🇳🇿Animals recorded in New Zealand

Which animals have been recorded in New Zealand? 156,047 occurrence records cover 1,200+ species. The most-recorded are listed below, with what the record pattern says about each one. 206 is the most-recorded animal class; the leading species records include Silver-eye, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Blackbird.

• 156,047 records
• 1,200+ species
• 72 classes

Country evidence passport

The most-recorded species in this dataset include Silver-eye, Common Chaffinch, Eurasian Blackbird. Use the country list as evidence of recorded wildlife, then open a species to compare its records across other countries and months. It is not a complete habitat or population census.

Most-recorded animals in New Zealand

	Animal	Group	Records
	Silver-eye Zosterops lateralis	Aves Zosteropidae	2,607
	Common Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs	Aves Fringillidae	2,121
	Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula	Aves Turdidae	2,120
	New Zealand Fantail Rhipidura fuliginosa	Aves Rhipiduridae	1,877
	New Zealand Bellbird Anthornis melanura	Aves Meliphagidae	1,584
	Gray Gerygone Gerygone igata	Aves Acanthizidae	1,569
	Tui Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae	Aves Meliphagidae	1,463
	New Zealand Pigeon Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae	Aves Columbidae	1,032
	Alpine Redcoat Damselfly Xanthocnemis zealandica	Insecta Coenagrionidae	835
	Song Thrush Turdus philomelos	Aves Turdidae	812
	New Zealand Robin Petroica australis	Aves Petroicidae	810
	Silver Gull Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae	Aves Laridae	746
	Dunnock Prunella modularis	Aves Prunellidae	706
	Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus	Aves Laridae	696
	Paradise Shelduck Tadorna variegata	Aves Anatidae	653
	House Sparrow Passer domesticus	Aves Passeridae	648
	Sacred Kingfisher Todiramphus sanctus	Aves Alcedinidae	576
	Goniocorella dumosa	Anthozoa Caryophylliidae	573
	Blue Damselfly Austrolestes colensonis	Insecta Lestidae	570
	cockscomb cup coral Desmophyllum dianthus	Anthozoa Caryophylliidae	557
	Tomtit Petroica macrocephala	Aves Petroicidae	533
	South american fur seal Arctocephalus forsteri	Mammalia Otariidae	529
	Variable Oystercatcher Haematopus unicolor	Aves Haematopodidae	521
	maculate stony coral Solenosmilia variabilis	Anthozoa Caryophylliidae	440
	California Quail Callipepla californica	Aves Odontophoridae	418
	Eriophora pustulosa	Arachnida Araneidae	404
	European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis	Aves Fringillidae	392
	Buff-tailed Bumble Bee Bombus terrestris	Insecta Apidae	391
	Aphrocallistes beatrix	Hexactinellida Aphrocallistidae	380
	White-faced Heron Egretta novaehollandiae	Aves Ardeidae	367
	Australasian Swamphen Porphyrio melanotus	Aves Rallidae	362
	Welcome Swallow Hirundo neoxena	Aves Hirundinidae	356
	New Zealand sea lion Phocarctos hookeri	Mammalia Otariidae	343
	Mallard Anas platyrhynchos	Aves Anatidae	326
	Weka Gallirallus australis	Aves Rallidae	324
	bluefin searobin Chelidonichthys kumu	— Triglidae	317
	New Zealand Mantis Orthodera novaezealandiae	Insecta Mantidae	313
	Little Pied Cormorant Microcarbo melanoleucos	Aves Phalacrocoracidae	309
	Flabellum knoxi	Anthozoa Flabellidae	308
	Pied Cormorant Phalacrocorax varius	Aves Phalacrocoracidae	304
	New Zealand Scaup Aythya novaeseelandiae	Aves Anatidae	304
	Black Swan Cygnus atratus	Aves Anatidae	290
	European Starling Sturnus vulgaris	Aves Sturnidae	284
	Masked Lapwing Vanellus miles	Aves Charadriidae	283
	ocular coral Madrepora oculata	Anthozoa Oculinidae	278
	thornfish Bovichtus variegatus	— Bovichtidae	278
	Milkweed [butterfly] Danaus plexippus	Insecta Nymphalidae	278
	Snapper Pagrus auratus	— Sparidae	275
	European Greenfinch Chloris chloris	Aves Fringillidae	274
	New Zealand Nursery Web Spider Dolomedes minor	Arachnida Pisauridae	273
	Monomyces rubrum	Anthozoa Flabellidae	269
	Sea Potato Echinocardium cordatum	Echinoidea Loveniidae	265
	Pied Stilt Himantopus leucocephalus	Aves Recurvirostridae	263
	New Zealand Kaka Nestor meridionalis	Aves Psittacidae	259
	Shining Bronze-Cuckoo Chrysococcyx lucidus	Aves Cuculidae	259
	White-fronted Tern Sterna striata	Aves Laridae	251
	Australian Admiral Vanessa itea	Insecta Nymphalidae	247
	beaked stony coral Enallopsammia rostrata	Anthozoa Dendrophylliidae	237
	Red-headed House Hopper Maratus griseus	Arachnida Salticidae	236
	western honey bee Apis mellifera	Insecta Apidae	235