The North Island kōkako (''Callaeas wilsoni'') is an endangered forest

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

which is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the North Island of New Zealand. It is grey in colour, with a small black mask. It has blue wattles (although this colour develops with age: in the young of this bird they are actually coloured a light pink). Because of its wattle, the bird is sometimes locally called the ''blue-wattled crow'', although it is not a

corvid Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs, and nutcrackers. In colloquial English, they are known as the crow family or corvids. Currently, ...

Threats and conservation

In the early 1900s the North Island kōkako was common in forests throughout the North Island and its offshore islands. Primary causes of kōkako decline were forest clearance by settlers and the introduction of predators such as rats, stoats and possums. Unlike many of New Zealand's most vulnerable birds, kōkako survive in low numbers in several North Island native forests. However, research has shown that female kōkako are particularly at risk of predation as they carry out all incubation and brooding throughout a prolonged (50-day) nesting period. Years of such predation have resulted in populations that are predominantly male and with consequent low productivity rates. Government-funded pest control programmes, and captive breeding programmes are critical to helping maintain population numbers on the mainland. A "research by management" approach has demonstrated that the kōkako decline can be reversed and populations maintained in mainland forests by innovative management of their habitat. Current research aims to increase management efficiency to ensure long-term kōkako survival. The use of biodegradable 1080 poison has been particularly beneficial in reversing population decline. For example, between 1991 and 1999 the breeding population of kōkako increased tenfold in Mapara Wildlife Reserve (

Waikato Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...

) thanks to a series of four aerial

1080 Year 1080 ( MLXXX) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Autumn – Nikephoros Melissenos, a Byzantine general and aristocrat, seize ...

operations. A population of kōkako has also been re-established at th
Otanewainuku Forest
in the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaw ...

. New populations are also being established through releases on predator-free offshore islands. As a result, conservationists are hopeful of the species' long-term survival.

Distribution

As of 2010, North Island kōkako were present in

Pureora Forest Park Pureora Forest Park is a protected area in the North Island of New Zealand. Within its rich rainforest are an abundance of 1,000-year-old podocarp trees. It is "recognised as one of the finest rain forests in the world". Established in 1978, a ...

Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park is a publicly accessible conservation park in the North Island of New Zealand. The park is centered on the town of Minginui and part of the eastern boundary flanks Te Urewera. The Whirinaki Forest is on ...

, Mapara Wildlife Reserve, the

Hunua Ranges The Hunua Ranges is a mountain range and regional park to the southeast of Auckland city, in the Auckland and Waikato regions of New Zealand's North Island. The ranges cover some and rise to 688 metres (2255 ft) at Kohukohunui.

, Ngapukeriki, Kaharoa Forest, the

Te Urewera National Park Te Urewera National Park was a national park near the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, established as such in 1954 and disestablished in 2014, when it was replaced by a new legal entity and protected area named ''Te Urewera''. The p ...

, Puketi Forest, the

Waitākere Ranges The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some of public and private land. The area, traditionally kno ...

and the Waima/Waipoua Forests of Northland.http://en.wikivoyage.org/Waima_Valley Kōkako can be seen relatively easily on a number of publicly accessible offshore island sanctuaries, including Tiritiri Matangi and

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 s ...

where the regenerating forest is low enough to provide close views. A captive bird can be seen at

Pukaha / Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre Pūkaha / Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre is a captive breeding facility and visitor centre located in a protected forest area on State Highway 2 in New Zealand's Tararua district. Location Pukaha / Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre is ...

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q12255595 North Island kōkako Birds of the North Island North Island kōkako North Island kōkako Endemic birds of New Zealand