Black Robin

The black robin, or karure, is a small dark songbird confined to the Chatham Islands. Adults are uniformly sooty black-brown with a pale bill and yellow soles; juveniles are browner than adults.

Wild birds occur on Rangatira and Mangere islands, with a managed population also established on Pitt Island. They forage on the ground and in low vegetation for invertebrates, usually remaining beneath forest or scrub cover.

Black robin is Threatened — Nationally Critical (NZ Threat Classification); the species remains dependent on intensive management after recovering from an extremely small population. Rangatira and Mangere are restricted-access nature reserves, so encounters are normally limited to conservation work or approved visits.