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Story: Wading birds

Waders that migrate regularly to New Zealand

Common Name Species
Plovers, dotterels, lapwings
Pacific golden plover Pluvialis fulva
Snipe, sandpipers, godwits, curlews
Lesser knot Calidris canutus
Curlew sandpiper Calidris ferruginea
Sharp-tailed sandpiper Calidris acuminata
Pectoral sandpiper Calidris melanotos
Red-necked stint Calidris ruficollis
Eastern curlew Numenius madagascariensis
Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus
Bar-tailed godwit Limosa lapponica
Grey-tailed tattler Tringa brevipes
Ruddy turnstone Arenaria interpres

These birds breed in Asia or the Arctic during the northern hemisphere summer, and set off to New Zealand before the northern winter sets in. Most arrive New Zealand in the southern spring (around September), and return in autumn (March to May) to their breeding grounds. Small numbers remain in New Zealand through the winter. These are mostly young birds, not yet ready to breed.

Using this item

Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: New Zealand Birds Online

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How to cite this page

Gerard Hutching, Wading birds – New Zealand’s wading birds, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/9376/waders-that-migrate-regularly-to-new-zealand (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Gerard Hutching, published 2 March 2009.