Every Last Bird: Birds of Te Araroa Trail
Between November 2023 and March 2024, Natural History curator Colin Miskelly walks the length of Aotearoa New Zealand on Te Araroa Trail counting every last bird on the way.
Birds of Aotearoa New Zealand
Birds are an important part of New Zealand's nationhood. We are the only nation where the people are colloquially known by a bird name – 'Kiwi'.
Birds of the Great Walks of Aotearoa New Zealand
Aotearoa New Zealand has ten official Great Walks. Te Papa natural history curator Dr Colin Miskelly has walked (or paddled) them all and kept records of the birds that he encountered along the way.
Quiz: Can you identify the manu | bird from its feathers?
In Aotearoa New Zealand we’re lucky to have such unique native manu (birds). Using close-up photos of specimens in our collections, can you pick them?
North Island brown kiwi
The kiwi is a symbol of Aotearoa – and one of the strangest birds in the world.
Birds collection
Birds are an important part of New Zealand's nationhood. We are the only nation where the people are colloquially known by a bird name – 'Kiwi'.
New Zealand Birds Online
Find detailed information about all species of New Zealand birds, including all living, extinct, fossil, vagrant, and introduced bird species.
Watch: Rediscovering the 'extinct' takahē in 1948
We've resurfaced colour footage not seen since the 1940s. One of New Zealand's greatest wildlife stories – the rediscovery of the 'extinct' takahē in 1948, found alive in Fiordland.
Buller’s Birds of New Zealand: The Complete Work of JG Keulemans (New Edition)
New Zealand's best-loved birds come alive in luminous colour in Buller’s Birds of New Zealand: The Complete Work of JG Keulemans.
Kingdom of the Birds: An Expedition to Solander Island
The remote Snares Islands are teeming with rare wildlife – including tomtits, albatross, and penguins. They seldom have human visitors. In late 2013, four Te Papa scientists spent two weeks on the Snares, carrying out a range of seabird and plant research projects.
Over-looked for a century: Macquarie Island shag added to the New Zealand list
‘Presumably no-one bothered to check till now whether Ogilvie-Grant knew one shag from another.’ Curator Colin Miskelly shares his research resulting in the addition of a new (or old) bird to the official New Zealand bird list.
Martinborough’s cave of bones: How thousands of flightless birds met their end
Fossilised bird grave sites are common in New Zealand, but one particular cave in Martinborough has revealed thousands of bones of flightless birds who plunged to their deaths.
Jigsaw: Kākā feathers
North Island Kaka, Nestor meridionalis septentrionalis, collected 24 April 1988, Waiterimu, near Ohinewai, Waikato., New Zealand. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Te Papa (OR.024148/1)
Jigsaw: North Island Kākā egg
North Island Kākā, Nestor meridionalis septentrionalis, Te Papa (OR.026927)
Quiz: How well do you know your New Zealand birds?
Do you know the difference between a hihi and a huia? Or how many species of kiwi there are in NZ? Put your native bird knowledge to the test.
Jigsaw: Yellowhead
Eileen Mayo, Yellowhead, 1976, gouache on paper. Te Papa (2005-0015-1/11)
Jigsaw: Stewart Island Brown Kiwi
Stewart Island Brown Kiwi , Apteryx australis lawryi, collected no data, New Zealand. Acquisition history unknown. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Te Papa (OR.026398)
In photos: Giant eggs, tiny eggs, and the eggceptionally rare
Bird expert Colin Miskelly highlights some of the treasures in our egg collection, including those thought to be held only by Te Papa – as well as giant moa eggs, tiny rifleman eggs, and eggs that were acquired during dramatic events in New Zealand’s conservation history.
The global hunt for the original wandering albatross
Vetebrate Curator Alan Tennyson explores the history of the name of the wandering albatross and the hunt for the original specimens.
Expedition to Snares Island
In late 2013, four Te Papa scientists spent two weeks on the Snares, carrying out a range of seabird and plant research projects. Watch a series of videos about the expedition.
Extinct tiny albatross species discovered in Taranaki
The most complete fossil albatross skull ever found. Curator of vertebrates Alan Tennyson tells us more.
Filming the elusive kiwi in the 1940s
Bird expert, Colin Miskelly, comments on recently rediscovered 1940s footage of a kiwi, and explains how far wildlife documentaries have come in the last 70 years.
Moa vs Superman: Poignant extinction lessons via a 1970s comic
‘This Superman story is actually a great portrayal of an extinct species and its tragic fate at the hands of humankind.’
