Matata – South Island Fernbird – Bowdleria punctata punctata
Photographed at Waitangitaona wetlands, Whataroa.
Conservation status – at risk, declining.
Endemic to New Zealand the fernbird comprises five subspecies, each of which are confined to a single island and its outliers – North Island fernbird vealeae, South Island fernbird punctata, Stewart Island Fernbird styewartiana (now listed as nationally vulnerable) Codfish Island Fernbird wilsoni and Snares Island Fernbird caudata.
This series of South Island Fernbird were taken in a DOC wildlife management reserve, an area of wetland on the western shores of Lake Waihola.
South Island fernbirds occupy a narrow strip of territory that runs in a continuous band west of the southern alps from Farewell Spit and Nelson to Hollyford Valley including Open Bay Islands off the Coast of Haast. The territorial bans then extends along the eastern edge of the Fiordland mountains to Southland and eastward along the Southland and Otago coast to about Dunedin.
They prefer low dense ground vegetation in swamps/wetlands dotted with emerging shrub. They especially like tangled dense shrubs with lots of room to fossick within cover while peeking out at the outside world. They are well camouflaged with their speckled brown colouring, blending with the tangled shrubs and golden swamp grasses and are usually heard first rather than seen. Secretive they will hide unseen deep in the shrub or other vegetation but they are curious and will peek out to check on a passing human, and the males especially like to call from the tops or outer edges of bushes. Main threat has been draining and development of wetlands and scrublands depriving them of habitats. Where such areas remain they seem to do quite well, undoubtedly their quite nature, secretive behaviour and cryptic colouring helping them survive better the predations of introduced mammalian predators than some other native birds have. They are poor flyers and tend to fly in short looping hops from cover to cover, their long tail dragging down almost as if it is too heavy. Diet is mainly invertebrates.
Matata – South Island Fernbird – Bowdleria punctata punctata
Photographed at Waitangitaona wetlands, Whataroa.
Conservation status – at risk, declining.
Endemic to New Zealand the fernbird comprises five subspecies, each of which are confined to a single island and its outliers – North Island fernbird vealeae, South Island fernbird punctata, Stewart Island Fernbird styewartiana (now listed as nationally vulnerable) Codfish Island Fernbird wilsoni and Snares Island Fernbird caudata.
This series of South Island Fernbird were taken in a DOC wildlife management reserve, an area of wetland on the western shores of Lake Waihola.
South Island fernbirds occupy a narrow strip of territory that runs in a continuous band west of the southern alps from Farewell Spit and Nelson to Hollyford Valley including Open Bay Islands off the Coast of Haast. The territorial bans then extends along the eastern edge of the Fiordland mountains to Southland and eastward along the Southland and Otago coast to about Dunedin.
They prefer low dense ground vegetation in swamps/wetlands dotted with emerging shrub. They especially like tangled dense shrubs with lots of room to fossick within cover while peeking out at the outside world. They are well camouflaged with their speckled brown colouring, blending with the tangled shrubs and golden swamp grasses and are usually heard first rather than seen. Secretive they will hide unseen deep in the shrub or other vegetation but they are curious and will peek out to check on a passing human, and the males especially like to call from the tops or outer edges of bushes. Main threat has been draining and development of wetlands and scrublands depriving them of habitats. Where such areas remain they seem to do quite well, undoubtedly their quite nature, secretive behaviour and cryptic colouring helping them survive better the predations of introduced mammalian predators than some other native birds have. They are poor flyers and tend to fly in short looping hops from cover to cover, their long tail dragging down almost as if it is too heavy. Diet is mainly invertebrates.