The Birds of New Zealand
- Dec 31
- 7 min read
Updated: Feb 5
New Zealand, being such a remote place, only has two species of land mammal, both being kinds of bats. This led to incredible biodiversity and proliferation of birds in the country, up to the point of human settlement in the 13th century.
With this post, I figured I’d take the time to highlight some of the rare and special birds I’ve seen on my hikes and travels.
With the lack of other land animals to appreciate, their uniqueness and beauty, plus the threats unintentionally introduced to them by human settlement, New Zealanders (or kiwis, as they are often called) nowadays show a great love and fascination for their avian compatriots. Bird watching is a big hobby here, conservation efforts can be seen on every trail, and they even celebrate an annual Bird of the Year. (Last year, the honor was awarded to the only native falcon, the Kārearea.)
The Dangers
Rabbits were introduced to New Zealand by white settlers for some sport hunting, but having no natural predators, the population quickly exploded. Recognizing this problem, humans sought to fix it by introducing their natural predator, the stoat. This proved to be a catastrophic idea. Stoats, noticing how easy it was to catch flightless birds and steal their eggs, completely ignored the rabbits in favor of this much easier food source.
Australian possums, too, were introduced for hunting and fur, but they likewise began to terrorize the bird population. Add in rats, cats, dogs, and humans killing either for sport or to remove what they considered a nuisance, as well as vast habitat loss, and we get some sobering statistics. Over 50 different bird species have gone extinct in New Zealand since humans arrived, and 82% of those remaining are considered threatened or at risk of extinction.
Kiwi
Perhaps the most famous bird in New Zealand, kiwi are flightless, with very long beaks, but technically short noses, since their nostrils are at the very end of the beak. They also have the largest egg-to-mass ratio of any bird on earth, making up over 20% of the kiwi’s weight.
By and large, kiwi are nocturnal, so in order to see them, I signed up for a tour where they are most plentiful, in Stewart Island area. Because of the remoteness, the birds in this area are relatively safe. Nevertheless, it was no guarantee we’d find any, and because they are sensitive to light and noise, our group had to creep silently along woodland paths using dim flashlights, and if a kiwi was spotted, the guide would illuminate it with a less disturbing red light.
We began walking around the island around 10pm, as soon as it was dark. The tour was scheduled to finish at midnight, but as the time crept towards the end, only a couple had caught a quick glimpse of one trotting off through the undergrowth, and the rest of us had seen nothing. Still, the guides persisted, and around 12:30am, they found a kiwi that was hunting around for food and thus staying in one area long enough for people to gather around, see it properly, and take photos.
Kea
I was first warned about this cheeky mountain parrot on the Milford track. Usually, you are supposed to leave your boots outside of huts in order to keep the floors clean, but when kea are around, you are strongly suggested to do the opposite, because they will mess with it. Likewise, backpacks cannot be left unattended. They have been known to damage cars, chew through electric wires, and remove nails from roofs.
It’s one thing to be told; it’s another to experience it. While hiking the Kepler, I stopped at the Luxmore hut to eat my lunch. Nearby was a sign which read DO NOT FEED THE KEA. Very soon, a kea jumped up onto my picnic table. This was incredibly close, so close I could bop it on the head. I was delighted, knowing how rare these birds are, so I pulled out my phone, wanting to capture this special moment.
Then he got too close, and I realized I was in trouble. I had at least 5 different snacks out, and only hands, one of which was filming. I quickly gave up on continuing the video in the hopes of protecting my meal. I wrapped as much as I could around my arms to protect it, thinking surely the bird won’t be so brazen as to get any closer.
The kea, however, was one step ahead of me. He began nipping at my book, and as I reached to pull this other item away from him, he used this opening to grab a bag of dehydrated pineapple. Loot in beak, he flew off a little ways. I quickly chased after him, but seeing my pursuit, he flew under the hut porch.
I was set on retrieving my bag, though, and I began to crawl under the porch after him. The kea eyed me curiously, and then hopped a little deeper and a little deeper into the porch with the bag of food, until I realized it was totally hopeless. I physically could no longer reach him. After I finished my meal in vanquished silence, I checked again under the porch to see if the kea had moved. He had not, and he was instead enjoying the dried fruit from the torn bag.
Utterly defeated, I left to do a short out and back hike before continuing along the Great Walk. Returning to Luxmore, I saw another guy opening up his lunch container and taking out a sandwich. Suddenly, a kea hopped onto the picnic table. The hiker was amazed and pulled out his phone. I knew the ending before it happened. Sure enough, moments later, the hiker was a sandwich short and the kea victorious again, snatching it right from his hand. I realized this must be a very successful tactic, well-practiced by the bird.
Nevertheless, he must’ve liked the pineapple, because for the next 7 miles or so, every time I would stop, the kea (and sometimes his partner) would appear and hop around, waiting to see if I would pull out any more snacks. I did not, but I did manage to get some pretty good photos.
Weka
Thankfully, by the time I was warned about weka, I had already learned the hard-earned lesson by the kea of how careful I must be around these flightless birds. They have a shorter beak than kiwi, and they are covered with feathers, whereas kiwi have more of a fur on their bodies. Though I saw a few on the Milford track, they were most prolific along the Abel Tasman.
There was one part of the trail that is only passable in low tide, and even then, there were parts I had to wade up to my waist to make my way across to the other beach. While waiting for the tide to ebb, weka were wandering curiously about, getting comfortable enough at one point to even hop onto my foot!
Blue Duck
I saw the endangered Blue Duck, a rare species found mostly near rapids, at the very end of my tenth Great Walk, the Heaphy Track. I was crossing a bridge over a river, and there it was, calmly floating upstream.
Albatross
The endangered northern royal albatross only breed in 3 places on earth: the Chatham Islands, Enderby Island, and the Otago Peninsula. I went to the Albatross Center on the Otago Peninsula. Albatross spend years at a time at sea without touching land. They can glide for many miles without flapping their wings. They’re large birds, with wingspans of up to 10 feet long and a weight of up to 18 pounds. Every two years after finding mates, albatrosses will return to their nest and reunite with their partners to lay an egg and raise a chick.
Honorable Mentions
Moa
Another flightless bird, moa were hunted to extinction by the Maori, but they were known as one of the tallest and largest birds to have ever existed, reaching 12 feet in height and 510 pounds in weight. In fact, one kind of tree, the Lancewood, specifically evolved razorlike leaves until it reached a certain age and height in order to avoid the hungry beaks of moa. Skeletons of them are all that remain.
Lancewood trees, the young one in the left photo, the taller and older one featured on the right
Pūkeko
This kind of swamphen is one of the few bird species to be doing very well, having adapted to habitat changes. Though they can fly, they're not great at it and spend the vast majority of their time on the ground.
Korimako
One of the more populous kinds of birds, the Korimako, or bellbird, is known for its pretty call. This video was taken along the Hump Ridge Trail.
Kakaruwai
This South Island Sparrow took an interest in me as I was brushing my teeth on the Heaphy Track (and then he pooped).
Comments