Falco novaeseelandiae
Silhouette: Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The New Zealand falcon (Māori: kārearea, kārewarewa, or kāiaia; Falco novaeseelandiae) is New Zealand's only falcon, and one of only four living native and two endemic birds of prey. It is frequently mistaken for the larger and more common swamp harrier. It is the country's most threatened bird of prey, with only around 5000–15000 individuals remaining. Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System the falcon is stable at Threatened, with conservation research needed. The kārearea was voted Bird of the Year winner in the annual Forest & Bird competition in 2012 and again in 2025.
The New Zealand falcon was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the falcons and eagles in the genus Falco and coined the binomial name Falco novaeseelandiae. Gmelin based his description on the "New-Zealand falcon" that had been described and illustrated in 1781 by the English ornithologist John Latham. Latham had examined specimens both in the British Museum and in the Leverian Museum.
Ornithologists variously described the New Zealand falcon as an aberrant hobby... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aoraki Mount Cook National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Arthur's Pass National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 3 | Abel Tasman National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 4 | Fiordland National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 5 | Egmont National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 6 | Rakiura National Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton Zoo | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 2 | Willowbank Wildlife Reserve | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 3 | Belgrade Zoo | 🇷🇸 Serbia | |
| 4 | Kiwi Park | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 5 | Ōtorohanga Kiwi House | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | |
| 6 | Wingspan National Bird of Prey Centre | 🇳🇿 New Zealand |
No species of the same family or order lives in Rakiura National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a New Zealand Falcon sighting in Rakiura National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 80th most-seen of the 80 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a New Zealand Falcon in Rakiura National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most New Zealand Falcon sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate New Zealand Falcon sightings, Rakiura National Park ranks 6th at under 5%. The best odds are in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park (New Zealand, about 30%), Arthur's Pass National Park (New Zealand, about 10%) and Abel Tasman National Park (New Zealand, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the New Zealand Falcon is recorded against all the birds logged in Rakiura National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
