Karearea: The Fastest Bird You'll See on Mou Waho

New Zealand's Fiercest Native Bird

Early naturalists once labelled the New Zealand falcon Falco ferox — the ferocious falcon — and it's not hard to see why. Kārearea are aggressive nest defenders, capable of driving off intruders many times their size, and supreme aerial hunters that take almost all of their prey alive and in flight.

Speed Is the Whole Strategy

A kārearea hunts by watching from a high perch, then launching into a fast, direct attack or a near-vertical diving stoop that can reach well over 100 km/h, sometimes topping 200. Its main prey is small to medium birds, but a kārearea will readily take on something far larger than itself — introduced game birds, rabbits, even the occasional duck — using a specialised notch on its upper bill to despatch its prey quickly after the strike.

Early naturalists called it the ferocious falcon. The name still fits.

A Rare Bird on a Rare Island

With an estimated national population of only 5,000 to 8,000, a kārearea sighting anywhere is genuinely rarer than spotting a kiwi. Mou Waho's predator-free status and healthy population of smaller forest birds make it good hunting ground, and the island's steep, open sections give a falcon plenty of vantage points to watch from. It's also, notably, one of the kererū's only surviving native predators — a reminder that even a protected island still runs on the same food chain as everywhere else.

What To Watch For

Kārearea are roughly magpie-sized, with long pointed wings and a distinctive fast, direct flight very different from the soaring of a hawk. If you hear a sharp, repeated "ki-ki-ki" call echoing across the island, especially around breeding season, look up — there's a decent chance you've found one before it's found you.

Keep an eye on the sky on our full-day lake tour, which stops on Mou Waho.