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Tūī

Tūī

The tūī were recently voted 'New Zealand's favourite garden bird' by people taking part in the NZ Garden Bird Survey. Did you know that male tūī are 40% bigger than female tūī?

Scientific name: Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae
Other names: kōkō,kōkōtaua, kōkōtea, kōkōuri, kōpūrehe, kouwha, kukari, mocking bird, parson bird, pikari, pitui, pòhe or poe bird, tākaha, takahē, tataki, teoteo, tui, tute

New Zealand Status: Native (Endemic)
Conservation Status: Not threatened

Where they feed: Trees
What they eat: Invertebrates, seeds, pollen nectar and fruit

Garden types

Tūī are found in about a third of surveyed gardens. Feeding birds in your garden won't influence your chance of finding a tūī very much.

Garden location

Tūī are most likely to be found in gardens in the Northland, Auckland, Gisborne and Tasman regions. They are least likely to be seen in gardens in Marlborough, Canterbury and the West Coast on the South Island.