Birds

"We love you, even if you're ugly". That's the message from the Endangered Species Foundation as it tries to encourage New Zealanders to sponsors some of Aoetearoa's rare but less cute creatures.

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The kākerōri or Rarotongan flycatcher is a South Pacific conservation success story. Once reduced to just 29 birds, it has been rescued from the brink of extinction by a rat control programme managed… Audio

Alison Ballance brings us the conservation success story of the kākerōri, or Rarotongan flycatcher. Once reduced to just 29 birds, it was rescued from the brink of extinction by a rat control… Audio

Are we ignoring some of our most critically endangered species because they're not cute and charismatic enough? 

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Aucklanders are being called on to keep an eye out for sick birds. BirdCare Aotearoa wild bird hospital says avian botulism is affecting birdlife earlier than usual this year, due to unseasonably warm… Audio

Palmerston North has a poo problem. Every evening thousands of birds fly into the centre of the city to sleep for the night, and their droppings fall on unsuspecting parked cars and pedestrians.

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We've got new knowledge about the whakapapa of kokako, huia, and tieke saddlebacks. They're all part of the Wattle bird family, unique to Aotearoa.  Audio

Working with the community and local schools, the Karioi Project aims to turn the tide on biodiversity loss in their area. In recent years they've rallied around the grey-faced petrel, or Ōi, who they… Audio

A couple with a shared love of conservation have devoted the last seven years to protecting the banded dotterel living on the shores of Kaikōura . The birds nest on the sand, making them particularly… Audio, Gallery

Alison Ballance joins the kākāpō recovery team on Pukenui Anchor Island to hear how the 2021/2022 kākāpō breeding season is going. Audio

Alison Ballance joins the kākāpō recovery team on Pukenui Anchor Island to hear how the 2021/2022 kākāpō breeding season is going. Audio

The story of titipounamu, New Zealand's smallest bird, on Otago Peninsula, told by Karthic SS, a wildlife film maker and podcast producer based in Dunedin. Audio

The Tune Into Nature podcast, produced by Karthic SS, tells stories about nature and conservation around Dunedin. This week, an episode from that podcast about New Zealand's smallest bird… Audio

Ex-pat Kiwi Ray Ching is regarded as one of the world's greatest living painters of birds. His latest book is filled with paintings and drawing he's made of the manu of his homeland over the past six… Audio, Gallery

A bird highway is taking shape across the south of the North Island. Farmers and landowners are getting in behind the Tonganui Corridor - a project to link up pockets of old forest with new plantings… Audio

Four Indian ring-necked parakeets are soon to be released into Otago Museum's tropical forest. Otago Museum science communicator Kate Irving shares how they've been caring for the parakeets and how… Audio

Whetu Marama - Bright Star, a co-production by Toby Mills and Aileen O'Sullivan, follows Sir Hek's journey across the vast Pacific using star navigation and his significance for Maori in "rekindling… Audio, Gallery