The stitchbird (Notiomystis cincta) became extinct on the mainland of New Zealand by 1885. In the 1980s, the Department of Conversation Only a small population on Little Barrier Island survived. Starting in the 1980s the New Zealand Wildlife Service (now Department of Conservation) translocated numbers of individuals from Hauturu (Little Barrier Island) to other island sanctuaries to create separate populations. These islands were part of New Zealand's network of offshore reserves which have...
more »The stitchbird (Notiomystis cincta) became extinct on the mainland of New Zealand by 1885. In the 1980s, the Department of Conversation Only a small population on Little Barrier Island survived. Starting in the 1980s the New Zealand Wildlife Service (now Department of Conservation) translocated numbers of individuals from Hauturu (Little Barrier Island) to other island sanctuaries to create separate populations. These islands were part of New Zealand's network of offshore reserves which have been cleared of introduced species and which protect other rare species including the Kakapo and Takahe.
Currently the world population is estimated to be between 500 and 1000 adult birds, surviving on Hauturu, Kapiti Island, Tiritiri Matangi Island, Mokoia Island in Lake Rotorua, the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary and the Waitakere Ranges.
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