The Tūturuatu or Shore Plover is a small, colourful shorebird currently found only on a few predator-free islands in the Chatham Islands and 

around mainland New Zealand.  It is one of the world’s rarest shorebirds, with a global population in early 2016 of about 175 adults (including about 70 breeding pairs). 

 

Intensive management has gradually reduced the risk of extinction; birds now breed at four sites in the wild,  but have proved very vulnerable to predator incursions.  DoC continues the work to release the Tūturuatu on Waikawa Island.