Stephen Fry in Wellington for the birds

DOCO STAR: British comedian Stephen Fry communes with a rare hihi at Karori Sanctuary in Wellington.

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One of Karori Sanctuary's newest arrivals received an extra-special welcome to its new home, from British writer and comedian Stephen Fry.

Fry, whose current projects include writing the script to Peter Jackson's Dambusters film, is in New Zealand with British zoologist Mark Carwardine.

Their trip is part of a BBC documentary series looking at the progress of some of the world's most endangered species.

Included in the list is the kakapo, New Zealand's native nocturnal parrot.

Fry and Mr Carwardine will visit the kakapo on Codfish Island near Stewart Island this week.

Entitled Last Chance to See, the series revisits the book by the same name written by Mr Cawardine and Douglas Adams, a friend of Fry's who died in 2001.

The pair have already visited Madagascar, central Africa and the Amazon, looking at the progress of endangered species which featured in the original book. They will carry on to Indonesia and Mexico after their fleeting visit to New Zealand.

Fry is enthusiastic about New Zealand's effort to save the kakapo. "There were only 19 left [when the book was written], now there is something like 90."

The pair were at Wellington's Karori Sanctuary yesterday to film tuatara and kaka.

"We wanted to get a real snapshot of New Zealand wildlife before we got to Codfish."

Fry says New Zealand possesses a unique environment which has shown the impact of human settlement. "It's interesting to see how the introduction of humans almost destroyed so many vulnerable species."

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."

- © Fairfax NZ News