Forest forager

The tīeke forages for food from the forest floor all the way to the canopy. They aren’t very strong fliers, so use their stout legs to help them bound through the forest floor as they feed. Using their bills, they chip away at rotten wood, sift through leaf litter, and investigate under cabbage tree skirts for food.

Tīeke are very active and noisy foragers, and often birds such as pīwakawaka (fantail) and pōpokotea (whiteheads) will follow along and feed too as they stir up the forest floor. Their diet mainly consists of grubs, wētā, and other invertebrates, but they also eat fruit and nectar from the forest. They play an important role in the forest by pollinating flowers and dispersing seeds, helping to regenerate food sources in their natural habitat.

Back from the brink

The tīeke is a conservation success story for Aotearoa. In the 1960s, the North Island saddleback was on the brink of extinction with only 500 left, mostly on Hen Island off the coast of Auckland. The arrival of stoats and other pests in Aotearoa was the main reason for this population decline. After successful conservation efforts such as pest control and translocation, the population is now thought to be around 8000.

The North Island saddleback still only live on offshore islands, and in specialist predator-free sites on the mainland such as Tāwharanui Regional Park. Saddlebacks are flourishing in pest-free islands in the Hauraki Gulf such as Rotoroa Island, Tiritiri Matangi, and Rangitoto. Originally around 24 birds were translocated to Tiritiri Matangi, which have now created a population of over 1000. This conservation success story shows how much can be achieved by eradicating introduced pests and allowing our native species the opportunity to recover.

At the Zoo

You can see tīeke at the Zoo in our Te Wao Nui a Tāne / The Forest and Moutere Rāhui / The Islands habitats in Te Wao Nui.

In the Wild

Origin: New Zealand

Habitat: Forest and bush

Conservation status: IUCN – Near Threatened

How we’re helping

At Auckland Zoo, we have an advocacy population of tīeke so our visitors can learn about this amazing species and their conservation story.

How you can help

The comeback story of the tīeke population shows how successfully native species populations can grow when they are not under threat of introduced predators. You can help keep New Zealand predator free, whether that means trapping pests such as mice, rats, and possums around your property, or ensuring your pets aren’t threatening wildlife by keeping dogs on a leash or cats indoors.