Kōtare, the glimpse of colour you see darting about — Written by Te Korowai o Waiheke Team Member

The tide drags slowly out of the bay. Oyster-covered rocks rise out of the sea above a rippling city of tide pools, each with life squirming to resettle in the quickly disappearing water.

A kōtare swoops into her perch atop of the reef and looks down across the pools. Triplefins and glass shrimp dart between the shadows, she will have to be quick if she wants to secure breakfast. Another kōtare arrives just a few metres across the water from her, a good fishing spot is fiercely defended territory here.  

Kōtare, or Sacred Kingfisher, are the glimpse of colour you may see dipping in and out of a riverside or silhouetted on a powerline. Often you’ll only see a flash of teal and a splash before they return to their lookout hidden away in the mangroves. Kōtare have an iridescent blue cape from head to tail with cream and yellow breast feathers. Not only do their beautiful feathers make them stand out, but kotare also have a long dagger-like bill which aids them to catch underwater prey without causing as much of a splash, sometimes diving up to a metre below the surface. Depending on their environment, the diet of a hungry kōtare will include fish, crustaceans, frogs, lizards, insects, mice, and even small birds! 

Our kōtare spies a fat and oblivious mottled twister, a small fish with impeccable camouflage. She swoops in and back to her perch on the rock before the competition notices she’s even moved. A couple of hard whacks on the oysters and the fish is ready to be transported off her burrow. The hollow of a nearby pōhutukawa screeches like nothing that could possibly be a bird, which is the favourite sound of our kōtare mother. The hole has three prickly, grey chicks with wide open mouths; she quickly shoves the fish into one of them and hurries back to her perch to resume hunting. 

— Written and captured by Te Korowai o Waiheke Team Member, Charlie Thomas.

Kōtare, captured by Charlie Thomas