Riroriro
Grey Warbler
Gerygone igata
Their Story
As their name suggests, grey warblers (riroriro) are small, grey birds known for their loud, warbling trills. Though often overlooked, their distinctive, wavering song can be heard across New Zealand’s forests and gardens.
Their ancestors are thought to have arrived from Australia between 10,000 and 2 million years ago, during the ice ages. This relatively late arrival may explain why riroriro are less vulnerable to introduced mammalian predators than many other endemic species.
Weighing around 6 grams — about the same as a rifleman (tītipounamu) — grey warblers appear larger thanks to their long tails. They have red eyes, black legs and a fine, pointed bill suited to catching insects and other small invertebrates. Agile fliers, they can hover briefly in mid-air, flashing the black and white bands on their tails.
Riroriro nest from August to January, weaving domed, pear-shaped nests from grass, moss, lichens and bark, bound together with spider silk and lined with feathers and soft material. These are suspended from branches in dense foliage, often manuka or kanuka, with a circular side entrance. Māori tradition holds that the nest’s entrance position could predict seasonal weather — facing away from the prevailing wind meant a good year ahead.
Each clutch has 3–5 eggs, incubated and brooded by the female, while the male helps feed chicks and defend the territory. North Island pairs usually raise one brood per season; South Island pairs often raise two.
Riroriro are also well known as the main hosts of the brood-parasitic shining cuckoo (pīpīwharauroa), which replaces one of their eggs with its own. When the cuckoo chick hatches, it ejects the riroriro’s eggs or young, and the unsuspecting warbler parents raise the cuckoo chick as their own.
Conservation Status
Not Threatened
Common and widespread across New Zealand.
Population
Abundant throughout the country in both native bush and urban gardens.
Voice
A loud, clear, warbling trill that rises and falls — one of the most recognisable forest sounds in Aotearoa.
Food
Feeds mainly on insects and small invertebrates, using its fine bill to glean prey from foliage.
Riroriro are small, delicate birds with soft grey-brown upperparts, pale underparts, and flicking tails. Adults have bright red eyes, while juveniles have darker eyes. Their fluttering movements and distinctive trilling song are key identifiers — a familiar calling card of early spring in native bush across Aotearoa.
Highly active, riroriro forage through trees and shrubs, catching insects mid-air or gleaning them from leaves and bark. Their diet consists of spiders, flies, moths, and other small invertebrates. Their rapid, tumbling call is often one of the first bird songs heard at dawn, marking their presence even when hidden in dense foliage.
From August to January, riroriro build remarkable domed, pear-shaped nests woven from grass, moss, lichens, and bark, bound together with spider silk and lined with feathers. Each nest has a small side entrance and is often suspended in dense mānuka or kānuka. According to Māori tradition, the entrance’s direction was said to predict the coming season — facing away from the wind meant a good year ahead.
Clutches typically contain three to five eggs. The female incubates while the male helps feed and defend the territory. Riroriro are also the primary hosts of the shining cuckoo (pīpīwharauroa), which lays a single egg within a warbler nest. The cuckoo chick then ejects the warbler’s eggs or chicks, leaving the riroriro to focus solely on raising the cuckoo.
Riroriro are widespread throughout mainland New Zealand, offshore islands, and a distinct species on Rekohu(Chatham Islands). They inhabit forest, scrub and urban gardens. Their adaptability to different habitats — including modified landscapes — makes them one of the country’s most widespread native songbirds. Within the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary, they are a commonly heard species.
Riroriro are classified as Not Threatened and remain one of New Zealand’s most common native birds. Their small size and adaptable nesting habits offer some protection from predators. Their resilience may stem from their relatively recent arrival of its ancestor from Australia, probably giving them a resilience to mammalian predation.
Riroriro are common, but declining within the Sanctuary, likely due to competition from the other rapidly increasing endemic birds. This indicates that this species probably benefited from the decline of other endemics. At the Sanctuary, the composition of species is slowly returning nearer its original state, where warblers likely weren’t as common as today. Their constant movement and clear, tumbling calls make them one of the easiest birds for visitors to detect — a cheerful presence that embodies the energy of the ngahere.
🪶 The riroriro’s nest entrance was once used by Māori as a natural weather forecaster — its position said to predict the strength and direction of seasonal winds.
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🪶 Ngahere Neighbourhood: piriwai (spiny gilled mayfly)
Tiny, ancient, and found only in Aotearoa — the spiny gilled mayfly (Coloburiscus humeralis) spends up to four years underwater before living just a few days as an adult.
Piriwai can only survive in clean, fast-flowing streams. Its larvae cling to river rocks, filtering food from the water with tiny hair-like gills. They are an important sign of healthy freshwater ecosystems, so much so that this species gets a rating of 8-9 on the sensitivity/stream health rating. All native stream macroinvertebrates are ranked in terms of their sensitivity and used as a bioindicator of stream health.
The Sanctuary stream is a reference site for stream health and represents a `pure`, unadulterated site and thus is highly diverse in sensitive stream invertebrates.
📸 Photo: Taken by Henry Hart here at the Sanctuary
#NgahereNeighbourhood #BrookSanctuary #AotearoaNature #FreshwaterLife #NelsonTasman #Conservation #Piriwai
Feb 17
Their Raucous Call Returns: Kākā Set to Reclaim the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary. 🦜
This March, we’re scheduled to welcome two male and one female kākā fledglings from the Dunedin Botanic Garden kākā breeding programme. There’s also the potential for a further four birds to arrive in May.
Kākā are unique to Aotearoa and are nationally vulnerable, with populations heavily impacted by introduced predators. Releasing them into a pest-free sanctuary with ideal habitat (old growth beech forest) gives them the best chance to thrive.
This release will build on years of species translocations as part of the Sanctuary’s ambitious ecosystem restoration efforts, including:
🏠 Kākāriki karaka in 2021
🏠 Powelliphanta hochstetteri consobrina (giant snails) in 2021
🏠 Tuatara in November 2024 and May 2025
🏠 Kiwi in May 2025
Over the coming weeks, our team will be busy planning and preparing for this important translocation. We’ll share more details on timing and what to expect closer to the date.
Thank you to our community of donors, volunteers, business supporters, and Sanctuary Members for continuing to back the Sanctuary — your support is vital to every species return. We can’t wait to celebrate this next milestone with you.
#BrookWaimāramaSanctuary #Kākā #ConservationNZ #NelsonNZ #PredatorFree #NativeWildlife #Biodiversity
Feb 10
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
