The New Zealand Rockwren is a small ground-feeding bird of the South Island mountains, living above the bush line throughout its life.
It has a short tail, rounded wings, and long legs and toes. Males are dull green above with grey-brown underparts and yellow flanks; females are mainly olive-brown.
It hops among boulder fields and makes short flights while searching for food. It mainly eats insects and spiders and also takes some fruit.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.