Details of the Tiri Kokako in Summer 2011/12

Where they came from

The original founders of Tiri’s kokako population were four brothers and one female from the Mapara region of Waikato. Two of the brothers (Te Koha Waiata and Te Hari) and the female (Cloudsley Shovell) still live on the Island, as do some of their descendents, though others have been translocated elsewhere.

Tiri holds all the remaining kokako descended from birds of the Taranaki region. Three of the remaining wild Taranaki birds were taken into captivity at Mount Bruce in the late 1990s. One Taranaki male was successfully paired with a Waikato female called Mapara. Three of their offspring, Te Rae (F), Pukaha (F) and Parininihi (M) were transferred to Tiri in 2007.  Their father also raised a chick with another captive-bred female at Mount Bruce. This chick was Poutama, who was transferred to Tiri in 2008. Te Rae, Parininihi and Poutama are still living on Tiri, though Pukaha probably died sometime in 2010. The offspring of these birds with Taranaki genes are Noel, Rehu, Kikorangi, Bariki, Takara and Lucky.

The other area from which kokako have been brought to Tiri is the Waipapa region of Waikato, which includes Pureora Forest. Two birds, Waipapa and Mawhero (both F) arrived in 2007, two more – Crown (M) and Pureora (F) – in 2008, and three more – Tawa, Rimu and Slingshot (all M) – in 2010.

A note on Colour Bands

Colour bands are read from top to bottom, left leg (the bird’s left leg) first, then right.  For example, a bird with orange over metal on the left leg and red over green on the right leg would be recorded as OM-RG.

Many of our visitors are able to get good views of kokako, but very few manage the more difficult trick of recording the band combinations. While all sightings are helpful, those accompanied by the colour bands are much more useful. One excellent technique is to quickly take a number of photographs when you spot a bird – even if the shots are out of focus, it is often possible to determine the colour of the bands.

The kokako team tend to know the whereabouts of birds involved in breeding pairs, but non-breeding birds are much more elusive and some remain unrecorded for many months. Records of breeding birds outside of their normal territories, or of non-breeding birds, are particularly welcome.

The letter codes are as follows:

M is the metal band; all birds have one metal band with a unique identification number.

B is blue                                     R is red

G is (mid-) green                        W is white

J is jade (pale green)                   Y is yellow.

O is orange

Established pairs

Te Koha Waiata (TKW), male, Y-RM and Cloudsley Shovell, female, M-O

TKW is a founder male who was born in captivity at Mount Bruce in November 1996 and brought to Tiri in August 1997.  Cloudsley was captured in the Waikato region and brought to Tiri at the same time as TKW. They have been together since their arrival.

Between them they have raised 22 chicks (including one, Miharo, male, JM-R in 2011/12).  Both birds are now at least 15 years old.  Because of their comparative success on Tiri, their offspring are over-represented in the Island’s population.  Any further offspring they might raise would be candidates for translocation off the Island. Their descendants still on the Island are Phantom, Koha, Noel, Rehu, Aria, and (probably) Chatters, Kikorangi, Takara, Bariki, Lucky and Miharo.

TKW and Cloudsley hold a territory which includes most of the area around the Wattle Track.

Te Hari, male, YM-W and Phantom, female, BW-M

Te Hari is a brother of TKW.  He was hatched in captivity in November 1997 and transferred to Tiri in March 1998.

Phantom is the daughter of TKW and Cloudsley and was born in the 2008/9 summer. 

This is a relatively new partnership formed in the 2010/11 season. They had two unsuccessful nests before producing a single chick, Aria, from the third.  In 2011/12 they have again produced a chick, Sarang, male, W-JM. Their territory is centred on bush 2, but they have also been seen in bush 21 and bush 1.

Chatters, male, RG-M and Te Rae, female, OM-JO

Chatters was born in January 2007 and, although his parentage is not certain, he is closely related to the founder males. His parents are believed to be either TKW and Cloudsley or Te Hari and Shazbot (daughter of TKW and Cloudsley). Te Rae was born in Mount Bruce in January 2006 and released on Tiri in June 2007. One of her parents was a wild-caught bird from Taranaki.

This pair occupies a territory around the Kawerau Track and has previously bred successfully.  They had two chicks in 2010/11 but the nest was predated and only one chick, Lucky, escaped, probably by jumping from the nest at the time of the attack. Their other surviving chicks are Kikorangi and Rehu. In 2011/12, Te Rae disappeared for about two months before re-joining Chatters in February. We believe she spent that time with Takara, a young single male whose territory is nearby. It will be interesting to see whether she repeats this pattern next year or stays with her long-term partner Chatters.

Parininihi (Pari), male, OM-Y and Koha, female, BM-R

Pari is a brother of Te Rae and so is also a Taranaki lineage bird. Koha is the daughter of Te Karanga (a brother of TKW) and Keisha (both her parents were offspring of TKW and Cloudsley)

Pari and Koha formed a partnership in 2010/11 and had two failed nests. In 2011/12 they again had two failed nests. Their territory occupies most of bush 3 and part or all of bush 4.

Noel, male, OM-R and Rehu, female, OM-J

Noel is the son of Pukaha (a Taranaki female) and Moby (grandson on both sides of TKW and Cloudsley) and was born in the 2008/9 season.

Rehu is the daughter of Te Rae (also a Taranaki female and a sibling of Pukaha) and Chatters, and was born in December 2009. Chatters is the son of TKW or Te Hari.

This is a relatively new pairing formed in the 2010/11 season when they made two unsuccessful nesting attempts. In 2011/12 they produced one male chick, Flieder, RM-W. Their territory includes the lower end of the Wharf Road and across to behind the Wharf dam.

Crown, male, GM-G and Pureora, female, GM-R

Crown and his partner Pureora are Waipapa birds, caught in the wild and transferred to Tiri in August 2008.  They hold a territory in bush 22 in the north-east of the Island. They built their first nest in the 2009/10 season, but it was unsuccessful.  No nest was found in 2010/11 or 2011/12.

Kikorangi, male, OM-G and Mawhero, female, GM-W

Kikorangi is the son of Te Rae and Chatters and so has some Taranaki genes.  Mawhero was caught in the wild in the Waipapa region in October 2007.

This partnership was formed in the 2010/11 season. They built a nest in bush east of the Lands and Survey Track but didn’t appear to use it. In 2011/12 they again had a nest in this area but did not produce offspring.

Single birds

Poutama, male, OM-W

Poutama was born in 2001 in captivity at Mount Bruce and is the half-brother of Te Rae and Parininihi. He was released on Tiri in 2008. Poutama is occasionally sighted in the company of female kokako, but has never held on to a potential mate.

Until 2010-11 he held a territory in bush 22, but appears to have been displaced by Takara. Since then, Poutama has been seen in many parts of the Island, including back in bush 22 and in neighbouring bush 21.

Waipapa, female, GM-Y

Waipapa was caught in the wild with Mawhero in October 2007. So far she hasn’t found a mate. Waipapa keeps a fairly low profile and is sighted much less frequently than the birds involved in breeding partnerships.

Bariki, male, OM-RJ

Bariki is the son of Pukaha and Moby and was born in December 2009. Pukaha was a Taranaki bird and Moby is descended from TKW and Cloudsley.

Bariki doesn’t yet have a mate. He spent most of the 2010-11 season in bush 21, but in 2011/12 appears to have taken over part of Pari and Koha’s territory in bush 3.

Takara, male, OM-YB

Takara is the brother of Bariki and so is also a Taranaki bird. He has taken occupation of the northern side of bush 22, possibly displacing Poutama, and may also be disturbing Crown and Pureora who tend to be found in the southern side of the bush. In 2011/12 we believe he spent some time with Te Rae, but is now on his own again.

Slingshot, male, GM-WR, Rimu, male, GM- and Tawa, male, GM-J

Slingshot, Rimu and Tawa were caught in the wild in Pureora Forest in October 2010.

Rimu and Tawa have been seen only occasionally, but Slingshot has been seen more often and his characteristic call is heard around Ridge Road and the top of bush 5.

Aria, female, JM-Y

Aria was born in the 2010/11 season, her parents are Te Hari and Phantom.

Early in the 2011/12 season she has been seen with Lucky in Little Wattle Valley and along the Wharf Road, and behind the bunkhouse.

Lucky, sex unknown, not banded

Lucky was born in the 2010/11season, her/his parents are Te Rae and Chatters, so s/he is part of our Taranaki lineage. The name Lucky was chosen after the two chicks in the nest disappeared before they were old enough to fledge. Lucky was later found on the ground near the nest and was obviously being fed by her/his parents. Shortly afterwards, s/he was seen high in the tree tops and was roaming around independently by the end of the 2010-11 season.

Lucky was seen with Aria early in the 2011/12 season, but more recently has been seen on her/his own.