Callaeidae

(Callaeidae)

Class: Aves

Order: Passeriformes

Suborder: Passeri (Oscines)

Family: Callaeidae

Thumbnail description
Medium-sized songbirds with a distinctive, fleshy, bright-colored flap of bare skin, known as a "wattle," on each side of the corners of the beak. They have rounded wings and tail, and strong legs and toes.

Size
10–21 in (25–53 cm)

Number of genera, species
3 genera; 3 species

Habitat
Temperate forest

Conservation status
Extinct: 1 species; Endangered: 1 species; Near Threatened: 1 species

Distribution
New Zealand

Evolution and systematics

The wattle birds are three species of passerine birds, each assigned to its own genus, that comprise the family Callaeidae and live only in New Zealand. They likely evolved from a single, founder species that colonized the primeval forests of New Zealand more than one million years ago.

Physical characteristics

The body length is 10–21 in (25–53 cm), with a moderately long tail, short rounded wings, rather long legs, strong perching feet, and a curved, stout, dark beak. The body coloration is overall black, brown, or blue-gray, and with a blue or orange wattle (this is bare skin behind the gape of the beak). The sexes are dimorphic, differing in wattle color and bill size and shape.

Distribution

New Zealand.

Habitat

Temperate forest

Behavior

Wattle birds walk and hop on the ground but are weak fliers. They generally occur as non-migratory pairs that defend a breeding territory, or as unpaired birds. They have slow and distinct songs consisting of loud, bell-like notes. Pairs may sing duets in the morning.

Feeding ecology and diet

Wattle birds search for food on or close to the ground, where they hop about in long, deliberate jumps. They feed on insects, other invertebrates, fruit, and young leaves.

Reproductive biology

The nest is a flat platform of twigs placed as much as 33 ft (10 m) above the ground. It is loosely built and usually roofed over. The clutch consists of two to four eggs that are colored pale gray or pale brown with dark spots.

Conservation status

The huia is recently Extinct, the kokako is Endangered, and the saddleback is dependent on continued conservation efforts for its survival.

Significance to humans

Wattle birds are of cultural significance to the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand. Otherwise, they are of no direct significance to people. They also provide economic benefits associated with bird-watching and ecotourism.

Species accounts

Resources

BirdLife International. Threatened Birds of the World. Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, 2000.

Heather, B., and H. Robertson. Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand. Auckland, NZ: Viking Press, 1996.

Oliver, W. R. B. New Zealand Birds. Wellington, NZ, 1930.

Turbott, E. G. Buller's Birds of New Zealand. Auckland, NZ: Whitcomb & Tombs, 1967.

BirdLife International. Wellbrook Court, Girton Road, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire CB3 0NA United Kingdom. Phone: +44 1 223 277 318. Fax: +44-1-223-277-200. E-mail: birdlife@birdlife.org.uk Web site:

IUCN–The World Conservation Union. Rue Mauverney 28, Gland, 1196 Switzerland. Phone: +41-22-999-0001. Fax: +41-22-999-0025. E-mail: mail@hq.iucn.org Web site:

Native Animals of New Zealand (website). Department of Conservation, Government of New Zealand.

Plants-and-Animals/001

Native-Animals/index.asp

[Article by: Bill Freedman, PhD]

New Zealand Wattlebirds
Huia (Heteralocha acutirostris)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Suborder: Passeri Family: Callaeidae Sundevall, 1836
Genera
Callaeas Philesturnus Heteralocha

The small bird family Callaeidae (also named in some sources as Callaeatidae) is endemic to New Zealand. It contains three monotypic genera; of the three species in the family, only two survive and one of them, the Kokako, is an endangered species. A third, the Huia became extinct early in the 20th century.

The Callaeidae are often known as wattlebirds, a term that leads to confusion, as there are other, unrelated species with this same name, notably the large Australian wattlebirds of the family Meliphagidae, which are honeyeaters. For this reason New Zealand Wattlebirds is the informal name for this family used by the scientific community.^[1]

Biology and evolution

The two surviving species are ground-dwelling songbirds, 26-38 cm in length. They inhabit dense forests, where they feed on insects. They have strong legs and featherless wattles behind the bill. Their wings are rounded and unusually weak, giving them very limited powers of flight. They are monogamous and maintain permanent territories.^[2]

These birds seem to be remnants of an early expansion of passerines to New Zealand. They have no close relatives except the stitchbird, and their more distant relationships are likewise still unknown.^[3]

Huia, Heteralocha acuitirostris (extinct)

Kokako, Callaeas cinerea

Tieke, or Saddleback, Philesturnus carunculatus (formerly Creadion carunculatus)

References

1. ^ Higgins, P.J. & J.M. Peter (eds) 2002. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 6: Pardalotes to Shrike-thrushes. Oxford University Press, Melbourne. ISBN 0-19-553762-9
2. ^ Lindsey, Terence (1991). Forshaw, Joseph. ed. Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. pp. 225. ISBN 1-85391-186-0. 
3. ^ Ewen, John G.; Flux, Ian & Ericson, Per G. P. (2006): Systematic affinities of two enigmatic New Zealand passerines of high conservation priority, the hihi or stitchbird Notiomystis cincta and the kokako Callaeas cinerea. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 40(1): 281–284. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.01.026 PDF fulltext

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)