| Kōkako | |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Callaeidae |
| Genus: | Callaeas Forster,JR, 1788 |
| Species: | C. cinerea C. cinerea cinerea |
| Binomial name | |
| Callaeas cinerea (Gmelin, 1788) |
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The Kōkako (Callaeas cinerea) is a forest bird which is endemic to New Zealand. It is slate-grey with a black mask and wattles. It is one of three species of New Zealand Wattlebird, the other two being the endangered Tieke (saddleback) and the extinct Huia. Previously widespread, Kōkako populations throughout New Zealand have been decimated by the predations of mammalian invasive species such as possums, stoats, cats and rats and their range has contracted significantly. There were formerly two sub-species of Kōkako, North Island and South Island, although the South Island subspecies may now be extinct.
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Description
The North Island Kōkako, Callaeas cinerea wilsoni has blue wattles (although this colour develops with age: in the young of this bird they are actually coloured a light pink).The South Island Kōkako, Callaeas cinerea cinerea, by contrast has largely orange wattles, with only a small patch of blue at the base .
Kōkako biology
The Kōkako has a beautiful, clear, organ-like song. Its call can carry for kilometres. Breeding pairs sing together in a bell-like duet for up to an hour in the early morning. Different populations in different parts of the North Island (if any populations of the South Island Kōkako remain they are at present unknown) have distinctly different songs which many people consider analogous with human "dialects" of a given language.
The Kōkako is a poor flier and seldom flies more than 100 metres - the wings of this species are relatively short and rounded. It prefers to hop and leap from branch to branch on its powerful grey legs - they don't fly so much as glide and when seen exhibiting this behaviour they will generally scramble up tall trees (frequently New Zealand Podocarps such as Rimu and Matai) before gliding to others nearby - its ecological niche is frequently compared to that of a flying squirrel. Its diet consists of leaves, fern fronds, flowers, fruit and invertebrates.
Kōkako and humans
In Māori and modern New Zealand culture
Māori myth refers to Kōkako in several stories. In one notable story, Kōkako gave Māui water as he fought the sun by filling its plump wattles with water and offering it to Māui to quench his thirst. Māui rewarded Kōkako for its kindness by stretching its legs until they were lean, long and strong, so that Kōkako could easily leap through the forest to find food.
The Kōkako appears on the reverse side of the New Zealand $50 note.
Threats and conservation
The North Island Kokako is endangered, with less than 400 pairs in existence (September 2004). It survives in low numbers in several mainland native forests with the help of government-funded pest control programmes, and captive breeding programmes help maintain population numbers. New populations are being established through releases on predator-free offshore islands. As a result, conservationists are hopeful of the species' long-term survival. As at 2005, the Kōkako has been sighted in Pureora Forest, Whirinaki Forest Park and the Te Urewera National Park. Recently, 20 Kōkako from Urewera were translocated to Ngapukeriki, a forest area under intensive predator control. Kōkako can be seen relatively easily on Tiritiri Matangi Island, where the regenerating forest is low enough to provide close views
The South Island Kokako has fared worse and was formally declared extinct by the New Zealand Department of Conservation on 16 January 2007 [1]. A confirmed sighting has not occurred in several decades, though unconfirmed sightings are very occasionally reported, most recently several reports of sighting have and witnesses interviewed claim DOC asked them to keep it quiet. [2] [3] In the 1990s, Timberlands, the state owned enterprise tasked with managing the former New Zealand Forest Service's West Coast forests found some evidence of kokako in the research into native forest ecology it conducted as part of its sustainable management program.[4]
See also
References
- ^ DoC declares South Island kokako 'extinct' - 16 Jan 2007 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news
- ^ Fresh signs of long-lost kokako in Fiordland - 29 Mar 2006 - Dept of Conservation
- ^ Expert refuses to give up 20-year search for kokako - 17 Jan 2007 - NZ Herald: New Zealand National news
- ^ N.Z. Forestry , May 1996
Further reading
- Murphy S.A., Flux I.A. and Double M.C. (2006) Recent evolutionary history of New Zealand's North and South Island Kokako (Callaeas cinerea) inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequences. Emu 106: 41-48.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kōkako |
- Department of Conservation page on Kokako
- Kokako Recovery A website developed by private enthusiasts to promote the Kokako Recovery Programme.
- New Zealand Birds website
- BirdLife Species Factsheet.
- Kōkako on Tiritiri Mātangi
- J. Innes; I. Flux (1999). "North Island kokako recovery plan" (PDF). Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/tsrp30.pdf. Retrieved 2007-04-18.
- TerraNature page on Kokako
- TerraNature page on wattlebirds
- Artworks featuring Kokako in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongrewa
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