Information table about native birds

Information table

COMMON NAME	MAORI NAME	PICTURE	INTERESTING FACTS
Takahe	Moho	*	• An endemic bird, meaning it is only found in New Zealand. • Numbers about 200, making it an endangered bird. • Looks like a big, beautiful, overweight pukeko • It can’t fly, so is at the mercy of hunters, dogs and stoats. • Rescued from near extinction and now living on pest free islands.
Pukeko	Swamp hen	*	The pukeko is a native of New Zealand and is also known as the Swamp Hen. Despite being clumsy in flight pukeko can fly long distances and are good swimmers, especially considering they don’t have webbed feet. They have a loud explosive call described as a "raucous high-pitched screech, with a subdued musical tuk-tuk".
Harrier	Kahu	*	Harrier, any of about 11 species of hawks of the subfamily Circinae (family Accipitridae). They are plain-looking, long-legged, and long-tailed birds of slender build that cruise low over meadows and marshes looking for mice, snakes, frogs, small birds, and insects. Harriers are about 50 cm (20 inches) long.
Fantail	Piwakawaka	*	Fantails are found almost everywhere in New Zealand. The only place they can’t be found is in Central Otago and Inland Marlborough, because it’s too frosty. Fantails will usually be seen alone or in pairs during summer, but will often form flocks during the winter. Fantails occasionally eat fruit, insects and berries, but they mostly eat insects. Fantails are very good at catching insects in the air and they can change direction very quickly when they are flying.
Tui	Parson’s bird	*	An unique bird for New Zealand. Belongs to honeyeaters family which means they feed mainly on nectar from flowers of native plants. Sometimes they eat insects too. Can fly large distance. It’s an important pollinator of most native trees. A variety of native trees and shrubs can be planted to provide a year-round food supply for tūī, but plants need to be carefully selected so there are flowers and fruit at different times.
Bellbird	Korimako	*	Bellbirds are generalist feeders; they eat nectar, fruit and insects, with insects being particularly important to females and chicks during the breeding season. They often feed in tree canopies but do come down to feed on flax and native fuchsia nectar. As nectar-feeders or honeyeaters as scientists call them, bellbirds are important pollinators of many native plant species, such as mistletoe, fuchsia and kowhai.
NZ Pigeon	Kukupa	*	The Kereru is a native of New Zealand and our only endemic pigeon. It also goes by the names of Native Wood Pigeon, Kukupa, or Kuku and the       Kereru are frequently found in the Kowhai trees, as this is one of their favourite foods.
Morepork	Ruru	*	Morepork nest in tree cavities, in clumps of epiphytes or among rocks and roots. The female can lay up to three eggs, but generally two, usually between September and November. The female alone incubates the eggs for about 20 to 30 days during which time the male brings in food for her. Once the chicks hatch, the female stays mainly on the nest until the owlets are fully feathered. They fledge around 37-42 days. Depending on food supply often only one chick survives and the other may be eaten
Kingfisher	Kotare	*	Though relatively widespread across central and southern England, the kingfisher is somewhat elusive and is therefore rarely seen. Kingfishers are not limited to rivers and can be found on coasts and marshes. While it is considered an iconic British bird the kingfisher can actually be found in the African Savannah, throughout Europe and Asia as far East as Japan. Though famous for perching on branches, the kingfisher can also hover just above the water before diving in for its prey.
Kaka	Kaka	*	Like coyotes, crows and humans, keas can learn and create new solutions to whatever problems they encounter Kea have a high-pitched ‘kee-aa’ call, often heard in flight. They also have a variety of quieter whistling calls. A group of kea is called a ‘circus of kea’ – how fitting.
Parakeet	Kakariki	*	Basic color of a parakeet is green but they have been bred in many different colors. When frightened, a parakeet will fly towards the light so he can hit a window, it is better to prevent it by putting curtains in windows. When frightened, a parakeet will fly towards the light so he can hit a window, it is better to prevent it by putting curtains in windows.
Robin	Toutouwai	*	Robins have an average life span of 1 year and 2 months, but many live about five or six years. As of February 2001, the longest-living banded wild robin ever recorded had survived 13 years and 11 months, according to the Bird Banding Laboratory at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. In captivity, robins have survived longer than 17 years.
Royal Albatross	Toroa	*	There are two species of royal albatross, southern and northern. The southern is slightly larger than the northern. At sea it can be distinguished from the northern by its white upper-wings with black edges and tips, whereas the upper-wings of the northern are completely black. Both species have a black cutting edge to their upper mandible, which sets them apart from adults of the closely related wandering albatross.
Kiwi	Tane	*	The kiwi is the smallest living member of the ratite family, a group of flightless birds which includes rheas, ostriches, emu and the extinct NZ moa. It lives in burrows in the ground and is largely nocturnal. It is the only known bird to have external nostrils at the end of its bill and one of the few to have a highly developed sense of smell. A kiwi literally sniffs out its food. Kiwis are unique in that they have no tail, and stubby, two inch wings that are usually covered by their coarse, bristly, hair-like feathers. These wings are pretty much useless.
Kakapo	Kakapo	*	The kakapo is the world's only flightless parrot and is also unusual in being nocturnal. The kakapo is also the world's heaviest parrot. The male kakapo produces a strange 'boom' call to attract potential mates, which can be heard up to 5 kilometres away.