Fry's Bird in the Hand

New Zealand's Dominion Post has an early report on Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine's trip to New Zealand and pictures Fry with a hihi, or stitchbird, at the Karori Sanctuary.

Their visit coincided with the release into the sanctuary of five hihi, or stitchbirds, raised at Mt Bruce in the Wairarapa, which captured the attention of both Fry and Mr Carwardine.

There are fewer than 1000 hihi in the wild, with the 33 sanctuary residents the only settlement of the bird on mainland New Zealand.

"It's got a beautiful bill, good for poking down flowers," Fry says. "It looks like a hummingbird."