Black-faced Spoonbill

Small forest bird with distinct large head and short tail, endemic to New Zealand. The five subspecies are restricted to North, South, Snares, Auckland, and Chatham Islands, respectively. Plumage is variable depending on sex and location. Males are generally black and white, females brown and white. Both sexes have a white spot at the base of the bill, which is raised as a threat display. Favors mature native forests, but also uses scrub and exotic forest stands. Feeds in understory of forest but will come out in the open. Perches on trunks and branches before swooping down to take insect prey. Listen for musical male song “ti-oly-oly-oly-ho,” often likened to a squeaky gate being opened and shut.

A slim, long-billed sunbird in which breeding males and females are very different. Breeding males are mostly dark iridescent green with a red band across the underparts. The red band is bordered by narrow yellow stripes in the southern part of the range. Females are plain, with gray-brown upperparts and pale underparts with dark streaking. Found in dry thorn savanna. Similar to Beautiful Sunbird, but breeding males are separated by the less extensive or absent yellow in their belly band, and females by being more streaked below. The common calls are quiet chips and “tip” notes, and the song is a high-pitched jumble typical of sunbirds. 

Tiny, plump gray-and-brown bird that looks almost tailless. Males are ashy gray with warm reddish brown on their back half; females are similar, with the warm reddish brown extending farther up the back to the crown. Forages singly or in pairs low in dense vegetation in stunted elfin forest and humid shrubby grassland at high elevations, at and above the treeline; often found in Polylepis groves. A bit less shy than most tapaculos, but still heard far more often than seen. Its song is a single squeaky “tcheur” note, repeated at a steady pace of about 1-2 notes per second in a long series.