Fernbird

About the Fernbird

The New Zealand fernbird or simply fernbird (Poodytes punctatus) is an insectivorous bird endemic to New Zealand. In the Māori language, it is named kōtātā or mātātā. The New Zealand fernbird, Poodytes punctatus, was described by the French zoologists Jean Quoy and Joseph Gaimard in 1832 from a specimen collected in Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, South Island, New Zealand. They coined the binomial name, Synallaxis punctata.

In the past, this species had the binomial names Bowdleria punctatus, and more recently, Megalurus punctatus. Recent moluecular phylogenetic studies of the grassbird family Locustellidae have shown that the genus Megalurus was not monophyletic, resulting in the New Zealand fernbird, and four other Australasian species, now considered to be in the genus Poodytes.

There are five subspecies of New Zealand fernbird present on different islands. They differ in extent of reddish-brown and intensity of streaking, as well as size: Poodytes punctatus vealeae (Kemp, R, 1912) – North Island (New Zealand)

Poodytes punctatus punctatus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832) – South Island (New Zealand) Poodytes punctatus stewartianus (Oliver, 1930) – Stewart Island (New Zealand... Wikipedia →