The Chatham Island tui is a subspecies of the tui found on mainland New Zealand. It both larger and with longer throat tufts than it's mainland counterpart and the song is also significantly different.
Formerly widespread on the Chatham Islands, tui numbers on Chatham Island declined throughout the 20th century and by 1990 were confined to Pitt and Rangatira Islands where they are relatively abundant.
In March 2009 the Taiko Trust translocated 14 juvenile to the Awatotara valley in South Chathams. All tui survived their first winter and there are indications of breeding activity.
Tui feed on nectar, fruit and insects and are important for the pollination and seed dispersal of native forest plants. Tui is the only remaining honey eater on the Chatham Islands, following the extinction of the Chatham Island bellbird in the early 1900's.
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Chatham Island tui
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