Stitchbird

Fascinating facts about the Stitchbird

• When scientists sequenced its DNA, they found the stitchbird belongs to its own family, Notiomystidae, after genetic analysis showed it is not closely related to honeyeaters.
• In the wild there are only about 2,500–3,400 mature stitchbirds left, and the entire original population on Little Barrier Island may be as few as 600 adult birds or as many as 6,000. Those numbers hover on the edge of viability, prompting intensive translocations to keep the species from disappearing completely. It illustrates how a single island can act as a last refuge for a whole species.
• Unlike any other bird, stitchbirds copulate face-to-face, and up to 79 % of the chicks in a nest are sired by males other than the social partner. This extreme extra-pair paternity likely arises from forced copulations and may be a strategy to boost genetic diversity in tiny populations. It reveals a hidden complexity in their breeding that challenges textbook bird mating rules.
• When 60 birds were released into Wellington’s Zealandia sanctuary in 2005, three chicks hatched that summer, the first mainland hatchings in over 120 years. By early 2019 the sanctuary had banded its 1,000th hihi chick, even though the adult count there stays around 100. Those milestones prove that carefully managed reintroductions can spark life cycles once thought lost.
• The Tiritiri Matangi island population, started from a handful of translocated birds, now holds roughly 150 individuals and is the most successful of the new colonies, yet about 30 % of its eggs never hatch because of inbreeding. Only the Little Barrier Island group breeds without human aid. This contrast highlights how genetic bottlenecks can undermine recovery even when numbers look healthy.

At a glance

About the Stitchbird

The stitchbird, or hihi (Notiomystis cincta), is a diminutive, honeyeater-like passerine that bears a striking male plumage: a velvety black cap, white ear-tufts that can be lifted, and a vivid yellow band that bisects the chest, set against a soft grey body. Females and juveniles lack the bold black head and chest stripe, appearing more muted, while all individuals share a thin, slightly curved bill and a long, brush-tipped tongue designed for sipping nectar. Their thin whisker-like feathers project forward from the bill base, and they are perpetually active, filling the forest with a characteristic “tzit tzit” call that inspired their common name. Endemic to New Zealand’s North Island and its offshore isles, the stitchbird favours native forest canopies where it feeds on nectar from over twenty native flower species, haekaro, matata, pūriri, rātā, and toropapa, while also consuming fruits such as Coprosma, five-finger, and tree fuchsia, and supplementing with small insects. A truly unusual trait sets them apart: they mate face-to-face, a rare copulatory posture among birds, and exhibit some of the highest rates of extra-pair paternity recorded, with up to 79% of chicks sired by males other than the attending partner, a possible consequence of forced copulations. Their nests are hidden high in old-tree cavities, and despite their rarity, the birds remain vocally conspicuous, their high-pitched whistles echoing through the treetops as they dart between blossoms and fruiting branches, ever-watchful for the larger tūī and bellbird that dominate the canopy.

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