The Hihi, One of New Zealand’s rarest birds, has been re-introduced to the Auckland mainland after 125 year absence
25/11/2006 00:00:00
Hihi facts
- Hihi/stichbird (Notiomystis cincta) is today one of New Zealand’s rarest birds but was once found throughout the North Island. The impact of introduced predators, habitat destruction and possibly disease reduced the distribution of hihi to Hauturu/Little Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf.
- Recovery efforts since the 1980s have so far failed to establish further self-sustaining populations, although two small populations remain at two translocation sites with intensive management and support. Establishing additional populations is a key focus of DOC’s Hihi Recovery Plan.
- Although the population on Tiritiri Matangi is gradually expanding, at least half the young produced each year die of starvation, due to the shortage of mature forest habitat on the island. The forest at Ark in the Park is botanically similar to the hihi’s main habitat on Hauturu/Little Barrier.
- Until recently hihi were believed to belong to the honeyeater family along with the tui and bellbird, but recent genetic studies indicate they may be more closely related to the family of birds that includes the saddleback and extinct huia.
- Hihi have distinctive large, bright eyes, an upright tail and long cat-like ‘whiskers’ around the base of the neck. Male hihi are more colourful, with a jet-black head and white ‘ear’ tufts, bright yellow shoulders and breast band, a white wing bar and mottled tan to grey-brown body. Females are smaller and are a more sombre olive to grey-brown colour.
- Hihi are readily detected in dense forest by their strident call, which has been likened to the word ‘stich’ or two stones being repeatedly struck together. They also have a low warbling song that can last several minutes.
- The birds feed predominantly on nectar, but also eat insects, particularly in the breeding season. Feeding stations will be built in the park near walking tracks so visitors can encounter hihi more readily.
- Hihi nest in tree cavities (which may make them more vulnerable to predators) and have an unusual mating system in which females may breed with a single male or several. They are also the only bird known to sometimes mate face to face.
February 2007. One of New Zealand’s rarest birds, the hihi (stitchbird) returned to the Auckland mainland this week for the first time in 125 years. About 30 of the rare birds were transferred from Tiritiri Matangi Island to Cascade Kauri Park in the Waitakere Ranges – the first time hihi have been on the Auckland mainland since they became locally extinct in the 1880s. In the Auckland area hihi are found only on two Department of Conservation-managed islands – Hauturu/Little Barrier and Tiritiri Matangi, and the Hauturu/Little Barrier population is the only self-sustaining population in New Zealand.
Translocation team leader Sandra Jack of Forest & Bird said ‘Hihi are currently still vulnerable to extinction and establishing additional populations is a core focus for hihi recovery. We hope that a self-sustaining population will become established in the forest in the Waitakere Ranges, improving the species’ chances of long-term survival.’
In 2005 hihi were returned to the New Zealand mainland for the first time, when 60 birds were transferred from Tiritiri Matangi to Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in Wellington. The success of that transfer has led to the latest transfer to Ark in the Park. This month’s transfer will be followed by a second transfer of another 30 birds in April.
Although supplementary food and nest boxes will be provided initially, it is expected that the hihi will eventually be able to rely on natural food sources and nesting sites in the 1000 hectares of mature forest at the Ark in the Park site.
Intensive use of traps and poison bait stations, maintained largely through the efforts of a large team of community volunteers, will protect the birds from predation by pests such as possums, rats and stoats. The birds will be fitted with transmitters so they can be effectively monitored for up to six weeks after release. The transfer is being undertaken as part of the Ark in the Park project, a partnership between the Waitakere Branch of Forest & Bird and Auckland Regional Council, supported by the Department of Conservation, Auckland Zoo Conservation Fund, Waitakere City Council, ASB Community Trust and Waitakere and Portage Licensing Trusts.
Read the comments about this article and leave your own comment