Kōkako are forest birds and used to live throughout New Zealand . Now they are very, very rare. There are two reasons for this:
-
A lot of their forest has been cut down to make farmland.
-
kōkako are easy prey for pests. They can't fly very well. They prefer to run up tree trunks and along branches and then glide to another tree.
In the North Island, kōkako only survive in forests which are free of pests. People are working hard to control pests and, in forests where they have been successful, kokako can be brought back to live. And to make them feel at home, people have found that if they play a welcoming song, the kokako are more likely to stay put.
So if you live in the North island, chances are - kōkako may be coming to a forest near you. Just listen out for their haunting song

Kokako are very territorial [they have a territory which is less than eight hectares] and defend there territory by singing there haunting song.