Early European explorers released goats in New Zealand so they would have something to eat when they came back. Later, once settlement went into full swing, more goats were brought in, for their wool and to control weeds when land was cleared. As with many of New Zealand’s pest species, they like it here and, [...]
Kahurangi National Park
These robins (Petroica australis) flew across the track from the Flora carpark to the Flora hut, yelling at each other, harassing each other, oblivious to the people walking said track. Obviously someone was intruding on someone else’s territory, and that someone else was determined that they should not pass.
The scientific name of this little guy is Petroica macrocephala, and tomtits do indeed have big heads (macro = big + cephala = head) attached to their tiny bodies. Tomtits feed on insects in native and exotic forests and subspecies are found throughout the country. This is a South Island tomtit (Petroica macrocephala macrocephala), photographed [...]
The deep, dark eyes of the South Island robin/kakaruwai (Petroica australis) seem to drink in everything around them. They’re such curious things, always wanting to know what you’re doing in the bush. In summer time, during the breeding season, male and female work cooperatively in looking after the eggs and offspring. The male brings the [...]
New Zealand’s smallest bird, the rifleman/tītipounamu (Acanthisitta chloris), feeds exclusively on insects. They browse native forests, going up and down trees, systematically hunting down their tiny prey. This rifleman on the track to Mt Arthur Hut has taken an interest in what’s inhabiting the mosses and lichens on the underside of a branch (probably a [...]
Weka (Gallirallus australis australis) eat lots of things: fruit or veg, slug or spider, all are things suitable for filling a weka’s stomach. This one has found itself a snail.
This fairly young western weka (Gallirallus australis australis) is learning to hunt for food in the undergrowth of the beech forests of Mt Arthur.
One of the things I love about NZ beech forests is the variety that grows on the forest floor: the soft mosses, the pale lichens, all the different tiny plants and fungi reaching for the sky. This weka (Gallirallus australis australis) walks about on a soft bed of mosses, looking for food, keeping a close [...]
This is another pic of the female bellbird (Anthornis melanura melanura) I posted last week, spotted looking for insects on the track going from Arthur Hut down to Flora Hut. You can see in this photo the typical bellbird markings, including the dark stripe on the wing.
The track down from the Arthur Hut to the Flora Hut includes an exposed scrubby bit, and it was quite a surprise to see this bellbird (Anthornis melanura melanura) feeding here, as usually they’re seen in the forest canopy. This is a female, you can tell from the colours and from the pale stripe running [...]
