Story: Introduced land birds

Distribution of kookaburras

Distribution of kookaburras

The kookaburra is a rare bird in New Zealand. The population was probably started by Sir George Grey, who released kookaburras on Kawau Island. Kookaburras are still mainly found in areas relatively close to Kawau. There were isolated sightings in Rangiora in the 1980s and Hamilton in 1994.

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Source: C. J. R. Robertson, P. Hyvönen, M. J. Fraser, and C. R. Pickard, Atlas of bird distribution in New Zealand 1999–2004. Wellington: Ornithological Society of New Zealand, 2007

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How to cite this page:

Christina Troup, 'Introduced land birds - Kookaburras', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/map/17151/distribution-of-kookaburras (accessed 28 March 2024)

Story by Christina Troup, published 24 Nov 2008, reviewed & revised 17 Feb 2015