Birds of New Zealand

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Kakapo (Strigops habroptilus), typically weighing 3 kg and possibly one of the world's longest-living birds Strigops habroptilus 1-1c.jpg
Kākāpō ( Strigops habroptilus ), typically weighing 3 kg and possibly one of the world's longest-living birds

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.

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The mix includes species with unusual biology such as the kākāpō which is the world's only flightless, nocturnal parrot which also exhibits competitive display breeding using leks.

There are also many species that are similar to neighbouring land areas. A process of colonisation, speciation and extinction has been at play over many millions of years, including recent times. Some species have arrived in human recorded history while others arrived before but are little changed. [1] [2]

History after human settlement

Artist's rendition of a Haast's eagle (Hieraaetus moorei) attacking two moa (Dinornis novaezealandiae) Giant Haasts eagle attacking New Zealand moa.jpg
Artist's rendition of a Haast's eagle (Hieraaetus moorei) attacking two moa ( Dinornis novaezealandiae)
A photo of a female Kiwi (genus Apteryx) with its egg A Kiwi with its large single egg.jpg
A photo of a female Kiwi (genus Apteryx) with its egg

When Polynesian Māori arrived in New Zealand about 700 years ago, the environment changed quickly. Several species were hunted to extinction by colonizing peoples, most notably the moa ( Dinornithidae ) and Haast's eagle ( Hieraaetus moorei ). The most damage was caused by habitat destruction and the other animals humans brought with them, particularly rats – the Polynesian rat or kiore introduced by Māori and the brown rat and black rat subsequently introduced by Europeans 400 years later. Mice, dogs, cats, stoats, weasels, pigs, goats, deer, hedgehogs, and Australian possums also put pressure upon native bird species. The flightless birds were especially sensitive. Birds like the kākāpō and kiwi were unable to fly and therefore unable to lay their eggs in elevated areas, which increases the probability of predators (e.g., stoats, weasels) discovering their eggs. [3] [4]

Consequently, many bird species became extinct, and others remain critically endangered. Nearly half of New Zealand's native birds were driven to extinction following human settlement, one of the largest waves of extinction in global history. [5] Several species are now confined only to offshore islands, or to fenced "ecological islands" from which predators have been eliminated. New Zealand is a world leader in the techniques required to bring severely endangered species back from the brink of extinction, alongside creating spaces for endangered species to rebuild their populations. These spaces include 44 marine reserves, 13 national parks, and many more protected areas across the country. In total, there are over 100,000 protected areas that cover 1/3 of the country. [6] With these protective areas, flightless birds in particular are less susceptible to hunting, introduced species, and land-use change. [5] [7]

Comparison to global bird fauna

Kea (Nestor notabilis), the world's only alpine parrot, is very inquisitive and intelligent Kea on rock while snowing.jpg
Kea (Nestor notabilis), the world's only alpine parrot, is very inquisitive and intelligent

New Zealand is a significant contributor to global bird, and overall, species diversity. According to New Zealand's Ministry for the Environment, the country has an estimated 80,000 species of native flora and fauna. All frogs and reptiles, ~90% of insects, ~80% of vascular plants, and ~25% of bird species found in New Zealand are only found in the island nation. [8] There has been a shift in bird composition following European colonization, including the overexploitation of endemic bird species for sport, introduction of nonnative species for insect control and sport, alongside colonizing predators declining the defenseless New Zealand bird population. [4] [7] Terrestrial, wetland, and seabirds in New Zealand each measure to be one-third of the total number of species in the country. These three categories are the entire bird consistency of New Zealand. On the contrary, for the globe, terrestrial birds compose 90% of bird species.

Conservation

Adult takahe (Porphyrio hochstetteri) feeding a chick Takahe parent and child 2.jpg
Adult takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri) feeding a chick

When humans first arrived in New Zealand, there were at least 131 species of land, freshwater and coastal birds, and another 65 species of seabirds (gulls, albatrosses, petrels and penguins), making at least 196 native species in total, according to a 1997 report (this count may have risen since as subspecies have been reclassified as species). Of the 131 species that lived on or near land, 93 (or 71%) were endemic, and of the 65 seabirds, 22 (or 34%) were endemic, making 115 (or 59%) endemic species in total. As of 2018, at least 60 birds, three frogs, seven vascular plants, and an immeasurable number of invertebrate species have been lost forever due to the dual efforts of climate change and invasive species. [9]

Due to habitat loss, their historical use as a food source by Māori, and predation by introduced species, many birds have become extinct and numerous more are threatened with extinction. As of 2019, 74% of New Zealand's terrestrial birds are considered to be threatened or at risk of extinction. [10] Huge conservation efforts are being made to save bird species, including the takahē, kākāpō, mohua, kōkako, whio, hihi and the kiwi. One well documented conservation success story, due in a large part to the efforts of Don Merton, is the saving of the black robin on the Chatham Islands. Another key example, the kiwi and whio, where recent human intervention has improved nesting and hatching success from 8–10% to 90%. [11] By creating physical barriers to prevent predators from approaching nesting areas or relocating predators, kiwi and other terrestrial birds have been able to rebound and increase their populations tremendously.

From the time of first human settlement until 1994, 43 (or 46%) of the 93 endemic land, freshwater and coastal bird species have become extinct, as have 4 of the 22 endemic seabird species (making 41% of all endemic species extinct), according to a 1997 report. Fifteen species extinctions have occurred since 1840 (this count will have risen to 16 when the North Island snipe was raised from subspecies to species level). According to the 2005 New Zealand Threat Classification System list, 153 species or subspecies were then threatened with extinction. If New Zealand's currently threatened bird species go extinct, it is estimated it would take from 10 to 50 million years to return to today's biodiversity levels via natural evolutionary processes. [5] [4]

Current conservation efforts encompass nonprofit and community groups and projects, including Save Our Iconic Kiwi, Takahē Recovery Programme, Kākāpō Recovery, the National Audubon Society, the Forest and Bird, among others supported by the Department of Conservation. Efforts expand from raising funds to supplement existing and new projects, alongside exposing the public to the endemic fauna and encouraging individual acknowledgement of the crisis via tourism in conservation areas. Several acts that influence New Zealand bird biodiversity include the Conservation Act 1987, Forests Act 1949, Marine and Coastal Area Act 2011, National Parks Act 1980, Reserves Act 1977, Trade in Endangered Species Act 1989, Wildlife Act 1953, Natural and Built Environment Act 2023, Wild Animal Control Act 1977, Dog Control Act 1996, Environment Act 1986, and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996. Alongside the new Natural and Built Environment Act 2023, the only other item that is tremendously influencing New Zealand's bird biodiversity is Predator Free 2050, a radical initiative set to eradicate colonised predators that threaten endemic species within half a century. [9] [11]

Predator Free 2050

In 2016, the government of New Zealand asked the country's Department of Conservation to develop a program that would use knowledge from iwi, whānau, and hapū groups, alongside conservation experts and people who partook in the Predator Free movement years prior. This project is the first heavily publicised conservation collaboration between Māori peoples and the federal government. The Predator Free 2050 Strategy launched in March 2020, alongside its first five-year action plan that highlighted not only the government's vision for the plan but also pathways of how to use the 5-year plan by individuals and groups across the country. [12] [13] The plan consists of three actions: mobilise, innovate, and accelerate. Mobilization involves taking the steps needed to build predator-free communities and establish collaborations across a given region and the nation as a whole. Innovation involves developing new and transformative tools and techniques required and needed to remove predators from New Zealand's ecosystems. Finally, accelerate involves applying the tools and techniques of the plan nationwide, concurrently with their development. All progress reports following the program's release are publicly available through the New Zealand Government's webpage. [13] For the Predator Free 2050 initiative, the 2023 update has produced promising results regarding the mobilization and innovation efforts within the initiative.

Case Study: Kiwi Conservation Efforts*

Chris Goulding, from the New Zealand Department of Conservation, holding a great spotted kiwi (Apteryx haastii) during a bird release in Kahurangi National Park in 2016. Chris Goulding from DOC holding a great spotted kiwi during a release in Kahurangi National Park.jpg
Chris Goulding, from the New Zealand Department of Conservation, holding a great spotted kiwi (Apteryx haastii) during a bird release in Kahurangi National Park in 2016.

Current kiwi conservation work is based on a collaboration between the New Zealand government, community and iwi-led groups, and various conservation organisations located in the North and South Islands. As the nation's icon, citizens of New Zealand often refer to themselves as "Kiwis". As a keystone species, they have an enormous contribution to seed dispersal and population control of insects and grubs, helping regenerate endemic flora. [14] This contribution is disproportionate compared to their current abundance across the country. As of 2024, from the 12 million that was estimated prior to human colonization, kiwi populations are estimated to be around 70,000. [15] [16] On average, the kiwi population in New Zealand is declining by 2% annually, with 20 kiwi dying each week. [17] Thus far, the goal is to increase the Roroa population annually by at least 2% through the controlling of predators to ensure chick survival. The survival rate of a kiwi chick is ~10% without predator control due to stoats and other mammals. Before Predator Free 2050, the Kiwi Recovery Plan 2018–2028 was a conservation effort spearheaded by New Zealand's Department of Conservation. [18] Much of the plan's short- and long-term goals were formulated by the Predator Free 2050 initiative released in 2020. According to the kiwi monitoring programme provided by the New Zealand Government, which has documented a kiwi conservation study since 1992, kiwi chick survival was boosted to 50% following pest control and reduction in pesticide use. [19] [20] Save the Kiwi organization and many other independent research projects have focused on the North Island due to being a major hub for community-led kiwi conservation. [21] As of 2020, The 11 projects that the organization funds through Jobs for Nature exceeded all their targets when it came to predator control in various regions of the North Island and kiwi rehabilitation in protected areas, including 127,432 hectares of mustelid-controlled habitat. [22] On their website, they include more highlights and lowlights of 2020.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kākāpō</span> Parrot endemic to New Zealand

The kākāpō, sometimes known as the owl parrot or owl-faced parrot, is a species of large, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrot of the superfamily Strigopoidea. It is endemic to New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rakiura National Park</span> National park in New Zealand

Rakiura National Park is a nature reserve park located on Stewart Island / Rakiura, New Zealand. It is the newest national park of New Zealand and opened in 2002. The protected area covers about 85% of the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fauna of New Zealand</span> Animal species of New Zealand

The animals of New Zealand, part of its biota, have an unusual history because, before the arrival of humans, less than 900 years ago, the country was mostly free of mammals, except those that could swim there or fly there (bats). However, as recently as the Miocene, it was home to the terrestrial Saint Bathans mammal, implying that mammals had been present since the island had broken away from other landmasses. The absence of mammals meant that all of the ecological niches occupied by mammals elsewhere were occupied instead by either insects or birds, leading to an unusually large number of flightless birds, including the kiwi, the weka, the moa, the takahē, and the kākāpō.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kapiti Island</span> Island off the Kāpiti Coast of New Zealand

Kapiti Island, sometimes written as Kāpiti Island, is an island nature reserve located 5.6 km (3 mi) off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand and within the Kāpiti Coast District. Parts of the island were previously farmed, but it is now a predator-free sanctuary for endemic birds, including many endangered birds. The island is 10 km (6.2 mi) long, running southwest/northeast, and roughly 2 km (1.2 mi) wide, being more or less rectangular in shape, and has an area of 19.65 km2 (7.59 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Resolution Island (New Zealand)</span> Island in New Zealands Fiordland region

Resolution Island or Tau Moana (Māori) is the largest island in the Fiordland region of southwest New Zealand, covering a total of 208 km2 (80 sq mi). It is the country's seventh largest island, and the second largest uninhabited island. Resolution Island is separated from the mainland of the South Island by Tamatea / Dusky Sound, Te Puaitaha / Breaksea Sound, and Acheron Passage. The island is part of the Fiordland National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Codfish Island / Whenua Hou</span> Island of New Zealand

Codfish Island / Whenua Hou is a small island located to the west of Stewart Island in southern New Zealand. It reaches a height of 250 m (820 ft) close to the south coast. The island is home to Sirocco, an internationally famous kākāpō, a rare species of parrot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Barrier Island</span> Island in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand

Little Barrier Island, or Hauturu in Māori, lies off the northeastern coast of New Zealand's North Island. Located 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the north of Auckland, the island is separated from the mainland to the west by the Jellicoe Channel, and from the larger Great Barrier Island to the east by the Cradock Channel. The two aptly named islands shelter the Hauraki Gulf from many of the storms of the Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biodiversity of New Zealand</span>

The biodiversity of New Zealand, a large island country located in the south-western Pacific Ocean, is varied and distinctive. The species of New Zealand accumulated over many millions of years as lineages evolved in the local circumstances. New Zealand's pre-human biodiversity exhibited high levels of species endemism, but has experienced episodes of biological turnover. Global extinction approximately 65 Ma resulted in the loss of fauna such as non-avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs and marine reptiles e.g. mosasaurs, elasmosaurs and plesiosaurs. The ancient fauna is not well known, but at least one species of terrestrial mammal existed in New Zealand around 19 Ma. For at least several million years before the arrival of humans, the islands had no terrestrial mammals except for bats and seals, the main component of the terrestrial fauna being insects and birds. It was not until the 14th century that new species were introduced by humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little spotted kiwi</span> Species of bird

The little spotted kiwi or little grey kiwi is a small flightless bird in the kiwi family, Apterygidae. It is the smallest of the five kiwi species, at about 0.9 to 1.9 kg, about the size of a bantam. It is endemic to New Zealand, and in pre-European times occurred in both main islands, but is now restricted to a number of small offshore islands, and mainland reserves protected by pest-exclusion fences. The little spotted kiwi was on the brink of extinction when a conservation effort took place 100 years ago. Five individuals were translocated from the South Island of New Zealand to Kapiti Island. Today, the Kapiti Island population has grown, with around 1200 birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secretary Island</span> Island in southwestern New Zealand

Secretary Island is an island in southwestern New Zealand, lying entirely within Fiordland National Park. Roughly triangular in shape, it lies between Doubtful Sound / Patea in the south and Te Awa-o-Tū / Thompson Sound in the north, with its west coast facing the Tasman Sea. To the east of the island, Pendulo Reach connects Te Awa-o-Tū / Thompson Sound with Doubtful Sound / Patea. Steeply sloped, the entirely bush-clad island rises to a chain of several peaks higher than 1000 metres. The highest of these is the 1,196-metre (3,924 ft) Mount Grono, the highest peak in the main New Zealand chain not located in the North or South Island. The island also contains three lakes. The largest, Secretary Lake, over 600 metres (2,000 ft) long, is located beneath Mount Grono at an altitude of 550 metres (1,800 ft).

Chalky Island or Te Kākahu-o-Tamatea is an island in the southwest of New Zealand, and is part of Fiordland National Park. It lies at the entrance to Taiari / Chalky Inlet, next to Rakituma / Preservation Inlet, at the southwestern tip of the South Island, 10 kilometres (6 mi) northwest of Puysegur Point, 15 kilometres (9 mi) southeast of West Cape, and 140 kilometres (87 mi) west of Invercargill. Chalky Island is one of the predator-free islands that is part of the Fiordland Islands restoration programme. The programme's focus is to eradicate pests and translocate native species.

An ecological island is a term used in New Zealand, and increasingly in Australia, to refer to an area of land isolated by natural or artificial means from the surrounding land, where a natural micro-habitat exists amidst a larger differing ecosystem. In New Zealand the term is used to refer to one of several types of nationally protected areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anchor Island</span> Island of New Zealand

Anchor Island is an island in Dusky Sound in Fiordland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand parrot</span> Family of birds

The New Zealand parrot family, Strigopidae, 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, kākā, Norfolk kākā and Chatham kākā, while the genus Strigops contains the iconic kākāpō. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoat in New Zealand</span> Introduced ecological threat

The stoat was introduced into New Zealand to control introduced rabbits and hares, but is now a major threat to the native bird population. The natural range of the stoat is limited to parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Immediately before human settlement, New Zealand did not have any land-based mammals apart from bats, but Polynesian and European settlers introduced a wide variety of animals. Rarely, in Southland, the fur of stoats has been reported to turn white, being the fur known as ermine, which adorns royal robes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parrots of New Zealand</span> Types of species

New Zealand is geographically isolated, and originally lacked any mammalian predators, hence parrots evolved to fill habitats from the ground dwelling kākāpō 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, all impacted by invasive species. Further parrot species were not introduced by acclimatisation societies, but occasional releases, both deliberate and accidental, have resulted in self-sustaining populations of some Australian species. New Zealand was identified among the highest priority countries for parrot conservation in the world, due to its parrot diversity, endemism, threats, and having more threatened parrot species than expected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Forest Park</span> Conservation park in New Zealand

Victoria Forest Park, is situated on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. At 2,069 square kilometres (799 sq mi) it is New Zealand's largest forest park. The park is administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Te Kakahu skink</span> Species of lizard

The Te Kakahu skink is a critically endangered species of skink native to New Zealand. When discovered, the entire species was inhabiting a single patch of clifftop vegetation on Chalky Island in Fiordland National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goodnature</span> New Zealand pest control company

Goodnature is a New Zealand company founded in 2005 by two men, Robbie van Dam and Craig Bond. Goodnature specializes in the production of traps designed for the control of animal pests..

The Predator Free New Zealand Trust is a charitable organisation established in 2013 by Rob Fenwick, Gareth Morgan and others with the mission to advocate for community-led conservation efforts aimed at eradicating introduced mammalian predators from New Zealand. This initiative is part of the broader Predator Free 2050 vision, which seeks to create a predator free environment for the country's unique native species by the year 2050.

References

  1. ↑ Trewick, S.A.; Gibb, G. (2010). "Assembly of the New Zealand avifauna – A review of molecular evidence". Ibis. 152: 226–253. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.2010.01018.x.
  2. ↑ Trewick, S.A. (2011). "Vicars and vagrants: Assembly of the New Zealand avifauna". Australasian Science. 32: 24–27.
  3. ↑ "Conserving our native kiwi". Science Learning Hub. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  4. 1 2 3 Davidson, Jordan (2019-08-09). "New Zealand's Bird Biodiversity Loss Since Humans Arrived Would Take 50 Million Years to Recover, Study Finds". EcoWatch. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  5. 1 2 3 Guthrie, Kate (2020-05-07). "Human impact on NZ birds measured in millions of years". Predator Free NZ Trust. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  6. ↑ Les Molloy, 'Protected areas', Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/protected-areas (accessed 14 February 2024)
  7. 1 2 Valente, Luis; Etienne, Rampal S.; Garcia-R., Juan C. (2019-08-05). "Deep Macroevolutionary Impact of Humans on New Zealand's Unique Avifauna". Current Biology. 29 (15): 2563–2569.e4. Bibcode:2019CBio...29E2563V. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2019.06.058. ISSN   0960-9822. PMID   31386837.
  8. ↑ "Biodiversity". Ministry for the Environment. 2021-03-30. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  9. 1 2 Department of Conservation (2020). Towards a Predator Free New Zealand: Predator Free 2050 Strategy (PDF). Department of Conservation: Department of Conservation (published February 2020). pp. 1–44. ISBN   978-0-473-51291-0.
  10. ↑ Joy, Mike; McLean, Sylvie (2019-04-30). "Despite its green image, NZ has world's highest proportion of species at risk". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
  11. 1 2 "Our strategy » Predator Free 2050". www.tuiatetaiao.nz. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  12. ↑ "Get involved in Predator Free 2050". www.doc.govt.nz. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
  13. 1 2 "Our strategy » Predator Free 2050". www.tuiatetaiao.nz. Retrieved 2024-02-07.
  14. ↑ "Can You Eat Kiwi Birds? Examining The Possibility – Fauna Advice". 2023-09-07. Retrieved 2024-02-28.
  15. ↑ "Conservation in New Zealand – Protecting New Zealand's Kiwi Bird – New Zealand Trails". newzealandtrails.com. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  16. ↑ "Save Our Iconic Kiwi". www.doc.govt.nz. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  17. ↑ "Home". Save the Kiwi. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  18. ↑ Germano, Jennifer (2018). Kiwi Recovery Plan 2018–2028 (PDF). Department of Conservation: Creative Services Team, Department of Conservation. pp. 1–64. ISBN   978-1-98-851473-4.
  19. ↑ "Kiwi monitoring". www.doc.govt.nz. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
  20. ↑ Robertson, Hugh; Guillotel, Jerome; Lawson, Tony; Sutton, Nicole. "Landscape-scale applications of 1080 pesticide benefit North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) and New Zealand fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa) in Tongariro Forest, New Zealand" (PDF). Notornis. 66: 1–15 – via The Ornithological Society of New Zealand Inc.
  21. ↑ Robertson, Hugh A.; Colbourne, Rogan M.; Graham, Peter J.; Miller, Patrick J.; Pierce, Raymond J. (June 2011). "Experimental management of Brown Kiwi Apteryx mantelli in central Northland, New Zealand". Bird Conservation International. 21 (2): 207–220. doi:10.1017/S0959270910000444. ISSN   1474-0001.
  22. ↑ Kiwi, Save the (2023-12-18). "2023: The year that was". Save the Kiwi. Retrieved 2024-02-19.

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