Tiritiri Matangi

We had a great day at Tiritiri Matangi Scientific Reserve, an island bird sanctuary not far from Auckland. We booked a ferry and a volunteer guide and learned about the rare birds of New Zealand.

The Kokako is one of New Zealand's ancient wattlebirds. It doesn't fly very well, preferring to walk along branches and glide between trees.

Kokakos live for 20 years or more and bond for life. For a while most were pairs of males as the females had been killed while nesting by imported rats and possums!

The Saddleback is another endangered wattlebird that thrives when there are no predators around.

The saddleback is a nectar feeder and the orange colour on his forehead is from the pollen of the flax flowers that he's feeding on.

Endemic New Zealand birds never had mammals to contend with during their eons of evolution, so they don't show much fear of a photographer approaching for a closer shot!

The stitchbird has been extinct on New Zealand's main islands since 1885. But with constant monitoring and research the stitchbird has done so well on Tiritiri Matangi that they are now being exported to other reserves in hopes of establishing new populations.

The males are very territorial and aggressive: a researcher looked into this and discovered that his testicles were bigger than his brains!