
Westland petrel/tāikoThe
The Westland petrel (tāiko) is endemic to New Zealand and breeds only on the West Coast of the South Island. A large proportion of the petrel’s time is spent off New Zealand’s West Coast, and little is known about their life history while they are at sea.
White heron/kōtuku
Yellow-eyed penguin/hoiho
Unique to New Zealand, the hoiho, or yellow-eyed penguin, is thought to be the world's rarest penguin.
Yellow-eyed penguins are found along the south-east South Island, on islands off Stewart Island, Stewart Island itself, the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island.
Yellowhead/mohua
The mohua (Mohoua ochrocephala) or yellowhead is a small, insect eating bird which lives only in the forests of New Zealand’s South Island and Stewart Island. A beautiful splash of bright yellow covers its head and breast while the rest of the body is brown with varying tinges of yellow and olive. The female is slightly less brightly coloured than the male.
In the 1800’s, the mohua was one of the most abundant and conspicuous of our forest birds, now it is the most threatened of its genus, Mohoua, which also includes the whitehead and the brown creeper. Unlike the other two members of its genus, the mohua has disappeared from large, relatively unchanged forests and is continuing to decline.
Once mohua inhabited podocarp-hardwood forests (such as rimu, totara and miro). Now they are found only in beech forests with fertile soils where they can find plenty of food. When Europeans first arrived in New Zealand the species was still plentiful, but forest clearances and the introduction of new predators such as rats, stoats and possums all had a devastating effect on mohua survival. By 1900, the bird was disappearing from many of its traditional areas.
