Tui (bird)
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Hey jude, don't let me down
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{{Taxobox
| name = Tui
| status = LC
| image = Tui on flax.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Tui on a flax bush. Note the pollen on its head.
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[bird|Aves]]
| ordo = [[Passeriformes]]
| familia = [[Meliphagidae]]
| genus = '''''Prosthemadera'''''
| genus_authority = [[George Robert Gray|Gray]], 1840
| species = '''''P. novaeseelandiae'''''
| binomial = ''Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae''
| binomial_authority = ([[Johann Friedrich Gmelin|Gmelin]], 1788)
}}
The '''Tui''' (''Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae'') is an [[endemic (ecology)|endemic]] [[passerine]] [[bird]] of [[New Zealand]]. It is one of the largest members of the diverse [[honeyeater]] family.
The name ''Tui'' is from the [[Maori language]] name ''tūī'' and is the species' formal [[common name]]. The plural is simply 'Tui', following Māori usage. The [[English language|English]] name, ''Parson Bird'', has fallen into disuse but came about because at first glance the Tui appears completely black except for a small tuft of white [[feather]]s at its neck and a small white wing patch, causing it to resemble a [[parson]] in religious attire.
On closer inspection it can be seen—and from the photo—that Tui have faded browner patches on the back and flanks, a multicoloured [[iridescent]] sheen that varies with the angle from which the light strikes them, and a dusting of small, white-shafted feathers on the back and sides of the neck that produce a lacy collar.
==Behaviour==
Tui are considered to be very [[intelligence (trait)|intelligent]], much like [[parrot]]s. They also resemble parrots in their ability to clearly imitate human speech,<ref>[http://www.whangareinativebirdrecovery.org.nz/woofwoofvids.html Videos of Woof Woof the talking Tui], Whangarei Native Bird Recovery Centre. Accessed [[2008-01-24]].</ref> and are known for their noisy, unusual call, different for each individual, that combine [[New Zealand Bellbird|bellbird]]-like notes with clicks, cackles, [[lumber|timber]]-like creaks and groans, and wheezing sounds—the unusual possession of 2 [[voicebox]]es enable Tui to perform such a myriad of [[bird song|vocalisations]]{{Fact|date=June 2007}}.
Some of the huge range of Tui sounds are beyond the [[human hearing|human register]]. Watching a Tui sing, one can observe gaps in the sound when the beak is agape and throat tufts throbbing. Tui will also sing at night, especially around the [[full moon]] period.<ref>Paul, R. St & H. R. McKenzie (1975) "A bushman's seventeen years of noting birds - Introduction and part A (Bellbird and Tui)" ''Notornis'' '''22'''(2): 122–130 [http://www.notornis.org.nz/free_issues/Notornis_22-1975/Notornis_22_2.pdf]</ref>
[[Nectar]] is the normal diet but [[fruit]] and [[insect]]s are frequently eaten, and [[pollen]] and [[seed]]s more occasionally. Particularly popular is the [[New Zealand flax ]], whose nectar sometimes [[Fermentation (food)|ferment]]s, resulting in the Tui flying in a fashion that suggests that they might be [[drunk]]. Tui are the main [[pollinator]]s of flax, [[kowhai]], [[kaka beak]] and some other plants. Note that the flowers of the three plants mentioned are similar in shape to the Tui's [[beak]]—a vivid example of [[mutualism|mutualistic]] [[coevolution]]{{Fact|date=June 2007}}. .
[[Image:Tui.jpg|thumb|left|The yellow deposits on the crest of this Tui are grains of pollen rubbed off from the flowers on which it has been feeding.]]
Male Tui can be extremely [[aggression|aggressive]], chasing all other birds (large and small) from their [[Territory (animal)|territory]] with loud flapping and sounds akin to rude human speech. This is especially true of other Tui when possession of a favoured feeding tree is impinged. Birds will often erect their body feathers in order to appear larger in an attempt to intimidate a rival. They have even been known to [[mobbing behavior|mob]] [[Swamp Harrier|harriers]] and [[Australian Magpie|magpies]].<ref name=DOC>{{citeweb|url=http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/page.aspx?id=32890|title=Tui Facts - New Zealand native land birds (Department of Conservation)|accessdate=2007-09-21}}</ref> The powered flight of Tui is quite loud as they have developed short wide wings, giving excellent manoeuverablity in the dense [[forest]] they prefer, but requiring rapid flapping. They can be seen to perform a [[mating]] display of rising at speed in a vertical climb in clear air, before stalling and dropping into a powered dive, then repeating.<ref name=DOC /> Much of this behaviour is more notable during the breeding season of early spring—September and October. Females alone build [[Bird nest|nest]]s of twigs, grasses and mosses.<ref name=DOC />
==Distribution and habitat==
[[Image:NewZealandTuiOnFlax brighter.jpg|thumb|200px|Tui perching on [[New Zealand flax]]]]
Tui are found through much of New Zealand, particularly the [[North Island]], the west and south coasts of the [[South Island]], [[Stewart Island/Rakiura]] and the [[Chatham Islands]]—where an endangered sub-species particular to these islands exists. Other populations live on [[Raoul Island]] in the [[Kermadec Islands|Kermadecs]],<ref>C. R. Veitch, C. M. Miskelly, G. A. Harper, G. A. Taylor, and A. J. D. Tennyson (2004) "Birds of the Kermadec Islands, South-west Pacific" ''Notornis'' '''51'''(2): 61–90</ref> and in the [[Auckland Islands]] (where, with the [[New Zealand Bellbird]], it is the most southerly species of [[honeyeater]]).<ref>Department of Conservation (1999) ''New Zealand's Subantarctic Islands''. Reed Books: Auckland ISBN 0-7900-0719-3 </ref> Populations have declined considerably since [[Europe]]an settlement, mainly as a result of widespread [[habitat destruction]] and predation by [[mammal]]ian [[invasive species]].
Nonetheless, the species is considered secure and has made recoveries in some areas, particularly after removal of [[livestock]] has allowed vegetation to recover. Predation by [[introduced species]] remains a threat, particularly [[stoat]]s, the [[Common Myna]] (which competes with Tui for food and sometimes takes [[Egg (biology)|egg]]s), and [[rat]]s.
Tui prefer [[broadleaf]] forests below 1500 [[metre]]s{{Fact|date=June 2007}}. but will tolerate quite small remnant patches, regrowth, exotic plantations and well-[[vegetated]] suburbs. They are usually seen singly, in pairs, or in small family groups, but will congregate in large numbers at suitable food sources, often in company with [[Silvereye]]s, [[New Zealand Bellbird|Bellbird]]s (another New Zealand honeyeater), or [[Kererū]] (native New Zealand pigeon) in any combination. Generally, when [[interspecific competition]] for the same food resources among New Zealand's three species of honeyeater occurs, there is a hierarchy with the Tui at the top, with bellbirds and [[stitchbird]]s successively subordinate to the species above them—they are thus frequently chased off by Tui at a food source such as a flowering flax plant.
==References==
{{reflist}}
* {{IUCN2006|assessors=BirdLife International|year=2004|id=50843|title=Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae|downloaded=5 May 2006}} Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
== External links ==
{{commonscat|Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae}}
* [http://www.nzetc.org./tm/scholarly/tei-BulBird-t1-g1-t1-body-d0-d30.html Prosthemadera Novæ Zealandiæ — (Tui or Parson Bird)] From ''A History of the Birds of New Zealand'' by [[Walter Buller]]
* [http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/podcover.aspx?id=32889 Tui - New Zealand native land birds] [[Department of Conservation]] fact sheet
*{{cite web | url = http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/TSRP41.pdf | title = Chatham Island tui recovery plan 2001-2011| year = 2001| publisher = Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand | format = PDF | accessdate = 2007-09-19}}
*[http://www.kiwi-wildlife.co.nz/sound_gallery.php Kiwi Wildlife tours Sound gallery] (MP3 link) Comparison can be made with the [[New Zealand Bellbird|Bellbird]] song through this page.
[[Category:Talking birds]]
[[Category:Birds of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Meliphagidae]]
[[Category:Birds of the Chatham Islands]]
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