New Zealand's smallest bird is the rifleman or tititi pounamu (Acanthisitta chloris), which is endemic. The scientific and Maori names for this bird both refer to the male's green plumage: New Zealand Infantry riflemen wore green coats, pounamu is the Maori word for greenstone, and chloris is Greek for yellowish green.
At just 8 cm long, virtually no tail, their tiny body is almost round.
The riflemen moves around with distinctive short aerial hops, clinging easily to...
more »New Zealand's smallest bird is the rifleman or tititi pounamu (Acanthisitta chloris), which is endemic. The scientific and Maori names for this bird both refer to the male's green plumage: New Zealand Infantry riflemen wore green coats, pounamu is the Maori word for greenstone, and chloris is Greek for yellowish green.
At just 8 cm long, virtually no tail, their tiny body is almost round.
The riflemen moves around with distinctive short aerial hops, clinging easily to rough tree trunks. Working their way up a tree in similar fashion to a treecreeper, they take spiders, beetles, small weta, caterpillars and moths from foliage and cracks in the bark. Adults and young often forage close together. They keep in contact with a high-pitched buzzing call, a single note that is out of hearing range for some people. Each pair has its own territory, which both males and females defend.
Riflemen live in a variety of forest types: lowland conifer-broadleaf forest, high-altitude beech forest, mature tawa forest and manuka-kanuka scrub.
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