Kokako

What are kokako?

The kokako belongs to the endemic New Zealand wattlebirds (Callaeidae), an ancient family of birds which includes the North and South Island saddleback and the extinct huia. The kokako is the only member of its family still surviving on the mainland. A dark bluish-grey bird with a long tail and short wings, it has a pair of brightly coloured, fleshy "wattles" extending from either side of its gape to meet below the neck. The North Island kokako has blue wattles, while the South Island kokako has orange or yellow wattles. The bird is not particularly good at flying and prefers to use its powerful legs to leap and run through the forest.

Different Sub-Species

There are two sub-species, the North Island kokako (Callaeas cinerea wilsoni) and the South Island kokako (C. c. cinerea). The North Island kokako is found mainly in mature podocarp-hardwood forests. There are fewer than 1,400 birds which occur in several isolated populations in the central and northern North Island. In the last 20 years, there has been a marked decline in numbers of North Island kokako. Unconfirmed reports suggest that South Island kokako may survive in low numbers in remote parts of the South Island and Stewart Island.

Photo: C.R.Veitch (kokako family)

Fight for Survival

In the early 1900s the North Island kokako was common in forests throughout the North Island while the South Island kokako was widespread in the South Island and Stewart Island. Primaly causes of kokako decline were forest clearance by settlers and the introduction of predators such as rats, stoats and possums. Research has shown that female kokako 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.
The current "research by management" approach has demonstrated that the kokako decline can be reversed and populations maintained on the mainland by innovative management of their habitat.

Kokako facts

Kokako are renowned for the clarity and volume of their song which carries far across the forest. In the early morning, a pair may sing a duet for up to half an hour with other kokako joining in to form a "bush choir".
Male and female are similar in colour and size (weighing about 230 grams).
They protect large territories (8 hectares) by singing and chasing away invaders.
They eat leaves, fern-fronds, flowers, fruit and invertebrates.
In Maori myth, it was the kokako that gave Maul water as he fought the sun. The kokako filled its wattles with water and brought it to Maul. His thirst quenched, Maul rewarded the kokako by making its legs long and slender, enabling the bird to bound through the forest with ease in search of food.

Recovery Plan in Action

The Department of Conservation's North Island kokako recovery plan - run in association with State Insurance Limited and Norwich Union Group as sponsors - combines the management of populations in mainland forests, the establishment of populations on islands and captive breeding.

The "research by management" programme which compares kokako survival and productivity in three central North Island forests, has demonstrated that intensive management of introduced mammals can result in rapid expansion of kokako populations. At Mapara reserve in the King Country the total population has doubled in four years (between 1992-1996) but, more importantly, the female population has increased at least five times in the past six years! At least 86 adult birds have been counted and many others sighted; 17 chicks fledged at Mapara in 1996 and 55 chicks the previous year. Similar techniques have been applied in Northland, where the bird was close to local extinction, and have enabled all known nests to produce one or more chicks in 1996.
A large, self-sustaining population has been built up on Little Barrier Island and this has recently been used, together with kokako from other locations, to create a new island population on Kapiti Island.
Kokako are held in captivity at the NationalWildlife Centre (Mt Bruce, near Masterton) and at Otorohanga (Waikato) Kiwi House. Rearing techniques have been developed to provide young birds for transfer to Kapiti Island.

How you can help

Community Involvement is Important for Kokako Survival
The general public has helped tremendously with kokako conservation. Volunteers have been involved in survey and monitoring work and there have been several major conservation campaigns to save kokako habitats from logging.

For information about the kokako in your area, contact your local Department of Conservation office or the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society. For a copy of the recovery plan for North Island kokako (price $15), please contact: Science Publications, Department of Conservation, P O Box 10-420, Wellington. You can obtain a poster and brochures from the programme sponsor, State Insurance Limited and Norwich Union Group.

The Department of conservation promotes biodiversity conservation, historic conservation, the conservation experience, conservation partnerships and quality conservation management.

Somewhere under this link: Laurence Gordon's kokako recovery work