Kauri Comparisons: Banded Rail

Shanti Truong-George

Kauri Protection Coordinator

The banded rail (moho pererū, Hypotaenidia philippensis) is a small, inconspicuous bird that lives in saltmarshes and mangroves. Being very shy, they hide deep amongst the mangroves.

In Māori mythology, the laughter of the moho pererū, also known as pātātai, led to the death of Māui.

Did you know we have some local moho pererū right here in Kaipātiki? Learn more about them and how to become a Banded Rail Bandit (protector of this species) here. Banded rails are a sign of ecosystem health, so to have them is a good sign—but to lose them is a red flag, signalling that more work needs to be done to protect our waterways.

Same or different?

Banded rails and kauri trees are different because they live in different environments. Though they are both Kaipātiki residents, their “houses” are not the same. Banded rails, as mentioned earlier, live in saltmarshes. While kauri can live in a range of areas and elevations, they do best in infertile soils and low water availability, where they can out-compete other tree species. This is usually along the ridgelines of mountains and anywhere kauri have already been established.

Even though they don’t live in the same environment, they are still connected. Kauri forests that grow upstream of the banded rail saltmarshes can influence the water that enters the wetlands. Runoff from roads fills streams with pollutants; green areas with kauri forests act as filters, not only for these pollutants, but for water quality, too. This, in turn, changes the wetland habitat and shapes what can live there, potentially promoting pest plants and reducing our native saltmarsh species.

One example of a linked system in Kaipātiki is Soldier’s Bay, where moho pererū can be found. Upstream of Soldier’s Bay is Kauri Park, which unfortunately had to be closed due to kauri dieback. The older forest in Kauri Park is likely to have had a good influence on the waters of Soldier’s Bay, allowing the moho pererū to live there. In order to protect our wetlands, we need to think about the surrounding environments—how do things that happen upstream affect those living downstream?