kererū
Who ate all the berries? Hopefully kererū as they help disperse the seeds of native trees around the forest.
Photo: Dan Mickleson
kererū - New Zealand woodpigeon
Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae
New Zealand Status: Endemic
Conservation Status: Not threatened
Lifespan: 20 years
Size: 50cm
Weight: Up to 600g
-Predation at the nest, especially as they lay a single egg at a time.
-Other problems include illegal hunting, window strike and electrocution from power poles.
Is it a kererū?
Look for: Green and bronze iridescent feathers with a big white belly. Some might say they look like they're wearing white track pants!
Listen for: Big whooping wingbeats when flying or disturbance of foliage as they bumble around in the branches of trees.
Did you know?
Kererū are able to swallow large fruit, such as miro, karaka, tawa and porokaiwhiri and disperse the seeds over long distances. On the mainland they are the only species able to do so.
They are one of just a handful of birds who have the range to travel from Maungatautari to other areas of native forest. Some kererū in Taranaki were recorded travelling 60km for fruit.
Kererū @ Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari
Kererū were surviving on Maungatautari in the presence of introduced pests before the completion of the fence in 2006. Unless you hear them take off, land or move around it can be hard to spot them. A good place to try is at the tower as you move up the steps and get some different angles of potential perching sites. Also keep an eye out around the Visitor Centre, especially around spring, when kererū can be seen performing their display flights where they glide to a significant height before dropping straight down and swooping elegantly away.