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Native animals

Birds

In this section:

Birds
- Attracting birds to your garden
  - Invite the birds over
  - What to plant

Invite the birds over

Supply them with food

As a general rule, choose to buy plants that naturally occur in your area. These could include kōwhai, flax, kakabeak and tarata for nectar and wineberry, karamū and korokia for fruit. The 'what to plant' guide lists some of the more important food-bearing species, though it should be noted that not all will grow in every part of the country. Living near to areas of native bush, or shelterbelts and reserves containing favourite food trees will increase your chances of entertaining feathered visitors.

Birds such as fantail, grey warbler and silvereye are insect eaters so plant varieties are not as important as a healthy mix of spiders, moths, beetles, and earthworms etc. A good layer of mulch or leaf litter on the garden will encourage insects, and birds are a natural way of keeping them under control. Ruru (morepork) and kingfisher eat insects as well as mice.

Who eats what? - some common species and their diet

Species	Fruit	Foliage	Nectar	Insects	Other
Bellbird	X		X	X
Fantail				X
Grey warbler				X
Kaka	X		X	X	Seeds and tree sap
Kererū	X	X			Flowers
Kingfisher				X	Lizards, small rodents
Shining cuckoo				X
Ruru/Morepork				X	Small rodents, birds, lizards
Tūī	X		X	X
Wax/White/Silvereye	X		X	X

Plant favourite bird foods like flax and kōwhai where you can see them from inside the house. But avoid planting too close to the house as reflections on windows can confuse birds. A number of kererū are killed every year trying to fly through panes of glass - a distressing way for such a beautiful bird to die.

Tūī on flax. Photo: T De Roy.
Tūī on flax

Hang 'em high

Some native birds have become wary about feeding on the ground, wise to the possibility that a cat may be lurking in the bushes. Think about growing ground creepers like Fuchsia procumbens in a hanging basket - it is a wonderful sight with red berries hanging down. Climbing plants like Metrosideros carminea (crimson rata) and Passiflora tetrandra (NZ passionfruit) could grow along a wall or over a pergola.

Pushed for space?

If you have limited space for big trees, try growing plants in containers, e.g. titoki, broadleaf and cabbage tree. Some shrubs like kakabeak can even be shaped to fit in with your garden design - but make sure you allow them to flower so the birds benefit.

Keep the birds safe

Stoats, rats, weasels, possums, cats and hedgehogs prey on birds, including their eggs and nestlings. If you want to keep the birds flourishing, controlling pests is a must, especially prior to the breeding season in late winter/early spring. Setting traps, and laying poisons (toxins) in bait stations are suitable methods of control.

Learn more on the Animal Pests pages.

What do you see?

Reliable bird identification, using sight and sound is a technical skill. But once mastered, many people get a lot of enjoyment from it. The usual native bush bird suspects that could be in your garden include tūī, kererū (NZ pigeon), fantail (piwakawaka) and grey warbler (riroriro).

But there may be more in your neighbourhood. Some areas are now very close - as the tūī flies - to large-scale restoration projects like Zelandia (Wellington) or Ark in the Park (Auckland). Because of this, you may be honoured with special guests like kaka or hihi.

Try the NZ birds website if you haven't got a field guide handy on your bookshelf.

You could also learn how to do Five Minute Bird Counts or check with the Ornithological Society of NZ if you think you've seen something really unusual. Or keep a record for your home - collect the same type of information in a consistent format; for example the time, date, weather conditions, what was seen, and how many.