Tui
Tui are endemic (witch mean are found nowhere else in the world) to
New Zealand . They are medium sized. From a distance Tui look
black but in a good light they have blue, green and bronze on its
body.. It has
what looks like a white pompom on its throat. The Tui has a
beautiful song
with a complicated mix of tunes and noises with coughs
and grunts.
The Tui is common and widespread in Forests, towns and cities.
They pair in groups and tend to nest in the same area each year.
In Hamilton they have recently started nesting in new areas
because habitat
has improved.
Tuis diet depends on which season it is for Nectar and fruits.
The normal diet is nectar and honey dew. Tui Will often shift to
better nectar, such as puriri, kowhai, fuchsia, rewarewa, flax, rata,
pohutukawa, gums and banksias. Sometimes if you are lucky enough
pigeons come along to where the tui are either eating berries or nectar.
The Tui start to dive bomb
the pigeons, it is really funny.
Tui lay their eggs from Maramaiwa(September) to Maramatahi
(January) . The nests are built by the female, it is a rough structure
of twigs and
sticks. A clutch( clutch Is the group of eggs produced by Birds) is 2-4
white pale pink eggs with reddish brown spots. Tui prefer to
feed their young
with fruit and instets.
Tui have been known to be attacked by magpies and
defend themselves against them. Some threats for the
Tui are: possums, feral cats, rats, stoats,ferrets, and destruction
of habitat. Chopping down tree ruins their habitat and they can be
killed by cars.
