Birds of New Zealand

Birds are an important part of New Zealand's nationhood. We are the only nation where the people are colloquially known by a bird name – 'Kiwi'.

• North Island brown kiwi
• Quiz: How well do you know your New Zealand birds?
• Birds collection
• New Zealand Birds Online
• Watch: Rediscovering the 'extinct' takahē in 1948
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Botany

Te Papa’s botanical collections and research encompass marine algae (seaweeds), lichens, mosses, liverworts, lycophytes, ferns, and seed plants.

• Guide to the Lycopodiaceae of New Zealand
• A 10-year hunt for a tiny parasitic ghost orchid
• Identify New Zealand’s common tree ferns: ponga, mamaku, kātote, whekī, and whekī ponga
• Listen: The Politics of Collecting – from Banks and Solander to Today
• Captain Cook’s 150-year-old kōwhai specimens uncover Rapa Nui (Easter Island) secrets
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Spiders and insects

Insects, arachnids, myriapods, bugs, creepy-crawlies, moths, butterflies and their allies.

• What spider is that?
• New Zealand’s most popular spiders
• New Zealand Mosquito Census
• The biting truth about white-tailed spiders
• The genius of bugs
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The deep sea

Squids, fishes, and creatures of the deep. Te Papa holds the largest and most comprehensive collection in the country, and the largest collection of New Zealand fishes anywhere in the world.

• Colossal squid
• Quiz: New Zealand's ugliest fish
• Fish on Collections Online
• Discovering new species of Mola mola sunfish
• Crabeater seals and their mysterious attraction to the Hutt River (the sequel)
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Whales and dolphins

Researching, caring for, photographing, and displaying the whales and dolphins of Aotearoa New Zealand.

• Hector’s (and Māui) dolphins
• Bottlenose dolphin
• Marine mammals on Collections Online
• Caring for our whale bones
• Whale tooth graffiti – personalised Fijian tabua
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Fossils

Te Papa’s collections and research on dinosaur bones, animals, and plant fossils from past geological ages, and the people involved in the discovery of their remains.