[vc_row row_height_percent=”65″ back_image=”7304″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ uncode_shortcode_id=”186589″ shape_dividers=””][vc_column column_width_percent=”100″ position_vertical=”middle” align_horizontal=”align_center” gutter_size=”3″ overlay_color=”color-584830″ overlay_alpha=”80″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ shift_y_down=”0″ z_index=”0″ medium_width=”0″ mobile_width=”0″ width=”1/1″][vc_custom_heading text_color=”color-xsdn” text_size=”fontsize-321034″ uncode_shortcode_id=”119921″ text_color_type=”uncode-palette”]Highway robbery[/vc_custom_heading][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_custom_heading heading_semantic=”h4″ text_size=”h4″ uncode_shortcode_id=”166861″]Author: Jonathan Mower, Guide
Date: July 2024
Photo and video credit: Jonathan Mower[/vc_custom_heading][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”204542″]

This short video clip captures a moment of interspecies interaction when a toutouwai/ North Island robin came across a tīeke/ North Island saddleback that had captured and killed a wētā.

The toutouwai was a much more dominant bird and harassed the more timid tīeke, eventually causing the tīeke to abandon its prey to the toutouwai which snatched it and flew away.

The small wattles and timid nature may mean the tīeke was a young and inexperienced hunter because I have previously seen tīeke aggressively dispatch large prey including hura/giant centipedes and wētā.

By nature, the toutouwai are often bold and aggressively territorial toward others of their own kind but here we see them interacting and showing dominance over a very different species.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_single_image media=”7302″ media_width_percent=”100″ uncode_shortcode_id=”483511″ media_link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FvyxN5-Arlkg”][/vc_column][/vc_row]