|
|
Mammals | Birds | Frogs | Reptiles | Insects | Spiders | Peripatus | Molluscs | Freshwater Fish
A great percentage of the 328 bird species (61 families) recorded within the New Zealand region (including the Antarctic territory) are of Australasian origin. Of these, 54 are classified as vagrant, so of the 274 species frequently recorded, 69 are endemic, of which, 13 are pelagic, breeding only within New Zealand territorial waters.
Like most islands, New Zealand does not support a great number of bird
species, but this is definitely outweighed by the uniqueness of its endemic
species. New Zealand's birds evolved in the absence of mammals (bats were
present but not a threat) and took on some unusual roles normally occupied by
mammals. Many became flightless or very poor fliers, examples are the extinct
moa (12 species), kiwi, kakapo, takahe, saddleback, stitchbird and kokako.
Unfortunately with the arrival of man (1000 yrs ago) with associated mammals
(mice, rats and dogs), many of the endemic species could not adjust to the
presence of mammalian predators, and subsequently become extinct or rare. In
most instances, the rarest species could survive only on predator-free offshore
island sanctuaries. Thankfully, the Department of Conservation has opened
several of these sanctuaries to the public. This is valuable in that it allows
the public to gain appreciation of conservation issues while also seeing some of
New Zealand’s rare birds.
Some of our endemic species have very unique and unusual physiological and behavioral features. For example, the nocturnal kiwi (New Zealand’s national symbol) has nostrils at the end of it’s bill, for sniffing out worms and invertebrates from the forest litter. It has excellent hearing, long catlike whiskers, little stubs for wings, and relative to its body size, it lays the worlds largest egg (20% of its body weight).
The kakapo is special in that it is the world’s only flightless, nocturnal parrot and it is the heaviest parrot, weighing in at 3.5 kg (8 lbs). It was once common throughout the mainland, but there are now approximately 62 kakapo left. These remaining birds have been relocated to six predator-free island habitats.
The Takahe is a sub-alpine rail similar in colour to the purple swamp hen, but is much bigger and is flightless. Initially it was presumed extinct, as it was known only from fossil and Maori midden remains on both main islands. However, in 1948 a small population was discovered in a Fiordland valley, leading to the shore of Lake Te Anau. Like the kakapo, the takahe has been transferred to offshore islands to ensure its safety and breeding success. Other unusual endemics include the world’s only alpine parrot, the kea, a bird of the Southern Alps. Our Australasian wrens, the rifleman and rock wren belong to a family of an ancient lineage with no closely related species. The blackstilt that lives on the South Island braided river flats is the world’s rarest wader. Another endemic wading bird that inhabits these same river flats is the wrybill. It is the world’s only wader with a right curved bill. The bill is specially shaped for picking freshwater invertebrates from the undersides of stones and boulders on the shingle flats.
 | (Kiwi) 3; Brown kiwi*, Little spotted kiwi, Great spotted kiwi |
| (Grebes) 1; New Zealand dabchick*. |
| (Albatrosses) 2; Royal Albatross*, Bullers Mollymawk* |
| (Shearwaters & Petrels) 11; Buller's shearwater, Fluttering shearwater, Hutton's shearwater, Westland petrel, Black petrel, Cook's petrel, Pycroft's petrel, White-naped petrel, Mottled petrel, Chatham petrel, Chatham Is. Taiko |
| (Penguins) 4, Yellow-eyed*, Fiordland crested*, Snares crested, Erect-crested |
| (Shags) 7; Spotted*, Pitt Is., Stewart-Is.*, Campbell Is., Auckland Is., Bounty Is., Chatham Is. |
| (Ducks) 5; Paradise shelduck*, Brown teal, Auckland Is. teal, Blue duck*, New Zealand scaup*. |
| (Falcons) 1; Karearea. |
| (Rails) 3; Weka*, Auckland Is. rail, Takahe* |
| (Oystercatchers) 2; Chatham Is., Variable* |
| (Stilts) 1; Black stilt*. |
| (Plovers and dotterels) 4; Shore plover, Banded dotterel*, New Zealand dotterel, Wrybill*. |
| (Snipe) 2, New Zealand, Chatham Is. |
| (Gulls & Terns) 2; Black-billed gull*, Black-fronted tern* |
| (Pigeon) 1; Kereru*. |
| (Parrots) 4; Kea*, Kaka*, Kakapo, Yellow-crowned parakeet*, Antipodes Is. parakeet |
| (Cuckoos) 1; Long-tailed* |
| (New Zealand Wrens) 2; Rifleman*, Rock wren* |
| (Warblers) 6; Fernbird*, Brown creeper*, Whitehead*, Yellowhead, Grey warbler*, Chatham Is. warbler. |
| (Australasian Robins) 3; Tomtit*, New Zealand robin*, Back robin. |
| (Wattle-birds) 2; Saddleback*, Kokako*. |
| (Honeyeaters) 3; Stitchbird*, Tui*, Bellbird*. |
*Birds you are most likely to see on tour
There are many introduced European and Australasian bird species, brought by early settlers in the 1800s for control of agricultural insect pests and for recreational sport shooting, such as, starling, rooks, crows, finches, thrush, myna, pheasant, quail, and waterfowl.
Northern Hemisphere migratory wading birds are present around river mouths and estuaries between October and April, our spring-summer months. One of the best places to observe wading birds in New Zealand, is at the Miranda Naturalist’s Trust Centre, Firth of Thames.
Since there is a vast amount of literature available on New Zealand birds, it was deemed not necessary to give a comprehensive overview here. See our birding links or for further reading, see: Barrie Heather & Hugh Robertson (2001) The Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand, Pub. Viking.
If you find any information above that is incorrect or misleading, please feel free to contact us.
