By Jim Eagles
Hihi - otherwise known as stitchbirds - may well be New Zealand's most interesting birds.
They have chicks that look like Jimi Hendrix, the males wear gaudy yellow and black coats, unlike most of our native birds, which are monogamous, these guys lead promiscuous sex lives, and they're apparently the only birds known to have intercourse face to face.
If you've never seen one of these remarkable birds it's not surprising. Hihi became extinct on our main islands well over a century ago. But they did survive on Little Barrier Island and in recent years have been reintroduced to Tiri, Kapiti and three of our mainland island sanctuaries.
I first became acquainted with adult hihi a few years ago when my wife and I recorded the banding of birds at feeding stations on Tiri.
And I met the chicks last month when I wrote an article reminding everyone what a fabulous place Tiri is.When Tiri's guiding and shop manager, Mary-Ann Rowland, first told me each chick looked like a "mini Jimi Hendrix", I didn't really believe her.