Morkpork and the Parapara tree This well camouflaged morkpork is the result of being caught in a
parapara tree.
The parapara is a New Zealand native commonly called the bird
catcher tree. After the tree has flowered, it produces an
exceptionally sticky substance on the seed head. The tree has large
clumps of flowers which then turn into a large sticky clump of seed
heads and this is why the birds get stuck in them so easily.
What commonly happens is that small birds like the silver eye (waxeye),
fantail, thrush and blackbirds go after insects that have been
caught by the tree. These small birds then get caught and flap
around trying to escape. The morkpork sees this struggling bird and
tries to prey on that bird. The morkpork in turn becomes stuck as
well in somewhat of a sadistic chain reaction.
At the Centre we have seen as many as 13 silver eyes caught in one
clump of sticky seed pods. 12 we were able to clean and release the
13th was too badly damaged. When these small birds are caught they
thrash around so much trying to escape that they cause major damage
to themselves in the form of broken bones and dislocating hips.
The parapara plant can be bought in some plant shops, but if you
enjoy seeing birds in your garden we would recommend that you do not
to grow one of the trees.
The morkpork in the photo was released 4 days later after making a
full recovery.
If you find a bird in one of these trees, cut off the whole flower
head with the bird intact. DO NOT try to clean it yourself as many
cleaning solutions will burn the birds skin. Get it into the Centre
as soon as possible; the Centre has the right product to remove this
sticky gum without causing more harm to the bird. |
Morkpork stuck in the parapara seed
head before being cleaned
Morkpork during cleaning
Morkpork after clean up |
