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Kākā
The New Zealand kākā (''Nestor meridionalis'') is a large species of parrot of the family Nestoridae found in New Zealand, New Zealand's native forests. The species is often known by the abbreviated name kākā, although it shares this name with the Holocene extinction, recently extinct Norfolk kākā and Chatham kākā. Two subspecies of New Zealand kākā are recognised. It is endangered and has disappeared from much of its former range, though the re-introduction of North Island kākā at Zealandia (wildlife sanctuary), Zealandia in Wellington has led to an increasing population of the birds across the city. Taxonomy and naming The New Zealand kākā was described by German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788. There are two subspecies, the North Island kākā, ''Nestor meridionalis septentrionalis'', and the South Island kākā, ''N. m. meridionalis,'' although more recent research has ruled out allopatric subspeciation. The Māori language name ''kākā'' means "parr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kākāpō
The kākāpō ( ; ; from the mi, kākāpō, , night parrot), also known as owl parrot (''Strigops habroptilus''), is a species of large, flightless, nocturnal, ground-dwelling parrots of the super-family Strigopoidea, endemic to New Zealand. Up to in length, these flightless birds have finely blotched yellow-green plumage, a distinct facial disc, owl-style forward-facing eyes with surrounding discs of specially-textured feathers, a large grey beak, short legs, large blue feet, and relatively short wings and tail: a combination of traits making it unique among parrots. It is the world's only flightless parrot, the world's heaviest parrot, and also is nocturnal, herbivorous, visibly sexually dimorphic in body size, has a low basal metabolic rate, and does not have male parental care. It is the only parrot to have a polygynous lek breeding system. It is also possibly one of the world's longest-living birds, with a reported lifespan of up to 100 years. The weight is for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nestoridae
The New Zealand parrot family, Strigopidae,Nestoridae and Strigopidae are described in the same article, Bonaparte, C.L. (1849) ''Conspectus Systematis Ornithologiae''. Therefore, under rules of the ICZN, the first reviser determines priority, which is Bonaparte, C.L. (1850), ''Conspectus Generum Avium'', E.J. Brill, Leyden. consists of at least three genera of parrots – '' Nestor'', '' Strigops'', the fossil '' Nelepsittacus'', and probably the fossil ''Heracles''. The genus ''Nestor'' consists of the kea, kākā, Norfolk kākā and Chatham kākā, while the genus ''Strigops'' contains the iconic kākāpō. All extant species are endemic to New Zealand. The species of the genus ''Nelepsittacus'' were endemics of the main islands, while the two extinct species of the genus ''Nestor'' were found at the nearby oceanic islands such as Chatham Island of New Zealand, and Norfolk Island and adjacent Phillip Island. The Norfolk kaka and the Chatham kaka have become extinct in recent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Codfish Island
Codfish Island / Whenua Hou is a small island () located to the west of Stewart Island in southern New Zealand. It reaches a height of close to the south coast. The island is home to Sirocco, an internationally famous kākāpō, a rare species of parrot. History and names The island is one of many geographic features in New Zealand to have a dual place name, consisting of the English and Māori names separated by a slash. The English name "Codfish Island" refers to the endemic blue cod, which is fished commercially in surrounding waters by trapping in baited pots. The Māori name "" means "new land", which dates back to the early days of Pākehā settlement in New Zealand. Responding to concerns and allegations that local Māori women were being harassed by sealers on nearby Rakiura, the local Ngāi Tahu rangatira, Honekai, designated Whenua Hou as the site of a new mixed race settlement where early Pākehā could live with their Māori wives under his protection. This en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chatham Kākā
The Chatham kākā or Chatham Island kākā (''Nestor chathamensis'') is an extinct parrot species previously found on the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. The first individuals were thought to belong to the New Zealand kākā (''Nestor meridionalis''), but detailed examination of the subfossil bones showed that they actually belong to a separate endemic species. The species became extinct within the first 150 years of the arrival of the Polynesians around 1500, long before any European settlers. No skins or descriptions are available. Taxonomy The Chatham kākā is assigned to the genus ''Nestor'' in the family Nestoridae, a small group of parrot species native to New Zealand. It is considered to have been more closely related to the kākā (''Nestor meridionalis'') and the extinct Norfolk kākā (''Nestor productus'') than to the kea (''Nestor notabilis''). Ecology The Chatham kākā was a forest dwelling species of about the same size as the North Island subspecies of the kāk ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norfolk Kākā
The Norfolk kākā (''Nestor productus'') is an extinct species of large parrot, belonging to the parrot family Nestoridae. The birds were about 38 cm long, with mostly olive-brown upperparts, (reddish-)orange cheeks and throat, straw-coloured breast, thighs, rump and lower abdomen dark orange and a prominent beak. It inhabited the rocks and treetops of Norfolk Island and adjacent Phillip Island. It was a relative of the New Zealand kākā. Taxonomy The Norfolk kākā was first described by the naturalist Johann Reinhold Forster and his son Georg following the discovery of Norfolk Island by James Cook on 10 October 1774. The description was only published in 1844. Around 1790, John Hunter depicted a bird on a kangaroo apple (''Solanum aviculare''). The bird was formally described by John Gould in 1836, from a specimen at the Zoological Society of London. Originally, the individuals from Norfolk Island and Philip Island were considered two separate species, ''Nestor norfo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metro area, and is the administrative centre of the Wellington Region. It is the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state. Wellington features a temperate maritime climate, and is the world's windiest city by average wind speed. Legends recount that Kupe discovered and explored the region in about the 10th century, with initial settlement by Māori iwi such as Rangitāne and Muaūpoko. The disruptions of the Musket Wars led to them being overwhelmed by northern iwi such as Te Āti Awa by the early 19th century. Wellington's current form was originally designed by Captain William Mein Smith, the first Surveyor General for Edward Wakefield's New Zealand Company, in 1840. The Wellington urban area, which only includes urbanised ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Barrier Island
Little Barrier Island, or Hauturu in Māori language (the official Māori title is ''Te Hauturu-o-Toi''), lies off the northeastern coast of New Zealand's North Island. Located to the north of Auckland, the island is separated from the mainland to the west by Jellicoe Channel, and from the larger Great Barrier Island to the east by Cradock Channel. The two aptly named islands shelter the Hauraki Gulf from many of the storms of the Pacific Ocean. Settled by the Māori between 1350 and 1650, the island was occupied by them until the New Zealand government declared the island a wildlife sanctuary in 1897. Since the island came under control of the government, it has been under limited access, with only a few rangers living on the island. In the Māori language, the name of the island name means "the resting place of lingering breezes". Along with its larger neighbour Great Barrier, it was given its English name by Captain James Cook in 1769. The island is a nature sanctuary whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stewart Island / Rakiura
Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land area of . Its coastline is deeply creased by Paterson Inlet (east), Port Pegasus (south), and Mason Bay (west). The island is generally hilly (rising to at Mount Anglem) and densely forested. Flightless birds, including penguins, thrive because there are few introduced predators. Almost all the island is owned by the New Zealand government and over 80 per cent of the island is set aside as the Rakiura National Park. Stewart Island's economy depends on fishing and summer tourism. Its permanent population was recorded at 408 people in the 2018 census, most of whom live in the settlement of Oban on the eastern side of the island. Ferries connect the settlement to Bluff in the South Island. Stewart Island/Rakiura is part of the Southland Dist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area, covering . New Zealand is about east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland. The islands of New Zealand were the last large habitable land to be settled by humans. Between about 1280 and 1350, Polynesians began to settle in the islands and then developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight and record New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the United Kingdom and Māori chiefs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kapiti Island
Kapiti Island () is an island about off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand. It is long, running southwest/northeast, and roughly wide, being more or less rectangular in shape, and has an area of . Its name has been used since 1989 by the Kapiti Coast District Council, which includes towns such as Paekakariki, Raumati South, Paraparaumu and Waikanae. The island is separated from the North Island by the Rauoterangi Channel. The highest point on the island is Tūteremoana, . The seaward (west) side of the island is particularly rocky and has high cliffs, some hundreds of metres high, that drop straight into the sea. The cliffs are subject to very strong prevailing westerly winds and the scrubby vegetation that grows there is low and stunted by the harsh environmental conditions. A cross-section of the island would show almost a right-angled triangle, revealing its origins from lying on a fault line (part of the same ridge as the Tararua Range). The island's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zealandia (wildlife Sanctuary)
Zealandia, formerly known as the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected natural area in Wellington, New Zealand, the first urban completely fenced ecosanctuary, where the biodiversity of 225 ha (just under a square mile) of forest is being restored. The sanctuary was previously part of the water catchment area for Wellington, between Wrights Hill (bordering Karori) and the Brooklyn wind turbine on Polhill. Most of New Zealand's ecosystems have been severely modified by the introduction of land mammals that were not present during the evolution of its ecosystems, and have had a devastating impact on both native flora and fauna. The sanctuary, surrounded by a pest-exclusion fence, is a good example of an ecological island, which allows the original natural ecosystems to recover by minimising the impact of introduced flora and fauna. The sanctuary has become a significant tourist attraction in Wellington and is responsible for the greatly increased number of sightings of spec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project '', a wasp in the family Rotoitidae
{{disambiguation ...
Rotoiti may be: Places * Lake Rotoiti (Bay of Plenty), a lake in the Bay of Plenty area of New Zealand :*Rotoiti, Bay of Plenty, a locality on the shore of Lake Rotoiti *Lake Rotoiti (Tasman), a lake in the Tasman area of New Zealand * Mount Rotoiti, a peak in the Frigate Range, Antarctica *Rotoiti, the former name of Saint Arnaud, New Zealand Ships *, a list of Royal New Zealand Navy ships * ''Rotoiti''-class inshore patrol vessel, a class of ships of the Royal New Zealand Navy See also *Rotoitidae, a family of parasitic wasps **''Rotoita basalis ''Rotoita basalis'' is a small parasitic wasp in the relictual family Rotoitidae. It is known only from New Zealand, and its closest known living relative (and only other extant species in the same family) is endemic to Chile (''Chiloe microptero ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Little Barrier Island")
