More Little Known Facts About New Zealand

As promised here is more information about the Tuatara and some interesting facts about the rare birds only found in New Zealand.

The Tuatara has eyes that can focus independently and they have two types of cells so that they can see both by day and by night. It also has a third eye on the top of its head but is only visible when it is born. They grow to be about 20 inches long and can weigh up to 2 lbs. Unlike the Kiwi bird where the female is the larger the Tuatara male is almost twice as big as the female.

The Tuatara eat beetles, crickets and spiders also frogs and the eggs of birds and lizards. They reproduce very slowly taking up to five years. Before they can even reproduce it takes ten years for them to reach sexual maturity. It also takes between 12 and 15 months from copulation to hatching depending on the temperature. The temperature also has an influence on whether the eggs will produce males or females. It is the warmer temperature that contributes most usually in the producing of males.

The Tuatara average life span is 60 years although they can often live to be over 100 years old. They continue to grow for the first 35 years of their life. The courtship and mating ritual is quite unique, but that is for another article at another time.

New Zealand is the home to over 170 types of birds so we will only deal with some of the more interesting ones only found in New Zealand. The most well known is the Tiki Bird although because of its nocturnal nature it is rarely seen. You can see a photo of this rare bird on my site. The other one is the Pukeko again you can see a photo on my website. Other unusual looking birds are the Yellow Eyed Penguin also called Hoiho. Like the Kiwi they are also flightless. They have short stubby flippers and waterproof feathers. They are one of the three species that breed on the mainland of New Zealand.

Another rare bird is the Kakapo with only slightly more than one hundred of these unique birds in existence. It is now considered one of the rarest of birds. The story of their being is special and like the Tuatara is worthy of an article all of its own. Their breeding habit is so unusual it is totally dependent on the Kahikatea or Rimu Tree. These trees only bear fruit every two or three years.

The Kotare or more commonly known as the Kingfisher is a distant relative of the Kookaburra bird of Australia. It is believed that the first Kotare cane to New Zealand over ten thousand years ago. It eats skinks, spiders, earthworms and mice. It eats fish and have been known to also eat crab which it dashes against tree trunks to break them up. It then eats the peaces shell and all. It vomits the shell up at a later time.
I truly hope that you are enjoying the articles about the Unique and unusual wildlife of New Zealand. Visit my site and see photos of some of these rarities. I intend to change the photos from time to time so visit me often. http://www.uniquegiftsfromnewzealand.com

Thanks for your time,