About 130 bird species were introduced to New Zealand following European settlement, and about 40 of them are still around. The term used for these introductions is “successful”, but given the impact on native wildlife, that doesn’t seem quite right. The blackbird (Turdus merula) was one of the earliest introductions, brought here because English settlers [...]
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This handsome fella was hanging out with the orange and black rooster I posted earlier in the week. There are hundreds of different breeds of the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) and I have no idea which one this is. But he is gorgeous, in his grey/blue cape with its touch of tan, his silvery [...]
I saw a peacock at Willowbank once, it was just walking around looking elgantly gorgeous, its tail draped down the length of its back, flowing along behind him. As I was walking away, I heard a shushing sound, like a light, localised downpour. The peacock was fanning its tail, and it was incredible to see [...]
The yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) was introduced to New Zealand in the late 1800s to combat insect pests of settlers’ crops. Spotted the major flaw in this plan? Yellowhammers are primarily seed eaters, not insect eaters, although this was not well known at the time the yellowhammer was selected for acclimatisation. They liked New Zealand’s cereal [...]
Animal introductions in the 18th century were mainly about ensuring continuity of food supply (pigs, sheep, chickens), but in the 19th century, once Europeans had established settlements, settlers wanted to see some familiar animals, and so began a series of bird introductions. The house sparrow, Passer domesticus, was one of these introductions. They were brought here [...]
The domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) is New Zealand’s preferred protein, according to the Foodstuffs supermarket chain. Oblivious to the acclaim, this rooster runs free near the Baton River Road ford. Gallus, the genus name, is Latin for rooster. Gallus contains four species of junglefowl, and the red junglefowl, Gallus gallus, is the wild version of our [...]
This western weka (Gallirallus australis australis) has caught itself a juicy earthworm! Weka eat just about anything: insects, slugs, spiders, small birds, mammals, lizards and frogs, eggs, carrion, fruit, leaves, grasses, seeds. They’re all fair game. Stewart Island weka (another subspecies) are known to prey on sooty shearwater chicks, and weka have been known to [...]
This is the parent of the weka baby posted yesterday, on the road up to the carpark for the Ellis River track. The chick had brown legs and a nearly black bill, but as the chick matures, these will change colour, becoming more like the orange/pink of this adult.
Look at the feet on this weka chick! Western weka (Gallirallus australis australis) breed from August to February and will lay up to four clutches of 2-4 eggs. This was the only chick with the parents, so it could be it’s the only egg that survived the incubation period, or maybe the only chick that hasn’t [...]
Captain James Cook first introduced the domestic sheep (Ovis aries) to New Zealand in the 1770s, and it was about a hundred years later that sheep farming really took off. By the early 1980s, New Zealand’s sheep numbers were up to 70 million, which put the sheep:human ratio at about 23:1. These days, sheep numbers are [...]
