52 Birds of New Zealand

The birds of New Zealand evolved into an avifauna that included many endemic species found in no other country. As an island archipelago New Zealand accumulated bird diversity and when Captain James Cook arrived in the 1770s he noted that the bird song was deafening.

New Zealand is geographically isolated, and originally lacked any mammalian predators, hence parrots evolved to fill habitats from the ground dwelling kakapo to the alpine dwelling kea as well as a variety of forest species. The arrival of Māori, then European settlers with their attendant animals, habitat destruction and even deliberate targeting, has resulted in their numbers plummeting. Today one species is on the brink of extinction and three other species range from vulnerable to critically endangered. Further parrot species were not introduced by acclimatisation societies, but occasion releases, both deliberate and accidental, have resulted in self-sustaining populations of some Australian species.

Every known living kākāpō, except some young chicks, has been given a name by Kākāpō Recovery Programme officials. Many of the older birds were given English language names, but more recent chicks have been given Māori names. Some kākāpō, such as Richard Henry and Moorhouse, are named after people who have provided assistance to the preservation efforts. A kākāpō interactive family tree is available.

The black-browed albatross, also known as the black-browed mollymawk, is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae; it is the most widespread and common member of its family.

Buller's albatross or Buller's mollymawk, is a small mollymawk in the albatross family.

The grey-headed albatross also known as the grey-headed mollymawk, is a large seabird from the albatross family. It has a circumpolar distribution, nesting on isolated islands in the Southern Ocean and feeding at high latitudes, further south than any of the other mollymawks. Its name derives from its ashy-grey head, throat and upper neck.

The northern royal albatross or toroa, Diomedea sanfordi, is a large seabird from the albatross family. It was split from the closely related southern royal albatross as recently as 1998, though not all scientists support that conclusion and some consider both of them to be subspecies of the royal albatross.

The southern royal albatross is a large seabird from the albatross family. At an average wingspan of above 3 m (9.8 ft), it is one of the two largest species of albatross, together with the wandering albatross. Recent studies indicate that the southern royal albatross may, on average, be somewhat larger than the wandering albatross in mass and have a similar wingspan, although other sources indicate roughly similar size for the two species and the wandering species may have a larger average wingspan in some colonies.

The wandering albatross, snowy albatross, white-winged albatross or goonie is a large seabird from the family Diomedeidae, which has a circumpolar range in the Southern Ocean. It was the last species of albatross to be described, and was long considered the same species as the Tristan albatross and the Antipodean albatross. A few authors still consider them all subspecies of the same species. The SACC has a proposal on the table to split this species, and BirdLife International has already split it. Together with the Amsterdam albatross, it forms the wandering albatross species complex. The wandering albatross is one of the two largest members of the genus Diomedea, being similar in size to the southern royal albatross. It is one of the largest, best known, and most studied species of bird in the world, with it possessing the greatest known wingspan of any living bird. This is also one of the most far ranging birds. Some individual wandering albatrosses are known to circumnavigate the Southern Ocean three times, covering more than 120,000 km (75,000 mi), in one year.

The Australasian shoveler is a species of dabbling duck in the genus Spatula. It ranges from 46 to 53 cm. It lives in heavily vegetated swamps. In Australia it is protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974. They occur in southwestern and southeastern Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. The male has a blue-grey head with a vertical white crescent in front of the eyes. The status of the Australasian shoveler is near threatened.

The Australian pied cormorant, also known as the pied cormorant, pied shag, or great pied cormorant, is a medium-sized member of the cormorant family. It is found around the coasts of Australasia. In New Zealand, it is usually known either as the pied shag or by its Māori name of kāruhiruhi. Older sources may refer to it as the "yellow-faced cormorant".

The little pied cormorant, little shag or kawaupaka is a common Australasian waterbird, found around the coasts, islands, estuaries, and inland waters of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, and Indonesia, and around the islands of the south-western Pacific and the subantarctic. It is a small short-billed cormorant usually black above and white below with a yellow bill and small crest, although a mostly black white-throated form predominates in New Zealand. Three subspecies are recognised. Until recently most authorities referred to this species as Phalacrocorax melanoleucos.

The dunnock is a small passerine, or perching bird, found throughout temperate Europe and into Asian Russia. Dunnocks have also been successfully introduced into New Zealand. It is by far the most widespread member of the accentor family, which otherwise consists of mountain species. Other common names of the dunnock include the hedge accentor, hedge sparrow, or hedge warbler.

The southern fulmar is a seabird of the Southern Hemisphere. Along with the northern fulmar, F. glacialis, it belongs to the fulmar genus Fulmarus in the family Procellariidae, the true petrels. It is also known as the Antarctic fulmar or silver-grey fulmar.

The Australasian gannet, also known as the Australian gannet or tākapu, is a large seabird of the booby and gannet family, Sulidae. Adults are mostly white, with black flight feathers at the wingtips and lining the trailing edge of the wing. The central tail feathers are also black. The head is tinged buff-yellow, with a pale blue-grey bill edged in black, and blue-rimmed eyes. Young birds have mottled plumage in their first year, dark above and light below. The head is an intermediate mottled grey, with a dark bill. The birds gradually acquire more white in subsequent seasons until they reach maturity after five years.

The bar-tailed godwit is a large wader in the family Scolopacidae, which feeds on bristle-worms and shellfish on coastal mudflats and estuaries. It has distinctive red breeding plumage, long legs, and a long upturned bill. Bar-tailed godwits breed on Arctic coasts and tundra from Scandinavia to Alaska, and overwinter on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of the Old World, Australia and New Zealand. The migration of the subspecies Limosa lapponica baueri across the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to New Zealand is the longest known non-stop flight of any bird, and also the longest journey without pausing to feed by any animal. The round-trip migration for this subspecies is over 29,000 km (18,020 mi).

The Australasian grebe is a small waterbird common on fresh water lakes and rivers in greater Australia, New Zealand and on nearby Pacific islands. At 25–27 cm (9.8–10.6 in) in length, it is one of the smallest members of the grebe family, along with the least grebe and little grebe.

The silver gull is the most common gull of Australia. It has been found throughout the continent, but particularly at or near coastal areas. It is smaller than the Pacific gull, which also lives in Australia.

The white-necked heron or Pacific heron is a species of heron that is found on most of the Australian continent wherever freshwater habitats exist. It is also found in parts of Indonesia, New Guinea and New Zealand, but is uncommon in Tasmania. The populations of this species in Australia are known to be nomadic like most water birds in Australia, moving from one water source to another often entering habitats they have not previously occupied, taking advantage of flooding and heavy rain where the surplus of food allows them to breed and raise their young. Population explosions have been known when the environmental conditions are right for this species in places where they have been rare or unknown.

The three species of kākāriki, or New Zealand parakeets, are the most common species of parakeets in the genus Cyanoramphus, family Psittacidae. The birds' Māori name, which is the most commonly used, means "small parrot". The etymology is: from kākā, parrot + riki, small. The word is also used to refer to the colour green because of the birds' predominantly green plumage. The patches of red on the birds' rumps are, according to legend, the blood of the demigod Tāwhaki. The three species on mainland New Zealand are the yellow-crowned parakeet, the red-crowned parakeet, or red-fronted parakeet, and the critically endangered Malherbe's parakeet or orange-fronted parakeet.

Kiwi or kiwis are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae. Approximately the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites.

The kōkako make up two species of endangered forest birds which are endemic to New Zealand, the North Island kōkako and the presumably extinct South Island kōkako. They are both slate-grey with wattles and have black masks. They belong to a genus containing five known species of New Zealand wattlebird, the other three being two species of tieke (saddleback) and the extinct huia. Previously widespread, kōkako populations throughout New Zealand have been decimated by the predations of mammalian invasive species such as possums, stoats, cats and rats, and their range has contracted significantly. In the past this bird was called the New Zealand crow; however, it is not a crow at all, but it looks like one from a distance.

The morepork, also called the ruru or Tasmanian spotted owl, is a small brown owl found throughout New Zealand and Tasmania. Described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it was for many years considered to be the same species as the Australian boobook of mainland Australia until 1999. Its name is derived from its two-tone call. Four subspecies of the morepork are recognized, one of which is extinct and another that exists only as a hybrid population. The bird has almost 20 alternative common names, including mopoke and boobook—many of these names are onomatopoeic, as they emulate the bird's distinctive two-pitched call.

The New Zealand parrot superfamily, Strigopoidea, consists of at least three genera of parrots – Nestor, Strigops, the fossil Nelepsittacus, and probably the fossil Heracles. The genus Nestor consists of the kea, kaka, Norfolk Island kaka and Chatham Island kaka, while the genus Strigops contains the iconic kakapo. All extant species are endemic to New Zealand. The species of the genus Nelepsittacus were endemics of the main islands, while the two extinct species of the genus Nestor were found at the nearby oceanic islands such as Chatham Island of New Zealand, and Norfolk Island and adjacent Phillip Island.

The New Zealand storm petrel is a small seabird of the family Oceanitidae. Thought to be extinct since 1850, a series of sightings from 2003 to the present indicates the presence of a previously unknown colony. As of 2010, it is ranked on the IUCN Red List as critically endangered.

The New Zealand wrens are a family (Acanthisittidae) of tiny passerines endemic to New Zealand. They were represented by six known species in four or five genera, although only two species survive in two genera today. They are understood to form a distinct lineage within the passerines, but authorities differ on their assignment to the oscines or suboscines. More recent studies suggest that they form a third, most ancient, suborder Acanthisitti and have no living close relatives at all. They are called "wrens" due to similarities in appearance and behaviour to the true wrens (Troglodytidae), but are not members of that family.

The little penguin is the smallest species of penguin. It grows to an average of 33 cm (13 in) in height and 43 cm (17 in) in length, though specific measurements vary by subspecies. It is found on the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand, with possible records from Chile. In Australia, they are often called fairy penguins because of their small size. In New Zealand, they are more commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage; they are also known by their Māori name: kororā.

The blue petrel is a small seabird in the shearwater and petrel family, Procellariidae. This small petrel is the only member of the genus Halobaena, but is closely allied to the prions. It is distributed across the Southern Ocean but breeds at only six known sites, all close to the Antarctic Convergence zone.

The Cape petrel, also called the Cape pigeon, pintado petrel, or Cape fulmar, is a common seabird of the Southern Ocean from the family Procellariidae. It is the only member of the genus Daption, and is allied to the fulmarine petrels, and the giant petrels. They are extremely common seabirds with an estimated population of around 2 million.

Cook's petrel or the blue-footed petrel, is a Procellariform seabird. It is a member of the gadfly petrels and part of the subgroup known as Cookilaria petrels, which includes the very similar Stejneger's petrel.

The Common diving-petrel , also known as the smaller diving-petrel or simply the diving-petrel, is a diving petrel, one of five very similar auk-like small petrels of the southern oceans. It is native to South Atlantic islands and islands of the subantarctic southern Indian Ocean, islands and islets off New Zealand and south-eastern Australian islands.

The northern giant petrel, also known as Hall's giant petrel, is a large predatory seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly, but is slightly north of, the similar southern giant petrel.

The southern giant petrel, also known as the Antarctic giant petrel, giant fulmar, stinker, and stinkpot, is a large seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly with the similar northern giant petrel, though it overall is centered slightly further south. Adults of the two species can be distinguished by the colour of their bill-tip: greenish in the southern and reddish in the northern.

The great-winged petrel is a petrel.

Pycroft's petrel is a species of seabird in the petrel and shearwater family Procellariidae.

The white-bellied storm petrel is a species of seabird in the family Oceanitidae. It is found in Angola, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Maldives, Namibia, New Zealand, Perú, Saint Helena, and South Africa. Its natural habitat is open seas.

The white-chinned petrel or Cape hen, is a large shearwater in the family Procellariidae. It ranges around the Southern Ocean as far north as southern Australia, Peru and Namibia, and breeds colonially on scattered islands.

The broad-billed prion is a small seabird, but the largest prion, with grey upperparts plumage, and white underparts. It has many other names that have been used such as blue-billed dove-petrel, broad-billed dove-petrel, long-billed prion, common prion, icebird, and whalebird.

The fairy prion is a small seabird with the standard prion plumage of black upperparts and white underneath with an "M" wing marking.

The fulmar prion is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae, found in the southern oceans.

The rook is a member of the crow family in the passerine order of birds. It is found in the Palearctic, its range extending from Scandinavia and western Europe to eastern Siberia. It is a large, gregarious, black-feathered bird, distinguished from similar species by the whitish featherless area on the face. Rooks nest collectively in the tops of tall trees, often close to farms or villages, the groups of nests being known as rookeries.

Buller's shearwater is a Pacific species of seabird in the family Procellariidae; it is also known as the grey-backed shearwater or New Zealand shearwater. A member of the black-billed wedge-tailed Thyellodroma group, among the larger shearwaters of the genus Ardenna, it forms a superspecies with the wedge-tailed shearwater.

The fluttering shearwater is a species of seabird in the family Procellariidae.

Hutton's shearwater or kaikoura tītī is a medium-sized ocean-going seabird in the family Procellariidae. Its range is Australian and New Zealand waters, but it breeds only in mainland New Zealand, in just two remaining alpine colonies in the Seaward Kaikoura Range. Because six other colonies have been wiped out by introduced pigs, a protected artificial colony has been established near the town of Kaikoura.

The little shearwater is a small shearwater in the petrel family Procellariidae. Despite the generic name, it is unrelated to the puffins, which are auks, the only similarity being that they are both burrow-nesting seabirds.

The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater, also called yolla or moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in Australian waters, and is one of the few Australian native birds in which the chicks are commercially harvested. It is a migratory species that breeds mainly on small islands in Bass Strait and Tasmania and migrates to the Northern Hemisphere for the boreal summer.

The brown skua, also known as the Antarctic skua, subantarctic skua, southern great skua, southern skua, or hākoakoa (Māori), is a large seabird that breeds in the subantarctic and Antarctic zones and moves further north when not breeding. Its taxonomy is highly complex and a matter of dispute, with some splitting it into two or three species: Falkland skua, Tristan skua, and subantarctic skua. To further confuse, it hybridizes with both the south polar and Chilean skuas, and the entire group has been considered to be a subspecies of the great skua, a species otherwise restricted to the Northern Hemisphere.

The welcome swallow is a small passerine bird in the swallow family.

The Australasian swamphen is a species of swamphen (Porphyrio) occurring in eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand, it is known as the pukeko. The species used to be considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen.

The Antarctic tern is a seabird in the family Laridae. It ranges throughout the southern oceans and is found on small islands around Antarctica as well as on the shores of the mainland. Its diet consists primarily of small fish and crustaceans. It is very similar in appearance to the closely related Arctic tern, but it is stockier, and it is in its breeding plumage in the southern summer, when the Arctic tern has shed old feathers to get its non-breeding plumage. The Antarctic tern does not migrate like the Arctic tern does, but it can still be found on a very large range. This tern species is actually more closely related to the South American tern.

The white-fronted tern also known as Tara, Sea Swallow, Black-billed Tern, Kahawai Bird, Southern Tern, or Swallow tail, was first described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789. A medium sized tern that has an all white body including under wing and forked tail, with grey hues that flow over the upper wing. In breeding adults a striking black cap covers the head from forehead to nape, leaving a small white strip across the top of the black beak.

The yellowhammer is a passerine bird in the bunting family that is native to Eurasia and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia. Most European birds remain in the breeding range year-round, but the eastern subspecies is partially migratory, with much of the population wintering further south. The male yellowhammer has a bright yellow head, streaked brown back, chestnut rump, and yellow under parts. Other plumages are duller versions of the same pattern. The yellowhammer is common in open areas with some shrubs or trees, and forms small flocks in winter. Its song has a rhythm like "A little bit of bread and no cheese". The song is very similar to that of its closest relative, the pine bunting, with which it interbreeds.