New Zealand fernbird

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.

New Zealand fernbird
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Locustellidae
Genus: Poodytes
Species:
P. punctatus
Binomial name
Poodytes punctatus
(Quoy & Gaimard, 1832)
Synonyms

Bowdleria punctata
Megalurus punctatus

Taxonomy

The New Zealand fernbird was described by the French zoologists Jean Quoy and Joseph Gaimard in 1832 from a specimen collected in Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, South Island, New Zealand. They coined the binomial name, Synallaxis punctata.[2][lower-alpha 1]

There are five subspecies:

  • B. p. punctata (South Island fernbird)
  • B. p. vealeae (North Island fernbird)
  • B. p. stewartiana (Stewart Island fernbird)
  • B. p. wilsoni (Codfish Island fernbird)
  • B. p. caudata (Snares fernbird)

The related Chatham fernbird (Poodytes rufescens), which, became extinct around 1900, was sometimes treated as a subspecies of this species.[4]

Description

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.[5] 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.[5]

Ecology
New Zealand fernbird nest from the collection of Auckland Museum

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"[5] (birds) but it has been adversely affected by the subsequent widespread destruction of its natural wetland habitat following European settlement and is now rare.[5]

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;[6] a testament to the design and strength of the nest.

Place in Māori culture

Māori revered the fernbird as an "oracle" or "wise bird" (Manu tohu).[5] The calls of the bird were interpreted as heralding success or failure in daily activities such as fishing but on a more serious level could also portend prosperity and health or disaster and death.[5]

Notes
  1. Although the volume of the Voyage de la corvette l'Astrolabe has 1830 on the title page it was not published until 1832.[3]

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Bowdleria punctata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  2. Quoy, Jean; Gaimard, Joseph Paul (1830). Dumont d'Urville, Jules (ed.). Voyage de la corvette l'Astrolabe : exécuté par ordre du roi, pendant les années 1826-1827-1828-1829: Zoologie (in French). Volume 1. Paris: J. Tastu. p. 255.
  3. Mlíkovský, Jiří (2012). "The dating of the ornithological part of Quoy and Gaimard's "Voyage de l'Astrolabe"". Zoological bibliography. 2 (2&3): 59–69.
  4. BirdLife International (2012). "Bowdleria rufescens". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  5. "Wetlands of New Zealand; A Bitter-Sweet story", Janet Hunt, Random House, 2007
  6. Christina, Troup (24 September 2007). "Wetland birds - Kingfishers and fernbirds – wetland margins". Te ara Encyclopedia. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  • Falla, R.A., Sibson, R.B., and Turbott, E.G. (1970). A Field Guide to the Birds of New Zealand. London: Collins. ISBN 0-00-212022-4
  • Marshall, J., Kinsky, F.C., and Robinson, C.J.R. (1982). The Fiat Book of Common birds in New Zealand. Wellington: A.H. and A.W. Reed. ISBN 0-589-00759-9
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