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Kōrero: Small forest birds

Rifleman on $2 note

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Rifleman on $2 note

The rifleman, New Zealand’s smallest bird, is also one of the most important. Its ancestors may have been living in New Zealand when the land mass split off from the Gondwana supercontinent, 85 million years ago. The rifleman is featured on this $2 note, which went out of circulation in 1991. It was replaced by a coin showing the kōtuku (white heron).

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Reserve Bank of New Zealand

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Christina Troup, Small forest birds – Riflemen, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/object/12458/rifleman-on-2-note (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Christina Troup, i tāngia i te 1 March 2009, updated 1 August 2023.