By Annie Hill
The original article in Russell Lights | Ngā Mārama o Kororāreka, October 2025 edition

Do you know which bird is depicted on the $20 bill? It’s the kārearea, New Zealand falcon and Bird of the Year 2025.

The kārearea, Falco novaeseelandiae, is New Zealand’s only endemic Accipitriforme (hawk-like) and is frequently mistaken for the larger common swamp harrier. Like many winners of Bird of the Year, its future is threatened.

Scattered all over the North, South and Auckland Islands, south of 37°S (but recently extinct on Rakiura Stewart Island), there are around 5,000 NZ falcons in the wild. Their range means we’re unlikely to see any in Russell, where I’m sure they would thrive, but kārearea in the South Island were translocated to vineyards in Marlborough and have been breeding successfully since 2006, hunting vineyard pests from predator-proof nest sites.

Their long wings and tail enable falcons to reach speeds of up to 200kph, leading to dramatic chases of other birds, which is when most people notice them. Males (300g) are two-thirds the size of females (500g); they both have dark eyes and a distinct ‘moustache’ running down the face from behind the strongly-hooked bill.

Adults have yellow legs, eye-ring and cere (the skin atthe base of the upper beak that contains the nostrils), a dark brown back, streaked cream breast, and rufous thighs and under-tail. Males are slightly brighter. Juveniles are generally dark brown with blue-grey legs, eye-ring and cere.

Defending their territory, kārearea have a high-pitched kek-kek-kek call. They also make whining, chittering and chupping calls, usually when mates are interacting and in territorial displays. In serious situations with other predators, falcons will ‘squeal’. Chicks whine for food.

NZ falcons stay largely within their home range, which varies from 15sq2 to 200sq2, depending on food availability. They’re wildly aggressive, defending the nest when intruders get too close, claws extended and stooping at the heads of other large birds, people, cats and dogs. They have even threatened horses and helicopters. If attacked they sometimes lie on their back, defending themselves with their claws. The early scientific name was Falco ferox!

Kārearea hunt live prey, killing them with a quick powerful bite to the neck. They hunt insects, mammals and lizards, but predominantly birds. They’ll catch prey larger than themselves, including waterfowl, seagulls, kororā, domestic poultry, pheasants, parakeets, pigeons and even herons. Introduced birds make up slightly more than their fair share of the falcon’s diet.

Although they evolved without mammals, they also now prey on hares, rabbits, stoats, mice and rats. Their only real competition is the swamp harrier which tend, though, to rely on carrion in the winter.

Kārearea use many hunting techniques to catch their varied prey. They have flexible and resilient feathers which protect them from injury when diving into dense foliage to flush out birds. Excellent hearing allows them to find nests of chicks, and they sometimes hunt on the ground, taking chicks from crevice nests, and stalking lizards. Like other raptors, they swallow ‘rangle’ stomach stones, or gastroliths, to aid digestion.

Courtship is initiated by the male bringing food to the female, who then chases the male in a noisy, aerobatic flight, after which they play. Breeding pairs initiate play by turning their head upside down. They chase, swoop and mock-attack each other.

Falcons tend to stay faithful to their mate and breeding territory. They nest on cliff ledges, on sloping ground, in epiphytes on trees and hidden in thick vegetation, generally with good views and protection from weather. Ground nests are little more than a scrape in soft earth, lined with grass. Predator-controlled, young pine plantations are also increasingly favoured.

Eggs, usually two to four, are laid from September to December and are incubated from 20 to 35 days. Both parents feed the nestlings, but the male does most of the hunting, with the female guarding the nest until the nestlings are close to fledging, between 31 and 45 days after hatching. Chicks are independent after about 90 days.

If the female parent dies, the male can successfully raise and fledge chicks alone. Parents teach the fledglings for at least four weeks, bringing live chicks of other species to teach them how to hunt. The parent leads the fledgling in a chase of up to 100m before dropping the prey to be caught.

Threats to the kārearea are not well understood, but their numbers have probably declined form the last count, taken in the 70s. Obvious candidates are cats, mustelids, hedgehogs and possibly rats. A recent study suggests that adult falcons are less able to defend their nest, especially from cats, than previously thought.

There’s the usual problem of loss of habitat and many kārearea are electrocuted on power poles containing transformers as well as colliding with cars and large windows. Although fully protected, they’re still illegally shot, especially by owners of racing pigeons or chickens. Wind turbines could be an additional threat.

Kārearea are beautiful, charismatic and fierce raptors. It’s not surprising they won Bird of the Year 2025.

Kārearea, Falco novaeseelandiae | Photo: Betty Shepherd