Conservation Projects > Brown Teal

Brown Teal

Ten Brown Teal chicks hatched at Willowbank Reserve during 2005 season from two pair of adults. These birds are extremely shy and often very hard to breed, especially in captivity. The two clutches hatched about a month apart.

The brown teal is a small dabbling duck endemic to with fewer than 1,000 birds surviving. These numbers qualify it for Level 2 endangered species status by Department of Conservation. (Level 1 is the highest; the Kiwi is at level 4).

The key problems are predation and habitat loss. The widespread obliteration of lowland wetlands and swamp forests and land use changes over the past 150 years has forced the retreat of brown teal to small and widely separated wetlands in a predominately pastoral environment. It is a strongly territorial, nocturnal bird, mostly found now in sanctuaries in Northland, Great Barrier Island and the Coromandel although they were distributed throughout the North Island and in Canterbury, Fiordland & Southland at the time of European settlement.

In the wild Brown Teal form large seasonal flocks at traditional sites. These are in summer and seem to comprise of unpaired birds, but as numbers increase pairings occur during the autumn. The pairs disperse into surrounding catchments during autumn & winter to make their breeding attempt.

Brown teal occupy an ecological niche which is almost unique amongst the world’s waterfowl. Evolving in the absence of small ground-dwelling or wetland mammals, it has adopted the characteristics akin to a wetland rodent by inhabiting areas of dense vegetation in the transition from open water to dry land. The work that is done at Willowbank supports conservation efforts for this bird.

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