Korimako
Bellbird
Anthornis melanura
Their Story
The beautiful, melodic calls of bellbirds (korimako or makomako) can be heard throughout the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary. Their song is similar to that of the tūī, though purer in tone and with fewer grunts, clicks and wheezes.
Bellbirds and tūī belong to the honeyeater family (Meliphagidae), a large group of 182 species mostly found in Australia and New Guinea, but also extending from Sulawesi to Samoa. Bellbirds and tūī are the only honeyeaters found in Aotearoa. It is thought that a common ancestor arrived from Australia around 33 million years ago, with the two species diverging just under 3 million years ago.
Both species have brush-tipped tongues adapted for feeding on nectar and honeydew, the sugary secretion of scale insects that live on beech trees. They also eat fruit and invertebrates, playing an important role in pollination and seed dispersal.
Male bellbirds are olive green with bluish-black wings and tail feathers and a purplish tint on the head. Females are browner with a white cheek stripe and a soft bluish tint on the head. Both sexes have red eyes, while juveniles are duller with brown eyes and pale cheek stripes. Notches on their wing feathers create a distinctive whirring sound in flight, especially during territorial disputes.
Breeding takes place from September to February. Pairs usually mate for life, reusing the same breeding territory each year. Females build deep, bowl-shaped nests in dense vegetation and lay 2–4 eggs, which hatch after about two weeks. Both parents feed the chicks until they fledge at 11–20 days and become independent at around 40 days.
Outside the breeding season, bellbirds often roam in search of food and can be seen sharing feeding sites. Once common throughout New Zealand, their numbers declined after European arrival due to habitat loss, competition with possums, and possibly disease. Within the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary, however, bellbirds have flourished since pest eradication in 2017 — their numbers in five-minute bird counts have more than doubled since then.
Conservation Status
Not Threatened
Populations have rebounded strongly in predator-free areas like the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary.
Population
Widespread throughout New Zealand in native and regenerating forest, pine forest, and gardens near suitable habitat. Abundant within the Sanctuary, where numbers continue to rise.
Voice
A clear, bell-like song, pure in tone and rich in variety. The rhythmic notes carry across the forest and are often heard at dawn and dusk.
Food
Feeds on nectar, honeydew, fruit and invertebrates. Plays an important role in pollination and seed dispersal of native plants.
Medium-sized songbirds with curved bills and brush-tipped tongues. They have a streamlined body with long forked tails. Males are olive-green with a purplish hue on the head. Females are browner, with a pale cheek stripe and softer tones. Both have red eyes, while juveniles are duller with brown eyes and faint cheek stripes. Their wings make a distinct whirring sound in flight, especially during territorial chases.
Korimako are active and vocal, often fighting with tūī and other korimako. They use their brush-like tongues to feed on nectar and honeydew — the sugary secretion produced by scale insects on beech trees — as well as fruit and insects. This diet makes them essential pollinators and seed dispersers within native forests.
Breeding occurs from September to February. Pairs usually mate for life, maintaining the same territory each season. Females build deep, bowl-shaped nests of twigs, moss, and plant fibres in dense vegetation. Clutches of three to five eggs are incubated for about two weeks, with both parents feeding the chicks. Young birds fledge at around 20 days and become independent around 40 days after hatching.
Korimako are found across most of New Zealand, including offshore islands, in forest, scrub, and regenerating bush. They are the most conspicuous birds in South Island beech forests.
Once widespread, korimako populations declined after European settlement due to habitat loss, introduced predators, and competition with possums for food. They are now classed as Not Threatened but remain at very low densities and are dependent on predator control and healthy native forest ecosystems. Pest-free sanctuaries like the Brook play a key role in ensuring their long-term recovery.
Korimako have become one of the Sanctuary’s most visible success stories. Since the completion of the predator-proof fence and pest eradication in 2017, their population has more than doubled. Their song is now a defining feature of the Sanctuary soundscape — a daily reminder of restoration in action. Their abundance ensures high rates of plant pollination and dispersal, greatly increasing the mauri of the ngahere.
🪶 Korimako and tūī share a common ancestor that arrived from Australia about 33 million years ago, making them New Zealand’s only native honeyeaters.
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
