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New Zealand Bird Habitats

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New Zealand Bird Habitats

Explore how New Zealand birds use different habitats. Read the field notes, study the habitat cards, then solve the challenges. A habitat provides food, water, shelter and places to nest.

Field notes: three New Zealand birds

Kākā are native forest parrots. They feed on nectar, fruit, seeds and insects, and often nest in hollows in large trees. Kāhu, also called swamp harriers, are often seen soaring over wetlands, grasslands and open farmland. They hunt small animals and birds, and nest on the ground among tall plants. Huia lived in native forests but are extinct, so they no longer live in the wild. Their strong, curved beaks helped them find insects and grubs in dead wood. These birds have different needs, but each depends on a habitat that provides the resources it needs.

NATIVE FOREST Large trees, tree hollows, fruit, seeds, nectar and insects.

WETLAND OR OPEN GRASSLAND Tall plants, open air, small animals and places to nest on the ground.

DEAD WOOD IN FOREST Rotting logs and branches can shelter insects and grubs.

A habitat is useful when it supplies what a bird needs to survive and raise young.

1.Which habitat card best suits a kākā? Give one clue from the card that supports your choice.

2.A bird soars over open land and makes its nest among tall plants on the ground. Which bird is it?

Kākā
Kāhu
Huia

3.Match each bird to the food or feeding clue that fits it best.

Kākā
Kāhu
Huia

Insects and grubs found in dead wood
Fruit, nectar, seeds and insects
Small animals and birds

4.True or false? Huia are extinct, so they no longer live in the wild in New Zealand.

TrueFalse

5.Complete the sentence: A hollow in a large tree can provide a kākā with a place to .

Think like a habitat scientist

When a habitat changes, birds may lose food, shelter or nesting places. A healthy habitat usually has several resources, not just one.

6.A wetland is drained and replaced with a car park. Name one resource a kāhu may lose and explain why it matters.

7.Choose two actions that can help native bird habitats.

Plant native trees
Protect wetlands
Remove trees and shrubs
Drain wetlands

8.Which is the best explanation of why different birds use different habitats?

All birds need exactly the same food and nesting places.
Different birds have different needs for food, shelter and nesting places.
Birds choose habitats only because of their colour.

9.Imagine a forest with fewer old trees and fewer tree hollows. Predict one way this change could affect kākā.

10.Design a small habitat improvement for one bird: choose kākā, kāhu or huia. State the bird, one habitat feature you would protect or add, and how it would help. (Huia are extinct, so describe a way to care for forest habitat for native birds.)

Draw a native forest or wetland habitat. Include a bird, its food and a safe nesting place. Label at least two features.