Tui

1. Long-tailed Widowbird

New Zealand native tuis , native wood pigeon (kereru) and waxeyes (tauhou) in Purakaunui near Dunedin .

Explore Grant Reaburn's 190 photos on Flickr!

Tui | New Zealand Birds Online

Tui are considered to be very intelligent, much like parrots. They also resemble parrots in their ability to clearly imitate human speech, and were trained by Māori chiefs to replicate complex speeches. Tui are also known for their noisy, unusual call, different for each individual, that combine bellbird-like notes with clicks, cackles, timber-like creaks and groans, and wheezing sounds. Song birds have two voiceboxes and this is what enables them to perform such a myriad of vocalisations…

Explore Serendipity Photography by mslynnf's 744 photos on Flickr!

The National Kiwi Hatchery Aotearoa is the national leader in kiwi husbandry, egg incubation systems, kiwi chick hatching & rearing. Learn more & donate today!

Last Friday I visited a spot on the river a little further down than my usual post. There was a couple of shags fishing and after I sat down to observe a few more arrived. Two were Little Shags (with white on them) and three were Little Black Shags. The Little Black Shags arrived singly but teamed up to hunt as a group which was interesting to watch. The Little Shags were more independent and one quickly made himself known as the boss and privvy to the best spot on the rock, pushing the…

Resplendent Tui from New Zealand ~ https://www.facebook.com/122231321205229/photos/a.122232281205133.25098.122231321205229/122232284538466/?type=3

All of us love tiny, cute birds. They are so colourful and cheerful that many of us specially children can have some playtime with them. Few of them have the attraction of melodious sounds and mimicry.