Kakī / Black stilt

Himantopus novaezelandiae

Threatened - Nationally Critical

With its striking jet-black plumage and delicate build, the black stilt, or kakī, is one of the rarest wading birds in the world, found only in Aotearoa. Once common across New Zealand, kakī are now mostly restricted to the braided rivers and wetlands of the Mackenzie Basin, where intensive conservation is helping bring them back from the brink.

Quick Facts:

• Fewer than 200 adult kakī remain in the wild, making them critically endangered.
• Their long pink legs and sharp bill make them superbly adapted to foraging in shallow riverbeds.
• Black stilts mate for life and fiercely defend their nesting territory.
• Their biggest threats are introduced predators like stoats, and habitat changes to rivers and wetlands.

Saving kakī is a race against time – yet possible when science, community and conservation come together.

---

Back to: Biodiversity | Birds