Bellbird – Korimako, Makomako

Anthornis melanura

The name Bellbird comes from the clear bell-like notes of the bird’s song.

Bellbirds should be part of our forests enchanting dawn chorus and common throughout New Zealand.

Bellbirds in Northland and the Tangihua Forest

Bellbirds are no longer found in Northlands Tangihua Forest and have been considered regionally extinct in Northland since the 1860’s. Bellbirds are still found on some offshore islands and it is hoped that some day Bellbirds will once again be abundant on the mainland.

Bellbirds are endemic to New Zealand with three sub species.

  • Three Kings Bellbird, Anthornis melanura obsura, one of the most common birds on the Three Kings Islands north of the mainland,
  • Bellbird, Anthornis melanura melanura, found on the mainland, Stewart Island, most of the offshore islands and the Auckland Islands in the far south,
  • Chatham Island Bellbird, Anthornis melanura melanceophala, used to be found on the Chatham Island but is likely now extinct

Bellbirds Description

Size and Shape

Bellbirds are small birds, only 200mm from beak to tail with females weighing 26g and the slightly larger males, 34g. They are of a similar body shape to the Tui, only much smaller, and both birds have the same curved beak used for extracting nectar from flowers.

Colour

Bellbirds have a yellowish-green body, purply forehead and crown, brownish-black wings and tail and grey-black beak, legs and feet. Male and females look slightly different. The females are duller colours, more olive than yellow and have a fainter colour purple around the head. The females also have a narrow white-yellow stripe across their cheek from the base of their bill. The easiest way to tell the sexes apart, if you can get close enough, is the colour of their eyes; males have a red iris while those of the female are brown.

Bellbird call

Juvenile Bellbirds learn to sing by mimicking their parent or neighbouring Bellbirds of the same sex. They learn a repertoire of three distinct songs used for different occasions:

  • One song consists of 2 to 6 pure bell-type notes often repeated for periods of 10 to 40 minutes. This can be heard at any time of the day, but more often at dawn and in the breeding season.
  • A full song made up of a varying range of bell-type notes, ‘chonks’, ‘clonks’, harsh ‘jarrs’ and quiet notes. Males will give a long chorus of these, particularly when they find rich food sources in an area that overlaps with other Bellbirds. This song also seems to be a popular tune for talking to the neighbours.
  • The third song is a quiet song, only audible within a 10m radius and used during displays to other Bellbirds.

Bellbirds also have a harsh, disjointed ‘yeng’ like call they use when alarmed that serves to alert other birds in the area of danger or call them to come help chase a predator away.

The songs of adult Bellbirds can differ depending on location, although the general pattern remains similar. A study examined three groups of Bellbirds in patches of bush in the Port Hills outside Christchurch and found that all three groups had quite distinct songs. Male and female Bellbirds also have slightly different songs and pairs will sing duets together.

Bellbird call Courtesy of radio NZ   Footage of the Bellbird chorus birdsong. Filmed in Tiritiri Matangi Island by Dianne Brunton.

Bellbird Behavior

Feeding

The feeding habits of the Bellbirds are very similar to those of the Tui. They feed on nectar, using their curved beaks to reach inside a range of different native and introduced flowers. When the nectar starts to disappear, they feed on the soft berries available during summer and autumn. All throughout the year they supplement their diet with large quantities of insects that they either catch in the air or pluck off tree leaves and branches.
Females tend to feed on insects more than the males, possibly either because the aggressive males chase the females away from the best nectar sites or because the females spend more time gathering the insects they rely on for feeding their chicks.

Breeding

Bellbirds can start breeding when they are only a year old. The Bellbirds breeding season begins in winter with the male courting the female by hovering or flying slowly upwards and singing to her. Once paired up, they will remain together in the same territory for several years.

The female will build the nest, mostly on her own, usually in dense foliage and near or in a flowering tree. Nests can be built anywhere between ground level and 15m high in the canopy. The finished nest is a typical cup shape made from loosely woven twigs and fern fibre and lined with moss. When the nest is finished, she will lay 3 to 5 eggs and incubate them herself for 14 days. The male will sometimes bring her food during the incubation period and she will leave the nest unattended for short periods to find her own food.

Once the chicks have hatched, they take another 14 days to fledge and another 10 to 14 days to learn to feed and head out on their own. Some pairs share the duty of feeding the chicks, with the male doing almost as much as the female, but in other nests the female does the majority of the work and the male does very little.

Both parents take the responsibility of protecting the nest very seriously. The female will physically attack an intruder that gets too close or will try and divert their attention by pretending to be an easier target. This is a common tactic used by birds and is done by flapping around on the ground like they are injured and unable to get away from the predator. If she feels the nest is threatened she will also sound the alarm, calling for her mate to come back and help her in her defence.

Distribution and Habitat

Bellbirds prefer forest and scrub areas with reasonable cover for protecting themselves and their nests and areas with abundant sources of flowering and fruiting plants. This source of food is especially important during breeding season when they won’t move far from their nests to feed.

Forest Role

Bellbirds play an important role in maintaining and regenerating forests. As nectar feeders, they are important pollinators of flowering plants like Kōwhai and as fruit eaters they disperse the seeds of fruiting plants like the Tōtara.

Threats and Conservation Plan

The number of Bellbirds in Northland fell drastically in the 1860’s, to the point that they are now considered regionally extinct. The reason for this rapid decline is not certain but it is known that introduced predators, such as rats and stoats, have a serious impact on Bellbirds as they prey on their eggs, the hatchlings and potentially even the adult birds.

The only way to bring Bellbirds back to the forest would be by translocating birds from another area and this can only be successful once the predatory pests are eradicated.

The Tangihua forest block is managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). They currently do not have the funding available to put in place the strategies needed to eradicate pests and protect the forest.

The Tangihua Lions Lodge has set up the following programs that you can be a part of:

Volunteers Options: How you can help protect our native bush.

References

This Article was written by Rachael Mannion

It is very apparent that specific information has been shared online between many organisations. Attributing to the initial source is impossible. As much as possible we have used our own photo’s and the following websites have been used as sources for our information:

  • Radio NZ for the bird call
  • Te Ara The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
  • Wikipedia
  • DOC website
  • T.E.R:R.A.I.N Taranaki Educational Resource: Research Analysis and Information Network

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