New Zealand Waterbirds 1

 

Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) portrait.
Picton, New Zealand. 

In October 2024 Diane I made a three-week trip to New Zealand.  We visited many parks and natural areas on the North Island, South Island and Stewart Island.  I have written about sea birds, forests and land birds in previous blogs.  I will finish discussing New Zealand with two blogs on waterbirds.  These blogs will emphasize birds that spend their lives in and around freshwater or the seacoasts of New Zealand.  Many of these birds are endemic to the islands and some are critically endangered.  

Cormorants are medium to large, waterbirds with a worldwide distribution.  Another common name for cormorant is shag and these two names are sometimes used interchangeably.  Cormorants dive for fish that they catch with their long, hooked beaks. 

Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius).
Tawharanui Regional Park, New Zealand. 

Pied Cormorant on nest with young.
Ashley Estuary, New Zealand

Pied Cormorants (Phalacrocorax varius) are large black and white birds endemic to New Zealand and Australia.  They have a gray beak and a yellow spot between the base of the beak and the eye.  We saw these impressive birds on both the North and South Islands including nesting pairs with young.  In New Zealand these birds are usually called Pied Shags.  

Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos).
Rotorua, New Zealand. 

Little Pied Cormorants.
 Rotorua, New Zealand. 

Little Pied Cormorants (Microcarbo melanoleucos) look very similar to its larger cousins the Pied Cormorants.  Little Pied Cormorants are black and white with a short, yellow beak, and are smaller than Pied Cormorants.  They are found in Australia, New Zealand, many South Pacific islands, New Guinea and eastern Indonesia. 

Spotted Shag (Stictocarbo punctatus).
Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand. 

Spotted Shag portrait.
Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand.

The Spotted Shag (Stictocarbo punctatus) is another black and white cormorant but is unmistakable.  With their black crests, green face patches blue eyes rings and elegant spots on the back and wings, Spotted Shags are standouts in the cormorant world.  This New Zealand endemic is most common on the South Island. 

 

New Zealand King Shag (Leuocarbo carunculatus).
Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand. 

New Zealand King Shag portrait.
Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand. 

New Zealand King Shags (Leucocarbo carunculatus) are the most impressive of the New Zealand cormorants. They are large black and white birds with pink feet, a blue eye ring and yellow tissue called caruncles at the base of the beak.  New Zealand King Shags breed only in the Marlborough Sounds at the north end of the South Island.  Their population is around 700 individuals, and their conservation status is given as Vulnerable. We were lucky to see a single New Zealand King Shag in Queen Charlotte Sound.  This bird had a band on its leg identifying it as number 11.  

Brown Teal (Anas chlorotis).
Tawharanui Regional Park, New Zealand. 

Brown Teal hiding on a creek bank.
Tawharanui  Regional Park, New Zealand.

We saw several species of endemic ducks on the trip.  Brown Teal (Anas chlorotis) are brown ducks with a bold white eye ring.  They are a threatened, endemic species found primarily on the North Island. Brown Teal are most active at night and prefer small creeks.  The population of Brown Teal has been greatly reduced by introduced predators and are most commonly seen in areas where fences and other predator controls are in force.    

New Zealand Scaup (Aythya novaeseelandiae).
Rotorua, New Zealand. 

New Zealand Scaups (Aythya novaeseelandiae) are endemic diving ducks found on both the North and South Islands.  They are small, dark ducks with a blue beak and yellow eyes. New Zealand Scaups live on freshwater lakes and ponds where they make long dives underwater then pop, cork like, to the surface. 

Blue Duck (Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos).
Tongariro National Park. 

The most impressive duck we saw was the Blue Duck (Hymenolaimus malacorhynchos).  These endemic ducks are found in fast moving mountain streams.  The Māori name for the Blue Duck is Whio, pronounced fee-oh. This indigenous name is based on the whistled call of the male duck.  Blue Ducks are blue-gray with chestnut breast feathers, yellow eyes and a white beak.  Blue Ducks are endangered and suffer from the depredations of stoats and other introduced predators.  We saw a single Blue Duck sitting on a rock, with its head tucked under the wing in the Whakapapanui Stream in Tongariro National Park. 

White-fronted Terns (Sterna striata).
Cook Strait, New Zealand. 

White-fronted Terns (Sterna striata) were abundant along the seashore throughout New Zealand. They nest on cliffs and offshore islands and many young birds migrate to the coast of Australia in the fall.  White-fronted Terns are white with a swallow tail, gray back and wings, black feet, black bill and black cap with a white patch at the base of the beak that gives them their name.  

Black-fronted Tern (Chlidonias albostriatus).
Twizel, New Zealand. 

Black-fronted Tern.
Twizel, New Zealand. 

Black-fronted Terns (Chlidonias albostriatus) are small, light gray terns with yellow-orange feet and beak and a black cap that extends all the way to the beak.  They are mostly found on the South Island and breed in braided river valleys fed by glaciers.  Black-fronted Terns are endemic to New Zealand and are an endangered species.  

Kelp Gulls (Larus dominicanus).
Katiki Point, New Zealand.  

Kelp Gulls (Larus dominicanus) are widely distributed in the Southern Hemisphere from Antarctic Islands to southern South America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.  These large gulls have a dark gray mantle and wings, white head, breast and belly and a large yellow beak with an orange spot.  We saw Kelp Gulls throughout New Zealand.  

Black-billed Gull (Chroicocephalus bulleri).
Picton, New Zealand.

Black-billed Gulls (Chroicocephalus bulleri) are small gulls found only in New Zealand.  They are white with gray wings and back, black legs and black beaks.  Black-billed Gulls breed in braided river valleys but can be found in many inland and coastal habitats.  Most of the population of this Near Threatened species is found on the South Island but its numbers are increasing on the North Island.

Silver Gull. 
Tawharanui Regional Park, New Zealand. 

Silver Gull breeding colony.
Kaikoura Peninsula, New Zealand. 

The Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) is the most elegant of the New Zealand gulls.  It is white with gray wings, brilliant red legs, a red beak and a bold red eye ring.  These small gulls are found in Australia, New Caledonia and both islands of New Zealand.  Silver Gulls nest in large colonies on sea cliffs and offshore islands.  Silver Gulls adapt well to people and are commonly seen in urban environments where they can become pests.  

Sign warning diners about Silver Gulls at an outdoor cafe.
Kaikoura, New Zealand. 
Photo by Diane Coggin.

The waterbirds of New Zealand are as beautiful as they are varied.  I will continue with more wonderous waterbirds in the next blog. 

 

  

New Zealand Land Birds

 

Kea (Nestor notabilis).
Arthur's Pass National Park, New Zealand

Before the arrival of humans New Zealand was truly a land of birds.  The islands of New Zealand were isolated by vast stretches of ocean for millions of years. The only land mammals were two species of bats, so birds evolved without any experience with mammalian predators.  While New Zealand has only about 200 species of birds around half are endemic to the islands.  Many of these native species have experienced dramatic population declines because of human activities including hunting, loss of habitat, climate change and most importantly introduced predators such as rats, cats, possums and stoats.  

I have written about New Zealand seabirds in previous blogs so this blog will concentrate on the native and endemic land birds we encountered on our recent trip.  Our journey took us from north of Auckland on the North Island to the southern end of the South Island and to Stewart Island south of the South Island.  I will introduce the birds in roughly the order we saw them moving from north to south.  

Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae).
Auckland, New Zealand.

The large, bold and loud Tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) was one of the first birds we encountered in New Zealand.  We saw Tuis on most days, in habitats ranging from the coastal scrub to subalpine forest.  With their iridescent blue-black body and white pompom-like feathers on their breasts, these birds were standouts despite being so common. 

Australasian Swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus).
Tawharanui Regional Park, New Zealand.

The Australasian Swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus) was another common bird throughout New Zealand. It is a large rail, closely related to our Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus). Australasian Swamphens are found in New Zealand, Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia. 

South Island Takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri).
Tiritiri Matangi, New Zealand. 

The South Island Takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri) is a critically endangered flightless rail endemic to New Zealand. This large bird stands about 2 feet tall and weights around 6 pounds.  South Island Takahes feed on the ground eating a variety of plants.  It is a close relative the North Island Takahe that became extinct by about 1300 AD.  This extinction was probably due to hunting pressure from the Māori people who arrived on the islands a few hundred years earlier.  The South Island Takahe was presumed extinct until a small population was discovered in a remote mountain region of the South Island.  Thanks to management and a breeding program there are now about 500 South Island Takahes scattered in reserves around New Zealand.  We saw a single South Island Takahe on Tiritiri Matangi.  The managers of this island nature preserve have eliminated mammalian predators and the South Island Takahe along with many other rare endemic birds find refuge there.      

New  Zealand Bellbird (Anthornis melanura).
Tawharanui Regional Park, New Zealand. 

The New Zealand Bellbird (Anthornis melanura) is a small endemic songbird about the size of an Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis).   While the New Zealand Bellbird looks inconspicuous with its olive green body, gray face and dark wings its song is outstanding.  This forest bird is a significant part of the dawn chorus of bird songs and sounds like a ringing bell.  New Zealand Bellbirds live in forests on both the North and South Islands. 

New Zealand Fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa).
Tawharanui Regional Park, New Zealand. 

New Zealand Fantail.
Arthur's Pass National Park, New Zealand.

The New Zealand Fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa) is another small songbird of forest, scrub and garden.  These birds are in constant motion, catching insects on the wing and fanning their impressively long tails.  New Zealand Fantails have a gray back, yellow belly and white lines on their face. 

New Zealand Pigeon  (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae).
Tawharanui Regional Park, New Zealand. 

New Zealand Pigeons (Hemiphaga sovaeseelandiae) are impressively large at over 20 inches in length and weigh in at around 2 pounds. They are as bright as they are big with iridescent blue and green on the head, neck back and wings.  This bold pattern is set off by their large pure white belly.  They reminded me of bowling balls sitting on tree branches.    

Stitchbird (Notiomystis cincta). 
Tiritiri Matangi, New Zealand. 

The Stitchbird (Notiomystis cincta) is a rare New Zealand endemic species.  This small black, yellow and white bird feeds on nectar and insects.  It is categorized as vulnerable with a total population of only about 2000 individuals, all found in a handful of reserves where strict predator control measures are in place. 

North Island Robin (Petroica longipes).
Tiritiri Matangi, New Zealand. 

The North Island Robin (Petroica longipes) is a small, long-legged bird of the forest and is endemic to New Zealand. It is dark gray with lighter streaks on the belly.  North Island Robins feed on the ground, catching invertebrates and and eating fruit.  They often scratch in leaf litter and can be bold around people.  If a person scuffs the ground with their shoe a North Island Robin will often come close to investigate.  The North Island Robin is probably looking for insects disturbed by the human but is seems like they are coming close to be friendly.   

North Island Kokako (Callaeas wilsoni).
Kirikiri Matangi, New Zealand. 

North Island Kokakos (Callaeas wilsoni) are medium sized forest birds found only in New Zealand.  While they are listed as a species of least concern but their population is only about 2000.  North Island Kokakos are blue gray in color with a black mask and bright blue wattles.  Their rich song can travel long distances in the forest and along the with the New Zealand Bellbird make up the dawn chorus.  There was a South Island Kokako but it is presumed to be extinct with the last confirmed sighting occurring in 1967. 

Red-crowned Parakeet (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae).
Tiritiri Matangi, New Zealand. 

Red-crowned Parakeets (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae) were once widespread across both islands of New Zealand.  Now they are  mostly limited to predator free reserves.  Red-crowned Parakeets are medium sized birds with green bodies, blue wings, red foreheads and a red patch behind the eye.  

New Zealand Fernbird (Poodytes punctatus).
Lake Taupo, New Zealand. 

New Zealand Fernbirds (Poodytes punctatus) are sparrow-sized marsh dwellers.  With their brown back, rufous cap, light eyeline and streaked breast they can quickly disappear into the marsh grasses and sedges where they make their home. We were lucky enough to find a New Zealand Fernbird singing along the shore of Lake Taupo. 

New Zealand Pipit (Anthus novaeseelandiae).
Tongariro National Park, New Zealand. 

New Zealand Pipits (Anthus novaeseelandiae) are small brown-streaked birds of open country.  We found one perched on a rock in a small mountain stream flowing down from the volcano Mt. Ruapehu. 

Malherbe's Parakeet (Cyanoramphus malherbi).
Blumine Island, New Zealand

The Malherbe's Parakeet (Cyanoramphus malherbi) is a critically endangered species related to the Red-crowned Parakeet.  It is found in only a few locations and its population is estimated to be only 400 birds.  This beautiful little parakeet is green with blue wings and a forehead colored orange and yellow.  They live in a few valleys and on islands where predators have been excluded.  We saw several on Blumine Island in Queen Charlotte Sound on the South Island.  

Weka (Gallirallus australis).
Stewart Island, New Zealand.

The Weka (Gallirallus australis) is another flightless rail endemic to New Zealand.  Wekas are dark brown, chicken-sized birds with stout beaks.  They live on the North and South Islands of New Zealand and feed on plants and small animals.  Wekas are curious and seem to be interested in people.  We saw a Weka emerge from the undergrowth and walk unconcerned among our group on a Stewart Island beach.

Tomtit (Petroica macrocephala).
Arthur's Pass National Park, New Zealand.

The Tomtit (Petroica macrocephala) is a small bird with a big head.  These warbler sized songbirds have a black head and back, white belly, a little white spot above the beak.  The South Island subspecies has yellow on the breast.  Tomtits are an endemic species found throughout New Zealand.  They feed on insects and other invertebrates that they catch in trees and on the ground.   

Rifleman (Acanthisitta chloris) female.
Mount Cook National Park, New Zealand. 

The Rifleman (Acanthisitta chloris) is the smallest endemic bird in New Zealand and it was one of  the hardest for us to see.  Their behavior is much like our Nuthatches (Sittidae), climbing on tree trunks, catching insects in the bark and quickly moving to the backside so as not to be seen.  The males of these tiny birds are green and yellow, the females are mostly brown with streaks that help them blend into the tree.  The odd name, Rifleman, comes from the male's colors resembling the uniform of a 19th century New Zealand infantryman.

Kea.
Arthur's Pass National Park, New Zealand. 

Kea marching across a parking lot.
Fiordland National Park, New Zealand. 

Keas (Nestor notabilis) are large endangered, endemic parrots of high altitude forests and the alpine zone of the South Island.  These intelligent and bold birds are brown and green with orange under the wings.  Keas are described as cheeky and are often found around tourist locations where they eat food scraps.  Keas enjoy interacting with people and in some areas have taken to stealing small items and even ripping wiper blades and window seals from cars.  We encountered Keas at Arthur's Pass and Fiordland National Parks and they lived up to their cheeky reputation.  

South Island Robin (Petroica australis).
Fiordland National Park, New Zealand. 

The South Island Robin (Petroica australis) is a close relative of the North Island Robin. But where the North Island Robin has a streaked breast and belly the South Island Robin's breast and belly are white. This tiny endemic is a forest bird and shares its North Island relative's inquisitiveness around people.  

Yellow-crowned Parakeet (Cyanoramphus auriceps).
Fiordland National Park, New Zealand. 

Unlike its relatives the Red-crowned Parakeet and Malherbe's Parakeet, the Yellow-crowned Parakeet (Cyanoramphus auriceps) is found across both the North, South and Stewart Islands.  It has not suffered the population declines of the other two parakeets but the Yellow-crowned Parakeet is still listed as vulnerable.  The Yellow-crowned Parakeet is green with blue wings with a red and yellow patch on the forehead.  These small parakeets feed on plant material high in the forest canopy.   

Yellowhead (Mohoua ochrocephala).
Fiordland National Park, New Zealand. 

Yellowheads (Mohoua ochrocephala) are small songbirds endemic to the South Island and Stewart Island.  They have also suffered from the depredations of introduced predators but still have robust numbers in the wild.  Yellowheads live in the canopy of native Beech (Nothophagus sp.) forests where they feed on insects.

South Island Wren (Xenicus gilviventris).
Fiordland National Park, New Zealand. 

South Island Wrens (Xenicus gilviventris) are found near the tree line where they live among the boulders.  This gives the South Island Wren the local name Rock Wren. They are weak fliers that spend much of their time running and feeding on the ground.  South Island wrens are small birds with very short tails, a yellow-green back and a light eyeline. We found several South Island Wrens perched on boulders just below the snowline in Fiordland National Park.   

Southern Brown Kiwi (Apteryx australis). 
Stewart Island, New Zealand. 

Kiwis (Apteryx) are the iconic birds of New Zealand. These odd flightless birds are about the size of chickens and have a round bodies, stout legs and quill-like feathers.  Kiwis are nocturnal and have long beaks they use to catch worms and other invertebrates. They are so associated with New Zealand that people native to that country are known as Kiwis.  Kiwis are related to other large flightless birds including Ostriches (Struthio), Emus (Dromaius novaehollandiae), Rheas (Rhea) and the extinct Giant Moas (Dinornis sp.).  We saw and heard Southern Brown Kiwis (Apteryx australis) on Stewart Island.  A guide took us up the road above Half Moon Bay to the airstrip that serves the island.  There we walked the runway and heard a couple of Kiwis giving their loud calls while the guide shined a red flashlight on the sides of the runway.  After walking the length of the airstrip we saw a Southern Brown Kiwi running along the edge of the brush in our guide's red light.  The Kiwi ran with its head forward with a rapid, loping gait.  After a few minutes it disappeared into the brush.  We felt lucky to see this rare bird that exemplifies the New Zealand avifauna.  

Diane and Steve with a
South Island Giant Moa (Dinornis robustus) statue.
Arthur's Pass, New Zealand.

We did not see a live South Island Giant Moa (Dinornis robustus) not from lack of trying, but because it is extinct.  They were truly giants, standing 11 feet tall and weighing over 500 pounds and they were, of course, flightless.  South Island Giant Moas played the role of large herbivorous mammals in New Zealand eating leaves, flowers and fruits.  Along with its relative, the North Island Giant Moa, it went extinct a few hundred years after the Māori arrived on the islands.  While we did not see a live Giant Moa we did find a life-sized statue of one in Arthur's Pass.   

The native land birds of New Zealand were striking because they were all so new to us.  We had never seen them or their relatives before.  The long isolation of New Zealand produced, as Darwin wrote "endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful".  Despite the extinctions and populations reduced to remnants by humans activity, the birds of New Zealand dazzled us each day. 

Christmas Botany

 

American Mistletoe (Phoradendron leucaprum).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The Christmas season has many traditions ranging from music, to food, to music, to decorations.  Often the decorations are plants that may have a symbolic meaning but also brighten up the short days of winter. 

European Holly (Ilex aquifolium).
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Holly is one of these traditional decorations.  The tree was sacred to the Romans and associated with the god Saturn. The holiday Roman Saturnalia was observed at the winter solstice and holly was exchanged for good luck.  Today we are reminded in songs from Burl Ives singing “Holly Jolly Christmas” to “Deck the halls with boughs of holly” that this plant plays a key role in Christmas. 

 

American Holly (Ilex opaca) leaf.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

American Holly fruits.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

American Holly (Ilex opaca) is a large tree native to the forests eastern United States. Its leaves are green throughout the year and have spines on the margins.  American Holly has male and female flowers on different trees so an American Holly with berries is always a female.  European Holly (Ilex aquifolium) is widely planted in American landscapes, and some have escaped and are established in the wild.  European Holly is looks very similar to American Holly, but European Holly has more abundant fruit and shinier leaves. 

American Mistletoe high in a tree.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

American Mistletoe leaves.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

American Mistletoe young fruits. 
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

American Mistletoe fruits.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Mistletoe is another plant with a long holiday history.  From ceremonies of ancient Druids to hanging mistletoe in a doorway to steal a kiss, this plant is engrained in our culture.  The Druids used European Mistletoe, Viscum album, but in North America we have American Mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum).  Like its European relative, American Mistletoe is hemiparasitic and must grow attached to a host tree.  While the bright, leathery evergreen leaves carry out photosynthesis, its water and mineral nutrients are absorbed from its host.  American Mistletoe is dioecious with separate male and female plants.  Around Christmas, the female plants sport small white berries.  American Mistletoe berries are a favorite food of many birds.  Birds eat the fruits that rapidly pass through the digestive system.  The seeds in the fruit are unharmed by this passage but retain a sticky outer layer that makes them adhere to limbs, but also stick to the cloaca of the bird.  To dislodge the seeds the bird rubs its vent on tree branches to deliver Mistletoe seeds to a new host. 

American Mistletoe growing from the trunk
of a Red Maple (Acer rubrum).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The Christmas tree is the central botanical symbol of the season.  The tradition of bringing green trees or  branches into the home during winter is found in many cultures.  Christmas trees as we know them originated in Germany and other parts of Central Europe.  Evergreen trees were decorated and lit starting in the starting in the Middle Ages but our modern Christmas owes much to Queen Victoria of England.  Her husband, Prince Albert was German and brought Christmas trees to royal palaces and to widespread public attention in 19th century England. Americans quickly adopted the tradition.    

Fraser Fir (Abies fraseri) on a Christmas tree lot.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

In the United States many different evergreens are used as Christmas trees.  Our favorite is Fraser Fir (Abies fraseri) an endemic of the high altitude Southern Appalachian Mountains. It can reach 50 feet in height and grows naturally in the Spruce-Fir forests that top the highest peaks.  Fraser Fir is endangered in its natural habitat with threats coming from climate change and an invasive insect, the Balsam Wooly Adelgid (Adelges piceae). 

Fraser Fir branches.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Fraser Fir needles.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Fraser Firs grow in a pyramidal shape, have soft needles and strong branches.  These are all excellent characteristics for a Christmas tree.  It is ironic that an endangered species should be a popular Christmas tree, but Fraser Firs are grown by farmers in the Appalachian Mountains down to an altitude of 3000 feet and generate sales of over $100 million per year in North Carolina.  

A fully decorated Fraser Fir.
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

These plants; holly, mistletoe and fir, with their interesting biology and fascinating cultural history add so much to our enjoyment of the season.  So, this Christmas, consider the botany.