| Notes | |
| Australasian Gannett | yellow head and black at the tip of wings, big breeding colony at Muriwai Bay, we went but they had already flown north toward better weather, saw one in Abel Tasman National Park (South Island) and Otamure Beach on the North Island |
| Australasian Harrier | very common, often seen dining on road kill on the side of the road or surveying fields near the road |
| Australian Magpie | many spotted in fields on the side of the road |
| Australian Pied Cormorant | not very common |
| Bellbird | call similar to a Tui but without the grunts and clicks |
| Black billed gull | very common |
| Black Fronted Tern | rare |
| Black-backed Gull | very common |
| Blackbird | New Zealand's most common bird |
| Brown Kiwi | New Zealand's national bird, looks as though it has as a very long bill, but it has the shortest in the world because scientists measure from a bird's beach from the nostrils; kiwi nostrils are located at the end of the beak so they can rifle through leaves for grubs and things |
| California Quail | seen at many different camps on the North Island |
| Caspian Tern | less common |
| Chaffinch | very common |
| Dunnock (Hedge Sparrow) | very common |
| Eastern Rosella | seen on the North Island in Shakespear Regional Park and in the central North Island, usually seen in pairs |
| European Goldfinch | The most colorful bird in New Zealand; frequently seen in flocks |
| Fantail | flits around like a butterfly; very friendl;. sometimes lands on people |
| Fernbird | seen on Tiritiri Mitangi island |
| Greenfinch | we only saw three |
| Grey Teal | endangered, looks like a female mallard |
| Grey Warbler | |
| House Sparrow | very common in cities and campgrounds |
| Kea | cheeky mountain parrot |
| Kingfisher | mostly on the side of the road near bodies of water and at the beach, don't make noise as much as kingfishers at home |
| Kokako | very rare only seen on the North Island |
| Little Blue Penguin | world's smallest penguin |
| Little Pied Shag | aka cormorant, very common |
| Morepork | owl species that is often heard but seldom seen |
| Myna | only seen on the North Island as they find the South Island to be too cold |
| New Zealand Dotterel | uncommon shore bird, we saw some at Matapuri Bay, North Island |
| New Zealand Falcon | uncommon |
| New Zealand Pigeon | wood pigeon, much bigger than city pigeons, lives in forests, fast whirring wing beats like a city pigeon |
| New Zealand Pipit | we only saw one |
| New Zealand Robin | very small and black with long legs |
| Paradise Shellduck | very common, most often seen in pairs, female has white head while drake has black head |
| Pied Stilt | very common |
| Pukeko | common in fields along the side of roads, especially damp ones, talk with their tails |
| Red Billed gull | very common |
| Red crowned parakeet | extinct on the main islands of New Zealand, found in bird sanctuaries like Tiritiri Matangi |
| Rifleman | Seen at Arthur's Pass National Park |
| Ringed-Necked Pheasant | rather commonly seen in fields |
| Rock Pigeon (City Pigeon) | found mostly in citys |
| Rook | only found on the North Island and only in places on the South Island, look a lot like a crow only bigger |
| Royal Albatross | very large with impressive wingspan, seen on the tip of the Otago Peninsula near Dunedin and at Nugget Point on the east coast, South Island |
| Saddleback | rare |
| Silvereye | very common |
| Skylark | very common |
| Song Thrush | seen at almost all camps on the North Island |
| Southern Crested Grebe | Very rare, only 45 left in the world, seen in just outside of Arthur's Pass NP, South Island |
| Spur-Winged Plover | seen most often on the side of the road, feeding in fields |
| Starling | second most common bird in New Zealand (behind the blackbird) |
| Stitchbird | rare |
| Tomtit | sometimes mistaken for a stichbird |
| Tui | song includes grunts and clicks and high piched peeps |
| Variable Oystercatcher | very common |
| Weka | Odd looking bird, sort of like a cross between a kiwi and a duck, seen around campgrounds on the South Island |
| Welcome Swallow | Flies very fast to catch sand flies |
| White Head | not common |
| White-faced Heron | common around bodies of water |
| White-Fronted Tern | less common |
| Yellow-Eyed Penguin | One world's rarest penguin |
| Yellowhammer | in mountains |
