Golden blossoms on our Kowhai Tree

The large kowhai tree in our back garden is in flower, and our resident tui sits amongst the beautiful hanging golden blooms, protecting his tree, to make sure it is his alone.  Tuis are nectar feeders, belonging to the honeyeater family (Meliphagidae) and have brush-tipped tongues which helps them with taking nectar from flowers.   They feed on the nectar of plants such as kowhai, New Zealand flax, and other flowering native trees,  but they also eat fruit and invertebrates. They are great acrobats when feeding, stretching and hanging upside down to reach difficult flowers. Tui are very aggressive and generally chase other birds from prime flowering trees.  The tui which has laid claim to our tree sings and warbles to the world in-between feeding on the kowhai flowers.

  Tui on our tree

   Hanging kowhai blossoms

Have a look at this U Tube clip to see how energetic these birds are while feeding.