Description ⁶

Adults: Black to brown-black, whitish cheeks. They have greenish eyes and yellowish facial skin, grey beak and black legs and feet.
When in breeding condition the skin below the eyes turns reddy-orange, and they develop a small crest on the back of the neck including a few white feathers on the upper neck and head.
Juveniles: A more browny colour with patchy white spots and the eyes are initially muddy coloured.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Tony Wills, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Tony Wills
2. (c) Tony Wills, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by Tony Wills
3. (c) Brenda Anderson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/curiouskiwi/525818135/
4. (c) Jon Sullivan, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/mollivan_jon/15462259559/
5. (c) Tony Wills, all rights reserved, uploaded by Tony Wills
6. (c) Tony Wills, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNaturalist NZ taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• VertNet
• Xeno-canto

iNaturalist NZ Map