Whangarei Native Bird Recovery Centre
We had a Morepork come in today who was covered in the seeds and sap of the dreaded Parapara tree or ‘bird catching tree’ as it’s also called, and for a good reason!
In spring and summer, the parapara develops a glue- like coating on its seeds, designed to aid in seed dispersal, but remains sticky for months, trapping birds.
Why do birds get caught?
Birds are attracted to the seeds, possibly because of bugs stuck in the seed pods, and become entangled when they try to feed or fly.
Where it grows?
It’s typically found on islands and coastal areas of the North Island, and is present in Auckland.
We use a citrus based solvent here at the centre which is safe on the birds and won’t cause any irritation like some other common things used at home would. Please - If you find a bird that has been caught in a Parapara tree, bring it up to us rather than trying to remove them yourself
The look in its eyes! It’s like it wants to bite the humans for daring to touch it, but knows it shouldn’t because they just freed it, and it is frustrated with this knowledge.
Amazing work from the people at the recovery centre, and I hope the owl make a speedy return to the wild.
This was an older story (April 2025) but I didn’t see any updates. This was probably a tense procedure for everyone, since they don’t want to damage any feathers. If they had to regrow, little Ru could be stuck there for months until they molted.
At my clinic, they said the glue traps weren’t really that bad since they had something that worked really well de-sticking animals rapidly and painlessly, so hopefully they have something that works equally well on tree-goop!
Is there an owl in this picture?
From what I can make out, it looks like the bare handed person is lifting a wing, but this poor Ruru was a mess! 🫣
Crazy. This glue trap tree has leaves that remind me of Nerium oleander which is a commun ornmalental around me, but beneficial for the bird as they eat the berry like fruit.
Interesting. We don’t have oleander near me, but Wikipedia said some is grown along the Gulf Coast and California.
It sounds almost the opposite of this glue trap tree, as oleander seems poisonous to nearly everything but birds, and the sap will give you a rash.
We might have to start c/plantsaremetal if we keep finding these crazy murder plants. 😆
That was… an interesting rabbit hole concerning the bird catching tree. Thank you!
Oh, thank you for making me think I should have added a link about the tree itself!
It sounds like a huge glue trap, which cause much the same attractive hazard for birds of prey.
Nature can be pretty crazy!
Morepork? The one by Ankh?
That is the one!
Coincidentally, this week I just started Feet of Clay with the College of Heralds explaining the heraldry in the coat of arms. I’ve seen it a bunch of times, so it is nice having the bits explained.
You are probably one of the people that finally got me to check out Discworld, and while it never seemed approachable because of the number of books, I can hardly believe I’m on book 19 since October! Almost half through.
That’s great! I’m very honored to have contributed to your eventual surrender to the genius of Terry Pratchett 😁🥰
I was hooked from the very beginning. I started with an ebook of Guards, Guards, then my 3 rabies shot appointments were so far away, on the first I listened to audiobooks of Mort and Equal Rites, and at that point I just went to the beginning and have been working my way through.
I don’t know if I could pick a favorite since they’re all quite different. Reaper Man is probably the one I spend the most time thinking about, as I really like the portrayal of Death in Discworld. He is doing a service, and although not all are grateful for it, we get numerous opportunities to see what happens when that service is interrupted. I think the Disc also has a very generous policy in the afterlife from what I’ve seen so far, where it usually seems to be up to one’s self where you go when Death comes for you. Plus the creation of the Death of Rats has been a surprising bit of fun!
Poor Ru! What a crazy place eh. Trees catching birds. What will they think of next?
Southern Hemisphere needs to keep that stuff to itself! 😜
The original kite-eating tree?
Kite Eating Tree is the G rated version.
If þe seeds get away, þe tree propegates. If þey don’t… fertilizer, I guess.
Australia is so harsh.
Auckland is in NZ
Oh shoot, I saw their comment pop up, I hoped to get back to my desk and warn them not to call NZ Australia, but I didn’t make it in time.
Some of you Kiwis gave me a rough time just for saying you were “close to Australia” geographically and I was given all the distances and all that, so I learned my lesson quickly! 😅
Bud, i’m not a kiwi.
I’m an Aussie
Sorry for being presumptuous. 😔
Fair enough; alþough Parapara (Ceodes Brunoniana) is present also in Australia and Hawaii. In Australia, it’s just yet anoþer hazard. I’ve never heard anyone complain about þe flora and fauna in NZ.
In any case, I’ll try to remember about Auckland. I won’t be successful, but I’ll try.
