Fitting In (Easy version)

• What adaptations does a tui have?
• What's in a name?
• Where do tui live?

Adaptations are special parts of a plant or animal that help it survive. Adaptations might help in finding food, getting a mate, beating competitors or escaping predators.

Some adaptations are easy to see. Birds have different feet and beaks depending on where they live and what they eat. Other adaptations are harder to see.

Some plants and animals live in very difficult places. They need special adaptations to survive there. Some animals in very cold places need furry coats or thick layers of fat to keep warm. Some bacteria live in the hottest places on Earth, cracks on the ocean floor. They need a special covering that protects them from the heat.

What adaptations might keep a plant or animal from being eaten? Some plants have chemicals that make their leaves taste bad. Some animals have a good sense of smell, eyesight or hearing. This helps them sense predators so they don't get caught.

Adaptations can only develop over a long, long time. This means that any quick change in the environment might cause problems. Stoats and cats were introduced into New Zealand within the last 150 years. Our native birds have not had time to adapt to these predators. Some species have already gone extinct.

What adaptations does a tui have? top

The tui has adaptations that help it fly. All flying birds have hollow bones and no teeth. This make them light. They have strong chest muscles that help them flap their wings.

All birds have the adaptation of feathers. Feathers are light and strong, which helps birds fly. They also help to keep birds warm. Think how warm a feather duvet makes you! Birds replace their feathers at least once a year.

Many tui sitting on a branch (click for enlargement)

Tui also have adaptations on their feet. Their toes are designed to clasp branches. This keeps tui from falling off when they are asleep or when the wind is blowing.

Tui opening a mistletoe flower (click for enlargement)

Tui also have adaptations to help them eat. This video shows a tui opening a mistletoe flower.

Tui (click for enlargement)

Tui have a curved beak to reach into long flowers.

The brush like tongue of a tui (click for enlargement)

Tui have a long, brush-like tongue to help them drink nectar. Their large gut helps to digest fruit.

What's in a name? top

Scientists call tui by the name Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae. What a long and difficult name! Why can't we just call them tui?

The problem with common names like tui is that different species can have the same common name. What we call a robin in New Zealand is not the same as a robin in England.

Sometimes people also call the same animal by different names. Kereru is another name for a wood pigeon. The tui also has some other names. It is also called koko and the parsonbird.

To stop all of this confusion, scientists have a special naming system. Every creature is given its own scientific name that is used by all scientists around the world. This means that scientists are sure that they are all talking about the same organism. The scientific name often tells us something about the plant or animal. The scientific name for tui tells us that the bird lives in New Zealand. It also tells us that the tui has a tuft of feathers on its throat.

Humans have a scientific name too. We are called Homo sapiens.

Where do tui live? top

Tui live only in New Zealand. They do not live in any other place in the world. This means that tui are endemic. Tui live on the North and South Islands, Stewart Island, Raoul Island, The Snares and the Chatham Islands.

Tui. are fairly common in most parts of New Zealand. They can be hard to find in eastern parts of the South Island.  

Most tui live in native forest. Here they have lots of food, places to build nests and protection from bad weather. Humans have destroyed lots of the forests that tui used to live in. Tui have had to find different homes, maybe even in your garden!

Tui move around a lot when they are searching for food. Some tui can travel as far as 30 kilometres in one day!