Ngutuparore - wrybill - Anarhynchus frontalis
The wrybill is a small pale plover which breeds only in braided rivers of the South Island. It is the only bird in the world with a laterally-curved bill (always curved to the right), which it uses to reach insect larvae under rounded riverbed stones. Wrybills are completely dependent on braided rivers for breeding; all their life stages are predominantly grey, and highly cryptic among the greywacke shingle of the riverbeds.
The wrybill is an internal migrant. After breeding, almost the entire population migrates north to winter in the harbours of the northern North Island, notably the Firth of Thames and Manukau Harbour. On their wintering grounds, wrybills form dense flocks at high-water roosts; the highly-coordinated aerial manoeuvres of these flocks have been described as resembling a flung scarf - www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz
Ngutuparore - wrybill - Anarhynchus frontalis
The wrybill is a small pale plover which breeds only in braided rivers of the South Island. It is the only bird in the world with a laterally-curved bill (always curved to the right), which it uses to reach insect larvae under rounded riverbed stones. Wrybills are completely dependent on braided rivers for breeding; all their life stages are predominantly grey, and highly cryptic among the greywacke shingle of the riverbeds.
The wrybill is an internal migrant. After breeding, almost the entire population migrates north to winter in the harbours of the northern North Island, notably the Firth of Thames and Manukau Harbour. On their wintering grounds, wrybills form dense flocks at high-water roosts; the highly-coordinated aerial manoeuvres of these flocks have been described as resembling a flung scarf - www.nzbirdsonline.org.nz