Birds

New Zealand is home to over 170 types of birds. They all came to New Zealand because of different reasons - 

• Some came on the wing - they have flown here from nearby places like Australia (e.g pukeko). These birds are called native birds. 
• Some were introduced by people coming to New Zealand. They were brought from other countries and were used for hunting (e.g mallard duck, ring necked pheasant), or for pest control of insects on farms (e,g sparrows, starlings, thrushes). Others were brought here because their song made English colonists feel at home. These birds are called introduced birds. 
• Some were here when New Zealand first began to form as a country. They were carried here on our piece of land that split from Gondwana 85 million years ago. These birds are our ancient endemic birds, like our kiwi, kakapo, kaka and our wrens.These birds are only found in NZ.