By Bob McNeil
The haunting notes of a New Zealand songbird that almost became extinct are once again being heard in Auckland’s Waitakere ranges.
Kokakos disappeared from the ranges sixty years ago, but today two of the birds were released into the bush and more will be introduced over the next two years.
DOC had brought the two birds from the forests of the central North Island, and the people of those forests were there to welcome them.
“Today the ranges have come alive again, to the melody and the swift movement and flight of the kokako, that will bless the Waitakeres for the next thousand years,” said Eru Thompson.
Kokako were driven out of the ranges by predators like rats, stoats and possums, but have returned thanks to widespread pest control measures by the Department of Conservation, Forest and Bird and local authorities.
The birds arrived just before dawn and were met by a woman who has been handling kokakos for nearly ten years.
This morning a recording of the birdsong created an artificial dawn chorus. It was played to encourage the kokakos to stay in their unfenced area.
It is believed kokakos from different areas sing in different dialects and it seems they are not fussy if their partner doesn’t speak the same language, so it can be expected there will be a lot of cross breeding.
Only 750 pairs of kokakos remain in the North Island, but DOC aims to have around a thousand breeding pairs established by the year 2020.
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