Getting to know our birds

Northern New Zealand has a suite of very special seabirds. It is a globally important area for seabirds with 37 species breeding here. Six of those breed nowhere else in the world.

NB: There are approximately 360 species of seabirds in the world

Seabirds inhabit both the terrestrial and the marine environments, that means they breed on land, but they get their food from the sea, where they spend most of their lives.

A significant proportion of the seabirds that breed in the region are migratory, i.e. once they finish breeding they migrate outside the region.

Species breeding in the northern New Zealand:

Northern Little (Blue) Penguin Eudyptula minor iredale

Northern Buller's (Pacific) Albatross Thalassarche bulleri platei

White-naped petrel Pterodroma cervicalis

Kermadec Petrel Pterodroma neglecta

Cook’s Petrel Pterodroma cookii

Pycroft’s Petrel Pterodroma pycrofti

Black-winged Petrel Pterodroma nigripennis

Grey-faced Petrel Pterodroma gouldi

Buller’s Shearwater Ardenna bulleri

Flesh-footed Shearwater Ardenna carneipes