Native Birds

• (S) Kiwi have fine whiskers at the base of their beak to aid them in navigating obstacles in dim light as they have poor eyesight

• (S) The kiwi is the only bird in the world to have nostrils at the end of its beak. This enables it to search for food by probing its long beak into the earth in search of invertebrates.

• (S) Kiwi plumage blends in with forest undergrowth to allow them protection from predators through camouflage.

• (B) The kiwi is a nocturnal bird. This behaviour helps to reduce its risk of predation and competition for food during daylight.

• (S) The tūī has a long, curved beak and a fine brush-tipped tongue that enables it to extract nectar from forest tree flowers.

• (S) Tūī have hollow bones and no teeth, which makes their body light for flight.

• (B) Many birds such as the kererū and tūī perform display dives to attract a mate.

(S) Their fan is an adaptation that makes them very manoeuvrable in the air and able to quickly dart about to catch insects in flight.

(B) Fantails have also learned to follow humans and catch insects that are disturbed as we push through the plants. These clever birds will dart round and round and even in-between trampers’ bare legs, to snatch up these tiny insects

(S) Strong, thick beak to create burrows in bank sides for nesting.

• (S) The kererū has the widest gape of any New Zealand forest bird. This enables it to swallow, digest and disperse the large fruit and seeds of the karaka, miro and tawa trees.

• (B) Many birds such as the kererū and tūī perform display dives to attract a mate.

• (B) Kererū fledglings spend 1–2 weeks with their parents before becoming independent.

• (P) Kererū are one of few birds to produce crop milk, a protein-rich milky secretion from the walls of the parents' crops. When mixed with fruit pulp, this sustains their chicks in the early stages of life.

• (S) The feathers on the outside are thick olive coloured plumage feathers that helps to keep itself warm throughout the winter.

• (S) Keas have hard curved beaks. That enables it to tear and break things and lift their food such as grubs, berries and seeds.

• (B) Keas live and hunt in groups and they prey with strategies. As the seasons pass they move to different places around the mountains for food, they feed on more than 40 types of plants.

• (P) Keas are warm blooded animals.

• (S) Takahē and kiwi have vestigial wings. After many years of not requiring the use of flight, they evolved a larger body size and lost the ability to fly.

• (S) The bill of the takahē extends onto its forehead as a shield.

• (B) If there is thick snow cover on the ground during winter, takahē will nest in forested areas to provide shelter.

• (B) Kākāpō chicks feed almost entirely on the seeds of the rimu tree. The mating cycle of the kākāpō is tightly linked with the fruiting of the rimu tree, and in abundant fruiting years, a greater number of kākāpō chicks are often born.

• Male kākāpō let out a ‘booming’ noise from dug-out bowls in the earth to attract a female.

• The kākāpō has a ‘freezing’ response to danger.

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• (S) The difference between the beaks in Huia is called sexual dimorphism. It is a common adaptation (riflemen, sicklbills and kiwi) but is probably most pronounced in Huia.