- Petroica macrocephala
Identification
13 cm (5 in)
- Large head
- Short tail
Male
- Black head neck and upperparts
- White forehead spot
- Black upper wing
- White bar on remiges
Adult females have brown head and upperparts.
Sub species vary greatly in size and colour (see[1].
Distribution
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are five races[1]: of this bird, each restricted to an island and its outlying islands:
- P. m. toitoi: black head with white spot above bill, black upperparts and upper breast, white underparts, white wing bar and sides to tail
- North Island and adjacent offshore islands (New Zealand)
- P. m. macrocephala: and the next two all have a yellow breast
- South Island and Stewart Island (New Zealand)
- P. m. marrineri:
- Auckland Islands
- P. m. chathamensis:
- Chatham Islands
- P. m. dannefaerdi: is totally black
- Snares Islands
Habitat
Native forests.
Behaviour
Highly territorial.
Diet
The diet consist of a variety of insects, also weta, worms and months. Fruit is added during autumn and winter.
Breeding
They nest in a hole in a tree or a sheltered cleft in a bank or rock. The female builds the nest from moss, thin strips of bark, bound together with cobwebs and feathers. The clutch consists of 3-4 white eggs, spotted with dark specks; they are incubated by the female. The young being fed by both adults. There are usually two or three broods each year.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved January 2017)
- New Zealand Birds
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Tomtit. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Tomtit
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
