DOC's work with North Island robin
North Island robin chick
The Department of Conservation has established robin populations by translocation at a number of sites in the North Island, in part to enable people interested in New Zealand's birdlife to have ready access to see and hear this interesting species.
The Department has also assisted trusts and community groups to establish robins at several other sites. The robin's confiding nature enabling close approach makes it a favourite with people because most other native birds are more aloof.
There are several characteristics of the robin's nature that make it a very tractable species for monitoring. It can be caught by a variety of methods, it has relatively long legs and so colour-bands can be readily seen, it will approach researchers for a small food (mealworms) handout, and its nests can be readily found and monitored without the birds abandoning them. This has enabled the survival of individuals and nesting attempts to be monitored by DOC staff to determine the effectiveness of predator control operations.
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