This blog essay is about the birds I have learned about here in
New Zealand. I have learned about birds in existence, and I have also learned
about extinct birds. I have learned about land birds, flying birds, and even
water-dwelling birds.
Model of Haast eagle |
First let’s talk about extinct birds. One of
the main extinct birds that I have heard about is the Haast eagle. The Haast
eagle was gigantic. It was the largest bird ever recorded. It had an average
weight of 500 lbs, and an average wingspan of 10 ft.
Stuffed South Island giant moa at the Aukland Museum (with Jeremy for scale) |
Another extinct bird is a
moa. A moa is another huge bird. I think
that moa look a lot like ostriches because of the fact that they are both big and
flightless. Now I will tell you how they became extinct. The way that moa
became extinct was the Maori. The Maori are the native people of New Zealand.
They were the ones who hunted the moa to extinction. And that didn't work out
so well for the Haast eagle because --fun fact-- Haast eagles ate moa so you can
imagine that the eagle didn’t have so much to eat and... yeah.
Next let’s talk about land birds. New Zealand has a lot of
land birds. The main reason is that New Zealand doesn't have any [native] mammals. This
is because New Zealand became an island before mammals evolved. The reason why it's so hard for these birds is because of the new, introduced species of mammals.
I will now list
some of New Zealand's birds: kiwi,
takahe, kakapo, pokeko, and a lot of others.
Now let’s talk about flying and gliding birds. There is the
gliding albatross, the cheeky kea, the playful fantail, the singing bell bird,
and many more.
Fantails are super friendly- this one followed us on a walk |
As I said earlier the kea is very mischievous. I will now list
some of the mischievous things that keas will do: they will destroy your
windshield wipers, and your hiking boots. They will also steal your car keys
and your wallet.
And last let's talk about water-dwelling birds including
penguins. New Zealand has two types of penguins: little blues and yellow eyed
penguins (YEP). The little blues are slightly shorter and have blue back
feathers.
The YEP have yellow crowns of feathers.
There are also paradise
ducks, black swans, and shags.
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Jeremy with young shag (also known as a cormorant) |
In conclusion, I hope you liked my essay about what I have
learned about birds in New Zealand. New Zealand has changed my perspective on
birds forever. I LOVE BIRDS NOW!
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