Facts about the black stilt/kakī
Black stilt on nest
What do they look like?
Kakī have completely black plumage and long red legs. Young kakī have black and white plumage until 18 months old, when they become all black.
Where are they found?
Once common throughout New Zealand, kakī are now restricted to the braided rivers and wetlands of the Mackenzie Basin, South Canterbury. At the time of European settlement, kakī were found in many of New Zealand's rivers and wetlands. There was plenty of habitat and the risk of predation was low. As European settlement intensified, New Zealand's environment began to change. Settlers introduced foreign plants and animals, drained wetlands for development, and channelised rivers. With the spread of new predators and extensive modification of their habitat, by 1981 kakī numbers declined to a low of just 23 birds.
Kakī facts
- Kakī are critically endangered.
- Kakī are found in braided riverbeds, side streams, swamps and tarns and sometimes on lake margins and irrigated paddocks if there is good feed available. Most riverbed birds migrate to the coast in winter, but kakī usually continue to feed on the parts of river and delta which do not freeze over.
- Kakī first breed when aged two or three years, and are known to mate for life. If they cannot find a kakī mate, they may sometimes breed with the pied stilt, a close relative.
- Each pair of kakī defends a territory, and nest alone, on stable banks near the water in braided riverbeds, side streams and swamps. They rely on camouflage to protect their eggs and chicks, and actively defend their nests.
- Incubation is shared equally by the parents and takes 25 days. Within hours, newly hatched chicks can hunt for food and swim if necessary.
- Kakī are opportunistic feeders, mostly taking aquatic insects, molluscs and small fish.
- They can wade out into deeper, slower moving water than most riverbed birds, reaching reach down to catch insects, such as mayfly and caddisfly larvae, on the river bottom. Sometimes they dart at insects and small fish in shallow rapids or muddy areas. Unlike pied stilts and other waders, they can also feed by using a scything motion with their bill.
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Contacts
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