Wrybill plover

Ngutuparore (Māori) Anarhynchus frontalis (Latin)

A small endemic plover, the only bird in the world with a bill that's always bent to the right. Usually on braided rivers the bill is used to poke under stones for small aquatic animals, today it was using it to dig in the sand.

Wrybills use shingle islands in braided rivers to nest, but now only occupy about 60% of their original range and are declining, due to rivers being dammed, flows being reduced by irrigation, water being polluted by dairying, off road vehicles driving in river beds, introduced predators, and weeds etc blocking rivers. There are thought to be around 5000 still in the wild.