Native Birds of Aotearoa by Michael Szabo

This handsome little guidebook, with a decorative cover, is part of the new Te Papa Te Taiao Nature Series. Sixty of our most interesting forest, garden, wetland, coastal, alpine, and marine birds are featured.

Some, like tūī, pīwakawaka (fantail), kererū (New Zealand pigeon) and pūkeko are well known. Others may be seen on a visit to one of our predator free islands like Tiritiri Matangi. A few, like the Koekoeā, the enigmatic long tailed cuckoo, are so well camouflaged and able to conceal themselves in dense forest that you will probably never catch sight of them.

Michael Szabo, the author is a well- known expert on NZ Birds. He is the editor of Birds New Zealand magazine and is a significant contributor to New Zealand Birds Online.

Alan Tennyson is a curator of Vertebrates at Te Papa andis also a contributor to New Zealand Birds Online. In his excellent introduction, he covers the evolution of our native birds, and how over time our unique bird life suffered terrible losses through extinction and range contractions. If you have ever wondered, as I have, why so few of our native birds are brightly coloured the answer is in here and may surprise you. He also provides an insight into the museum’s field work and collections which I found really interesting as I knew very little about this.

The double page spread for each bird has an illustration on one page. On the opposite side is a description of the bird, its habitat and brief ornithologist’s notes. Both the bird’s status in Aotearoa (native/endemic) and its current conservation status are also listed. And there is a short glossary at the back of the book explaining some bird words that may be unfamiliar.

The charming realistic black and white historical illustrations, many original but some recreated or redrawn by illustrator Pippa Keel, are black and white. But when you are out bird spotting it is often its colours which help you to identify it such as the burst of yellow on the male hihi’s (stitchbird’s) shoulders, the tūī’s iridescent feathers, and the kōkako’s cobalt blue wattles. However, each bird’s colours are accurately described in the text, so best to read this before heading out.

Michael Szabo was asked what he hoped readers would take from reading and using this book. He hopes it will inspire them to get to know their local native birds even better, especially younger readers who may go on to become ornithologists, or to work in conservation. This is what happened to him after he was given the Observer’s Book of Birds at a young age.

That would be a wonderful outcome!

Reviewer: Lyn Potter

Te Papa Press