Although South Island kokako have been declared extinct, some believe the birds survive in parts of the West Coast and on Stewart Island. Calls have been heard but no birds have been photographed or seen for some 50 years. In the North Island, birds are confined to the Ureweras, several inland Bay of Plenty and King County forests, the Hunuas, Puketi, some forests around the Hokianga, Little Barrier, Lady Alice and Tiritiri Islands.