Tui are awesome birds. They are endemic to New Zealand. They are very beautiful with all their different colors. When the light hits them on a special angle, their feathers look amazing. They are fully protected throughout New Zealand and I think that we should all protect them not just some people. They belong to the Honeyeater Family along with lots more birds. Read on to find out more about the lovely bird. The TUI!!!
Description
The Tui is a beautiful and large bird. To many people, the Tui looks like they have black feathers. But if you look closely and you are there at just the right timing, when the light is shining on the feathers on a certain angle, their feathers are brownish, blackish and bluish. The average Tui weighs about 90 - 120g. The Tui has a white tuft on the throat and the average length of a Tui is around about 30cm. The average lifespan of a Tui is about 15 years old and over.
Habitat
The Tui mainly lives in the bush or forest areas, but it is know to live in beech forest of the South Island. Tuis are endemic to New Zealand. Endemic means that it only lives in a country or a place. Tuis live all over New Zealand but mostly in the North Island. Tuis also live on the Chatham Islands. The Tui builds its nest out of twigs, sticks, grass, moss and other soft material. They are mostly seen in forests, parks and gardens.
Food
The Tui belongs to the family. Honeyeaters mean that they find food and nectar in flowers or from trees in the forest. The main trees that the Honeyeaters eat from are the Kowhai, the Puriri and the Fuschia. They also eat all different sorts of things like berries, small insects, shrubs and fruit.
Actions and Life Cycle
The Tui is an amazing bird. It has a beautiful voice which it goes around singing all day but the thing is, humans never get sick of listening to the Tui sing because it is so beautiful. The call of a Tui is high pitched. The Tui lays 2-4 eggs at a time about 2 times a year between September and January.
Threats
Keeping the Tui safe is really important. This bird is such a joyful bird because of its voice and call. If we don’t keep this bird safe, we as humans won’t get to listen to the beautiful call of the Tui as we are walking through the forest and even sometime when we are walking through the streets. Some of the threats to the Tui are Magpies, Feral cats, rats, stoats, ferrets and possums.These animals harm the Tui and also destroy their habitat. Humans and also threats to the Tui because we are also really bad at destroying their habitat.
Other Facts
Another name for this exceptional bird is the Parson Bird. This bird is fully protected in New Zealand and we hope to keep it that way. The scientific name for this bird is Prosthemadera Novaeseelandiae. Personally, I think that I like the name Tui better. Tuis fly long distances especially in the winter so they can get to their favorite food. To attract the Tui, all you have to do is put out sugar-water.
Thanks for reading my report on the TUI!!!
