The New Zealand fernbird or simply fernbird (Poodytes punctatus ) is an insectivorous bird endemic to New Zealand. In the Māori language, it is named kōtātā or mātātā.
An insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe adult has a brown plumage streaked in black. The head, the upper parts and the brown wings are streaked in blackish. The long graduated tail is a duller brown, with the rectrices darker. On the underparts, the chin, throat, breast and abdomen are whitish, finely mottled and also streaked in blackish on the breast. The flanks, the sides of the chest and the subcaudal covers are brown and streaked with blackish, more clearly on the flanks. On the head, the forehead and the cap are brown.
We notice the presence of a whitish eyebrow more or less clear. The auricular coverts are grey-brown with darker fine streaks that blend into the brown of the upper parts on the sides of the neck.
The beak is blackish, with the lower mandible more gray. The eyes are dark brown. Legs and toes are pinkish brown. Both sexes are similar and the juvenile looks like the adults.
The New Zealand fernbird is a rich brown above and white below, with brown spots on both the throat and breast. Early settlers called it the "swamp sparrow" no doubt because of its colouration. The tail feathers are thin, dark brown, and spine-like. The birds reach a length of 18 cm (7 in) – as measured from tip of beak to end of tail. However, almost half of that is tail.
The New Zealand fernbird is a ground-dwelling bird, and is a reluctant flier, travelling mainly on foot or in occasional short flights of less than 15 metres. In the 19th century, Buller described it as "one of our most common" (birds) but it has been adversely affected by the subsequent widespread destruction of its natural wetland habitat following European settlement and is now rare.
The New Zealand fernbird is present in Oceania, mainly in wet shrubby environments with swamps, peat bogs or ponds, plantation areas, temperate shrublands. It occupies an extremely wide area of occurrence at 657,000 km2.
The New Zealand fernbird is insectivorous. It feeds on caterpillars, larvae, beetles, flies and moths, as well as small spiders emerging from the cocoon. It sometimes consumes seeds and fruits.
Its song is a series of rapid whistles and clicks. The contact between the two partners is a duet, a sonorous "uu" for the male, to which the female answers with a high-pitched "tick". The calls are metallic. When disturbed or threatened, the male emits a typical "too-lit" and "di,di,di,di" repeated at a rapid pace.
The birds nest in sedges or other vegetation close to the ground, making a deep woven cup of dried rushes lined with feathers. Breeding occurs from September to February, producing clutches of 2-3 pinkish-white eggs with brown or purple speckles. The Māori phrase "te whare o te mātātā" (a fernbird's house) describes a woven flax cape, made to keep out the weather; a testament to the design and strength of the nest.
Both adults incubate for about 13 days. The chicks are fed small insects by the parents. They leave the nest after 15-17 days and sometimes at 20-21 days after hatching. They can breed as early as 9 months of age. Pairs raise between 1 and 3 broods. Juveniles still depend on the parents for food for a few weeks after leaving the nest.
The population is in decline, it is considered by the IUCN as "Least Concern ".
New Zealand fernbird populations are affected by wetland drainage and rat predation.
