Probably all of you have been here once or more, particularly during the holidays. It's the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and I am lucky enough to work here now! My work desk is in the Marine Science department, where I am surrounded by a lot of very kind and clever scientists, and at the moment I am studying invasive birds. Invasive birds are the opposite of native birds, the ones we all love so much, and some of them you might have studied in school, like the Whio and Kiwi. Invasive birds are birds that came here from overseas, usually on board of ships. Some examples are sparrows, mynas and rosellas. They sometimes compete with our native birds for food and nesting spaces, so can be a threat to our native birds. The more we know about these invasive species, the better we are able to protect our toanga, our treasured native birds.
Ka kite ano!
I saw whio in the wild once - I used to live in Galatea which backs onto the Urewera ranges. Whilst on the way to a hut, we saw a group out playing in the river rapids and whistling!
ReplyDeleteHI Mrs van d Van it is Mei here this morning when we were walking to school we saw lots of rainbow parrots flying above our heads. Are they invasive birds?
ReplyDeleteHi Mei,
ReplyDeleteRainbow parakeets are often confused with eastern rosellas. I was wondering if you have a camera on you phone and would be able to take a picture next time you see them, so we can identify these birds. Do you know exactly how many birds you saw? If you see them again, could you try and count them, or take a picture if they are in a flock?