The fantail (Maori name: Piwakawaka) is one of New Zealand’s best known birds, as it is one of the few native bird species in New Zealand that has been able to adapt to an environment greatly altered by humans.
In Maori mythology, the piwakawaka is a messenger, bringing news of death from the gods to the people.
The New Zealand Pigeon or kererū is a bird endemic to New Zealand. Kererū are commonly called wood pigeons but are not the same as the Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus), which is a member of a different genus. Since the extinction of the moa, the kererū and parea are now the only seed dispersers with a bill big enough to swallow large fruit, such as those of karaka, miro, tawa and taraire. The disappearance of these birds could be a disaster for the regeneration of New Zealand native forests.
Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, their are the only bird to have nostrils at the end of their very long bill and by far the smallest living ratites.
There are two species of Kiwi’s in New Zealand, the Brown Kiwi and the Spotted Kiwi. Within these two species are six varieties of Kiwi: Little Spotted Kiwi, North Island Brown Kiwi, Great Spotted Kiwi, Okarita Brown, Stewart island Brown, Haast Brown
The New Zealand Kaka, also known as Kākā, (Nestor meridionalis) is a New Zealand parrot endemic to the native forests of New Zealand.
The New Zealand Kaka lives in lowland and mid-altitude native forest. Its strongholds are currently the offshore reserves of Kapiti Island, Codfish Island and Little Barrier Island. It is breeding rapidly in the mainland island sanctuary at Zealandia (Karori Wildlife Sanctuary), with over 300 birds banded since their reintroduction in 2002.
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