Hihi - stitchbird - Notiomystis cincta
Birds of Karori Sanctuary.
Sparrow-sized with white wing bars. the Hihi females are olive green on the back and greyish underneath. Juvenile birds are similar to the female but more grey. Males have black heads and bright yellow shoulders. Both sexes have long whiskers and perch with an upward tail.
Known for their 'stitch' note (hence their name), their penetrating alarm call 'yeng, yeng, yeng' and the males explosive whistle 'see-si-ip'.
Known to occasionally mate face to face - the only known bird to do this.
Were extinct from the mainland since the 1880s until they were released into Karori Sanctuary in 2005.
“They can hover like great bees or humming birds in front of blossoms. With the sunlight falling full on the splendid gold of the outspread wings, or the deep blacks and pure whites of head and neck, the male then appears not a bird but a huge brilliant tropical butterfly — a magnificent creature indeed.”
Hihi - stitchbird - Notiomystis cincta
Birds of Karori Sanctuary.
Sparrow-sized with white wing bars. the Hihi females are olive green on the back and greyish underneath. Juvenile birds are similar to the female but more grey. Males have black heads and bright yellow shoulders. Both sexes have long whiskers and perch with an upward tail.
Known for their 'stitch' note (hence their name), their penetrating alarm call 'yeng, yeng, yeng' and the males explosive whistle 'see-si-ip'.
Known to occasionally mate face to face - the only known bird to do this.
Were extinct from the mainland since the 1880s until they were released into Karori Sanctuary in 2005.
“They can hover like great bees or humming birds in front of blossoms. With the sunlight falling full on the splendid gold of the outspread wings, or the deep blacks and pure whites of head and neck, the male then appears not a bird but a huge brilliant tropical butterfly — a magnificent creature indeed.”