MEDIA RELEASE 20 June 2007

Museum helps uncover important discovery for indigenous bird

The Stitchbird, or "Hihi", has been discovered to be in a family of its own, in part thanks to the work of Auckland Museum Curator, Dr. Brian Gill

For years, many believed the Stitchbird was part of the Tui and Bellbird family of honeyeaters, but after a comprehensive research conducted in part with Auckland Museum, a vital discovery shows it has no close relatives, requiring it to have a family of its own.

Analysis of gene sequences shows that the stitchbird is not a honeyeater. Instead it has no close relatives other than a distant relationship to the New Zealand wattlebirds, a family of birds that includes the kokako and extinct huia. Because the relationship is distant, and the stitchbird is clearly not a wattlebird, it requires a family of its own.
Dr Brian Gill, Curator of Birds at Auckland War Memorial Museum stated the importance of discovering a new family "makes the Stitchbird even more special than we already knew."
There are now eight families of birds unique to New Zealand, emphasising the country's position as a "biodiversity hotspot". The four surviving families are: kiwis (Apterygidae), New Zealand wrens including the rifleman (Acanthisittidae), New Zealand wattlebirds including the kokako (Callaeidae), and stitchbird (Notiomystidae).

The research project took over 6 years to complete by an international team comprising molecular biologists and museum staff from U.S.A., Australia and New Zealand. The results have just been published in the Australian Journal of Zoology.

Dr Gill, says that the results show the importance of Auckland Museum's natural history collection. Tissue samples for the research were obtained from museum birds.

The name of the new family is Notiomystidae, formed from the stitchbird's generic name "Notiomystis", which in turn is from classical Greek words meaning "southern mystery". This name was given in 1908 and reflects the stitchbird's unusual features and uncertain affinities. "Science has now helped to solve this southern mystery", says Dr. Gill.

"It also gives the Department of Conservation an argument for an even greater effort and funding for the conservation of Stitchbirds." Dr. Gill continues, "Bird-watchers in New Zealand or visiting overseas may be even more keen to see a Stitchbird, which they can do on Titiri Matangi Island

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