Red-billed gull
tarāpunga · Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae
Often seen around Mansion House and its grounds, and along the shore at Vivian Bay and North Cove.
Story
Tarāpunga live on almost every New Zealand coast and are at home in towns, yet numbers have fallen sharply at their three main breeding colonies, one of them on the Mokohinau Islands in the outer Hauraki Gulf. Introduced predators and swings in the supply of krill are the main threats.
Behaviour
At breeding colonies they rely on surface swarms of krill to raise their chicks. The rest of the year they'll eat almost anything, from small shoreline creatures to scraps in town, and they follow boats hoping for fish offal thrown over the side.