Kōkako and the Coromandel

Few New Zealand sounds stop people in their tracks like a kōkako (North Island kōkako, the blue-wattled crow) singing at dawn. The notes are slow, full and hollow, closer to a church organ or a bell than to a songbird. Pairs answer each other from high perches, and the duet can carry across a whole valley.

The Coromandel Peninsula is part of this bird's story. Its steep, forested ranges once held kōkako, and the peninsula is still where many North Island birders first start asking about them. This note covers what happened there, how to recognise the bird, and where your best chances are now.

Meet the bird

Kōkako are slate-grey, about the size of a magpie, with a black "mask" through the eye and two small, rich blue wattles at the base of the bill. Young birds have pink or lilac wattles. The South Island kōkako, with orange wattles, has had no confirmed sighting for decades and is generally assumed to be extinct, so when people talk about kōkako today they almost always mean the North Island bird.

They are poor fliers. Watch one for a few minutes and you'll see it bound up through the branches on strong legs, using short wing-flaps to hop from limb to limb, then glide downhill when it wants to cover ground. That habit is part of why they did so badly once ship rats, possums and stoats arrived: a bird that spends a lot of time moving slowly through the mid-canopy, and nests in it, is an easy target.

The diet is mostly fruit and leaves, with flowers, buds, nectar and insects as they come into season. Breeding usually runs from about November to February, and in years with plenty of fruit pairs can keep nesting for much longer.

What happened on the Coromandel

The Coromandel's forests were heavily logged for kauri from the nineteenth century on, and then invaded by the same mammal predators that hit kōkako everywhere else. Through the 1970s and 1980s, observers still found small groups of kōkako in a few places in the Coromandel Ranges. By the early 1990s, local survey notes describe only a handful of birds in each of those areas, and a few scattered single birds or pairs.

Those remnant groups did not recover. Today the Coromandel is not a reliable place to see or hear kōkako, and we'd be wary of any guide that suggests otherwise. Unconfirmed reports do still turn up from time to time. If you think you've heard one anywhere on the peninsula, note the time, place and what you heard, record it on your phone if you can, and report it to the Department of Conservation (DOC).

The national picture is far brighter. NZ Birds Online notes the population grew from about 330 pairs in 1999 to around 2,300 pairs by 2023, thanks to intensive pest control and careful moves of birds to new sites. The DOC kōkako page explains why: most losses happen at the nest, mainly to ship rats and possums, so knocking those predators down during the breeding season makes a measurable difference within a few years.

Where to hear kōkako today

The largest populations are in Pureora Forest, Hauturu (Little Barrier Island), Mapara, Rotoehu and the Hunua Ranges, according to NZ Birds Online. Several smaller populations have been established by translocation, including on Tiritiri Matangi and Kapiti islands.

For most visitors, these are the practical options:

• Tiritiri Matangi Island in the Hauraki Gulf. Ferries run from Auckland in the warmer months. The island is small, the tracks are good, and kōkako are often seen close to the paths. Check the sanctuary's own site for sailings and biosecurity rules.
• Pureora Forest Park in the central North Island. A large mainland population in tall podocarp forest. Dawn in spring and early summer is the time to listen.
• The Hunua Ranges south-east of Auckland. Kōkako here are managed with pest control, and walking tracks pass through their range. Check Auckland Council and DOC for any track closures, as some areas close to protect kauri.
• Kapiti Island off the Kāpiti Coast. Access is limited to a licensed boat service and a set number of visitors each day; check the operator's site.

Hauturu is a nature reserve with restricted access, so it is not a casual day trip.

How to find one

Kōkako are easier to hear than to see. Some practical tips:

1. Go early. The first hour after dawn is when pairs are most vocal, especially from late winter into summer.
2. Listen for the duet. Long, slow notes, often with gaps of a second or two, and sometimes a repeated "took" contact call. Songs vary between regions, so a Pureora bird may not sound exactly like one on Tiritiri.
3. Look into the mid and upper canopy. Scan for a grey shape bounding along a branch rather than a bird darting across the track.
4. Stay on the track and keep quiet. If a bird comes close to investigate, let it.
5. Never play recordings to attract them. Playback can disturb territorial pairs, and in sanctuaries it is usually against the rules.

Birding the Coromandel anyway

Even without kōkako, the Coromandel's forests are well worth a dawn walk. Coromandel Forest Park and the Kauaeranga Valley have good tracks through regenerating forest. Expect tūī, korimako (bellbird) in some areas, pīwakawaka (fantail), riroriro (grey warbler), kererū (New Zealand pigeon) and tauhou (silvereye). The peninsula is also home to a population of Coromandel brown kiwi, which you are far more likely to hear at night than to see. If you walk after dark, use a red light and keep dogs at home.

On the coast, the peninsula's beaches are breeding sites for tūturiwhatu (New Zealand dotterel) and tōrea pango (variable oystercatcher) in spring and summer. Keep well clear of roped-off nesting areas and keep dogs on a lead where they are allowed at all.

How to help

• Back pest control where you live. The tools that saved kōkako elsewhere are the same ones used in backyards: rat and possum control, done consistently.
• Report sightings. A well-documented kōkako report anywhere outside known populations is valuable. Tell DOC, and log it on eBird.
• Check gear before island trips. Sanctuaries like Tiritiri Matangi depend on visitors not bringing rodents, seeds or soil.

A kōkako duet is worth an early alarm. For now, the surest places to hear one are the islands and managed forests above, not the Coromandel. With enough pest control, that may one day change.