Tui - a report by Candice

What has black feathers and a white tuft under its chin? Well if you haven't guessed already it is a bird, a Tui. In spring, birds may travel outside their normal territory to feed. Tuis usually fly to places with good supplies of nectar. Tuis like open country and gardens. They live in a forest and scrub. So if you want to see a Tui they are usually found in New Zealand and offshore islands. Tuis are usually the first to be singing in the morning. They have a wide range of notes. Their calls are bell-like notes, croaks, coughs, and also squeaks. Tuis are most likely to eat berries, fruits, insects, and nectar. The young Tui get feed tiny insects and nectar but only for the first few days. The slightly older chicks get fed berries, moths, spiders and also large insects, they especially like stick insects. November and December is the only nesting seasons. It takes 2 weeks for a Tui’s egg to hatch. Tuis usually lay 2 to 4 eggs. Parents often move to offshore islands to have their chicks.