| New Zealand Rockwren | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Suborder: | Acanthisitti |
| Family: | Acanthisittidae |
| Genus: | Xenicus |
| Species: | X. gilviventris |
| Binomial name | |
| Xenicus gilviventris Pelzeln, 1867 |
|
The New Zealand Rockwren (Xenicus gilviventris), or Rock Wren, is a small New Zealand wren (family Acanthisittidae) endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. It is sometimes known as the South Island Wren, a name used to separate it from the unrelated Rock Wren of North America. While the species is currently restricted to alpine areas of the South Island, fossil evidence indicates it was once present in the North Island as well. It is the rarer of the two surviving species of New Zealand wrens and is threatened by introduced mammals.
The Rockwren is the only surviving species in the genus Xenicus, and is thought to have been closely related to the formerly more widespread Bushwren. Like the Bushwren and the Rifleman it is a poor flier, rarely flying more than two metres off the ground or for distances or more than 30 m. It is highly terrestrial, feeding in low scrub and open scree and rockfalls in alpine areas.
A University of Otago study of over 2,000 sightings between 1912 and 2005 showed areas the wren inhabited had declined by 24% since 1984.[1]