North Island saddleback

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North Island saddleback
North Island saddleback on Tiritiri Matangi Island

Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]

Recovering (NZ TCS)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Callaeidae
Genus: Philesturnus
Species:
P. rufusater
Binomial name
Philesturnus rufusater
(Lesson, 1828)
  Islands and sanctuaries where North Island saddlebacks are present
Synonyms

Philesturnus carunculatus rufusater

The North Island saddleback (Philesturnus rufusater) is a forest-dwelling

Near Threatened, while it is listed as a "recovering" species in the New Zealand Threat Classification System.[1][2] Saddlebacks are known in Māori
as tīeke.

Taxonomy and systematics

North Island saddleback at Orana Wildlife Park

Philemon (friarbirds) and Sturnus (starlings).[7]

Historically, there has been some uncertainty over the status of the North Island saddleback as its own species. North Island and South Island saddlebacks were formerly considered to be two subspecies of Philesturnus carunculatus, with the North Island subspecies being designated P. c. rufusater.[3] Today they are generally considered to be separate species, with the North Island saddlebacks having the binomial Philesturnus rufusater.[8]

Description

The plumage of North Island saddlebacks is mostly black apart from the saddle, rump, and tail coverts, which are chestnut.

cm.[3] Males tend to be heavier (80 g) than females (69 g), and possess longer bills and larger wattles.[10] North Island saddlebacks produce calls described as "cheet, te-te-te-te" or "ti-e-ke-ke-ke-ke".[11][3] The Māori name for the bird, tīeke, is derived from the sound of this call.[11]

Distribution and habitat

North Island saddlebacks naturally occupy lowland

mustelids[12] – decimated these populations, and by the 1890s, the mainland population was eliminated, and the only remaining North Island saddlebacks were those on Hen Island, a small island off the coast of Northland.[9][13]

Translocations

An artificial nest box for North Island saddleback at Zealandia

Translocation efforts by the New Zealand Wildlife Service began in 1964, with birds being transported to nearby Whatupuke Island (Middle Chicken Island). Following further translocations, the North Island saddleback inhabits a number of islands offshore (and onshore, at Lake Rotorua), including:[9]

North Island saddlebacks were first re-introduced to the mainland in 2002, at the

Karori Wildlife Sanctuary (now known as Zealandia) in Wellington.[15] They have since started breeding outside the predator-proof sanctuary.[15][16] They have also been introduced at several other mainland sanctuaries.[14] North Island saddlebacks have become very dense on some offshore islands and the total population has increased to about 10,000.[12]

Behaviour and ecology

Breeding

North Island saddlebacks are monogamous and usually mate for life. The breeding season can vary from year to year and location to location, though clutches typically start appearing from August to April.[9] Fledgling saddlebacks are often seen until March and April.[9] Saddleback nests are mostly built in tree cavities[9] within three metres of the ground.[12] They lay up to four eggs per clutch.[9]

Food and feeding

Saddleback feeding on nectar from a flax flower

The diet of North Island saddlebacks mostly consists of insects and other invertebrates, berries, and nectar.[9] Their bill allows them to force open dead wood to expose insects such as grubs.[17] In forests, saddlebacks forage at all heights, but tend to spend most of the time on the forest floor browsing in leaf litter.[3][9]

Threats

Introduced mammalian predators, particularly

kiore, possibly because they have had a longer history of cohabitation than with brown and black rats.[19] Current efforts are focused towards exterminating pests surrounding mainland sanctuaries, to allow the saddlebacks to successfully expand outside of the sanctuaries.[15]

South Island saddlebacks have been affected by

avian pox; this has not yet spread to the North Island saddlebacks, but there are concerns that it may do so in the future.[20][1]

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T103730503A132191453.en
    . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Robertson, Hugh A.; Baird, Karen; Dowding, John E.; Elliott, Graeme P.; Hitchmough, Rodney A.; Miskelly, Colin M.; McArthur, Nikki; O'Donnell, Colin F. J.; Sagar, Paul M.; Scofield, R. Paul; Taylor, Graeme A. (2017). New Zealand Threat Classification Series (PDF) (Report). 19. Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Conservation.
  3. ^
    ISBN 0-670-86911-2
    .
  4. ^ Watola, George V. (2011) [2008]. The Discovery of New Zealand’s Birds (PDF) (2nd ed.). Orewa, New Zealand: Arun Books. p. 196.
  5. ^ "North Island Saddleback (Philesturnus rufusater)". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  6. ^ Jobling, James A. "Rufusater". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  7. ^ Jobling, James A. "Philesturnus". Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  8. doi:10.1080/03014223.2001.9518262
    .
  9. ^
    ISBN 9780195530681
    .
  10. doi:10.1080/03014223.1991.10422851
    .
  11. ^ a b "Tīeke / North Island saddleback". Auckland Zoo. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  12. ^
    ISBN 978-0-143-57092-9
    .
  13. ^ "Saddleback/tīeke: New Zealand native land birds". Department of Conservation. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  14. ^ a b c d "North Island saddleback". New Zealand Birds Online. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  15. ^ a b c Swinnen, Lucy (26 May 2017). "Moment of truth for tieke reintroduced to Wellington's urban environment from Zealandia". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  16. ^ "Rare saddleback chicks found in Polhill Gully". Wellington City Council. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  17. ^ Troup, Christina. "Small forest birds - Saddlebacks and stitchbirds". Te Ara. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  18. ^ a b Lovegrove, T. G. (1996). "A comparison of the effects of predation by Norway (Rattus norvegicus) and Polynesian rats (R. exulans) on the Saddleback (Philesturnus carunculatus)" (PDF). Notornis. 43 (2): 91–112.
  19. doi:10.1017/S0959270903003083
    .
  20. ^ Hale, Katrina A. (2008). Disease outbreak amongst South Island saddlebacks (Philesturnus carunculatus carunculatus) on Long Island (PDF) (Report). Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Conservation. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-02-01. Retrieved 2018-02-01.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Philesturnus rufusater.
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