Tuatara

A living ark

North Island saddleback

NI saddleback

North Island saddleback. Photo: Tom Lynch

Common name: North Island saddleback
Maori name: tieke
Scientific name: Philesturnus carunculatus rufusater
Status: endemic, range restricted

Glossy black with a distinctive orange 'saddle' on its back and fleshy wattles at base of bill. Similar size to a blackbird.

Are poor flyers, mostly bound along branches and the ground like a squirrel.

Have loud, staccato-like calls from which they are named by Maori (tieke - pronounced te-eh-keh)

Were extinct from mainland since 1910. Were first released into Karori Sanctuary in 2002.

Often seen and heard throughout the Sanctuary - especially along Lake Road and Te Mahanga track.