New Zealand Falcon (Falco novaeseelandiae)
About the New Zealand Falcon
The New Zealand falcon (Māori: kārearea, kārewarewa, or kāiaia; Falco novaeseelandiae) is New Zealand's only falcon, and one of only four living native and two endemic birds of prey. It is frequently mistaken for the larger and more common swamp harrier. It is the country's most threatened bird of prey, with only around 5000–15000 individuals remaining. Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System the falcon is stable at Threatened, with conservation research needed. The kārearea was voted Bird of the Year winner in the annual Forest & Bird competition in 2012 and again in 2025.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 4 recordings for this species: 3 CC BY-NC-SA · 1 CC BY-NC-ND. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in New Zealand in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- American KestrelFalco sparveriusrecording
- Amur FalconFalco amurensisrecording
- Common KestrelFalco tinnunculusrecording
- Eurasian HobbyFalco subbuteorecording
- MerlinFalco columbariusrecording
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinusrecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.