- Conservation status
- Doing OK
Korimako are the choir masters of Aotearoa. These yellow-ish green honeyeaters produce music that sounds like the fluting of a thousand tiny wind instruments. Captain Cook described the song of korimako as sounding like “small bells exquisitely tuned”.
Korimako live throughout Aotearoa and don't suffer from stage fright, often singing solo during the day.
Campaign Manager
Holly Bryant-Simpson
With a voice that made early European arrivals think they’d stumbled into a bird paradise, the korimako is one of nature’s best and most versatile songwriters. The bellbird’s melodies have inspired poets, brightened tramps, and left scientists puzzled.
Found across much of Aotearoa, the korimako is an important pollinator who plays a key role in keeping our native forests alive and thriving. While their numbers have recovered in some areas thanks to conservation efforts by individuals and organisations like Forest & Bird, they’re still up against habitat loss and predators that threaten their future.
Don’t let the sweet song fool you, korimako are feisty! They’re known to chase off much bigger birds, defending their patch with a combination of high-energy flight and high-volume vocals.
Vote korimako for Bird of the Year! Aotearoa’s original pop star deserves to top the charts.
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