Posted by: Loren Coleman on April 19th, 2011 The Kōkako
(Callaeas cinerea) is a forest bird which is endemic to New
Zealand. It is slate-grey with a black mask and wattles. It is
one of three species of New Zealand Wattlebird, the other two
being the endangered Tieke (saddleback) and the extinct Huia.
Previously widespread, Kōkako populations throughout New Zealand
have been decimated by the predations of mammalian invasive
species such as possums, stoats, cats and rats and their range
has contracted significantly. There were formerly two sub-
species of Kōkako, North Island and South Island, although the
South Island subspecies may now be extinct. South Island Kōkako
(Callaeas cinerea cinerea) has largely orange wattles, with only
a small patch of blue at the base, as opposed to the northern
subspecies that has blue wattles. New Zealand Media is reporting
this news on April 19, 2011: A tramper who is believed to have
snapped a photo of a rare South Island kokako in Kahurangi
National Park is being hunted by a