Australasian Birds

Callaeatidae : New Zealand Wattlebirds

North Island Saddleback

Philesturnus rufusater

Tiritiri Matangi, New Zealand - November 2005

Tiritiri Matangi, New Zealand - November 2005

The Saddleback has been badly affected by the arrival of humans in New Zealand. Introduced mammals, such as rats, cats, Brush-tailed Possums and stoats, have eradicated Saddlebacks from the main islands and they are now only found on a few predator-free islands. The re-introduction to Tiritiri Matangi (a small island in the Hauraki Gulf a few miles east of Auckland where all the introduced mammals have been removed), however, has been extremely successful and they are now one of the most abundant birds on the island.