>>Genus Callaeas >Kōkako

Kōkako

Kōkako
Conservation status
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Callaeidae
Genus:	Callaeas J.R. Forster, 1788
Species:	C. cinereus C. cinerea cinerea
Binomial name
Callaeas cinereus (Gmelin, 1788)
Synonyms
Callaeas cinerea

The Kōkako (Callaeas cinereus) is a forest bird which is endemic to New Zealand. It is slate-grey with wattles and a black mask. 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. In the past this bird was called the New Zealand Crow: it is not a crow at all, but it looks like one from a distance.

Taxonomy

The Kōkako was first described by German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788. Its species name is the Latin adjective cinereus"grey". Two subspecies have been described. The nominate subspecies from the South Island is likely to have become extinct.

The Kōkako appears to be a remnant of an early expansion of passerines in New Zealand and is one of three New Zealand wattlebirds of the family Callaeidae, the others being the endangered Tieke, or Saddleback, and the extinct Huia. New Zealand Wattlebirds have no close relatives apart from the Stitchbird, and their taxonomic relationships to other birds remain to be determined.

Description

North Island Kōkako, closeup of head showing blue wattles.

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 .

Behaviour

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. It does not 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

A Kōkako about to be released in the Hunua Ranges near Auckland.

North Island kōkako

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. The North Island Kōkako is now endangered, with an estimated 750 pairs in existence (January 2009).

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) thanks to a series of four aerial 1080 operations.

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.

South Island Kōkako

Illustration of the two subspecies

In the early 1900s the South Island Kōkako was widespread in the South Island and Stewart Island. It has fared worse than the North Island subspecies and was formally declared extinct by the New Zealand Department of Conservation on 16 January 2007. A confirmed sighting has not occurred in several decades, though unconfirmed sightings are very occasionally reported. 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.

Distribution

As at 2010, North Island Kōkako were present in Pureora Forest Park,Whirinaki Forest Park,Mapara Wildlife Reserve, the Hunua Ranges,Ngapukeriki,Kaharoa Forest, the Te Urewera National Park,Puketi Forest, and the Waitakere Ranges.Kōkako can be seen relatively easily on a number of publicly accessible offshore island sanctuaries, including Tiritiri Matangi and Kapiti Island where the regenerating forest is low enough to provide close views. Captive birds can be seen at Mount Bruce Wildlife Centre and Otorohanga Kiwi House.

>>>Family Callaeidae

Family Callaeidae

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 both of them, the Kokako and the Saddleback, are endangered species, threatened primarily by the predations of introduced mammalian species such as rats, mustelids and possums. 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.

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.

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.

A molecular study of the nuclear RAG-1 and c-mos genes of the three species within the family proved inconclusive, the data providing most support for either a basally diverging Kokako or Huia.

• 

  Huia, Heteralocha acutirostris (extinct)
 
• 

  Kokako, Callaeas cinerea
 
• 

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

>>Genus Rhynchophanes >Rhynchophanes mccownii (McCown's Longspur)

McCown's Longspur

McCown's Longspur
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Calcariidae
Genus:	Rhynchophanes Baird, 1858
Species:	R. mccownii
Binomial name
Rhynchophanes mccownii Lawrence, 1851

The McCown's Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii) is a small ground-feeding bird from the family Calcariidae, which also contains the longspurs and snow buntings.

Description

These birds have a large cone-shaped bill, a streaked back, a rust-coloured shoulder and a white tail with a dark tip. In breeding plumage, the male has a white throat and underparts, a grey face and nape and a black crown. Other birds have pale underparts, a dark crown and may have some black on the breast. The male's song is a clear warble. The call is a dry rattle.

Behaviour

In winter, they migrate in flocks to prairies and open fields in the southern United States and northern Mexico. They prefer areas with sparser vegetation than those chosen by the Chestnut-collared Longspur. These birds forage on the ground, gathering in flocks outside of the nesting season. They sometimes make short flights in pursuit of flying insects. They mainly eat seeds, also eating insects in summer. Young birds are mainly fed insects. This bird breeds in dry short grass prairies in central Canada, (the Canadian Prairies), and the north central United States. The female lays 3 or 4 eggs in a grass cup nest in a shallow scrape on the ground. The male sings and flies up to defend his territory. Both parents feed the young birds.

The numbers and range of these birds have declined since the early 1900s due to habitat loss.

This bird was named after Captain John P. McCown, an American army officer.

>Plectrophenax hyperboreus (McKay's Bunting)

McKay's Bunting

McKay's Bunting
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Calcariidae
Genus:	Plectrophenax
Species:	P. hyperboreus
Binomial name
Plectrophenax hyperboreus Ridgway, 1884

McKay's Bunting (Plectrophenax hyperboreus) is a passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae. It is most closely related to the Snow Bunting (P. nivalis). Hybrids between the two species have been observed, leading some authorities to treat McKay's as a subspecies of Snow Bunting. As the Plectrophenax buntings are nested within the Calcarius clade, their closest relatives are the longspurs. McKay's Bunting breeds on two islands in the Bering Sea, St. Matthew and Hall islands, and winters on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska.

Description

This species closely resembles Snow Bunting in all plumages, but is whiter overall. The breeding plumage of the male is almost purely white, with only small areas of black on the wingtips and tail. The breeding female has a streaked back. Non-breeding birds also have warm brown patches on cheeks, crown, and the sides of the neck.McKay's Bunting is larger on average than the Snow Bunting. It is 18 cm (7.1 in) long and weighs from 38 to 62 g (1.3 to 2.2 oz), with an average of 54.5 g (1.92 oz). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 10.1 to 12.2 cm (4.0 to 4.8 in), the tail is 6.4 to 7.5 cm (2.5 to 3.0 in), the bill is 1.1 to 1.3 cm (0.43 to 0.51 in) and the tarsus is 2 to 2.4 cm (0.79 to 0.94 in).

Ecology

This bunting nests on shingle beaches in hollow drift logs and rock crevices. Winters on coastal marshes, shingle beaches, and agricultural fields. Feeding habits are thought to be similar to Snow Bunting, which in winter 

Status

The population of this species is estimated at less than 6,000 individuals. Although under no immediate threat, it is susceptible to devastation by any introduced rats, weasels or foxes, as well as rising sea levels due to climate change.

The name of this bird honours the American naturalist Charles McKay.

>Plectrophenax nivalis (Snow Bunting)

Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting
Male in breeding plumage, Alaska
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Calcariidae
Genus:	Plectrophenax
Species:	P. nivalis
Binomial name
Plectrophenax nivalis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Passerina nivalis

The Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), sometimes colloquially called a snowflake, is a passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae. It is an arctic specialist, with a circumpolar Arctic breeding range throughout the northern hemisphere. There are small isolated populations on a few high mountain tops south of the Arctic region, including the Cairngorms in central Scotland and the Saint Elias Mountains on the southern Alaska-Yukon border, and also Cape Breton Highlands.

Characteristics

It is fairly large and long-winged for a bunting, 15–18 cm long and with a wingspan of 32–38 cm, and weighing 26–50 g. In flight, it is easily identified by its large white wing patches. The breeding male is unmistakable, with all white plumage and a black back; the breeding female is grey-black where the male is solid black. In winter plumage, both sexes are mottled pale ginger, blackish and white above, and pale ginger and white below, with the males having more white than the females. The bill is yellow with a black tip, all black in summer males. Unlike most passerines, it has feathered tarsi, an adaptation to its harsh environment. No other passerine can winter as far north as this species apart from the Common Raven.

The call is a distinctive rippling whistle, "per,r,r,rit" and the typical Plectrophenax warble "hudidi feet feet feew hudidi".

It builds its bulky nest in rock crevices. The eggs are blue-green, spotted brown, and hatch in 12–13 days, and the young are already ready to fly after a further 12–14 days.

There are four subspecies, which differ slightly in the plumage pattern of breeding males:

• Plectrophenax nivalis nivalis. Arctic Europe, Arctic North America. Head white, rump mostly black with a small area of white.
• Plectrophenax nivalis insulae. Iceland, Faroe Islands, Scotland. Head white with a blackish collar, rump black.
• Plectrophenax nivalis vlasowae. Arctic Asia. Head white, rump mostly white.
• Plectrophenax nivalis townsendi. Aleutian Islands, Kamchatka, coastal far eastern Siberia. As vlasowae, but slightly larger.

It is very closely related to the Beringian McKay's Bunting, which differs in having even more white in the plumage. Hybrids between the two occur in Alaska, and they have been considered conspecific by some authors,though they are generally treated as separate species.

The species is not endangered at present, with good populations.It shows little fear of humans, and often nests around buildings in Arctic areas, readily feeding on grain or other scraps put out for it.

The breeding habitat is on tundra, treeless moors, and bare mountains. It is migratory, wintering a short distance further south in open habitats in northern temperate areas, typically on either sandy coasts, steppes, prairies, or low mountains, more rarely on farmland stubble. In winter, it forms mobile flocks. During the last ice age, the Snow Bunting was widespread throughout continental Europe.

Gallery

• 

  Adult breeding maleinsulae, Iceland
 
• 

  Adult winter male, England
 
• 

  Adult breeding male, Scotland
 
• 

  P. n. nivalis, in spring
 
• 

  Adult in winter plumage, Germany

>>Genus Plectrophenax

Plectrophenax

Plectrophenax
Snow Bunting
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Calcariidae
Genus:	Plectrophenax Stejneger, 1882
Species
P. nivalis P. hyperboreus

Plectrophenax is a small genus of passerine birds of the longspur family Calcariidae.

It has two members, which may be conspecific.

• Snow Bunting, Plectrophenax nivalis
• McKay's Bunting, Plectrophenax hyperboreus

They are high arctic breeding seed-eating birds with stubby, conical bills, and much white in the plumage, especially in adult males. They nest in rock crevices. As would be expected, both species are highly migratory, wintering in more temperate areas.

The plumages are similar, but McKay’s has more white and less black in the plumage, especially in the wings and tail. Adult breeding males of both species are mainly white with contrasting black on at least the wings, but are duller in winter. Females have white and brown plumage. The calls of both species are identical and include a low warbled hudidi feet feet feew hudidi feet feet feew hudidi.

>Calcarius ornatus (Chestnut-collared Longspur)

Chestnut-collared Longspur

Chestnut-collared Longspur
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Calcariidae
Genus:	Calcarius
Species:	C. ornatus
Binomial name
Calcarius ornatus (Townsend, 1837)

The Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus) is a small ground-feeding bird from the family Calcariidae which also contains the longspurs.

These birds have a short conical bill, a streaked back and a white tail with a dark tip. In breeding plumage, the male has black underparts, a chestnut nape, a yellow throat and a black crown. Other birds have light brown underparts, a dark crown, brown wings and may have some chestnut on the nape.

This bird breeds in short and mixed grass prairies in central Canada and the north central United States. The female lays 4 or 5 eggs in a grass cup nest in a shallow scrape on the ground. The male sings and flies up to defend his territory. Both parents feed the young birds.

In winter, they migrate in flocks to prairies and open fields in the southern United States and Mexico.

These birds forage on the ground, gathering in flocks in winter. They mainly eat seeds, also eating insects in summer. Young birds are mainly fed insects.

The call is a two-syllabled chee dee.

Conservation

Like other prairie birds, they have disappeared from some areas due to habitat loss but are still fairly common.

Controlled burns may benefit this species as they feed on low-growing plants that are more easily spotted after a fire.

>Calcarius pictus (Smith's Longspur)

Smith's Longspur

Smith's Longspur
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Calcariidae
Genus:	Calcarius
Species:	C. pictus
Binomial name
Calcarius pictus (Swainson, 1832)

The Smith's Longspur (Calcarius pictus) is a small ground-feeding bird from the family Calcariidae, which also contains the longspurs.

These birds have short cone-shaped bills, streaked backs, and dark tails with white outer retrices. In breeding state plumage (mostly formed by worn basic plumage), the male has pumpkin orange throat, nape, and underparts contrasting with an intricate black-and-white face pattern. The white lesser coverts are quite pronounced on a male in spring and early summer. Females and immatures have lightly streaked buffy underparts, dark crowns, brown wings with less obvious white lesser coverts, and a light-colored face. The tail is identical at all ages.

This bird breeds in open grassy areas near the tree line in northern Canada and Alaska. The female lays 3 to 5 eggs in a grass cup nest on the ground. These birds nest in small colonies; males do not defend territory. Both males and females may have more than one mate. The parents, one female and possibly more than one male, feed the young birds.

In winter, they congregate in open fields, including airports, in the south-central United States.

Migration is elliptical, with northbound birds staging in Illinois in the spring and southbound birds flying over the Great Plains in the fall.

These birds forage on the ground, gathering in flocks outside of the nesting season. They mainly eat seeds, also eating insects in summer. Young birds are mainly fed insects.

The song is a sweet warble that's inflected at the end, somewhat reminiscent of Chestnut-sided Warbler. The call is a dry rattle, like a shorterned version of the call of a femal Brown-headed Cowbird. It is noticeably drier than that of Lapland Longspur.

Audubon named this bird after his friend Gideon B. Smith.

>Calcarius lapponicus (Lapland Longspur)

Lapland Longspur

Lapland Longspur
Breeding male
Female
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Calcariidae
Genus:	Calcarius
Species:	C. lapponicus
Binomial name
Calcarius lapponicus (Linnaeus, 1758)

The Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus), also known as the Lapland Bunting, is a passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae, a group separated by most modern authors from the Fringillidae (Old World finches).

Distribution and habitat

It breeds across Arctic Europe and Asia and in Canada and the northernmost USA. It is migratory, wintering in the Russian steppes, the southern USA, Northern Scandinavian arctic areas and down to coastal Southern Sweden, Denmark and Great Britain. This is the only Eurasian species of the longspur buntings, and while it probably did not evolve there, it has been present in Eastern Europe for at least about 30,000 years.

Description

The Lapland Longspur is a robust bird, with a thick yellow seed-eater's bill. The summer male has a black head and throat, white eyestripe, chestnut nape, white underparts, and a heavily streaked black-grey back. Other plumages have a plainer orange-brown head, a browner back and chestnut nape and wing panels.

Behaviour

The most common flight call is a hard "prrrrt" usually preceded by a more nasal "teeww". When breeding, it also makes a softer "duyyeee" followed by a pause and a "triiiuuu"; both sounds alternate.

It breeds in wet areas with birch or willow, and or bare mountains, and winters on cultivated land or coasts. The bird is often seen close to the tree line, and likes to feed in mixed-species flocks in winter. Its natural food consists of insects when feeding young, and otherwise seeds. The nest is on the ground. 2-4 eggs are laid.

Food Habits

The food habits of the Lapland Longspur are quite simple: mostly seeds in winter and arthropods in the summer, when they are in activity.

During the winter, the longspur feeds on seeds. They pick them on the ground, rarely feeding directly on plants. They will forage around the same area for a period varying between a few minutes and an hour, then fly away looking for a new foraging area. Their seed diet is composed mainly of seeds from grass, foxtail, cultivated millet, crabgrass and wheat.During the breeding season, the birds migrate to the north, where their diet switches to arthropods. Nestlings are only fed arthropods, which also constitute the diet of the parents at that time of the year (June to July). The birds often catch insects in mid-air, but does forage through vegetation when climatic conditions prevent the insects from flying. Longspurs can consume between 3000 and 10000 prey items (insects or seeds) per day, depending on their energy needs. Dipteran larvae and adults form the major part of their insectivorous diet