Hihi / Stitchbird Restoration
(Notiomystis cincta)

Restoration Visitor Experience Facts

Raewyn Empson, Sanctuary Conservation Scientist, releasing a hihi

Current Status
(31 December 2005)

Sixty-four (64) hihi were released into the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in early and mid 2005.

This first breeding season is well above expectations. So far, hihi have raised two clutches and have started their third clutches. Fifty-six (56) hihi chicks have fledged.

The original population has already grown by almost 100% - and there will be more fledglings produced before the end of the breeding season.

The Hihi Story

Before European settlers arrived in New Zealand in the mid-1800s, hihi were widespread throughout the North Island. They would have been plentiful in the Karori valley.

But with Europeans came large-scale destruction of native bush, and the loss of bird habitats. The Europeans also brought with them predators such as rats, cats and stoats – and European birds that probably carried disease.

As a result, hihi declined rapidly from the 1870s and had vanished from the North Island mainland by 1885. They became one of New Zealand’s rarest birds, reduced to just one population on off-shore Hauturu (Little Barrier Island).

Hihi Return to the Mainland

In February 2005, 33 hihi were released at Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. This was a momentous occasion – hihi were at large on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in 120 years. Another single hihi was released into the sanctuary at the end of March, and another 30 in May.

Most (60) of these hihi came from Tiritiri Matangi, an island sanctuary north of Auckland where native birds thrive in the wild. The remaining four were bred in captivity at the Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre, just north of Wellington.

The release of hihi into the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary was carefully planned. For the birds from Tiritiri Matangi, the aim was to transfer 50 juveniles and 10 adults that were in excellent health and as genetically diverse as possible. All hihi on Tiritiri Matangi are banded when they’re nestlings, and so the capture team had the opportunity to select birds that were not closely related to each other.

Mist nets and cage traps were used to capture the birds. More hihi were taken than were needed – and samples were collected from the birds, so they could be screened for disease. This meant that only the healthiest hihi would be selected for transfer. The birds were then held in aviaries on Tiritiri Matangi until the results of the disease screening were known.

As a precautionary measure during this period of captivity on Tiritiri Matangi, the hihi were treated for parasites. This was to make sure there was no outbreak of disease, which can happen when so many birds are confined together. The birds were also provided daily with natural food – seasonal fruit, flowers and insects – as well as supplementary foods. And of course plenty of water, for drinking and bathing. Hihi are enthusiastic about bathing and they scatter water everywhere.

On the day of the transfer, the birds were recaptured. Those selected for transfer were placed into purpose-built wooden boxes for their journey to the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. The surplus birds were released back at capture sites on the island.

There were 5 adult males and 25 juveniles (10 female and 15 male) in the February transfer. The May transfer was a slightly different mix, with 5 adult females and 25 juveniles (15 female and 10 male). So overall there was an even ratio of males and females transferred to the Sanctuary.

Hihi entering the Sanctuary for release

Both sets of birds were accompanied on their journey to Wellington by representatives of Ngati Manuhiri. (Ngati Manuhiri is the iwi with close links to Hauturu, the original home of all living hihi.) On their arrival at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, the birds were given a formal welcome by the Wellington Tenths Trust (which represents the Wellington area’s iwi).

The hihi released in February included three birds from Pukaha Mount Bruce. A fourth bird (a younger sibling of the other three) from Pukaha Mount Bruce was released into the Sanctuary at the end of March.

Well before the February transfer, preparations were made at the Sanctuary to ease the hihi into their new home – and to reduce the temptation to stray beyond the Sanctuary.

Nest boxes were constructed, and were placed in various locations within the Sanctuary. Hihi use nest boxes on Tiritiri Matangi, and so the boxes provided the birds with familiar places for roosting and nesting.

Supplementary feeder cages, similar to those already installed for bellbirds (korimako), were also constructed and installed. Having more of these supplementary feeder cages throughout the Sanctuary meant that the hihi were more likely to find them, and to feed at them. It also reduced competition for food. The doors of the cages were left open for a few days after the birds were released, until they became accustomed to using them.

Both the February and the May birds were released into the Sanctuary in two groups. The aim of this was to test different release strategies. Half the hihi in each transfer were released within 24 hours of their arrival in Wellington; the remaining hihi were held in an aviary for an extra 4 to 5 days and then released.

Monitoring of the hihi indicated that most of the February-release birds were still in residence before the second release – an excellent start to the hihi restoration programme. Winter 2005 was mild, with plentiful food (flowers, fruit and insects) at Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. This may have encouraged the hihi to stay within the Sanctuary rather than exploring further afield into Wellington’s suburbs.

The winter feast of natural food meant that hihi were less likely to visit the feeder cages, which made monitoring a bit more difficult. But enough observations were made to determine hihi survival in the Sanctuary. By the beginning of August, nearly 60% of the birds released had survived the winter and were getting ready to breed.

Breeding

Male hihi Photo by Tom Lynch

Breeding usually takes place between September and March, with up to two clutches produced. The female hihi lays between 3 and 5 eggs per clutch, and then incubates them for about 15 days.

In forests where the trees are older and taller, hihi build their nests in natural tree-holes. The forest at Karori Wildlife Sanctuary is old enough to have such natural sites – but nest boxes have also been provided. So far (December 2005), all the nesting hihi have used these boxes.

Both hihi parents feed their nestlings until they fledge (leave the nest) at about 28 to 34 days old. Parents continue to feed youngsters after they have fledged, until the young birds can look after themselves.

Breeding in the 2005-2006 Season

The first signs of nesting at the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary occurred in August, and the first eggs were laid on 14 September. This was a month earlier than on Tiritiri Matangi, and about six weeks earlier than on Kapiti Island (where hihi have also been re-established) and on Hauturu.

By the end of December, 56 chicks had fledged. Fifty-three of these chicks were from 15 first-clutch nests. The remaining three were from one second-clutch nest. There were still 11 active second-clutch nests, with the youngest chicks due to fledge by the end of January. As well, one hihi pair had commenced its third clutch – and the signs are now looking good for additional third clutches. This is an exciting surprise, as hihi on New Zealand’s off-shore sanctuaries usually produce no more than two clutches.

More Information

• The Department of Conservation’s hihi webpage