I waffle on all the time about kokako, our very special birds and it occurs to me that many of you probably wonder what’s so special about them. They are unique birds, found nowhere but New Zealand and their song is like something from out of this world.
The other morning I heard our lonely bachelor singing, grabbed my camera and shot out to find him. I speak his language and when he’s singing I can whistle him up. Kokako are territorial and I obviously sounded enough like a trespasser on his patch to get him to come check me out. He sat above me and sang his displeasure at the intrusion and I caught it on video. But because I’m a cheapskate, I can’t upload videos so check it out here at Facebook.
Sorry if it makes you feel a little seasick but it’s quite hard to keep the camera steady looking straight up with a long zoom. I should have used my tripod but I was in a hurry. You have to grab your chances while you can and birds don’t wait for you to find your tripod. Anyway, he’s singing his little heart out and it’s beautiful and haunting and is why he’s such a taonga (treasure).
You can just make out a distant answering kokako, they set each other off and the cheerful song belongs to toutouwai, our bush robin who ‘sings all the way to the top of the trees and back down again.’
Dream on Farm 