Some birds of Aotearoa (land of the long white cloud)

Some endemic birds of New Zealand seen in South Island from a visit earlier this year. Places visited include birdwatching spots in Canterbury, Otago and Southland regions. Two of the 17 species here (11, 15) are endemic to South Island and Stewart Island only. All these species are threatened by land development, human recreational activities, and predation usually by introduced animals. Their habitats are dwindling with the loss of native forests and vegetation due to land clearing. Most of these birds are found in native forests, mountains, lakes and coastlines, grasslands and a variety of other habitats. Ducks (1, 2) are generally found along rivers, wetlands, and lakes, as well as open grassy areas and farmland. Shorebirds (5, 6, 7) are obviously mainly found at water bodies - coastal and inland: sandy beaches, braided rivers, foreshores and estuaries. Some birds have adapted to human habitats.

1. Paradise Shelduck Putangitangi. The most widely distributed and second-most abundant waterfowl in New Zealand. The male has a black head with slight green shimmer, and the female has a white head and upper neck. A game species, at least 200,000 are hunted down every year.

Putangitangi from Aoraki (Mount Cook) village.

2. New Zealand Scaup Papango. A diving duck with a wide though patchy distribution throughout North and South Islands. This generally dark bird floats on water with easy buoyancy and can stay for long periods underwater, whilst also travelling great distances. Male has dark black plumage and yellow iris. Female is duller brown with brown iris. Seen in sheltered areas of lakes and bays and lagoons in Otago and Southland. 

Papango from Queenstown Bay.

3. New Zealand Falcon Karearea. A compact raptor with long tail and wings, streaky cream-and-brown breast and reddish-brown undertail. Very adapted to hunt within the dense New Zealand forests but are also found in more open areas such as tussock grasslands, farms and grazing hilly country. Its rounded tail and the rapid beats of its pointed wings are notable in flight. Feeds predominantly on live prey such as smaller birds like passerines and rarely on roadkill. On the slopes of Roy’s Peak, it was quite an amazing sight, seeing a speeding graceful falcon in flight, gliding and chasing sparrows with wings set flat. Another falcon was seen from the CBD bay beach in downtown Queenstown.

Karearea from open country around Mossburn.

4. Weka. A large, flightless mostly light brown rail with red eyes and a broad pointed bill. Extinct over large tracts of the mainland due to predation and climate change. Weka are a curious omnivorous species and often seen scavenging around people and tourists, like this boss roaming around a carpark in Milford Sound (Piopiotahi), the most famous destination in New Zealand.

Weka, the mayor of main street Milford Sound.

5. Variable Oystercatcher Torea Pango. This shorebird has a distinctively long and bright orange bill. The adult has black upperparts, its underparts colors ranging from all black to pied, with different morphs in between. Diet includes a wide range of littoral and terrestrial invertebrates. 

Torea Pango from the foreshores of the eighth Wonder of the World- Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) fiord.

6. Black-billed Gull Tarapuka. A pale gull mostly white with light gray wings and back, long thin black bill and black or reddish-black legs. This species mostly breeds on inland braided riverbeds in the South Island (only around 5% nest in the North Island). The numbers of this gull have rapidly declined but still seen most everywhere throughout Otago and Southland regions.

Tarapuka from Queenstown and Milford Sound.

7. Black-fronted Tern Tarapirohe. A familiar tern of the eastern South Island. Breeding plumage is a black cap extending down to the bill and bright orange bill and legs. This bird breeds only on the braided riverbeds of the eastern and southern South Island.

This Tarapirohe was flying over farmlands in Lowther, Southland.

8. White-fronted Tern Tara. Tern with a long pointed black bill and long forked tail. Its black cap  is delineated by a white band from its black bill. Non-breeding adults and juveniles have a white frons created by a reduced black cap cover. Fairly common along coastlines around New Zealand including in Milford Sound as the photos show.

Juvenile and adult Tara below.

9. New Zealand Pigeon Kereru. Large pigeon with distinctive bright blue-green plumage, white belly, and red eye. Widely distributed throughout the country. Threatened by introduced stoats, feral cats and ship rats. 

This one Kereru sighting was from the thick eastern cliff forests of

the world’s top travel destination- Piopiotahi (Milford Sound).

10. Grey Warbler Riroriro. A small, slim warbler most widely distributed endemic bird and common throughout New Zealand. Gray-brown above and paler gray to off-white below. Tail is darker, tipped with white, most noticeable in flight. An entirely insectivorous species, it is typically seen in the lower canopies of forests foraging on tree trunks and branches for insects. 

Riroriro above from Routeburn Track trailhead in Fiordland NP,

and below from Queenstown Gardens.

11. Brown Creeper Pipipi. A small, noisy songbird, found only in South and Stewart Islands. Favors different forest types. It has brown upperparts with an ashy-gray face and neck, and pale creamy-brown underparts. Often located first by its chattering contact calls and songs. Brown creepers are insectivorous, sometimes foraging upside down.

South Island endemic Pipipi seen in forest canopy in Glenorchy.

12. Tui. This species has a dark sheen of blue, purple, and green but easily distinguished by a bow tie of two curled white feather tufts (“poi”). Found throughout much of New Zealand often venturing into suburban parks, farmland, and rural gardens. I heard my first Tui before I saw it, as it sang, croaked, coughed, wheezed and grunted mid-canopy above a viewing deck in Mirror Lakes in Fiordland NP, New Zealand’s largest national park.

Tui from Queenstown Hill and Mirror Lakes.

13. Bellbird Korimako. The most widespread and familiar honeyeater in the South Island and also common over much of the North Island. A medium-sized nectar feeder with yellowish-green plumage, blackish wings and tail, and red eyes. This bird regaled me with its songs from up in the canopy of native forests in Aoraki, Te Anau and Glenorchy.

Korimako from Mirror Lakes foraging for nectar,

and from Milford Sound looking smug after feeding on an insect.

14. Tomtit Miromiro/ Ngirungiru. The tomtit is a small forest bird with distinct large head and short tail. Males are generally black and white, females brown and white. Both sexes have a white spot at the base of the bill. Usually feeds in understory of forest but will come out in the open. 

Miromiro/ Ngirungiru in typical pose, perched on a branch ready to swoop down to take insect prey. 

15. South Island Robin Kakaruai. A small charcoal-colored songbird confined to South Island and Stewart Island. Found in back-country native forest and scrub habitats, where it spends much time foraging on the ground. Males have a more distinct separation between dark gray and cream on their chest than females. A pair of robins welcomed this intrepid vagabond at the washed-out trailhead of the Milford Track on the Eglinton River. 

South Island endemic Kakaruai from Mirror Lakes.

16. New Zealand Fantail Piwakawaka. One of New Zealand’s best-known small endemic songbirds. Widespread throughout New Zealand in a variety of habitats. Uniquely characterized by a long white and black tail which it constantly flicks around and fans, and which is often the first thing visible.  There are two colour ‘morphs’ of fantail, with the more common pied morph occurring throughout its range, and the black morph comprising up to 5% of the South Island population and occasionally occurring in the North Island.

Piwakawaka from Mirror Lakes and Te Anau (black morph below) .

17. New Zealand Pipit Pihoihoi. Species found in open country from coastline to alpine shrublands at ca 1900m. Prominent pale eyebrow with brown streaked upper body, pale underparts and brown streaking on breast. Often seen walking rather than hopping or flying and frequently flicking its long tail up and down when stationary. When approached Pipits often run a short distance from people. 

Pihoihoi seen in the high mountaintops of Queenstown Hill and Roy’s Peak.

Some More Birds of the Wallace Line, Vol.2

Most of these birds are endemic to Bali and Jawa Timur (East Java) on the Sunda side of Wallace Line. Many of these bird species face risks from capture for the cage bird trade, hunting/ targeted killing, domesticated animals and habitat destruction and fragmentation due to human activity. Their range and habitats, formerly widespread and common, are now ever contracting or becoming rare and very restricted. The H5 bird flu (avian influenza) has been spreading now for about four years and will impact millions of wild animals worldwide. It will also affect a range of these wild birds.

Bali Myna (Jalak Bali). The mascot of Bali is a critically endangered white starling with black tips to the tail and wings. It has blue facial skin, and long plumes.

Yellow-throated Hanging-Parrot. Near threatened/ Sensitive Species. Tiny short-tailed Psittacidae, green overall with a bright red rump and orange bill.

Javan Kingfisher (Cekakak or Raja Udang). Sensitive Species. Brightly coloured medium-large kingfisher with a large red bill, dark head, brown throat and chest, purple body, turquoise blue wings and tail.

Javan Banded Pitta (Paok Pancawarna). Sensitive Species. A five-coloured groundbird - brown upperparts, black mask, white throat, and yellow eyebrow and barred underparts, bright blue tail and white wing stripes. This male shows its blue bib and tail and black crown.

 Javan Flowerpecker (formerly called Blood-breasted Flowerpecker). Found at the foot of the wingit atmosphere of the high mountain forests of Tabanan. This male shows its glossy dark blue back and bright red chest with a black line running down its white belly.

Scarlet-headed Flowerpecker. Lowland dicaeidae. This is a typical male - unmistakeable bright red head, breast, and back.

Flame-fronted Barbet (Takur Tohtor) from the gardens of Pura Luhur Batukaru. Bright-coloured with green body, yellow-orange forehead, blue nape, and orange crescent on the upper chest. 

Black-banded Barbet. Green overall with large black bill, red throat, black mask and bright yellow crown. Endemic to Java with a moderately large but highly fragmented range.

Yellow-eared Barbet. This small green barbet is from Padang Savana Sadengan. Bright sky-blue patches on face, shoulders, throat and undertail, and a bright yellow patch below each eye.

Crescent-chested Babbler. With a black crescent across its breast, this little Javan endemic is bright rufous above and gray below.

Javan Scimitar-Babbler. A vulnerable and threatened species, of the high tropical montane rainforest. Apparently, it has fierce-eyes yellow and short typical decurved babbler bill, a black head and white throat to mid-belly that contrast with a dark maroon body. They say every birdwatcher with a camera has a photo in them. This should have stayed there.

Javan Whistling-Thrush. Sensitive Species. A dark blue forest bird with dark bill and legs and bright blue nape and shoulders.

Javan Bulbul. Forest bulbul with a long slender bill, olive back and wings, and streaked underparts.

Ruby-throated Bulbul. Vulnerable species. Black headed with a golden-yellow body. Okay. A small crest and blood-red throat. Apparently.

Black-winged Myna. Endemic to Java and Bali but very localised. An endangered species with an estimate of less than 250 individuals left in the wild. White bird with black wings and bare yellow skin around the eyes.

Javan Heleia. Not a typical “white-eye”, this small gray-headed yellow-green bird was foraging in the wooded edge of a lake.

Java Sparrow. Small, plump finch with a very thick pink bill, pink eye ring, black head and white cheek. Roosts communally, and nests under eaves of urban buildings. An endangered lowland species, introduced across the globe including in the Philippines.

Sunda Warbler. Gray back, white underparts with bright white eyerings and green wings. Found along the road between two mountains - Gunung Ranti and Gunung Merapi.

Sunda Minivet. Brightly coloured extensive deep-red underparts and lower back, black crown and long tail. Inhabitant of the higher montane forests in Java and Sumatra (1200-2700 meters).

Sunda Crow. Medium-sized black crow with an iridescent dark blue plumage, and a relatively long, slightly decurved bill. It ranges from the southern Thai-Malay Peninsula and Sumatra to Borneo and Bali.

Javan Plover. Relatively small plain plover, found from Java East through the Lesser Sundas (Indonesia to Timor-Leste). Brown above and white below, with a neat white collar, forehead, and eyebrow. Small populations in decline.

Sunda Collared-Dove. Found on both sides of the Wallace Line, this East Javan Columbidae is pink-brown with bright-red eyes, and a white-trimmed black collar.

Gray-cheeked Green Pigeon. Also on both sides of the Wallace Line. Bird with gray forehead and crown, a thick white bill and bright yellow-green wing feather linings and lime-green goggles. This male from Bali exhibits its maroon back and shoulders.

Small (Cerulean) Blue Kingfisher. Found on both sides of the Wallace Line. Tiny kingfisher with blue upperparts and white underparts, throat, lores and sides of neck. Typically hunts from a perch at the edge of its water habitat.

Javan Black-capped Babbler. Rufous brown babbler with a dark crown, an orange breast, and a bright white throat. long orangish-eyebrow white on the back.

Javan Munia. Plain dark-rumped brown munia with a dark-brown face and a white belly.

Cave Swiftlet. Typical “white-bellied” swiftlet, endemic to Java, Sumatra, and smaller adjacent islands. Dark above, with a gray-brown breast and white belly. Its rapid erratic flight shows its squared-off tail but makes it hard to photograph. Breeds in caves.

Javan Myna. Native to Indonesia and introduced in another five countries. Vulnerable Sturnidae (starling). Dark gray overall with an erect crest and a bright yellowish-orange bill.

Olive-backed Tailorbird. Olive-gray overall, with an orange head and face and long thin bill. Endemic to Java, Bali and Lombok.

Green Junglefowl. Male with bright blue-and pink comb and large red wattle is distinctively darker, with orange and yellow feathers on the back and wings. Female is dull brown with dark spots, black tail and pale pinkish face.

Sunda Cuckooshrike. Chunky, dark gray bird with a dark face.

Sunda Scops-Owl. Small brown owl with large dark eyes and small, soft-looking ear tufts. Dark brown, almost black, eyes separate it from otherwise similar species. Like most other small scops-owls, Sunda is more readily heard than seen.

Sunda Teal. Bebek cokelat or Itik benjut. Small mottled brown duck with ruby-red eyes and rounded forehead with bulge.