White-cheeked Turaco

A tall, stocky penguin endemic to New Zealand. Note the conspicuous soft, yellow uncrested band that stretches across the back of the head to circle each distinctly yellow eye. Juveniles have paler eyes, lack the yellow band, and are paler at the back of the head. Breeds on the southeast coastline of the South Island and on Stewart, Codfish, Campbell, and Auckland Islands. Feeds alone at sea, but can form small groups in the non-breeding season. Adults sedentary at colony sites. Juveniles sometimes encountered as stragglers, dispersing as far north as the Bay of Plenty.

A medium-sized olive-gray honeyeater with a pale yellow cheek patch and a relatively stout bill. Cheek patch is often a crescent compared to the circular patch on Graceful Honeyeater and the oval path on Yellow-spotted Honeyeater. Adults have a bluish eye, while the similar Graceful Honeyeater has a blue-gray eye and Yellow-spotted Honeyeater has a brown eye. Listen for the rapid staccato machine-gun call of Lewin’s compared to the loud repeated whistles of the Yellow-spotted Honeyeater and the more simple, single note call of Graceful Honeyeater. Of the three easily confusable species, this is the only one found away from the tropics; it occurs in wetter forests and gardens all along the eastern coast of Australia.

Very small owl of humid evergreen forest in tropical lowlands that is active during the day. Favors forest canopy where it is rarely seen, but sometimes hunts low at forest edges. Most often detected by its tooting call, given at any time of day but mainly early and late. Like other pygmy-owls, presence often revealed by mobbing bands of small songbirds. Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl favors more open habitats, is seen much more frequently, and has pale streaks (not spots) on the crown and a slightly different tooting song.