Gorgeted Wood-Quail

New Zealand’s largest endemic parrot. Flightless, nocturnal, and solitary, confined to several predator-free offshore islands. Adults have a moss-green coloring mottled with black and yellow on top. Shows gray legs, feet, and bill with a unique pale owl-like face. A solitary bird that forages on the ground and climbs trees at night. During the breeding season, males gather on lek-breeding “arenas,” a series of bowls and tracks where they give deep, resonating booming calls to attract females. Calls can carry several kilometers.

A fairly small bustard of thick brush in dry country. The male has a buff crest that is usually hidden, and both sexes have a black belly. Found in dry savanna and thornscrub habitat with lots of bushes, unlike most bustards, which prefer grass-dominated habitats. Similar to Black-bellied and Hartlaub’s Bustards, but smaller, and prefers different habitats. Larger than Little Brown Bustard, with a black belly. The call is a rising and accelerating series of distressed-sounding notes that often precede the display: a quick flight up, then a plummet to the ground.

Large and impressive toucan with a huge orange bill with a black tip and base. The body is mostly black with a white throat, and rump, and a red vent. Dark eyes are surrounded by orange and blue skin. Found in savanna and open woodland, avoiding humid forests. Makes a raucous far carrying croaking “wreh” call, and flies with noisy wingbeats.