I have a set of rules I will try to stick to on this site when it comes to classification and naming of the birds.

Classification

For birds extant in New Zealand, I am using the classifications defined in The Hand Guide to the Birds of New Zealand, by Hugh Robertson and Barrie Heather. This book has become my standard quick reference guide. Each post will sit within the relevant category.

I have also created some additional categories such as captive locations, or general habitats.

Note the list below only shows categories that have at least one bird in them; others may appear as needed.

The number in brackets after each is the number classified, though you can click on the ‘parent’ categories to see all posts within its ‘child’ categories. For instance, all captive birds.

• Captive (20)
  • Jurong Bird Park (8)
  • Mandai Bird Paradise (6)
  • Zealandia (5)
• Coastal (16)
• Endemic (18)
  • Abundant Endemic (3)
  • Common Endemic (2)
  • Locally Abundant Endemic (2)
  • Locally Common Endemic (5)
  • Rare Endemic (2)
  • Uncommon Endemic (3)
  • Very Rare Endemic (1)
• Foreign (15)
  • Africa (5)
  • Asia (4)
  • Australia (2)
  • Central America (1)
  • South America (3)
• Inland Water (13)
• Introduced (11)
  • Abundant Australian Introduction (1)
  • Abundant European Introduction (4)
  • Common Australian Introduction (2)
  • Common North American Introduction (2)
  • Locally Common Australian Introduction (1)
  • Rare European Introduction (1)
• Native (20)
  • Abundant Native (10)
  • Common Native (5)
  • Locally Common Native (3)
  • Uncommon Native (2)
• Suburban (9)
• Wild (44)

While the frequencies used should be fairly self-explanatory, the basic definitions are perhaps not evident to all readers, as I certainly need to remind myself of them from time to time, and I have a couple of my own, special cases.

• Endemic — occurring naturally only in Aotearoa New Zealand.
• Native — occurring naturally in Aotearoa New Zealand, but also in other countries or territories.
• Introduced — brought to Aotearoa New Zealand by humans, not by its own effort.
• Vagrant — unexpectedly having arrived without human assistance, such as a migrant blown off course.
• Foreign — photographed outside of Aoteoroa New Zealand. I will try to include more detail in the text.

Names

Where known, I will use the Māori name for birds endemic or native to Aotearoa New Zealand. In my consideration, these are the original names for the birds.

Other names — Māori names for introduced birds, English names for endemic and native birds — will be provided in brackets, along with the Latin name in italics.

Note that some birds have multiple English names and I will use my own judgement which to use or include. Some birds also have multiple Māori names, or in some cases Māori names apply to more than one species. In the latter case, the English or Latin names should suffice to classify them.

Capitalisation

I have previously tried to find a ‘standard’ practice for the capitalisation of bird names (or not). For this site, I will be sticking to what I concluded then, though I have also decided to capitalise the Māori names. The Latin names are usually listed with only the first part capitalised, so that is what I will replicate here.