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Story: Wetland birds

Distribution of Australasian bittern and royal spoonbill

Choose species:

  • Australasian bittern

  • Royal spoonbill

Click on a species name to see its New Zealand distribution in the early 2000s.

Australasian bitterns are thinly scattered in the North and South islands, with most birds in the northern North Island. Royal spoonbills only breed at a few sites, but spread out around coastal and some inland sites the rest of the year.

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Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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How to cite this page

Christina Troup, Wetland birds – Bitterns and spoonbills, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/14618/distribution-of-australasian-bittern-and-royal-spoonbill (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Christina Troup, published 1 March 2009.

Comments

Mark Robinson
21 January 2011
You could add the lagoons north of the Waikanae River mouth as habitat for the Australian Bittern.