Tui

The Tui is one of New Zealand's most familiar and vocal native birds, a large honeyeater cloaked in glossy dark plumage that shimmers with iridescent blue, green, and bronze in good light. At the throat sits a tuft of curled white feathers, the "parson's collar" that gives it the old colonial nickname "parson bird," set off by a lacy band of fine white feathers across the nape and shoulders.

Tui are powerful, agile fliers with a whirring wingbeat audible as they dash between flowering trees. They are considered one of the most vocally accomplished New Zealand birds, capable of an enormous range of clear bell notes, coughs, clicks, and wheezes, sometimes stitched together with tones pitched beyond human hearing.

Key field marks

• Glossy black-green plumage with iridescent blue and bronze sheen
• Distinctive curled white throat tuft ("parson's collar")
• Lacy white feathering across the nape and upper back
• Fairly long, slightly downcurved bill
• Noisy, whirring wingbeats in flight

Similar species

• New Zealand Bellbird is smaller, plain olive-green overall, and lacks the white throat tuft; its song is more purely bell-like without the Tui's mechanical clicks and coughs.
• North Island Kokako is much larger, blue-grey rather than glossy black, and has blue wattles rather than a white throat tuft.

Range

Widespread throughout New Zealand's North, South, and Stewart Islands, as well as the Chatham Islands (a distinct subspecies), from coastal lowlands to montane forest edges.

Habitat

Inhabits native forest, scrub, and increasingly urban gardens and parks, especially where flowering trees such as kowhai, flax, pohutukawa, and eucalypts provide nectar.

Migration

Mostly sedentary, though some populations make local seasonal movements tracking flowering trees, especially in winter when food can be scarce at higher elevations.

Behavior

Bold, active, and often aggressive, Tui vigorously defend flowering trees from other nectar-feeders, chasing off rivals with noisy dives and wing-whirring displays.

Voice

An extraordinarily varied repertoire of clear bell-like notes mixed with coughs, clicks, wheezes, and grunts, plus some ultrasonic components; each bird's song can be highly individual, and Tui are also capable mimics.

Feeding

Primarily a nectar feeder, using a brush-tipped tongue to sip from tubular flowers, but also eats fruit and insects, and plays an important role pollinating native plants as it moves between flowers.

Nesting

Builds a bulky, twiggy cup nest hidden in dense foliage; the female alone incubates the two to four eggs, while both parents help feed the chicks once hatched.