Westland Petrel

Tāiko, the Westland petrel, is a large black seabird that breeds only in forested hills near Punakaiki on the South Island’s West Coast. It is black-brown with a stout pale bill tipped dark and black legs. White-chinned petrel usually shows a small white chin and a paler-looking bill.

All colonies lie in coastal forest south of the Punakaiki River; birds feed over the Tasman Sea and Cook Strait during their winter breeding season. Tāiko take fish, squid and fisheries waste, returning to hillside burrows after dark and laying one egg.

Westland petrel is At Risk — Naturally Uncommon (NZ Threat Classification). Fishing bycatch, power-line collisions, road deaths, dogs and pigs threaten the single breeding area. Punakaiki offers evening views of birds crossing the coast between sea and colony; offshore trips from the west coast or Cook Strait may also find them.