The Barn owl (Tyto alba) is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds. It is found almost everywhere in the world except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the...
Described as "The bird which made the breeze to blow" the wingspan of a Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) is the longest of any bird. It lives up to its name when it takes fishing trips that last 10-20 days and can cover 10,000 km while using...
The kea (Nestor notabilis) is a species of large parrot in the family Nestoridae found in New Zealand. The kea is the world's only alpine parrot. Now uncommon, this mountain-dwelling bird was once killed for bounty due to concerns by the...
The Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) is a tern in the family Laridae. These amazing birds perform the longest migrations known in the animal world. They have a circumpolar breeding distribution and see two summers each year. Arctic terns nest once...
The Cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) is a cosmopolitan species of heron named for its association with cattle. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the Western cattle...
The Australian white ibis (Threskiornis molucca) is a large wading bird widespread across much of Australia. While it is closely related to the African sacred ibis, the Australian white ibis is a native Australian bird - contrary to urban myth, it...
The Little egret (Egretta garzetta) is small elegant heron in the family Ardeidae. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming a variety of small creatures. At one time common in Western Europe, the Little heron was hunted...
The Eurasian coot (Fulica atra), also known as the Common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of North Africa. Similar-looking coot...
The Northern shoveler (Spatula clypeata) is a widespread species of duck unmistakable in the northern hemisphere due to its large spatulate bill. In Britain, it is known simply as the shoveler. One part of its scientific name Spatula is the Latin...
The South Island takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri) is a flightless swamphen. It is the largest living member of the rail family. It is often known by the abbreviated name takahē, which it shares with the recently extinct North Island takahē. Takahē...
The White-throated needletail (Hirundapus caudacutus) is a large swift. Needle-tailed swifts get their name from the spined end of their tail, which is not forked as it is in the typical swifts of the genus Apus. The White-throated needletail was...
The weka (Gallirallus australis) is a flightless bird species of the rail family. It is found only in New Zealand. The common name, "weka", is a Māori word. These birds are significant to some Māori iwi (tribes) who admire their curiosity and...
The Southern royal albatross (Diomedea epomophora) is a large seabird from the albatross family. At an average wingspan of above 3 m (9.8 ft), it is one of the two largest species of albatross, together with the Wandering albatross.
Black-winged stilts (Himantopus himantopus) are very long-legged wading birds. They are found in both warm and hot climates, feed on small aquatic creatures, and nest on the ground surface in small colonies.
The brolga (Antigone rubicunda ), formerly known as the native companion, is a bird in the crane family. It has also been given the name Australian crane, a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithologist John Gould in his Birds of Australia.The...
The red knot (Calidris canutus ) (just knot in English-speaking Europe) is a medium-sized shorebird which breeds in tundra and the Arctic Cordillera in the far north of Canada, Europe, and Russia. It is a large member of the Calidris sandpipers,...
The sanderling (Calidris alba ) is a small wading bird. The name derives from Old English sand-yrðling, "sand-ploughman". The genus name is from Ancient Greek kalidris or skalidris, a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds....
The northern rockhopper penguin, Moseley's rockhopper penguin, or Moseley's penguin (Eudyptes moseleyi ) is a penguin species native to the southern Indian and Atlantic Oceans. It is described as distinct from the southern rockhopper penguin.A study...
The welcome swallow (Hirundo neoxena ) is a small passerine bird in the swallow family.It is a species native to Australia and nearby islands, and self-introduced into New Zealand in the middle of the twentieth century. It is very similar to the...
The eastern barn owl (Tyto javanica ) is usually considered a subspecies group and together with the American barn owl group, the western barn owl group, and sometimes the Andaman masked owl make up the barn owl. The cosmopolitan barn owl is...
The black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophris ), also known as the black-browed mollymawk, is a large seabird of the albatross family Diomedeidae; it is the most widespread and common member of its family.
The ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres ) is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria.It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae. It...
The parasitic jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus ), also known as the Arctic skua, Arctic jaeger or parasitic skua, is a seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. The word "jaeger" is derived from the German word Jäger, meaning "hunter". The English...
The swamp harrier (Circus approximans ), also known as the Australasian marsh harrier, Australasian harrier or swamp-hawk, is a large, slim bird of prey widely distributed across Australasia. In New Zealand it is also known as the harrier hawk,...
The southern giant petrel (Macronectes giganteus ), also known as the Antarctic giant petrel, giant fulmar, stinker, and stinkpot, is a large seabird of the southern oceans. Its distribution overlaps broadly with the similar northern giant petrel,...
The silvereye or wax-eye (Zosterops lateralis ) is a very small omnivorous passerine bird of the south-west Pacific. In Australia and New Zealand its common name is sometimes white-eye, but this name is more commonly used to refer to all members of...
Scutigera coleoptrata, also known as the house centipede, is a species of centipede that is typically yellowish-grey and has up to 15 pairs of long legs. Originating in the Mediterranean region, it has spread to other parts of the world, where it...
The New Zealand falcon (Māori: kārearea or kāiaia ; Falco novaeseelandiae ) is New Zealand's only falcon. Other common names for the bird are bush hawk and sparrow hawk. It is frequently mistaken for the larger and more common swamp harrier. It is...
The sacred kingfisher (Todiramphus sanctus ) is a medium-sized woodland kingfisher that occurs in mangroves, woodlands, forests and river valleys in Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the western Pacific.
The Pacific golden plover (Pluvialis fulva ) is a migratory shorebird that breeds during Alaska and Siberia summers. During nonbreeding season, this medium-sized plover migrates widely across the Pacific.
The sooty shearwater (Ardenna grisea ) is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand, it is also known by its Māori name tītī, and as muttonbird, like its relatives the wedge-tailed shearwater (A. pacificus ) and...
The great spotted kiwi, great grey kiwi or roroa (Apteryx haastii ) is a species of kiwi endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. The great spotted kiwi, as a member of the ratites, is flightless. It is the largest of the kiwi. The rugged...
The little spotted kiwi, or little grey kiwi, Apteryx owenii, is a small flightless bird in the kiwi family Apterygidae. It is the smallest species of all 5 kiwis, at about 0.9 to 1.9 kg (2.0–4.2 lb), about the size of a bantam. It is endemic to New...
The short-tailed shearwater or slender-billed shearwater (Ardenna tenuirostris ; formerly Puffinus tenuirostris ), also called yolla or moonbird, and commonly known as the muttonbird in Australia, is the most abundant seabird species in Australian...
The Eurasian whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus ) is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae. It is one of the most widespread of the curlews, breeding across much of subarctic Asia and Europe as far south as Scotland. This species and the Hudsonian...
The grey-headed albatross (Thalassarche chrysostoma ) also known as the grey-headed mollymawk, is a large seabird from the albatross family. It has a circumpolar distribution, nesting on isolated islands in the Southern Ocean and feeding at high...
The redback spider (Latrodectus hasselti), also known as the Australian black widow, is a species of highly venomous spider believed to originate in South Australia or adjacent Western Australian deserts, but now found throughout Australia,...
The tomtit (Petroica macrocephala ) is a small passerine bird in the family Petroicidae, the Australasian robins. It is endemic to the islands of New Zealand, ranging across the main islands as well as several of the outlying islands. It has several...
The paradise shelduck (Tadorna variegata ) is a large goose-like duck endemic to New Zealand. It is a shelduck, a group of large goose-like birds which are part of the bird family Anatidae. The genus name Tadorna comes from Celtic roots and means...
The red-crowned parakeet (Cyanoramphus novaezelandiae ), also known as red-fronted parakeet and by its Māori name of kākāriki, is a small parrot from New Zealand. It is characterised by its bright green plumage and the red pattern on its head. This...
The common greenshank (Tringa nebularia ) is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. The genus name Tringa is the New Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek trungas, a...
