New Zealand Birds

Many of the New Zealand birds are not found in any other countries in the world. Although there are no native mammals apart from bats and marine mammals such as dolphins and seals, this country does however have an abundance of unique native sea and forest bird life that can not be found anywhere else on earth.

Before humans inhabited these islands, NZ did not have any predatory mammals. Up until the arrival of predators the native bird life was free to exist on the ground with many species being completely flightless, and some losing use of wings through evolution. Thinking about it, if there were no predators to worry about why bother to carry on flying!

Unique New Zealand birds include the Kiwi with nostrils at the end of their beaks, and the world's only flightless parrot called the Kakapo, the only truly alpine parrot the Kea.

NZ is re known to be the seabird capital of the world and is fortunate in that it is the home to many species of forest birds that can be found nowhere else in the world.

This is definitely a bird watching paradise... if you can find them.

Many of the New Zealand animals have retained their original forms from ancient times. There are frogs that have live young, and are crickets without wings (Weta), an alternative to mice, that forages on the forest floor.

There is a diverse population of invertebrates that play a vital role in maintaining the ecosystem processes that enable many of the native bird populations to survive. It's very unfortunate that along with many of the native bird species being under threat, many of the invertebrates also face extinction for similar reasons.

I'm providing a list of examples of New Zealand birds below but it is in now way an exhaustive list. It will give you an idea of the variety of bird life you can expect to see in NZ.

Some, such as the Kiwi, are only really able to be seen in protected and controlled environments and sanctuaries. There are few sanctuaries that have successful breeding programme's for the Kiwi and it is great news every time another one is hatched out!

I believe that the Kekapo is far too endangered to be on view anywhere at this point in time but hopefully the protection and breeding programme may change that. With the help of the Department of Conservation hopefully the survival of this bird will continue.

Due to the predatory animals that have been introduced to the islands since humans arrived, such as rats, dogs, and cats, the survival rate of these flightless species is totally dependant on protection and bird rescue.

However, there are now several breeding programs and projects that have offered successful reintroduction to the wild of a variety of NZ bird natives. Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust, Rainbow Springs in Rotorua and Otorohanga Kiwi House are examples of ones that I visited on my travels.

For information on other animals that inhabit these islands please visit my dedicated page on NZ animals.

Albatross

Bellbird (Korimako)

Black Robin

Black Stilt (Kaki)

Black Swan

Blue Duck (Whio)

Dinornis (Moa)

Duck (Blue Duck) (Whio)

Kea

Kiwi

Kokako - The South Island species of this bird is believed to have been extinct for more that 25 years

Kune Kune

Moa (Dinornis)

New Zealand Bush Falcon

New Zealand Dotterel

Oystercatcher (Variable Oystercatcher)

Penguin (Hoiho the Yellow-eyed Penguin) - only a concerted conservation effort backed by tourism interests have saved the Yellow Eyed Penguin

Swan (Black Swan)

Takahe - Thought to be extinct until Dr. Geoff Orbell re discovered this flightless bird with a red beak and multi coloured plumage in 1948.

Torea (Variable Oystercatcher)

Variable Oystercatcher

Whio (Blue Duck)

Yellow-eyed Penguin (Hoiho) - This is the rarest penguin in the world with not many more than 4,000 left, the majority of which are on the islands of New Zealand but over 600 pairs are on the south-eastern coast of New Zealand.

Wildlife Parks

This country is undoubtedly brilliant for bird watching and there are many wildlife conservation parks you can visit.

One of these in the North Island is Otorohanga Kiwi House & Native Bird Park for NZ birds & reptiles. If you are going anywhere near the Waitomo Caves, this park is only a short drive from there.

A little bit further north is another fantastic area of bush with a predator proof fence that you can visit. See my page dedicated to the Maungatautari Ecological Island Trust reserve for more information.

And at the southern end of the North Island, Staglands Wildlife Reserve is located in the beautiful Akatarawa Valley in Upper Hutt, Wellington. Staglands Wildlife Reserve is involved in the conservation of New Zealand native birds including the Blue Duck, NZ Bush Falcon, Kaka, Kea and the Kune Kune.

The Lochmara Lodge Marlborough Sounds Wildlife Recovery Centre are dedicated and passionate about ensuring the unique flora and fauna of these islands exists for future generations to enjoy. The centre includes and abundance of native bird life, educational signs for information about plants, animals, and conservation projects.

Books

If you are looking for books about wildlife in NZ visit The Nile - New Zealand's Largest Online Bookstore and use their search box to find what you're looking for, or ziwi.co.nz another great NZ online bookstore

Nature Sounds and Bird Song

'AOTEAROA - Nature Sounds of New Zealand' is an album of uniquely relaxing recordings from the 'Land of the Long White Cloud' released by the group Symbiosis. It features the beautiful calls of native birds like the Tui, Bellbird and Kaka, as well as the sounds of Pacific shores, gentle rain, distant thunder, calming bush atmospheres, hot springs and even some bubbling mud! The album is now one of of their best sellers world-wide on iTunes and has been included in many TV and radio soundtracks including the BBC mini-series 'The Lost World'. Ref: symbiosismusic

Turn your sound up to listen to this brilliant recording!