Tieke
Encyclopedia
The Saddleback or Tieke (Philesturnus carunculatus) is a previously rare and endangered New Zealand
bird
of the family Callaeidae
. It is glossy black with a chestnut saddle. Its taxonomic family is also known as that of the (New Zealand) "wattlebirds" and includes the two subspecies (one for each main island) of the Kokako
as well as the extinct Huia
. All members of this family have coloured fleshy appendages on either side of the beak known as "wattles". In the case of Saddleback, they are a vivid red in colour.
in 1789. Its common name is derived from the demarkated brown plumage on its back which resembles a saddle. The Maori name of Tieke is from the particular sound of one of this species' common calls: ti-e-ke-ke-ke-ke.
There are two subspecies:
The Saddleback appears to be a remnant of an early expansion of passerines in New Zealand and is one of three New Zealand wattlebirds of the family Callaeidae
, the others being the extinct Huia
, and the endangered
Kōkako
. New Zealand Wattlebirds have no close relatives apart from the Stitchbird
, and their taxonomic relationships to other birds remain to be determined.
birds, saddlebacks display antagonistic behaviour in this regard on three levels of intensity, singing out at dawn to mark their territory, making threat displays, which can include head bobbing, tail fanning, and warbling displays (at the same time the wattles become dilated), and finally, when a direct challenge is made to a bird's territory, fights can occur in which combatants attempt to grapple with the wattles of their foe.
The birds are notoriously fearless and noisy, and would frequently enchant European naturalists in the 19th century with their behaviour. Saddlebacks will nest in epiphytes, tree fern crowns, or holes in tree trunks.
They have a tendency to nest near the ground, and their fledglings will also leave the nest to hop around in a typically noisy fashion on the ground while they build up strength in their wings.
(a virtual demi-god in Maori folklore) asked the Tieke to bring him some water. The bird rudely pretended not to hear his request, at which Maui, becoming angry, seized it with his still fiery hand, leaving a brown scorch mark across its back.
off Northland, and in the far south, Big South Cape Island off Stewart Island/Rakiura
.
Rats arrived on Big South Cape Island in 1963, accidentally introduced as they escaped from the boats of visiting muttonbirders
. Only a swift rescue operation by the New Zealand wildlife service (the present day NZ Department of Conservation) saved the subspecies from extinction by the skin of its teeth, while the rats' predation soon condemned to extinction the local populations of the South Island Snipe
, Bush Wren
and Greater Short-tailed Bat
. Today, thanks to careful management by DOC, the South Island saddleback population is up to 700, spread over 11 small islands, from the original 36 birds transferred from Big South Cape Island. The North Island Saddleback has benefited from multiple population reintroductions and is now resident on a large number of off-shore islands and, having become extinct on the mainland 100 years earlier, a breeding colony of North Island Saddleback was successfully established at Karori Wildlife Sanctuary
in Wellington in 2002.
The recovery of the Saddleback is considered by many to be one of New Zealand's greatest conservation success stories.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
of the family Callaeidae
Callaeidae
The small bird family Callaeidae is endemic to New Zealand. It contains three monotypic genera; of the three species in the family, only two survive and both of them, the Kokako and the Saddleback, are endangered species, threatened primarily by the predations of introduced mammalian species such...
. It is glossy black with a chestnut saddle. Its taxonomic family is also known as that of the (New Zealand) "wattlebirds" and includes the two subspecies (one for each main island) of the Kokako
Kokako
The Kōkako is a forest bird which is endemic to New Zealand. It is slate-grey with wattles and a black mask. It is one of three species of New Zealand Wattlebird, the other two being the endangered Tieke and the extinct Huia...
as well as the extinct Huia
Huia
The Huia was the largest species of New Zealand wattlebird and was endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. Its extinction in the early 20th century had two primary causes. The first was rampant overhunting to procure Huia skins for mounted specimens, which were in worldwide demand by...
. All members of this family have coloured fleshy appendages on either side of the beak known as "wattles". In the case of Saddleback, they are a vivid red in colour.
Taxonomy
The Saddleback was first described by German naturalist Johann Friedrich GmelinJohann Friedrich Gmelin
Johann Friedrich Gmelin was a German naturalist, botanist, entomologist, herpetologist and malacologist.- Education :Johann Friedrich Gmelin was born as the eldest son of Philipp Friedrich Gmelin in 1748 in Tübingen...
in 1789. Its common name is derived from the demarkated brown plumage on its back which resembles a saddle. The Maori name of Tieke is from the particular sound of one of this species' common calls: ti-e-ke-ke-ke-ke.
There are two subspecies:
- North Island Saddleback — Philesturnus carunculatus rufusater
- South Island Saddleback — Philesturnus carunculatus carunculatus
The Saddleback appears to be a remnant of an early expansion of passerines in New Zealand and is one of three New Zealand wattlebirds of the family Callaeidae
Callaeidae
The small bird family Callaeidae is endemic to New Zealand. It contains three monotypic genera; of the three species in the family, only two survive and both of them, the Kokako and the Saddleback, are endangered species, threatened primarily by the predations of introduced mammalian species such...
, the others being the extinct Huia
Huia
The Huia was the largest species of New Zealand wattlebird and was endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. Its extinction in the early 20th century had two primary causes. The first was rampant overhunting to procure Huia skins for mounted specimens, which were in worldwide demand by...
, and the endangered
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
Kōkako
Kokako
The Kōkako is a forest bird which is endemic to New Zealand. It is slate-grey with wattles and a black mask. It is one of three species of New Zealand Wattlebird, the other two being the endangered Tieke and the extinct Huia...
. New Zealand Wattlebirds have no close relatives apart from the Stitchbird
Stitchbird
The Stitchbird or Hihi is a rare honeyeater-like bird endemic to the North Island and adjacent offshore islands of New Zealand. It became extirpated everywhere except Little Barrier Island but has been reintroduced to three other island sanctuaries and two locations on the North Island mainland...
, and their taxonomic relationships to other birds remain to be determined.
Behaviour
The Saddleback is larger than other arboreal insectivorous birds in New Zealand forests, measuring up to 25 cm (10 in) in length and weighing up to 75 grams (somewhat larger than a Common Blackbird). They will tear pieces of bark from tree trunks to find insects beneath, which are then dispatched and consumed with their short, robust, and unusually strong beak, but they will also feed on the ground in leaf litter. Their diet is not strictly insectivorous in nature and they have been observed eating fruit and drinking nectar. Poor fliers like their close relative the kokako, saddlebacks mostly bound from branch to branch but can fly noisily over short distances. TerritorialTerritory (animal)
In ethology the term territory refers to any sociographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics...
birds, saddlebacks display antagonistic behaviour in this regard on three levels of intensity, singing out at dawn to mark their territory, making threat displays, which can include head bobbing, tail fanning, and warbling displays (at the same time the wattles become dilated), and finally, when a direct challenge is made to a bird's territory, fights can occur in which combatants attempt to grapple with the wattles of their foe.
The birds are notoriously fearless and noisy, and would frequently enchant European naturalists in the 19th century with their behaviour. Saddlebacks will nest in epiphytes, tree fern crowns, or holes in tree trunks.
They have a tendency to nest near the ground, and their fledglings will also leave the nest to hop around in a typically noisy fashion on the ground while they build up strength in their wings.
Place in Māori culture
The Saddleback traditionally held a strong place in Maori superstitious belief; its cries were viewed as good omens when they came from the right, and bad omens when they came from the left. Its cheeky nature is reflected in the Maori legend that tells of how the bird acquired its distinctive chestnut saddle of colour. Fresh from his battle to ensnare the sun, a thirsty MauiMaui (Maori mythology)
In Māori mythology, Māui is a culture hero famous for his exploits and his trickery.-Māui's birth:The offspring of Tū increased and multiplied and did not know death until the generation of Māui-tikitiki . Māui is the son of Taranga, the wife of Makeatutara...
(a virtual demi-god in Maori folklore) asked the Tieke to bring him some water. The bird rudely pretended not to hear his request, at which Maui, becoming angry, seized it with his still fiery hand, leaving a brown scorch mark across its back.
Decline and present day conservation
Their breeding behaviour (nesting near the ground and fledglings hopping noisily around on the ground) make them especially vulnerable to predation from introduced mammals, including mustelids, Norway- and Ship rats. This resulted in both subspecies swiftly disappearing from the New Zealand mainland. By the turn of the 20th century, both subspecies were confined to a respective island in the far north: Hen IslandHen and Chicken Islands
The Hen and Chickens Islands lie to the east of the North Auckland Peninsula off the coast of northern New Zealand. They are located to the east of Bream Head and southeast of Whangarei....
off Northland, and in the far south, Big South Cape Island off Stewart Island/Rakiura
Stewart Island/Rakiura
Stewart Island/Rakiura is the third-largest island of New Zealand. It lies south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. Its permanent population is slightly over 400 people, most of whom live in the settlement of Oban.- History and naming :...
.
Rats arrived on Big South Cape Island in 1963, accidentally introduced as they escaped from the boats of visiting muttonbirders
Muttonbirding
Muttonbirding is a seasonal harvesting activity, which may be recreational or commercial, of the chicks of petrels, especially shearwater species, for food, oil and feathers...
. Only a swift rescue operation by the New Zealand wildlife service (the present day NZ Department of Conservation) saved the subspecies from extinction by the skin of its teeth, while the rats' predation soon condemned to extinction the local populations of the South Island Snipe
South Island Snipe
The South Island Snipe , also known as the Stewart Island Snipe or Tutukiwi in Maori, is an extinct species of bird in the Scolopacidae, or sandpiper family that was endemic to New Zealand.-Taxonomy and etymology:...
, Bush Wren
Bush Wren
The Bushwren , Bush Wren, or Mātuhituhi in Maori, was a very small and almost flightless bird endemic to New Zealand. It grew to about 9 cm long and 16 g in weight. It fed mostly on invertebrates which it captured by running along the branches of trees...
and Greater Short-tailed Bat
New Zealand greater short-tailed bat
The New Zealand Greater Short-tailed Bat was one of two species of New Zealand short-tailed bats, a family unique to New Zealand. It lived on the North and South Islands in prehistoric times and historically lived on small islands near Stewart Island/Rakiura. Short-tailed bats were as adept at...
. Today, thanks to careful management by DOC, the South Island saddleback population is up to 700, spread over 11 small islands, from the original 36 birds transferred from Big South Cape Island. The North Island Saddleback has benefited from multiple population reintroductions and is now resident on a large number of off-shore islands and, having become extinct on the mainland 100 years earlier, a breeding colony of North Island Saddleback was successfully established at Karori Wildlife Sanctuary
Karori Wildlife Sanctuary
Zealandia, formerly known as the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary, is a protected natural area in Wellington, New Zealand, where the biodiversity of 225 ha of forest is being restored...
in Wellington in 2002.
The recovery of the Saddleback is considered by many to be one of New Zealand's greatest conservation success stories.
External links
- DOC information page on Saddlebacks: http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/native-animals/birds/land-birds/saddleback-tieke/
- TerraNature page on Saddlebacks: http://terranature.org/saddleback.htm
- http://www.sanctuary.org.nz