Adult and chick – Joseph Brider, 2021
Gerald McCormack, CINHT
The Cook Islands Fruit-Dove (Kūkupa, Ptilinopus rarotongensis) lives only on the islands of Rarotonga and Ātiu, making it a 2-island endemic of the Cook Islands. It was recorded on Ma‘uke in the 1820s but was lost sometime before 1970 – cause unknown. It was also in the fossil record of Mangaia but was lost before the arrival of the Missionaries. Continue reading →
Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) Left: Caterpillar Right: adult butterfly – Gerald McCormack
Gerald McCormack, CINHT
Our largest native butterfly is the Monarch Butterfly(Pepe Renga, Danaus plexippus) which is present on all the Southern Group islands. It is orange and black, with a wingspan to 10cm. It is usually seen near the Red Cottonweed(Tirika, Asclepias curassavica), a wayside weed. The adult sucks nectar from a variety of flowers, while the caterpillar requires a plant in the milkweed family, such as Red Cottonweed (aka Butterfly Weed, Bloodflower). The caterpillars grow to 5cm in length, and are covered with narrow yellow, black, and white bands. Continue reading →
Gerald McCormack, CINHT
Flowering Mato tree – Rarotonga, Cook Islands – Gerald McCormack
Rarotonga has one of the last pristine native-forests in Polynesia. The ancient Polynesian settlers removed the forest on the lower hills and as these became infertile they developed into the Fernlands. After European Contact, especially after 1823, many new plants were introduced and some of these were planted in the mountains, especially cotton, coffee, and bananas. A Disturbed Forest of Tree Hibiscus (‘Au, Hibiscus tiliaceus) and invasive shrubs now cover these areas. Inland of the Fernland and the Disturbed Forest there remains a near-pristine native forest, protected from people by being too steep for horticulture and by the absence of trees suitable for timber. Continue reading →
Gerald McComack, CINHT
Pupuke Robati’s Frogfish caught 3km west of Rarotonga – Gerald McCormack
Frogfishes are a family of fishes that look like misshapen toads – hence the name frogfishes. They are usually less than 20cm long, with some species less than 5cm in total length. They are sedentary ambush-feeders. Unsuspecting prey are attracted to a small beacon on the frogfish’s snout only to discover they are falling into an enormous gaping mouth. Because their life-style is similar to the stonefish they look rather similar in appearance, although the beacon above the mouth is a giveaway. Frogfish do not have the defensive poisonous spines that make stonefish so feared. Continue reading →
Gerald McCormack, CINHT
The Long-tailed Cuckoo (Karavia, Urodynamis taitensis) winters in tropical Polynesia and migrates to New Zealand in October and November to breed by duping other birds to incubate its eggs and raise its young. This post explores its behaviour in the Cook Islands and New Zealand and the discovery that it is a migrant.
Long-tailed Cuckoo, adult on branch and in flight – Cook Islands, Ātiu – Gerald McCormack 2010-04
The Long-tailed Cuckoo is dark brown with pale brown spots topside and white with brown streaks below; its conspicuously long tail is dark brown with pale brown bars.
In the tropics the cuckoo is solitary, secretive and inconspicuous except for the occasional loud screeching “wrrrrisssSST” call from high in trees. They are sometimes seen in fast direct flight between trees or slinking along tree branches in search of insects and lizards.
On Ātiu, twice in March and once in November, I have seen gregarious behaviour of small groups with much chasing associated with a rattling “chi-chi-chi-chi-chi-chi” call. The significance of this behaviour is unknown.
Nesting birds in the Cook Islands, such as the Rarotonga Flycatcher (Kākerōri, Pomarea dimidiata) and the Rimatara Lorikeet (Kura, Vini kuhlii) react very strongly to the presence of a cuckoo and chase it away. In New Zealand the cuckoo is a well-known predator on the eggs and nestlings of other birds and presumably they do the same here when the chance arises. Continue reading →
