Kererū
New Zealand pigeon
Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae
Their Story
Kererū (New Zealand pigeon, kūkū, kūkupa) are much more than gentle and beautiful birds — they play a vital role in the regeneration of native forests. Since the extinction of moa, kererū are the only birds able to swallow the large fruits of miro, tawa, karaka, pūriri, taraire and mātai, dispersing their seeds intact through their droppings. They also feed on leaves, buds and flowers when fruit is scarce.
Breeding occurs from September to March and begins with spectacular flight displays, including steep climbs, stalls and dives. Kererū build flimsy nests and lay a single egg, with both parents sharing the 28-day incubation. When food is plentiful, a pair may raise up to three broods in a season, sometimes with an egg in one nest and a chick in another. Chicks are fed “pigeon-milk,” a protein-rich secretion produced in the parents’ crops, later replaced by regurgitated fruit pulp.
Kererū are usually quiet, sometimes giving a soft “coo,” or announcing their presence with the heavy swish of their wings. Within pest-free sanctuaries, they can live up to 15 years, but in the wild their average lifespan is only 3–6 years due to predation and illegal hunting. While kererū are not currently threatened, continued protection is vital to ensure these forest gardeners thrive for generations to come.
Conservation Status
Not Threatened
Populations are stable, but vulnerable to predation and illegal hunting outside predator-free areas.
Population
Widespread across mainland New Zealand, offshore islands, and within predator-free sanctuaries. Individuals in pest-free habitats can live up to 15 years.
Voice
Usually quiet, with a soft “coo” or the distinctive swish of wings in flight.
Food
Feeds on large native fruits such as miro, tawa, karaka, pūriri, taraire and mātai, as well as leaves, buds and flowers when fruit is scarce.
Large, colourful pigeons with iridescent green and purple plumage, white underparts, and a distinctive red bill and eyes. Their broad wings and heavy bodies give them a deep, echoing wingbeat that’s often heard before they are seen.
Kererū feed primarily on native fruits, leaves, buds, and flowers. They play a vital role in seed dispersal for large-fruited trees. Their flight is strong and direct, often punctuated by noisy wingbeats and dramatic swooping displays during the breeding season.
Breeding usually occurs when food is abundant. Courtship includes spectacular flight displays of steep climbs, stalls, and dives. Pairs build simple, twiggy nests and share incubation of a single egg for about 28 days. When food is abundant, kererū may raise up to three broods per season.
Found throughout mainland New Zealand and many offshore islands, kererū occur in larger numbers in forests with a high diversity of fruiting trees. Within the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary, they are commonly seen feeding on young kōwhai buds and porokaiwhiri fruits and gliding above the canopy.
While currently listed as Not Threatened, kererū are vulnerable to predation by possums, rats, stoats, and cats. Historically, they would have been massively abundant in broadleaf forests, forming huge flocks of hundreds of birds. They historically faced steep declines due to predation and habitat clearance, and have become much less commonly encountered in places where predator densities are high. Ongoing forest protection and pest control are vital to their long-term survival.
Kererū are an important part of the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary ecosystem, acting as key seed dispersers for tawa and miro. They are steadily increasing in numbers and are helping speed up the recovery of the regenerating areas of the forest.
🪶 Kererū can eat even the largest fruits of forest trees — their ability to swallow tawa and miro seeds keeps New Zealand’s great forest trees regenerating for future generations.
Our other residents
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Win prizes for your best summer photo at the Sanctuary 📸🏆☀️
This season, we want to see the Sanctuary through your lens — the bright light through the canopy, the textures of the forest floor, and the tiny details that make summer feel alive.
Enter our Summer Photography Competition (part of our Sanctuary Seasons series) and you could win:
🏆 Instant camera (Junior Photography winner)
🌙 Family ticket to a guided night tour
📰 Feature in our newsletter + social media
🖼️ Printed display at the Visitor Centre
📅 Entries close 28 February - Submit your entries via our website: Link in bio
Photo credit: Helen Power - Entry from the spring photography competition
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #SanctuarySeasons #Ngahere #NaturePhotography #NZWildlife #NelsonTasman #VisitNelson #NZHikes #EcoTourismNZ #ConservationStorytelling
Feb 4
Looking for a unique and memorable date night? 🌙🌲
This February, we’re introducing Date Me Darling — private, curated date nights inside the Sanctuary at dusk.
Three styled locations. One couple at a time. You’ll have a styled spot along the main loop track, locally sourced food and drinks, a few games to share, and time to slow down together as the forest shifts into evening.
Beech Glade: for when you want the world to fall away — deeply hidden, totally private, just you and the hush of the forest.
River: crystal clear water, canopy above, flickering lights — the kind of setup you usually only see on Instagram.
Meadow: open sky, long grass, and the forest standing quietly at the edges like it knows not to interrupt.
Bookings are open now (limited spaces in February only so don’t miss out!): Link in bio
#DateMeDarling #NelsonNZ #NelsonTasman #ThingsToDoNelson #DateNightIdeas #NatureLovers #SupportLocalNZ #ConservationNZ #BrookWaimāramaSanctuary
Feb 3
Two cute to be true?
Brook Waimārama Sanctuary and @savethekiwinz teams have been busy over the past few days tracking and recapturing kiwi to remove their transmitters. Thanks to a huge team effort, all ten males were recaptured within just three days.
Some nest burrows held a surprise or two — in several cases a female was present, and a couple even contained chicks. One burrow amazed us all, with not one but two adorable chicks 😍
All chicks are fully independent at this stage of the season, and after quick health checks and transmitter removal, all adult kiwi were safely returned to their burrows.
This special footage was captured by kiwi handler Tamsin from Save the Kiwi, who led the transmitter removal mahi.
We estimate the 20 females and 21 males released in May last year have already produced around 10–15 kiwi pukupuku (little spotted kiwi) chicks in their very first breeding season — a strong sign the habitat is just right.
With transmitters now removed from all ten males, the kiwi are completely free, with no further handling needed. Annual kiwi call counts by staff and volunteers will help track the growing population across our 690 ha, ring-fenced, pest-free sanctuary.
Credit: Video courtesy of Tamsin Ward-Smith, Save the Kiwi
Thanks to our partnership with @terunangaotoa Ngati Toa and Save the Kiwi
#kiwipukupuku #littlespottedkiwi #brookwaimaramasanctuary #nelson #thetopofthesouth #conservation #biodiversity #nativebirds #natureloversnz #newzealandwildlife #pestfree #ringfencedsanctuary #conservationinaction
Jan 29
🎻 45 min string quartet concert at Brook Waimārama Sanctuary
Come and hear a dynamic young string quartet perform a 45 min concert at Brook Waimārama Sanctuary. We welcome everyone to come along, and bring anyone you think might be curious to hear some classical music in a relaxed environment.
The @antipodes.quartet is part of the Fellowship Ensemble Programme, a joint venture between the @adamchambermusicfestival, @newzealandstringquartet and @chambermusicnz, as a career-development experience offered to four of this country’s most promising young string players.
The Antipodes Quartet are Eden Annesley (violin), Mana Waiariki (violin), Tal Amoore (viola) and Lavinnia Rae (cello).
On this occasion, Brook Waimārama Sanctuary are welcoming everyone at local prices: Adult $15, Child $9; Family $35 (on the door)
Find out more: (Link in bio)
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #NelsonNZ #Whakatū #WhatsonNelson #NelsonTasman #LiveMusicNZ #ChamberMusicNZ #StringQuartet #ClassicalMusicNZ #AdamChamberMusicFestival #NewZealandStringQuartet #ChamberMusicNewZealand #FamilyFriendly #NatureAndCulture #SupportLocalArts
Jan 27
2026 Bug of the year is here!
The lesser known cousin to bird of the year has come around(wait till they hear about fish or fungus of the year). This showdown aims to highlight the critters that go underappreciated compared to celebrity species like kākāpō. We would like to highlight the strange and wonderful species that occur within the Sanctuary, with the hopes to earn your vote!
Kahuwai | Black Tunnelweb Spider
Porrhothele antipodiana
I have a mixed history with this incredible spider. One hairy individual decided that my jersey pocket was a great place to set up shop. It received a rude awakening upon the home invasion of my unaware hand. Its brilliant fangs pierced and invenomated my finger, and despite the swelling and the shock and the pain… I couldn’t help but feel bad for evicting the guy. Its hobbit-like hole dwelling nature led the spider to my soft, warm pocket. Ironically, but not surprisingly, this species was the inspiration for Peter Jackson’s ‘Shelob’ in the Lord of the Rings films.
Kahuwai, the black tunnelweb spider, forms dense sheets of silk surrounding their tunnels. These sheets are monitored by the spider, who detects vibrations of a passer by. Wētā, land hoppers and any other unlucky invertebrate. The kahuwai swiftly grabs its prey and drags it into the depths. This spider however is also the victim of the endemic golden hunter wasp, who paralyses the spider before dragging it into the wasp’s nest (talk about shoes on the other foot!) and laying an egg beside it. The spider then becomes baby formula.
Despite the bite, this amazing spider has my vote! Check out the New Zealand Bug Of the Year 2026 website! Voting closes on the 16th of February!
Photo: @henry._.hart (in the second image of Shelob`s lair you can see a giant pill millipede has fallen victim...)
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #BugOfTheYear
Jan 25
2026 Bug of the year is here!
The lesser known cousin to bird of the year has come around(wait till they hear about fish or fungus of the year). This showdown aims to highlight the critters that go underappreciated compared to celebrity species like kākāpō. We would like to highlight the strange and wonderful species that occur within the Sanctuary, with the hopes to earn your vote!
This candidate is the beautifully disguised Rō, the Two-Spined Stick Insect. Micrachus hystriculeus is endemic to central Aotearoa, most common from Nelson, through Marlborough and Wellington. Stick insects display a classic example of crypsis. That is, their behaviour and physiology work in tandem to remain completely undetected and unharmed. They feed on leaves high in the canopy of trees like kānuka. At night you can often spot them, usually with the small males riding on the backs of the much larger females.
All modern New Zealand stick insects are the relatives of two colonisation events from New Caledonia around 30 million years ago. They radiated into nine separate genera and dispersed into coastal, lowland and subalpine ecosystems throughout the motu. This species, alongside at least five other stick insect species, live out their slow and sticky lives within the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary.
Will you vote for Micrachus hystriculeus? Check out the New Zealand Bug Of the Year 2026 website! Voting closes on the 16th of February!
Stay tuned for our last candidate…
Photo: Saryu Mae - @invertebratist
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #BugOfTheYear
Jan 24
